Was the E90/92 received well at first?

[M3JetPilot]

With all the controversy surrounding new designs and EVs, I was wondering if the same level of controversy occured for the E90/92. Did it cause the same intensity of debate?

[VR1]

I remember I was like 10 years old when the E9X came out. All the magazines and automotive media I consumed at that age had such overwhelmingly positive praise/reviews of the car that I bought one 14 years later. In fact, I don’t think there was a single comparison test the car didn’t come first in (unless it was against a much more expensive car like the 911), or a review of the car that was negative. I’d say that’s in contrast to general reviews of modern day BMWs which are still generally positive but usually mention something about them not really being the ultimate driving machine anymore which I would generally agree with in my own driving of the new cars.

[drwankel]

I remember when it launched. People were very upset it didn't have an inline 6, thought it was overweight, and weren't fans of the styling.

How times change.... The v8 is now considered one of the all time great engines (Steve Dinan said it was the best engine BMW ever made), I definitely would not call it overweight in the slightest in today's world, and the styling has aged like fine wine.

[CamasM3e93]

https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?p=1502644

[Redd]

Originally Posted by drwankel

I remember when it launched. People were very upset it didn't have an inline 6, thought it was overweight, and weren't fans of the styling.

How times change.... The v8 is now considered one of the all time great engines (Steve Dinan said it was the best engine BMW ever made), I definitely would not call it overweight in the slightest in today's world, and the styling has aged like fine wine.

I wonder if we'll say the same of the G8x 10 years from now.

[VR1]

Originally Posted by Redd

I wonder if we'll say the same of the G8x 10 years from now.

I am doubtful. As cars age, outright performance/capability becomes less important, and cars are remembered for their driving experience. Having done the bmw track driving event in the G80 and having driven one on the street I don’t think the car is particularly engaging or unique to drive. The E series cars were always regarded as the best drivers cars out of the competition. From briefly driving a CT4V - I thought that was a step ahead from a driving perspective and most reviewers agree the QV is as well. If I had to bank one which one would be the most collectible/desirable in 10 years, I bet it would be the CT5-V (not really a m3 competitor but close in price), or the QV.

[roastbeef]

there were a few grumblings from the e46 crowd regarding M cars traditionally being an I6, even thought it was just two of them at the time... but that grumbling was a relatively small group.

[M3JetPilot]

Originally Posted by CamasM3e93

https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?p=1502644

I don’t know how you found this but thanks. Read the whole thread. Seemed like 80% loved it, 10% had some criticisms but still liked it, 10% didn’t like it. Pretty impressive right out of the gate. And very civil overall. Definitely not what we have today.

[CamasM3e93]

Originally Posted by M3JetPilot

I don’t know how you found this but thanks. Read the whole thread. Seemed like 80% loved it, 10% had some criticisms but still liked it, 10% didn’t like it. Pretty impressive right out of the gate. And very civil overall. Definitely not what we have today.

I used the search function of the general e9x m3 forum from the m3post app. I used a string like ‘e90 introduction comments’ and then sorted it by ascending date. The search function here is not a strength but sometimes it delivers.

[M3JetPilot]

Originally Posted by Redd

I wonder if we'll say the same of the G8x 10 years from now.

I won’t. There are some cars I’ll just never warm up to. The G80 is one. It’s like the Lexus of BMWs to me. Everything else could be great, but that styling just isn’t for me.

[egebhardt]

My god that’s ridiculous.
I can’t unsee that grill.

Put a parachute off the back while you’re at it.

[e92dud]

Does anyone honestly think the G80 was an improvement in looks compared to the F80? I can see why someone would prefer one of the other generations looks more than the others, but not the G80. It looks like my 5 year old tried to draw the F80. I think the designers thought, we can’t make it look any better than the F80 with current regulations, but it has to look different, even if it’s worse.

[i_love_cars]

I distinctly remember complaining about the E92 and then I ended up owning one for 7 years.

This is also why I don't feel bad owning a G80 now. at first it was a bit jarring but I remembered back to 2008 and what happened for me with the E92. I actually love how my G80 looks especially with carbon extras on the front, good wheels and a drop.

People are creatures of habit but in a juxtaposition we also enjoy new experiences when pushed into them - this is why often new designs are met with skepticism but eventually become more accepted. It happens with everything, not just cars. Some designs of course never catch on, but the first initial reaction should never be taken as gospel. It needs time to simmer and then we can decide if it was a good or bad design choice. The E9x generation turned out to be quite good in the long run.

[Richbot]

Yes, it was.

[Richbot]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

there were a few grumblings from the e46 crowd regarding M cars traditionally being an I6, even thought it was just two of them at the time... but that grumbling was a relatively small group.

The grumbling I remember was about weight because some of the early tests were of a DCT, Sunroof, iDrive and Enhanced-Audio equipped sedan, and it punished the scales at almost 3700lb, so there was bitching about weight, but there were people like me with strippers who immediately threw theirs on the scales and found 3600-ish lbs for a lower-option manual sedan was about right, 3550 for a carbon roof coupe. And the track people immediately and correctly bitched about the brakes being tragically overmatched/under-cooled. There was bitching about iDrive too.

