Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightngsvt
I am so glad to read your brief review of the G42 M240i, it makes me even more anxious to get my car in ~2 weeks. It sounds like I won't miss my F30 340i and its 6MT quite as much as I thought I would. I have to say that the black is really growing on me, I almost wish I would've got black now, almost.  |
Congratulations! I use an f31 as a work car. The G20 dealer loaner over the last few days and the G42 this morning both felt like a much more solid platform. Everything from the width of and the way the front of the unibody structure turns-in to meet front cross section to the diminished tire noise from the rear suspension gave me the impression of a much better engineered chassis.
Like you, I prefer manual transmissions, but I admit that the ZF was impressive this morning. The shifts are crisp and the shift map in the most aggressive mode never made a bad choice - no matter what I tried. Also- I noticed that at 80 MPH, when I pushed it into 8th with the paddle shifter, the car was just idling at something below 2k RPMs. If I observed correctly, I'd expect that to make it a great car for distance and, admittedly, easier to live with than the final drive ratio in the 6 sp. manual trans.
I was skeptical- but left really impressed after a brief shakedown drive. Bonus, the interior feels special in a way that none of the f-generation interiors felt - although the door panel design is a bit busy. I'd guess the interior space is wider than the f-generation platform. I do not have any data, but it felt that way. I'm sure someone here knows whether that is true or not.
-Michael
edit- photos of g20 front unibody structure and f30 unibody structure added below.