orbv

I swaped my standard scooby for a M3 coupe for a weekend and was very happy to get the scooby back.

The M3 was very good at leaving tire marks on the road but the suspension was a little to hard. The impreza was raw compared to the M3 making to a lot better to drive.

MattN

orbv,

remember an M3 coupe is not an M Coupe. The M Coupe is a real blast, very quick in a straight line, I think clarkson out did an EVO 6 and 22b.

Great fun to drive, although I didn't push it at all too scary, I was only 21 at the time working for BMW, it was scary, only drove it for about 5 mins. A different leauge to a scooby.

blubell

We test drove M roadster and were seriously under impressed with the chassis. Poor handling round the bendy bits, easily upset by potholes etc.

Scoob chassis is better. for 'sports car try Boxter S is an infinitely better chassis, relaxing but also fun to drive and probably holds its money better

paulmon

I am considering PX my P1 against one of the above and would be interested in the opinions of people who have either owned or driven any of these motors.

Cheers
Paul

IanWatson

Hi Paul,

Friend of mine at work has a black MY99 M-coupe - had plenty of opportunities to enjoy it!!
Serious piece of kit - very smooth power delivery, creamy straight-six tunes, and outdrags my MY99 Scoob (Unichip, decat)to 100 mph - suspect it would keep up with or even beat a P1 in a straight line.

Would take a real driver to keep up with even a standard Scoob round some twisties in the dry though, and wouldn't be worth trying in the wet - 300-odd bhp through the rear wheels with no traction control is a lot of fun!!

Great car to be noticed in - attracts a lot of looks!

It is very much a two seater sports car, and the cabin is very narrow, though, so I guess the practicality is as big a factor as the performace when moving from a 4 seater.

I'd have both, if I could!!

(Edited to say I think the newer models have traction control fitted, although I might be wrong on this...)

[This message has been edited by IanWatson (edited 28 August 2001).]

LitchfieldImports

We got an M Roadster for the begining of the summer but soon got rid of it It will feel slow after your P1.

The Coupe is supposed to handle better.

Iain

IanWatson

Would be a big mistake to discard the M-Coupe on the basis of driving the softtop.

The difference in body stiffness is very significant, makes it a totally different driving experience.

I reckon the M-Coupe is seriously under-rated, my opinion is that in years to come it will be regarded at as one of the very best 'driver's' Beemers.

paulmon

Ian, Good point.

That's the dilemma I'm in if I decide to go down either road. Should I sacrifice the drop top a have a better handling car(I keep asking myself if a better handling car is top of my list why get rid of the P1 in the first place, apart from **** build quality, etc....) or should I get the roadster and sacrifice handling for looks, it all depends on how bad the handling is on the roadster.

Paul

wilf

Don't expect too much by way of build quality on the M Coupe. I shopped round for one a while back and was unimpressed by the standard of the cars and the way they took the mileage. That wonderfully soft Nappa leather was heavily worn or torn on all but one of the low mileage cars I looked at. Rest of interior and other fittings didn't look that great with age either. Certainly no improvement on Scoob.

sonu

Okay guys,
I own both cars. A '99 UK Scoob and an M Coupe.

In a straight line, the coupe annialates the Scooby (tried this at the ring )
Being RWD it is a real handful and I don't have the ***** to take it too fast thru the corners(lack of my driving ability).

The Scoob is also fun, with loads of traction, it makes track driving easy compared to the M Coupe.

In honesty, the M Coupe is in a different league. If they've been looked after, they should have good interiors, as mine has. Servicing costs on the M Coupe are really expensive, but it does provide better fuel economy.

Thanks

Sonu

Adam M

MattN and othes,

just to say, never pay any attention to a Clarkson video.

That drag race was done over 20 times until the result they wanted was achieved.

We know this cos the owner of the 22B and the M coupe is the same guy and used to post on this forum.

SimonD

Sonu is spot on.

I've owned UK Scoobs and have been driving a MCoupe for almost two years now. The straight line performance really is in another league and the handling much sharper. OK, cross country on a wet road you might prefer the (UK) Scoob but in every other respect the MCoupe will outperform it hands down. Treated with a little respect it really isn't the handful that I initially thought it might be. Much better long distance cruiser too - as long as you're not too tall.

The interior is also excellent; far better than any Scoob. The only parts that give trouble are those that are specific to the Mcoupe (as opposed to the M Roadster) but even these should not put you off.

I don't believe that the handling difference between the Coupe and the Roadster should affect your decision unless you are the quickest of trackday merchants - just decide whether you want a soft top or not (plastic rear window, scuttle shake, dodgy security and a car that looks like a Z3 with big wheels -a totally unbiased view of course ).

I still wish to get back into Scoob ownership but would never sell the MCoupe to buy one (why the wife bought a Saab, I shall never know!).

Have fun whatever you do!

Simon

DMB

Flame suit on

paulmon - do you cut hair for a living??

yes get the roadster

no get the coupe

Flame suit off

have driven both lots of times (aswell as every other bm on the road) and i really belive the coupe is far superior to the roadster in all but style.

