[newoldbeemer]

I have been meaning to start a discussion about this for some time, but held off out of fear of being ridiculed .

So here's the thing.. am I weird? I think I now prefer / enjoy driving a sport sedan more than an actual sports car though I have the opportunity to have both. I absolutely love driving cars that handle well, push my cars to their limit and enjoy good tires and good suspension even in everyday driving.

So the weird thing is, I find myself not enjoying an actual sports car as much as the sporty sedans and coupes, because of the road and all-round visibility. I find that a car like the 3 series is much easier to chuck around in traffic with more confidence with its visibility and ride height. For this reason, I held off on buying a Cayman and even sold my 370Z. I felt like those cars would perhaps be more fun on a track, but on the road my 3 series coupe is much quicker in my hands.

I always felt like my next car should be a Porsche, but now I am not sure anymore. Now I tend to think an M3 would be immensely more enjoyable on public roads than a Porsche.

Anyone else feel this way, does it make sense?

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

I have been meaning to start a discussion about this for some time, but held off out of fear of being ridiculed .

So here's the thing.. am I weird? I think I now prefer / enjoy driving a sport sedan more than an actual sports car though I have the opportunity to have both. I absolutely love driving cars that handle well, push my cars to their limit and enjoy good tires and good suspension even in everyday driving.

So the weird thing is, I find myself not enjoying an actual sports car as much as the sporty sedans and coupes, because of the road and all-round visibility. I find that a car like the 3 series is much easier to chuck around in traffic with more confidence with its visibility and ride height. For this reason, I held off on buying a Cayman and even sold my 370Z. I felt like those cars would perhaps be more fun on a track, but on the road my 3 series coupe is much quicker in my hands.

I always felt like my next car should be a Porsche, but now I am not sure anymore. Now I tend to think an M3 would be immensely more enjoyable on public roads than a Porsche.

Anyone else feel this way, does it make sense?

Every car has a learning curve to get the most out of it.

When I get a new car, I start easy and slowly build up to its limits as I learn every characteristic of the car. From visibility, stability, grip levels, throttle response, tranny behavior, etc.

It's a fun process bonding with a performance car.

[jhuber]

I agree with you and know how you feel. I left a 350z for a 135 and then moved into a 335. The Z had its benefits and was an amazing driving experience. But in city traffic and even on long road trip like rides the 335i is a much better choice

[sygazelle]

Each person is different so you will likely get a variety of responses. But, it makes sense to me. I feel exactly the same way. Sports sedans are plenty good enough for street driving and they offer way more utility, and they are arguably safer. I fool myself into thinking I'm driving a 4 door sports car with a good size trunk and great fuel efficiency. I traded my car with a cousin who has a Cayman or a 3 day weekend and took his very nice sports car from SF up to Mendicino for a nice road trip. It was great but I had really had enough by the time I got back and got back into my car. I haven't thought about the Cayman since.

Buy want you want. Don't worry about us crazy forum members with vastly different opinions. Enjoy!

[newoldbeemer]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Each person is different so you will likely get a variety of responses. But, it makes sense to me. I feel exactly the same way. Sports sedans are plenty good enough for street driving and they offer way more utility, and they are arguably safer. I fool myself into thinking I'm driving a 4 door sports car with a good size trunk and great fuel efficiency. I traded my car with a cousin who has a Cayman or a 3 day weekend and took his very nice sports car from SF up to Mendicino for a nice road trip. It was great but I had really had enough by the time I got back and got back into my car. I haven't thought about the Cayman since.

Buy want you want. Don't worry about us crazy forum members with vastly different opinions. Enjoy!

Funny you should mention Mendocino. It was three trips to Mendocino - first in my E90 335i, second in an F30 328i and the third in my 370Z - that convinced me I enjoy the BMW coupes more than a hardcore sports car.

Don't get me wrong, the Z was absolutely lovely and delicious. Just that the 3 series fits me like a glove. The original plan was to sell the 3 series and hang on to the Z. The opposite happened .

Oh and that road from 101 to Mendocino - Hwy 128 - is the best!

