Any one catch the new Roundel BMW mag article comparing these three cars? Sorry, I can't scan it. Very complimentary of the Evo in a quality BMW publication.

Says it "performs like an M car... Acceleration on par with the 135i...Steering is superior to the 135i...There are few cars on the market - none for less than this MR's $39,965 sticker- that can deliver the driving experience of this Mitsubishi...The thick wheel delivers feedback that truly rivals the E92 M3..."

They go on to compare the vehicles and would not want to live with it on a daily basis as they think the BMW is more refined, and it is no doubt. But I am impressed with the author's "unbiased" praise of the car which is rare in such a publication, but Roundel has always been fair.

 

I wonder what they said about the STi. Either way, sounds like a nice, unbiased review. I wish you could scan it.

 

Hmmmm.. Must be waiting in my mailbox. As far as the author(s) being un-biased, I've noticed that a lot with the mag, and with a lot of the people that send 'em letters. I remember the mag doing an article on taking a 135 to a track day. They did a pretty good job of ripping on the car.
FWIW- "Roundel" is the official mag of the BMW Car Club Of America.
My wife owns a 535...

 

That's because many of the BMWCCA peeps are "car-guys" and not brand fan-boys. I'll always love my Evo IX for *****-to-the-wall performance but I really like my new 135i for daily driving. I'msure the X is similarly good.

 

The E92 M3 has awful steering feedback. Either the guy didn't want to embarass BMW or the steering isn't that great on either one (I liked the steering on the Evo IX more)...

 

Yeah, the X's just a daily driver like the 135; it's not a performance car like your 9 is at all. I can appreciate what you are saying in part, but it sounds like you are insulting the X at the same time. Have you even driven one? It's perhaps a bit more liveable than the 9 was, but it's still very much "EVO."

 

I don't think his reply read as a slight on the X at all. I think he was just complimenting the all-around ability of the car.

Plus, his car is an RS so it's about as raw as a production car comes.

 

That's why I said that I can appreciate what he's saying, or what I think he's trying to say. There just seemed to be a passive aggessive undertone and it rubbed me the wrong way, that's all. Either way, let's get back on topic.

 

It's hard not to get defensive. X owners have weathered a lot of unfair abuse since the car was released.

 

Servotronic Steering. Hey you get 3 modes of simulated resistance feedback! I've driven the E92 M3 and I've owned the E46 version. The E92 is a very big step down in steering feel. Can't believe they made that sad comparison

 

Well I've owned an VIII and a X and personally, the steering feel is just about the same. (The X's ratio is slightly slower, so most people couldn't even tell.) I actually like the way the X feels more though just because it handles so much better than the VIII.

 

Dude. How do you get insulted from me saying the X is similarly good? No insult to the X and yes I've driven several of them many times. I had an RS prepped to STU level for SCCA Solo II with 850lb springs on the rear. I named my car "nut-buster" for good reason. I wanted something liveable and more luxurious and I preferred the 135i over the X this time around.

 

That's (one of the reasons) why I chose the Evo X over the E9x M3. Steering feel is very important to me, and no car available today has steering feel like the Evo X.

I thought it was an extremely good article as well. Not just because of the praise of the Evo X, but just a well-written and unbiased article overall.

--michael

 

Did you try a Porsche Cayman? - Very nice steering feel, but lots of $$$...

 

OP- What was the feedback on the STi, just for S+G's