Quote:
Originally Posted by Stan550
I'm still contemplating moving from my M6GC. It's a tough choice though because I love the car so much, Tanzanite/Amaro, Comp pk, Dinan 700HP. I live in the NE and would be nice to have 4WD. I drove the M5CP and 850M, and the 8 seemed like less of a drivers car mainly because of the driving position, size and visibility. Limeypride, what can you define in the M8 from a driving perspective that you prefer over the M5?
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Nothing—that's not what makes it better. Keep in mind I drive the GC so they're incredibly similar mechanically. What's better to me is that the car now looks as good as it drives—better than it drives, in fact, as I continue my abuse of "better" in what is rapidly becoming a run-on sentence... I digress.
If I wanted another sleeper, I'd have gone for the LCI M5 or perhaps given the new and improved E63S another chance to wow me... but I didn't want a sleeper this time. I test drove the new RS7 a month or so ago and having driven it for 45 mins or so, I got back in my M8, pulled away and within 10 seconds unintentionally and loudly blurted out, "awww, hell no!"—it didn't even come close.
I love my M8 from the moment I open the back door to the garage—literally, the moment I see it, I'm excited to get in it again. The interior is also better—the shifter being a huge step up to name but one thing. The doors, the rear cabin and some of the materials are all upgraded relative to the M5 cabin (arguably, though, not enough differentiation but I'm over that).
So far at least, the endless (and close to daily) stream of enthusiastic thumbs ups at traffic lights or kids with mouths agape as I drive past hasn't gotten old—I'm sure other M8 drivers see the same thing. Just last night, we did a cocktail crawl with 12 or so couples in the new neighborhood I recently moved into—when I was introduced to the ever growing group, perhaps 75% of the time, the intro was suffixed or acknowledged with "he's/you're the guy with that beautiful satin BMW". You know what, I kinda enjoy that it turns out.
Net net: this car makes the whole driving experience feel that much more special and it begins before you're even inside it.