But most of that (except the brakes) was about "bringing the wrong car". The correct way to buy one was with stick, without iDrive, if you were an appreciator of old BMW's. If you wanted more modern stuff, you could have that too. This car was in a lot of ways the bridge between "proper M cars" and the F8x and newer, and offers the best of both those worlds if you have the appropriate year (or just upgrade some stuff in the iDrive department)

But that's all I remember, and I watched this all intently as soon as the car was announced in 2006, and bought one at my earliest opportunity in 2010. Car and Driver tested a 2013 (I think) E92 ZCP manual almost-stripper, against a contemporary C63 coupe late in the model run. It was something like 450lb lighter than the C63 using the same test methodology, and more than 150lb lighter than that sedan they tested against the ISF 5 years earlier, heh. So, perspective

[jd501]

Originally Posted by Richbot

Yes, it was.

Critically, I don't think I've seen a negative trade mag/show review of the E92, in fact everything I've seen is extremely positive (queue the famous Clarkson quote).

Then again there may be bias on my searching / selective memory.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by Richbot

The grumbling I remember was about weight because some of the early tests were of a DCT, Sunroof, iDrive and Enhanced-Audio equipped sedan, and it punished the scales at almost 3700lb, so there was bitching about weight, but there were people like me with strippers who immediately threw theirs on the scales and found 3600-ish lbs for a lower-option manual sedan was about right, 3550 for a carbon roof coupe. And the track people immediately and correctly bitched about the brakes being tragically overmatched/under-cooled. There was bitching about iDrive too.

But most of that (except the brakes) was about "bringing the wrong car". The correct way to buy one was with stick, without iDrive, if you were an appreciator of old BMW's. If you wanted more modern stuff, you could have that too. This car was in a lot of ways the bridge between "proper M cars" and the F8x and newer, and offers the best of both those worlds if you have the appropriate year (or just upgrade some stuff in the iDrive department)

But that's all I remember, and I watched this all intently as soon as the car was announced in 2006, and bought one at my earliest opportunity in 2010. Car and Driver tested a 2013 (I think) E92 ZCP manual almost-stripper, against a contemporary C63 coupe late in the model run. It was something like 450lb lighter than the C63 using the same test methodology, and more than 150lb lighter than that sedan they tested against the ISF 5 years earlier, heh. So, perspective

Man, you’re stirring up some good memories.

[MineralWhiteF80]

I fell in love with the e92 as soon as it came out with the 335i. It looked so much better than the early e90 front end. Then, when the E9x m3 came out, I was ecstatic to find that the e90 m3 had the more masculine e92 headlight design. In the Spring of 2008, I took delivery of my 08' E90 M3 6MT slick roof with iDrive and was instantly in love. At the time, I had a 2006 M3 Comp. slick top SMG, which I really loved cause it was as close to a CSL as possible at the time. That E46M went back to the dealership when I got the E90, which was probably a mistake because an '06 M3 comp slick roof is currently fetching ridiculous numbers on the used market.

Then in 2015, I drove the F80 when it first came out and was like HOLY TORQUE! This thing is FAST! So I ordered a 2015 F80 DCT in mineral white and 3 weeks later, it was arrived from Germany.

I also had an e39 540i 6MT at the time the E60 came out, and I remember distinctly I was NOT a fan of the E60 body style. Then I drove the E60 M5 and was blown away by the performance, and then eventually loved the body style.

Last BMW I instantly fell in love with the looks was the F9x 8 series. All BMW had to do with the G8x M3 was make the front end look like a baby 8 series and people would have gone bananas over it. I will never like the G8x grille.

[M3SQRD]

From what I recall, it was overall received quite well. There were definitely rumblings from the purists about switching to a V8 but I remember pointing out to people that the original M3, the e30, only had an I4 followed by two gens of I6. I had an ap1 s2000 when I purchased my e46 M3 in 2003 and I was wondering (hoping?) how BMW was going to top NA s54 3.2 L I6 with an 8k rpm redline - a 9k rpm redline version of the s54 upped to 3.4-3.6 L? However, I was pleasantly surprised to read about the NA s65 4.0 L V8 with an 8.4k rpm redline!! Also, the release of the DCT was going to be a huge step in the right direction compared to the SMG II (which wasn’t bad with a lightweight flywheel, CSL software paired with a 4.10 FD diff). I picked up my first e92 M3 in May 2009. I enjoyed driving them back2back to better appreciate what M had done with the e92 gen. Added a 3.62 FD diff to make it a level playing field. The e92 was an improvement in all areas including sound but the screaming I6 was an extremely close 2nd! The I6 (paired with SS headers, Larini HFC single-midpipe) has such a smooth wail to it whereas the V8 with an 8.6k rpm redline paired with a carbon plenum and an Akra Evo exhaust has an F1 2.4 L V8-esque shriek! Both make distinctive sounds.