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      09-18-2011, 10:17 AM   #150
LarThaL
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Drives: 2011 M3
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: West Springfield, MA

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Quote:
Originally Posted by erio View Post
You believe the m3 handles better and the GTR has numb steering? Please elaborate on your short comment that is without question totally false. Have you driven it on the track or just formed an opinion based on a test drive and comments by those who are in denial because a Nissan outperforms and is 20-30k more expensive than a well equipped BMW M3? Please explain how it handles better than an AWD car that's in a completely different league performance wise. This goes against reviews from professional drivers and my personal experience as I own both. They are both great cars in their own way, but it doesn't make much sense to compare them. They serve different purposes.
You are missing the point I and several others are trying to make. There is absolutely no question that the objective performance of a GTR blows the doors off an M3 in all aspects from acceleration, to cornering, to stopping and everything in between.

For me, however, beyond a certain level of performance, I start to look at other factors in my decision to buy a car. The subjective feel of the driving experience, in many aspects becomes an increasingly important factor.

With regards to the steering, the M3's steering provides a greater "wired into your nervous system" feel than the GTR's steering. And no, the GTR isn't "numb" in comparison to some other cars, but it does not have the feel of the M3's either. Unfortunately, this is simply one of the compromises of AWD.

Compare even the steering feel of an AWD Porsche to it's RWD counterpart. You sacrifice a little steering responsiveness for the benefit of added traction.

In a car with as much power and torque as the GTR, you really do need AWD to get all that power to the ground effectively. I think a dual-clutch transmission is also beneficial when driving a car with so much muscle. However, some of the sensory experience is lost when you go to AWD, as it is when you go from manual to automatic (regardless of the underlying mechanism).

The GTR is a performance bargain at what it costs. But to get that performance bargain, you need to sacrifice somewhere, and the GTR sacrifices in its level of finesse and refinement. And...I'm not even bringing the styling into this as it is a subjective factor. It is really no different than a car like a Mitusbisho Evo or Subaru Sti that is just taken to a much higher level. Your last sentence makes the most sense. The M3 and GTR do serve very different purposes, and I agree that it makes little sense to compare them, although you can compare a few of the individual aspects.

For $90k, I'll take a used Aston Markin Vantage. Or even a built-to-order, fully loaded M3 with a little cash to spare
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Last edited by LarThaL; 09-18-2011 at 10:23 AM..
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