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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > BMW E90/E92/E93 3-series General Forums > General E90 Sedan / E91 Wagon / E92 Coupe / E93 Cabrio > Why did they make it so good!?



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      05-03-2005, 09:23 AM   #1
slashmatt
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Smile Why did they make it so good!?

Damn. That's all I have to say. I love my '95 NSX. I've spent tons of money on my NSX. I wanted to buy a second car (~$28k, room for 4, more compliant ride, etc...) to compliment my NSX.

So...

I drove a Nissan Titan, an '05 Mustang GT, an Audi A3, a Saab 9-2X, an RSX Type-S, a Dodge Ram 1500, a WRX wagon. Every time I got out of those cars, and knowing that my living situation would have the NSX in storage if I was to have one of them, I kept thinking how annoying it would be to drive a second rate car every day.

So...

I drove the new 330i (way out of the "keep the NSX" price range, but...). I loved it. I loved it so much it wasn't funny. I am a bimmer fanatic. I should have never driven the car.

So...
Thinking that selling the NSX and buying the 330 would leave me ahead by about $15k, and wanting to make sure I wasn't insane, I drove the M3 and the S4 again yesterday (two cars I passed up when I chose the NSX two years ago). Again, as I was two years ago, I was unimpressed. Sure the M3 has power, but it understeers like crazy (i.e. not a great sports car) and it's NVH are rediculous (i.e. not a great sedan). The S4, well, you should all know by now that an S4's bark is MUCH louder than it's bite. The 330 easily outhandles the S4 and comes damn close in acceleration. The 330 is also bigger (it's no Golf). They both ride nicely.

So...
It's time to say goodbye to the NSX. She was a badass, but the bimmer fanboy in my head says she's got to go. Besides, I'm moving back to Houston, and I can take out one of my Dad's sports cars if I really start to jones. I think a 575M, Z06, 911, or modified Viper will do just the trick. (He happens to have just bought a 545 as his daily driver, and says that its the best car he has ever owned. Trust me, that's a long list of very nice cars.) I'll be going to my third bimmer in the last several years. I started the whole bimmer thing buy receiving my E46 323i sport in Oct. '98 after a seven month pre-order. Then, three years ago, I bought a Dakar Yellow '01 Z3 2.5i that I traded for the NSX. Now, I'm coming full circle, but I'm not skimping at all on this one.

Here's what I'll order:
330i, 6-speed
Black Sapphire/Black leather/burl wood (I've always liked the burl on black in BMW's, it's just not as fashionable as aluminum lately)
Sports Package
Premium Package
Active Steering
Fold down rear seats
Satellite radio

It was funny, I knew the car was "meant for me" when I saw that the phone they show in the bluetooth section of the website is my phone, the Motorola V710.
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      05-03-2005, 09:41 AM   #2
spikes111
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Congratulations on your decision to get the e90. I think this speaks a lot to how good the handling on the E90 that an owner of an NSX would have this high opinion of how it handles.
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      05-03-2005, 09:52 AM   #3
slashmatt
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Not just an NSX, but an NSX with upgraded brakes and the NSX-R shocks and springs. My NSX is an amazingly good handler. What it lacks is reliability (though that's only due to it's age, not its quality), driveability on the streets where I'm moving (Rice Village/Houston=rough, very rough, roads), seating (gf/kid/dog/etc...), and power(for a sports car that is ... though I've thought of supercharging the car on several occasions, it just seems dumb on 10yr old car with a $30,000 engine)

