[mbintx]

Originally Posted by mmm def

TSX 6sp

This!

[adriang]

a VW Golf

[RingBredE90]

350Z or Neon SRT-4 ... both which i owned and loved.

[thetedderbear]

My friend just picked up a 98 M3 sedan with 160k miles for $8k. It's flawless though, paint is perfect, interior feels fairly new, everything works. Had lowered suspension and exhaust. Honestly, it drives better than his E90 M3

[TK-421]

Originally Posted by thetedderbear

My friend just picked up a 98 M3 sedan with 160k miles for $8k. It's flawless though, paint is perfect, interior feels fairly new, everything works. Had lowered suspension and exhaust. Honestly, it drives better than his E90 M3

No surprise:

[mashimarho]

wrx

[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by thetedderbear

My friend just picked up a 98 M3 sedan with 160k miles for $8k. It's flawless though, paint is perfect, interior feels fairly new, everything works. Had lowered suspension and exhaust. Honestly, it drives better than his E90 M3

something is wrong with his e90 then.
i have owned both e36s and e9x Ms and I can tell you that the e36 is an amazing car but it really can't touch my e92. So i am not sure in which terms do you say it drives better than his e90. That can only be true if something is wrong with his e90.

btw, e36 is one of the 10 great cars everyone should own. The others are s2000, acura nsx, mazda miata na, Ferrari 458, and so on.

[thetedderbear]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

something is wrong with his e90 then.
i have owned both e36s and e9x Ms and I can tell you that the e36 is an amazing car but it really can't touch my e92. So i am not sure in which terms do you say it drives better than his e90. That can only be true if something is wrong with his e90.

btw, e36 is one of the 10 great cars everyone should own. The others are s2000, acura nsx, mazda miata na, Ferrari 458, and so on.

Another buddy owns a S2000 so I'm doing good on this list! But the E90 is in perfect condition. Its a matter of size. Don't get me wrong, but drive one then the other, and the E90 feels heavy, cumbersome. I'll put it this way, when doing some spirited driving on twisty mountain roads in both, the E36 encouraged me, throttle response was sharp, instant, with each movement of my foot I got a measured response. The steering was tight, but not too much. The grip felt balanced, and perhaps best of all it felt light and low.
In comparison, the E90 feels more like it is going to bite me in the ass, I was much less confident in it. The engine didn't feel as sensitive to my slightest inputs in comparison, the body roll was more pronounced(the E36 had springs though, E90 stock), and the weight just felt massive in comparison. Certainly the E90 is faster, and obviously so, but the overall feel is what gets me.
The E36, with these springs, felt closer to the S2000 than it did the E90. But its still a 4 door and on the trip home we piled 4 people and bags in it. It averages 20mpg in town and 30 on the highway, better than my 335i. All in all, it is hands down the best mix of practicality and weekend warrior-track-readiness I've ever driven. OP, if you want to pick up a great car you can put miles on, but still have good creature comforts, pretty good gas mileage, AND drive it like you stole it, get an E36 M3, hands down

[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by thetedderbear

Another buddy owns a S2000 so I'm doing good on this list! But the E90 is in perfect condition. Its a matter of size. Don't get me wrong, but drive one then the other, and the E90 feels heavy, cumbersome. I'll put it this way, when doing some spirited driving on twisty mountain roads in both, the E36 encouraged me, throttle response was sharp, instant, with each movement of my foot I got a measured response. The steering was tight, but not too much. The grip felt balanced, and perhaps best of all it felt light and low.
In comparison, the E90 feels more like it is going to bite me in the ass, I was much less confident in it. The engine didn't feel as sensitive to my slightest inputs in comparison, the body roll was more pronounced(the E36 had springs though, E90 stock), and the weight just felt massive in comparison. Certainly the E90 is faster, and obviously so, but the overall feel is what gets me.
The E36, with these springs, felt closer to the S2000 than it did the E90. But its still a 4 door and on the trip home we piled 4 people and bags in it. It averages 20mpg in town and 30 on the highway, better than my 335i. All in all, it is hands down the best mix of practicality and weekend warrior-track-readiness I've ever driven. OP, if you want to pick up a great car you can put miles on, but still have good creature comforts, pretty good gas mileage, AND drive it like you stole it, get an E36 M3, hands down

now that makes sense. The e36 is really well balanced car IMHO. I have owned s2000 and miata as well. These cars are not about power, they are more about balance. If i could find a clean m3 e36, i would def. buy it. they are worth the dime.