[rotaz]

If you guys have test driven one or both cars please provide us with reviews. I know there's a lot of reviews out there, but I would like to hear them from a Beamer fanatics's perspective.

[arnoldkrieger]

i had aC63 for 9months and could not wait to get rid of it, very fast car but appalling ride quality and very very unreliable, new gearbox at 2000km, vibrations, rattles, non starting issues, vibrations from gearbox when idling in drive, seats not nappa leather but i think its vinyl instead,merc had to change all four tyres on 5000km's, build quality not near to the BMW'S, traded it in on a 335i, can't wait for the bmw to arrive march 09

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by arnoldkrieger

i had aC63 for 9months and could not wait to get rid of it, very fast car but appalling ride quality and very very unreliable, new gearbox at 2000km, vibrations, rattles, non starting issues, vibrations from gearbox when idling in drive, seats not nappa leather but i think its vinyl instead,merc had to change all four tyres on 5000km's, build quality not near to the BMW'S, traded it in on a 335i, can't wait for the bmw to arrive march 09

I have the exact opposite experience. We've had a C63 for about eight (maybe nine) months as of now, and it's been nothing but perfect.

No rattles, amazing interior build quality, everything feels like it was carved out of granite. The tires do need replacing very quickly. Ours were replaced at 8,000 miles. The ride quality is perfectly fine; better than my 335i's that's for sure. The steering is also much, much better. It's a hair lighter, but it's infinitely more direct and precise. There's none of that wiggle room that our steering has (and I don't have the RFTs on my 335i and I still have that wiggle in the steering).

The driving experience is on another level. The engine and exhaust note are so much more visceral. Transmission shifts while going WOT sound like nothing I've ever heard before, like a cannon just went off between your legs. Downshifts sound like Armageddon, especially when you hold down the left paddle (or hold the shifter to the left), causing the transmission to consecutively shift down to the lowest possible gear.

My one major fault with the car is the transmission. The 7spd AT is quick at pulling off shifts, but it's way too slow to respond to multiple inputs, especially in comparison to the ZF in our 335i's. I can pull the right paddle three times and only get one shift. It has to finish a shift before you can do anything else. It will not stack commands. To rapidly downshift you can hold the left paddle like I said, but if you want to speed up the upshift process, you actually have to give the car more throttle (shift speeds seem throttle sensitive to me).

Braking performance feels similar, if slightly worse, in comparison to my 335i. The brakes are slightly grabby at lower speeds, and you can feel the car's weight. Not a big deal though.

The seats are by and far the best things I've ever graced my ass upon. They hold you in so much better than my seats and even the M3's (in fact they stomp the M3's). They look good too.

The audio system is average. There's no low end or bass. This is one category (the only one) where my 335i is better. The nav system is amazing, but not as amazing as the iDrive 2.0 I just tested out at the dealership last week.

If you have any specific questions I can try to help.

[Year's_End]

iPod support is also not very well done.

[rotaz]

Thanks for the input guys...I still want to hear input for the CTS-V and how it compares to the 335, M3, C63.

[BForbes]

Originally Posted by arnoldkrieger

i had aC63 for 9months and could not wait to get rid of it, very fast car but appalling ride quality and very very unreliable, new gearbox at 2000km, vibrations, rattles, non starting issues, vibrations from gearbox when idling in drive, seats not nappa leather but i think its vinyl instead,merc had to change all four tyres on 5000km's, build quality not near to the BMW'S, traded it in on a 335i, can't wait for the bmw to arrive march 09

I did the AMG drive too. I was utterly shocked at how terrible the car's ride quality was as well. For $66,000, that is unacceptable. The engine not was amazing and it pulls like nothing though. I cant speak of its handling though. I didnt really get to do one of those power drifts.

The AMG event guy asks me I want to see what she's made of. I said yeah. He tells me to STOMP it and dont stop until he told me tool. We were going up an on-ramp. HOLY HELL man. He also told me ahead atime to BURY the brakes when he told me too. It was super important that I not ease onto them. It was a great experience. The felt so heavy at low speeds though. At the end, I dont think I would have fun driving one daily. It wasnt as balanced as I would like it to be. Maybe an M3 is as it is 400lbs less. My .02

[Bimmer007]

cts-v is nice but you can get a g8 gxp for much less

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by Bimmer007

cts-v is nice but you can get a g8 gxp for much less

You're also getting 100Hp less, and the interior isn't as good as the CTS-V. The G8 is a great car in its price range, but the CTS-V is in a different league.

[Bimmer007]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

You're also getting 100Hp less, and the interior isn't as good as the CTS-V. The G8 is a great car in its price range, but the CTS-V is in a different league.

i know, just trying to save him some cash

i think with all the rebates you can get them for around 36k

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by BForbes

I did the AMG drive too. I was utterly shocked at how terrible the car's ride quality was as well. For $66,000, that is unacceptable. The engine not was amazing and it pulls like nothing though. I cant speak of its handling though. I didnt really get to do one of those power drifts.

The AMG event guy asks me I want to see what she's made of. I said yeah. He tells me to STOMP it and dont stop until he told me tool. We were going up an on-ramp. HOLY HELL man. He also told me ahead atime to BURY the brakes when he told me too. It was super important that I not ease onto them. It was a great experience. The felt so heavy at low speeds though. At the end, I dont think I would have fun driving one daily. It wasnt as balanced as I would like it to be. Maybe an M3 is as it is 400lbs less. My .02

Could you explain the car's "terrible. . . ride quality" in relative terms? I think it's much better in comparison to my 335i, which isn't really considered as a "terrible" riding car (especially post non-RFT swap).