Honestly, the 330i has just about the perfect sedan chassis. It makes the competitors (acura/infiniti/mb/audi) feel sluggish or improperly balanced. I haven't even had the pleasure of driving the sports package car, but I can just "tell" that it's very good by its reactions.
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      05-03-2005, 09:56 AM   #4
YYdoodle
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I'd say that's a pretty good endorsement for the e90's handling
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      05-03-2005, 11:01 AM   #5
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Congrats on your decision.
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      05-03-2005, 11:27 AM   #6
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conrats on your choice,
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      05-03-2005, 01:02 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EVO_S4
conrats on your choice,
Congrats on your choice too. If you want a true "boy racer", there's nothing like the Evo. The M3, in that category, is a total wannabe. My family has had two Evos. First we had the regular evo (when it first came out in america) then when the MR came out, we had that one for a while too. Both very nice rides. The short gears and rediculous connection with the road are a blast.
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      05-03-2005, 01:23 PM   #8
YYdoodle
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Slashmatt do you have any pics of your modded NSX? I've always loved this car. But agreed it's time to get a car made in the 21st century
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      05-03-2005, 01:26 PM   #9
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The only mods that you can "see" on my car are the brake rotors (very nice multi-piece slotted Project Mu's), but other than that, the mods are mechanical. The NSX-R shocks/springs only lower the car 3/4".
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      05-03-2005, 03:25 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slashmatt
Congrats on your choice too. If you want a true "boy racer", there's nothing like the Evo. The M3, in that category, is a total wannabe. My family has had two Evos. First we had the regular evo (when it first came out in america) then when the MR came out, we had that one for a while too. Both very nice rides. The short gears and rediculous connection with the road are a blast.
performance and handling wise the EVO is top notch, but its just time to get away from the Fast and Furious crowds.
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      05-03-2005, 04:10 PM   #11
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A friend of mine owned a Lancer EVO 6 and EVO7 (EU spec)
300+BHP , and in slippery conditions sideways fun/scandinavian flicks galore!

But the E46 M3 is much more complete, as fast as an Evo 7 with 320BHP and faster in a straight line beyond 120mph. And because of the lim slip diff and 343DIN HP on the rear wheels its grat fun.

The same friend now owns his 2nd M3 E46.

(We also drove a CSL on a Mercedes testtrack in Germany, it can't get any better than that this side of a TVR Sagaris, forget GT3s )
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      05-03-2005, 04:12 PM   #12
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Sorry, the NSX is the TRUE Japanese supercar!

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      05-03-2005, 06:30 PM   #13
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Welcome to the club...or should I say welcome back?

Congrats on your decision. I am also an ex-acura ( TL) owner converting to BMW.
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      05-04-2005, 04:49 AM   #14
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That is a beautiful NSX. Nothing comes close to black when clean. :rocks:
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      05-04-2005, 05:49 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EVO_S4
performance and handling wise the EVO is top notch, but its just time to get away from the Fast and Furious crowds.
Yeah, I agree the '2 Fast 2 Delirious' does get old... Plus, how many times have you changed the clutch on your EVO? I've heard of people burning through one in a single weekend.
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      05-04-2005, 03:50 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slashmatt
Here's what I'll order:
330i, 6-speed
Black Sapphire/Black leather/burl wood (I've always liked the burl on black in BMW's, it's just not as fashionable as aluminum lately)
Sports Package
Premium Package
Active Steering
Fold down rear seats
Satellite radio
Just out of curiosity, coming from a car that handles like the NSX, why are you ordering Active Steering? Don't you think that takes away from the driver/road connection, or have you driven it and disagree? I would rather put that money toward active cruise.
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      05-04-2005, 04:53 PM   #17
slashmatt
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I have it from a very good source that Active steering is very good. I love the feel of quick steering at low speeds. It probably really helps on slow hairpin turns. That's one thing I've always hated on my NSX. Honda made the steering slow so that people wouldn't kill themselves because of the mid-engine snap oversteer. Only, it's so slow and idiotproof that I dislike it.

I would never spend money on adaptive cruise control. It's not about money. I don't like iDrive and I won't ever need adaptive cruise control, that's why I'm not getting them.

I am however really questioning my choice of interior colors right now. Terra with Aluminum looks pretty damn good, and way better in the pictures I've seen than on BMW's configuration website. I also might switch to jet black.

Next week, I'll see more cars when I go to Houston. I'll really be sure by then (I hope). I just wish there were more colors available. Damn it for no individual program in the US. I'd gladly pay $2k for a dakar yellow exterior and another $2k for 18" BBS (basket-weave) style wheels.
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      05-04-2005, 06:05 PM   #18
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Oh, I didn't realize that you had to get Idrive to have active cruise. I imagine the sales of that expensive option will be pretty lackluster given its price and the fact that a lot of people hate Idrive.
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      05-04-2005, 06:26 PM   #19
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You don't need to get them both. I'm just saying that neither of them provide any real utility to me.
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