Penguin Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Yeah somewhere around there, pricing hasn't been announced yet. I would expect the Laguna Seca edition Boss 302 with all the goodies to go for mid to high $40K range though. Now that doesn't mean that if they were both free that I would take the Mustang, since the M3 is the more complete total car...... but as a track toy or weekend mountain road blaster, well the Boss 302 does make a strong argument for itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
executor485 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Yeah somewhere around there, pricing hasn't been announced yet. I would expect the Laguna Seca edition Boss 302 with all the goodies to go for mid to high $40K range though. Now that doesn't mean that if they were both free that I would take the Mustang, since the M3 is the more complete total car...... but as a track toy or weekend mountain road blaster, well the Boss 302 does make a strong argument for itself. Of course... Given a free car, the M3 for more than a few reasons. But seeing as that's not going to happen any time soon, the 302 is quite the car for the price. The other thing to consider though is the aftermarket segment for both cars. While the M3 does have a cult like following and some good mods, look at the price?!?! On top of the outrageous price you paid originally, and the cost of maintenance... It adds up really quickly. Trade that out for the 302, there's gonna be a flood of parts for it and cheap prices for an already quicker car... I'd say they're pricing it pretty well for the class of car it is. If I pass you on the right, I'm flipping you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 OK, now I'm ready for the 2011 Mustang GT vs M3 Comparison I'll go drive one in the spring. Note I did not use any numbers in my comparison. Because with ~350 lbs less the legacy is sometimes faster than the M3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
executor485 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I'll go drive one in the spring. Note I did not use any numbers in my comparison. Because with ~350 lbs less the legacy is sometimes faster than the M3 Blasphemy!!! With mods, the M3 could be faster too. lol Personally I am of the mindset that you can/have to compare cars on 2 separate levels. Stock vs Stock and Modded vs Modded. And in the modded category it has to be a breakdown of a few things. Ease of getting modded parts/availability of them, cost for the mods, and how far you can take the "mostly" stock items without turning it into a completely different car (aka, swapping engines in - LS1, etc) If I pass you on the right, I'm flipping you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underpowerd Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 ... that lets other people know that you bang women. .... I'm afraid there is nothing a production BMW has ever done that has even remotely left me with that impression about the item driving it (divorce, date-rape, blackmail maybe...) passionate writeup though; i believe kerouac himself would grunt over a few of those similes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 ^ Well put! - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeding_gaijin Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Apples and Oranges. You should be comparing M3 with GTR. Legacy can be compared with BMW 318i for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snajper69 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 IF I would have 2x money to spend on the car it would be no brainer lol Subaru will never be no BMW.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tide Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Why not own both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
executor485 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Why not own both? Cause I'm a poor... lol In that shot (could be just perspective), the M3 looks HUGE in comparison. Almost as big of a difference as the new LGT compared to the old If I pass you on the right, I'm flipping you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 ^^ I'll have the Spec Bizzle please. - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kario Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 So you could get 2 legacy's for the price of the M3. Don't care. It's twice as much car. Screw the magazine comparisons, here's what isn't described. Brakes: M3 brakes make the Subaru brakes feel like I'm trying to push my foot into a bucket of pudding. This is even with Teflon/SS lines and it properly bled, many times by now. Actually now I even feel unsafe in the Legacy, should I not be able to muster enough force in my leg or I push myself too far back into my seat. Clutch: M3 clutch is precise, long throw and very tactile feeling of bottoming it out, smooth light and consistent engagement point, and the engagement point is firm, just like the brakes. Does not stink. Legacy clutch requires about twice as much effort, has a throw that is too short, the pressure plate makes contact from near the bottom and most of the way up without providing real grip, just vague engagement. The engagement point moves around (probably because of the mechanical shim/"auto" adjustment plate). It stinks, literally. Can't launch over 2.5-3k with the AVO380 turbo without getting no engagement, can't really say that is a minus since I'm probably achieving 150-200 ft/lbs more than stock. Handling: M3 steering is incredible communicative. It is not harsh, neither is the ride. Feeling the limits of grip of the front