So… After nearly 18 months of looking, I finally found a replacement for the Mazdaspeed 3- a Certified Pre-Owned 2014 M235i. I must admit to heresy; it’s an automatic. Used M235is are not exactly easy to find; in the entire United States there were a grand total of 26 2014 and 2015 CPO cars- out of those only 4 were sticks, and all of them were located pretty far away. The upside of the autobox is that it is faster than the manual in most conditions and it will also give my ever-patient bride another car to drive if hers is in the shop. And of course I love CPO cars- depreciation is my friend.
Methinks it will prove to be the best of both worlds- it has the Adaptive M Suspension as well as Variable Sport Steering which allows you to adjust the suspension, steering, and throttle mapping from relatively sedate geezer calibrations to a full-tilt boogie track mode. In fact, in Sport+ mode the 8 speed ZF autobox goes virtually full manual- it will even let you bounce off the rev limiter rather than upshifting of its own accord. It is pretty well equipped but thankfully is missing the Helen Keller suite of electronic nannies that nag you about lane departure, blind spots, and similar. And instead of run-flats it wears a set of Michelin PSS tires. It’s an order of magnitude quicker than my mildly tweaked Mazdaspeed. The M235i automatic runs 0-60 in the low 4 second range and a 13.0 second or better ¼ mile, so I can actually call it fast with a straight face. The only thing it lacks is a limited slip differential. But that can be fixed…
I looked at a lot of cars before I landed on the 2er; my wife said I was like a cat chasing a laser pointer- and she was pretty much spot on. The runners-up?
One reason I waited so long was my hope that Mazda would build the rumored 300+ hp AWD Mazdaspeed 3; it was supposed to be introduced at Frankfurt or Detroit. Sadly, it is apparently vaporware…
No other late model BMW in my price range excited me; nice enough cars I guess- but softened and insulated far too much for my tastes.
The new Mustang GT ran a very, VERY close second. I had found two CPO cars optioned almost exactly as I would have ordered them. The first one got away because I stupidly decided to “think it over,” while the other was on the lot of a very sketchy dealer outside of Indy who wanted to play all the old games so we walked. Looking at a new GT was discouraging due to Ford’s structuring of trim levels and options- some options weren’t available on the base GT. On top of that, fellow track rats were suggesting that-even with a Performance Package car I would need the Ford Racing Track Handling Pack($1,500 plus installation) to make it truly suitable for HPDEs. If I’d had a much larger budget I’d have nabbed a new GT350. I also liked the upcoming Focus RS, but it was increasingly likely that I wouldn’t have been able to get one before fall- if then. And with both cars I would almost certainly encounter dealer ADM shenanigans.
I found a reasonably priced CPO 2015 Camaro 2SS 1LE with Recaros and sans a hole in the roof- it was a riot, but outward visibility was a joke.
The 2012 Challenger SRT8 I looked at was sweet, but at 4200 pounds it burns through tires(and brakes) on the track- and the tires alone run upwards of $900 per set.
I liked the 2015 STI, but in the final analysis I concluded it was just too similar to my Mazdaspeed 3
The Golf R tempted me for a minute, but none of my local VW dealers hire techs with opposable thumbs.
Long shots were used examples of the 370Z NISMO, Cayman S, C6 Z06, and Lotus Elise, but I finally decided I needed at least a small rear seat as a sop to practicality.
I have to say that every car I considered was a very capable and enjoyable machine; which car would work best for a particular individual depends on his/her priorities and mission profile. Me, I’ve come to prefer small, close-coupled coupes- but I can certainly understand why someone would prefer something else.
In the end, you need to drive what makes you smile- life is too short to drive boring cars…
Methinks it will prove to be the best of both worlds- it has the Adaptive M Suspension as well as Variable Sport Steering which allows you to adjust the suspension, steering, and throttle mapping from relatively sedate geezer calibrations to a full-tilt boogie track mode. In fact, in Sport+ mode the 8 speed ZF autobox goes virtually full manual- it will even let you bounce off the rev limiter rather than upshifting of its own accord. It is pretty well equipped but thankfully is missing the Helen Keller suite of electronic nannies that nag you about lane departure, blind spots, and similar. And instead of run-flats it wears a set of Michelin PSS tires. It’s an order of magnitude quicker than my mildly tweaked Mazdaspeed. The M235i automatic runs 0-60 in the low 4 second range and a 13.0 second or better ¼ mile, so I can actually call it fast with a straight face. The only thing it lacks is a limited slip differential. But that can be fixed…
I looked at a lot of cars before I landed on the 2er; my wife said I was like a cat chasing a laser pointer- and she was pretty much spot on. The runners-up?
One reason I waited so long was my hope that Mazda would build the rumored 300+ hp AWD Mazdaspeed 3; it was supposed to be introduced at Frankfurt or Detroit. Sadly, it is apparently vaporware…
No other late model BMW in my price range excited me; nice enough cars I guess- but softened and insulated far too much for my tastes.
The new Mustang GT ran a very, VERY close second. I had found two CPO cars optioned almost exactly as I would have ordered them. The first one got away because I stupidly decided to “think it over,” while the other was on the lot of a very sketchy dealer outside of Indy who wanted to play all the old games so we walked. Looking at a new GT was discouraging due to Ford’s structuring of trim levels and options- some options weren’t available on the base GT. On top of that, fellow track rats were suggesting that-even with a Performance Package car I would need the Ford Racing Track Handling Pack($1,500 plus installation) to make it truly suitable for HPDEs. If I’d had a much larger budget I’d have nabbed a new GT350. I also liked the upcoming Focus RS, but it was increasingly likely that I wouldn’t have been able to get one before fall- if then. And with both cars I would almost certainly encounter dealer ADM shenanigans.
I found a reasonably priced CPO 2015 Camaro 2SS 1LE with Recaros and sans a hole in the roof- it was a riot, but outward visibility was a joke.
The 2012 Challenger SRT8 I looked at was sweet, but at 4200 pounds it burns through tires(and brakes) on the track- and the tires alone run upwards of $900 per set.
I liked the 2015 STI, but in the final analysis I concluded it was just too similar to my Mazdaspeed 3
The Golf R tempted me for a minute, but none of my local VW dealers hire techs with opposable thumbs.
Long shots were used examples of the 370Z NISMO, Cayman S, C6 Z06, and Lotus Elise, but I finally decided I needed at least a small rear seat as a sop to practicality.
I have to say that every car I considered was a very capable and enjoyable machine; which car would work best for a particular individual depends on his/her priorities and mission profile. Me, I’ve come to prefer small, close-coupled coupes- but I can certainly understand why someone would prefer something else.
In the end, you need to drive what makes you smile- life is too short to drive boring cars…