"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey)
10/18/2013 at 12:29 • Filed to: BMW 4-series
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"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey)
10/18/2013 at 12:29 • Filed to: BMW 4-series | 1
| 24 |
I've been waiting to get my hands on a brand new BMW for quite some time. BMW are notoriously snobbish when it comes to handing out test cars - preferring magazines to websites.
I managed to grab a 3/4 hour test of the new 435i M Sport at a recent industry test day, and I wasn't disappointed.
PatBateman
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 12:34 |
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I read your review. My internal voice had an American accent until I saw the right hand drive interior, then it switched to a British accent.
Weird.
Hermann
> PatBateman
10/18/2013 at 12:38 |
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My internal voice, for some reason, reads it in THIS voice. Our weird internal voices...
Z_Stig
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 12:39 |
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That plastic dash looks worse than an E36. I can't believe how expensive the 435i is in the UK though!
GhostZ
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 12:42 |
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This would be the perfect car if they lightened it by 100-200kg, and let the engine rev higher.
From the sounds of it, the engine has the characteristic of a big, old N/A V8 that produced as much power and torque, didn't rev over 6000, and was built conservatively for longevity. I don't like the switch to long-stroke engines that BMW has done recently. There's not much point in adding boost if you're going to just keep the engine in low-revs and not actually produce power. Thankfully, if someone manged to get the internals spinning to 7500 (putting their material strength on par with aftermarket Ford/Chevy V8 parts) and crank up a little boost, this thing could be an awesome engine. Right now it's hampered by its low redline (for an I6) and low boost. I actually suspect that the engine can handle 7500rpm (maybe the valves can't, but the internals probably can) and they're just artificially keeping the 435's power down.
Or, in other words... c'mon BMW. You could have built an RB26DETT . You could have an engine that was just a mild boost rise and ECU tune from a 500HP screamer engine just waiting to blow the doors off of anything on the track. But instead you went the long-stroke route and kept revs and boost low.
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Speedmonkey
> Z_Stig
10/18/2013 at 12:42 |
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It pretty much is. I think it's so expensive for three reasons (although I could be wrong):
1 - Tax
2 - 90% of new cars are bought on private finance where the sale price in 3 years means everything. As long as a car has high residuals it is affordable
3 - They can get away with it
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Speedmonkey
> Hermann
10/18/2013 at 12:45 |
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THIS is my real voice. I narrated a voice memo on my phone whilst I was driving an Alfa so I would remember what it was like when I wrote about it. I laughed at myself when I played back the notes so uploaded it to you tube. p.s. don't watch/listen if you like Alfas
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Speedmonkey
> GhostZ
10/18/2013 at 12:46 |
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Yep. It would be more characterful if it revved another 1k
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Z_Stig
> GhostZ
10/18/2013 at 12:46 |
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I think most of their inline-six have been undersquare (long stroke.) The S54 was a long stroke and still revved to 8,000+ all day. I really miss those days.
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Hermann
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 12:47 |
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Thank you for this review, Mr. Monkey of Speed. I think it's one of the first reviews I've read that treats it like a normal BMW and judges it by these standards. Many just reckon it as being the M4 we've got for now, since it's the top level 4-series and say it's not good enough.
ultimatum127
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 12:48 |
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Isnt the Msport monicker diluting the differentiation between m series and regular 3 series. The previous e90 335i was almost as quick as the m3 and even a slight tune it would pull on an m3 no problem. So this new 435i///m can we expect it to be an iteration of what is to come from the new m4? I know this car make less than 100hp of what the new m4 will make but these cars are notoriously underrated. Maybe im wrong, any thoughts?
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Speedmonkey
> Hermann
10/18/2013 at 12:48 |
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It is good enough. Sure there could be a couple of small improvements but it's better than a Merc (although the C Class is marginally better looking)
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Hermann
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 12:50 |
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Ahahahahah. This video is great! I'd watch more like this. It's direct, simple. I'd take this as a review.
And yep, I'll never look at the Giulietta with the same eyes again.
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GhostZ
> Z_Stig
10/18/2013 at 12:53 |
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I'm thinking more along the lines of the M88 (that godly engine...), M30, S38, and all but the S52 (the M engines below the S were all oversquare, the S52 was just a little under). Things changed for good with the S54.