[fcman]

I like sports sedans/coupes, but a proper short wheel base sports car is what I love. You definitely have to be more careful on the street but it's much more rewarding when you put in the effort and really learn the car. With a BMW or Merc any schmuck can go out and kick the back end out coming out of a parking lot, try that in an S2000 or a Lotus Elise and you'll probably end up facing the wrong way unless you put in the time to know the car. To me effortless handling is boring.

[mremg]

Originally Posted by fcman

I like sports sedans/coupes, but a proper short wheel base sports car is what I love. You definitely have to be more careful on the street but it's much more rewarding when you put in the effort and really learn the car. With a BMW or Merc any schmuck can go out and kick the back end out coming out of a parking lot, try that in an S2000 or a Lotus Elise and you'll probably end up facing the wrong way unless you put in the time to know the car. To me effortless handling is boring.

I completely agree. Nothing really beats a proper short wheel base sports car when it comes to pure driving joy. Sure, there is a steep learning curve and it's a bit uncomfortable on the street but it's definitely worth it. Best part, it doesn't need to have so much power to have fun.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

Funny you should mention Mendocino. It was three trips to Mendocino - first in my E90 335i, second in an F30 328i and the third in my 370Z - that convinced me I enjoy the BMW coupes more than a hardcore sports car.

Don't get me wrong, the Z was absolutely lovely and delicious. Just that the 3 series fits me like a glove. The original plan was to sell the 3 series and hang on to the Z. The opposite happened .

Oh and that road from 101 to Mendocino - Hwy 128 - is the best!

Great area. I did not take Hwy 128. Instead we came up the coast through Point Arena. I'll have to go back and check out 128.

[eluded]

Originally Posted by fcman

try that in an S2000

I did that once and it was cray

[RM7]

IMO, it's almost solely a function of how much $$$ and R&D they can throw into the car. I was thinking the other day that my 4GC would be awesome if they stiffened the swaybars and lowered it an inch, with the sport+ setting it really does seem pretty decent, but it's held way back by the body-lean and the imprecise steering/handling. Take something like a M3 or M5 though, it's razor-tuned, and will outclass a lot of cheaper "sports cars". In that theme, my 2010 camaro SS with a couple small mods was infinitely a better sports car than my BMW, although strangely friends and family think there is some sort of magic ingredient that makes the BMW better, the SS (camaro)simply handles better, has much more power, better brakes, is far more engaging and fun to drive. It was designed to do so. I think sedans can be pretty engaging and good as well, even wagons, it all depends on how much $$$ they dump into developing the car. The higher the performance, the harder it is to keep competitive and more the cost goes up, in other words, if you want a sedan to compete with a Porsche 911, it's going to have to be a hell of a sedan. Possible? Sure. Practical? Depends. At some point it's just not worth it to try and compete, but there's a lot of middle ground and enough variance that you can get a badass sedan like a Chevy SS or M3 and eat sports cars for lunch.

[G8rGrl]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

IMO, it's almost solely a function of how much $$$ and R&D they can throw into the car. I was thinking the other day that my 4GC would be awesome if they stiffened the swaybars and lowered it an inch, with the sport+ setting it really does seem pretty decent, but it's held way back by the body-lean and the imprecise steering/handling. Take something like a M3 or M5 though, it's razor-tuned, and will outclass a lot of cheaper "sports cars". In that theme, my 2010 camaro SS with a couple small mods was infinitely a better sports car than my BMW, although strangely friends and family think there is some sort of magic ingredient that makes the BMW better, the SS (camaro)simply handles better, has much more power, better brakes, is far more engaging and fun to drive. It was designed to do so. I think sedans can be pretty engaging and good as well, even wagons, it all depends on how much $$$ they dump into developing the car. The higher the performance, the harder it is to keep competitive and more the cost goes up, in other words, if you want a sedan to compete with a Porsche 911, it's going to have to be a hell of a sedan. Possible? Sure. Practical? Depends. At some point it's just not worth it to try and compete, but there's a lot of middle ground and enough variance that you can get a badass sedan like a Chevy SS or M3 and eat sports cars for lunch.

Agree. I was looking at the Cayman instead of the M2. That lasted a day. Decided not to keep the Cayman on my list of possibilities.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

you can get a badass sedan like a Chevy SS or M3 and eat sports cars for lunch.

Not in stock form. Modded? Sure, but then everything goes out the windoe because you can mod anything.