wheels is instantaneous. Finding counter-steer angles seems almost like second nature (and necessary with some right foot fun) Somehow it manages to be much stiffer than the legacy, while still removing high-frequency vibration from the road. Confidence is spectacular entering any turn. Legacy is vague, feels like I'm driving a jeep now. The tearing LCA bushings don't help, but it's not really much worse than stock. The Legacy clearly has a lower CG, which it really really needs because the suspension is soft soft soft. Traction: M3 doesn't really have much. First gear is all under traction control. Second gear will find traction in a straight line, if not, the tail is out. Shifting hard into 3rd gear at ~74mph without a straight steering angle will make your passengers crap their pants. Don't drive it in the snow, hell keep it home even in the rain. It is not for drag racing. The hard suspension means very little weight transfer under acceleration or braking. Legacy is awesome - except it needs a better center diff, it doesn't have nearly enough preload and locking nearly quick enough. Front is open diff, sometimes it's a problem. Engine: M3 V8 revving to 8400 RPM is spectacular. The exhaust is so well designed, even with no active flaps, there is zero droning at any speed, could even be described as barely audible, but it comes alive with throttle. Reaching 8400 RPM has been described by my passengers as "OMG, orgasm!". It's the kind of sound that lets other people know that you bang women. The throttle response is instantaneous and the throttle pedal is actually useful for modulating wheel torque. However, it has no torque. Which is fine, because any more torque would make 2nd gear useless too. You have to rev it to 8400 RPM to get all of you 400+ horses to the ground. The Legacy with an AVO380 and EL headers sounds like you like to write programs in Linux and you spend your Friday nights watching the SyFy channel. The torque pushes you back in your seat, almost an eternity after you have your foot on the floor. The throttle pedal is nearly useless, which is good for a binary driving style. The engine output is also unpredictable, which makes the throttle pedal even more useless. Will the knock sensor hear noise this time? Yeah probably. Wonder how much timing it will pull. Is the WG actuator or the boost solenoid warm? Might make more or less boost. The crippled boost control system will not be able to compensate due to lack of a derivative table as well as not having per-gear tables, not to mention the archaic design of the WG actuator (OEM is best, *cough*) Is the TMIC warm? uh-oh. Might get 400HP.. Might get 350.. or less?? It's always a bit of a surprise. (Even when stock) Gearbox: M3 6-speed is always so precise. The engagement points are always in the same place, the shifts go "snick snick". When you shift gears, it's almost like the next gear sucks the shifter into place. Legacy gearbox is like trying to stir a box of marbles with a broomstick. Even after a short shifter and Subaru Extra-S cat's meow gear oil. IMHO the short shifter does nothing for the shifting. Stock, it feels like it's trying to bite your hand off as you're shifting into second gear. Shifting from first into second takes such a long time as you try to force the shifter in there like trying to extract your arm from the mouth of a rabid pit bull. If you've been in a high-G turn, well your gears might have moved and good luck getting it into 3rd of 4th. Seats: M3 seats have electric adjustable side bolsters. Holds you like a custom fit racing seat. Seat heaters start working very quickly. Legacy seats are... meh.. leather is quite a bit harder as well. Gadgets: Well why even bother with this one.... So you are comparing a used 5 years old LGT to a new M3. Its not really fair. LGT is not a new car and its a previous model. Compare the M3 to a new LGT. You say that the M3 filters high frequency road bumps better but it has larger volume tires ! and it has high end shocks. Compare it with spec-b or with the new LGT they are better. You say that the brakes on M3 are so much better. But that is a high end BMW vs regular subaru. Compare a M3 brakes vs STI and STI has better brakes that M3. You say that the M3 clutch is a long stroke with great feel. Go drive any cheap, small city car and you will find a clutch like in M3... Sports cars use short travel on/off like clutches. And thats why you burn them some times. You say that the legacy engine has unpredictable output but did you mode it ? Did you drive new 2.5T ? And of course you are comparing a turbo engine with N/A engine. Are you sure that this high rev M3 engine will work that good in 5 years time... ? Next M3 will go with a I6 turbo engine... The steering will be again better in M3 becose it has stiffer suspension, stiffer stabilizer bars, wider tires, and of course it has no power to front wheels. You should compare M3 steering vs new STI. So I would not call a M3 a better car. Subaru has a very good platform with legacy and if they put a M3 price tag on some legacy model I bet that it would be faster and still more comfortable than the M3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbone Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 OP basically compared his driving impressions with the car he currently owns. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. He's not a Motor Trend editor trying to put an article together, although sometimes those guys aren't that far off from this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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