But do you really want to get rid of a p1 to own one??? think 4 seats and a reasonable boot vs 2 seats and no boot/bread van. Service costs are around £600 for the major sv on bm's and thats without problems (brakes etc)

Also what do you want from the car refined power or a kick like a mule?? I've never quite got the same grin under acceleration as i have from the scoob (rb5 wr) or the surefooted cornering. IMHO the scoob feels more alive.

Hope that helps some but my best advice is drive one of the bms and then get into the p1. Oh and wait for the new engine if you decide to get one - much better

GaryC

Having extensively driven P1, M roadster and M coupe, It would be the M Coupe's keys I would pick up everytime, unless I was driving very twisty unknown roads in the wet.

I drove an M Roadster when I had my MY99PPP and wasn't masively impressed. It was quicker and more fun, but felt a bit twitchy, and nervous even close to the limit. Because of that, I slagged a friends M Coupe, until I drove it!

Fantastic. And VERY fast. My MY99PPP (+bits ) could outdrag a P1. The M Coupe was in a different league. 0-30, I could just about keep up with the advantage of AWD, but once on the go, the M coupe would streak away.

As a driving experiance, I preference would again be for the M Coupe. Partly the advantages of non-forced induction, but the handling is in a different league, and is far more rewarding. Although ulimately 'Joe-average' will get more out of the P1 as it (and all Imprezas) flatter average driver, whereas the M Coupe (and most powerful RWD cars) require far more skill to get them even close to the limit.

It is a very personal thing. If you want an effortless performance car that is devastatingly fast with very little effort, the P1 is almost unbeatable. If you want to develop driving skills and are prepared to 'work harder' to go faster and get more out of the driving experiance the M Coupe is the one.

If it has to be a soft-top - I would go Boxster S rather than M Roadster!

paulmon

Firstly thanks for the responses, I will be driving both cars at the weekend so will make my decision then.

Simond - It's reassuring that you don't think the car is a handful because I have to admit that is one of things I was worried about, after drive a car like a P1 for a while and then getting into a 300+bhp RWD I had visions of constantly facing the wrong way.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by DMB:
<B>Flame suit on

paulmon - do you cut hair for a living??[/quote]

No but my wife does.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by DMB:
<B>
have driven both lots of times (aswell as every other bm on the road) and i really belive the coupe is far superior to the roadster in all but style.

But do you really want to get rid of a p1 to own one??? think 4 seats and a reasonable boot vs 2 seats and no boot/bread van. Service costs are around £600 for the major sv on bm's and thats without problems (brakes etc)

Also what do you want from the car refined power or a kick like a mule?? I've never quite got the same grin under acceleration as i have from the scoob (rb5 wr) or the surefooted cornering. IMHO the scoob feels more alive.

Hope that helps some but my best advice is drive one of the bms and then get into the p1. Oh and wait for the new engine if you decide to get one - much better [/quote]

DMB, All of the above are very valid points, but what you forget to point out is that the P1 is made out of tin foil and will dint at even the thought of another door being opened next to it, added to that the entire car is covered in airfix paint that proceeds to fall off at the drop of a hat.

paulmon

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by GaryC:
<B>

If it has to be a soft-top - I would go Boxster S rather than M Roadster!

[/quote]

Out of my price range I'm afraid, otherwise it would have been top of the pile. The cars I'm looking at are 12 months old and are in the 26-30K price bracket.

If you know anyone who can get a Boxter S for that price then I would love to speak to them

Warped Chris

I must admit, I'm thinking of dumping my Evo VI and buying an M Coupe, basically because I'm utterly ....naffed off with having to change the front brake discs at the same interval as filling it up (4 sets of discs and a re-skim in 15,000 miles). Mitsi just don't give a flying wotsit about the diabolical brake problems on the Evo.

Are there any known problems with the brakes on the M Coupe? I'm not going to swap if the discs are a weak point on the other car too...

Chris

MAV

I'm currently driving a MY99 (no mods) and am also changing to an M Coupe.

The Subaru is a great car and have enjoyed 2 1/2 years of great motoring with very small maintenance costs and fair depreciation(8.5K loss if the books are to be believed at 12k value).

I've tried several cars in the past 6 months including the Boxster S and the 330ci. The 330ci had incredibly light steering and the traction control light flashed all the time. The Boxster S felt no quicker than the Scoob which was disappointing for a 40k car and the 'deal'ers didn't deal!.

The M Coupe felt super fast and the cabin made a welcome change to the scoob. I thought the car would light up the rear tires, however, in the dry the traction was superb(I'm sure the wet may be a different story!). The car had great turn in and the seating position was just right. Fairly compromised on space but I can live with that.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not changing because I think the Scoob has had it's day, rather just for a change of scenery. The next owner of my Scoob is onto a great deal as for 12k there's nothing to touch it.

DMB

Paul what the hell happened with the paintwork

Didn't realise that the P1 paint probs were that bad. Just a thought but had you thought of an sti ra or something??

Still as i say if you go for the bmw then get the coupe - live with the looks and it's well worth it. If you want to know what to look for etc when buying coupe or roadster then mail me and i'll let you know.