The problem comes down to length. Big-displacement straight sixes are impossible unless you have a really long engine bay, which is bad for a number of design problems, so as the power demands creep up, so will the stroke, since it costs a lot less to over-engineer a long-stroke engine to not blow up than to fit a large-bore engine at the same RPM into the car. When they went to the V8, then were able to make the bores larger again and returned to being oversquare.
Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 12:57 |
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Still not sure about the 4 Series. It doesn't sound right, it doesn't look abolutely right and from what I have read, there are some problems with how it drives.
Still I will take, this over a C-Class coupe, because the C-Class coupe is not exciting enough outside of the AMG version. But yes, the Merc is much better looking.
Actually I have a rather outlandish idea, for the money of the 4th series, I will buy a BRZ, ship it to USA, trow money at the people from Crawford Performance and get a 420 hp Toyobaru.
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Hermann
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 13:01 |
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I was discussing the C class with a friend just this morning, coincidentally, as he stumbled on a 1998 CLK320 for sale (and he's a BMW fanatic. He had never even stepped inside a Merc of that kind) and he praised the luxury of the car, and that he started viewing Merc with other eyes (he used to bash Mercs in favor of BMWs), that they weren't trying to contend BMW, they had their own recipe. And buying a luxury coupé was more of a question of whether you wanted more sportiness or class to decide your way. Now it's more of a question which one you like most.
BMW seemed to have always gone for the sporty way, and that shows when you sit in one. And this character it's what's expected from them since the dawn of time.
It looks like they're going the Luxury way lately, though, while still claiming more sport character than it actually has (which isn't bad IMO), but it seems to piss off most fanatics and journos. And these people have the loudest voices, unfortunately.
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Speedmonkey
> Hermann
10/18/2013 at 14:39 |
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My experience with Mercedes (having driven 90%) of the range is that they are losing their soul a little. Materials and quality are not as good as BMW, and neither is as good as Jaguar. Some refinement is also being lost, for example the 2.1 diesel turbo has plenty of poke but it's a rattly, noisy thing whereas the Volvo diesels are super refined
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Speedmonkey
> Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa
10/18/2013 at 14:40 |
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Excellent plan. The 4 drives fine, batter than Merc or Jag, not as good as Porsche (Cayman is same price). The manual gearbox is its weak point. It feels like a GM unit
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Speedmonkey
> ultimatum127
10/18/2013 at 14:44 |
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The chassis is delicious, yet it is soft enough that it leaves room for the M4. Add in some decent materials (Alcantara, carbon) and more power and the M4 will stand out sure enough. M Sport is now a promotional tool, just like Engineered by AMG and S-Line
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Speedmonkey
> GhostZ
10/18/2013 at 14:45 |
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My bro' has a 320d. There's a good 2 feet of room in front of the engine!
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Hermann
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 14:46 |
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Huh, that's really interesting. I agree with you on the quality, I have no idea about the diesels because diesel cars though (They are forbidden in Brazil. Only Utility cars like trucks and vans can have diesel engines). But the quality intrigues me, as most regular people I talk with say that they think the current C-Class interior is much superior to the BMW, while car geeks say the opposite.
I haven't been in a Jaguar newer than 2001 to know about them, though. And about mercedes losing their soul, I'd love to hear more about this thought.
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Speedmonkey
> Hermann
10/18/2013 at 14:49 |
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Read this which a friend wrote about his C63. It reflects a lot of tales I've heard about modern Mercs. Then consider this godawful wood effect plastic trim on the £70k E 63 AMG:
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Hermann
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 15:23 |
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Oh, fake wood kill any car, especially because it's not even trying to convince it's real.
Also, excellent read. The frustration of buying a AMG and being disappointed by the lack of quality must be immense. I believe that jumping from this to a 911 he must be quite happy in terms of quality.
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GhostZ
> Speedmonkey
10/18/2013 at 18:09 |
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Just empty? Or is it filled with crash padding/crumple zone area or radiator?
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Speedmonkey
> GhostZ
10/18/2013 at 18:46 |
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Mainly radiator and other gubbins. This is it. The engine ends just ahead of the oil cap
