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Test Drive of 2020 BMW 840i Coupe
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
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Not me. We do not own a television set.
Maybe the SL has more legroom because it is a two seater and therefore a drivers car while the S is a limousine an therefore sometimes used with a chauffeur and the bigger legroom is in the passengers row
Maybe the SL has more legroom because it is a two seater and therefore a drivers car while the S is a limousine an therefore sometimes used with a chauffeur and the bigger legroom is in the passengers row
Yes, indeed. Or putting it slightly differently, it is easy to get more legroom when you are not dividing a given space between front seats and rear seats.
So what do people think of the new BMW 8 Series — base model 840i, M8, M8 Competition and convertible versions of each?
Speaking for myself the problem with folding hard tops is weight, and the fact that that weight is too high for a genuine driver's car
I just don’t like the looks. It looks like a current Mustang on steroids. Get me back the great design of the 3.0 CSL and the first generation 6 series.
Top down at night is one of the things that makes life worth livingI do my best to stay out of the sun, so I never drive top down during the day. But I love driving top down at night.
I just drove 42 miles home at night in the SL, top down, at high speed on the highway (no traffic), in perfect 70 degree weather (no humidity), listening to 70s and 80s rock and pop songs through Qobuz.
I thought to myself: “this does not suck.”
I totally understand that. But I think a car with a retractable hardtop is an answer to a different question.
Somebody who wants the car to be a “genuine driver’s car” or a track car I think is not going to want a convertible of any type.
As with many mixed use products the retractable hardtop can be for some people the best of both worlds, and can be for other people the worst of both worlds.
As my daily driver I love the hardtop quiet and security, as well as the convertible flexibility whenever I feel like it. So, given my purpose/mission as a daily driver, for me the retractable hardtop is the best of both worlds.
If I were solving to maximize the “genuine driver’s car” purpose, I would not get a convertible of any kind.
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Have you ever driven a Lotus Elise?
No doubt that is one of the purist driver's cars available, and a convertible.
I would also mention Caterham, and the mk3 Toyota mr2.
They might not be what you have in mind when you refer to convertibles, but they are purpose designed to be such, with a stiff tub, low centre of gravity and low mass. The handling, roadholding and grip are sensational, as only low mass cars can achieve
I do accept that they are not aimed at buyers like yourself....for example getting in and out of them hard to do gracefully at our age, but the driving experience is second to none
No doubt that is one of the purist driver's cars available, and a convertible.
I would also mention Caterham, and the mk3 Toyota mr2.
They might not be what you have in mind when you refer to convertibles, but they are purpose designed to be such, with a stiff tub, low centre of gravity and low mass. The handling, roadholding and grip are sensational, as only low mass cars can achieve
I do accept that they are not aimed at buyers like yourself....for example getting in and out of them hard to do gracefully at our age, but the driving experience is second to none
Have you ever driven a Lotus Elise?
No doubt that is one of the purist driver's cars available, and a convertible.
I would also mention Caterham, and the mk3 Toyota mr2.
They might not be what you have in mind when you refer to convertibles, but they are purpose designed to be such, with a stiff tub, low centre of gravity and low mass. The handling, roadholding and grip are sensational, as only low mass cars can achieve
I do accept that they are not aimed at buyers like yourself....for example getting in and out of them hard to do gracefully at our age, but the driving experience is second to none
I have never driven an Elise, but I am sure the handling is phenomenal!
I am a big fan of low mass in cars! It is totally pathetic that the not very large SL550 (allegedly with an aluminum body) still weighs about 4,100 pounds!
I have no problem getting in and out gracefully of any sports car. I’m not that old!
A bit of projection on my part RonI have never driven an Elise, but I am sure the handling is phenomenal!
I am a big fan of low mass in cars! It is totally pathetic that the not very large SL550 (allegedly with an aluminum body) still weighs about 4,100 pounds!
I have no problem getting in and out gracefully of any sports car. I’m not that old!
Day: suck
Night: non-suck
Unless one commutes on the highways to work and back (which definitely involves miserable traffic) you generally don’t deal with highways, and local travel generally is easy in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Long Beach and many other suburban-type areas.
Keep in mind that perception of traffic is very relative: nothing (meaning literally nothing) I have seen in LA even on highways, is worse or more frustrating than what I saw almost every day for many years in Midtown Manhattan.
So my personal point of reference is being stuck in an often dirty, smelly Manhattan taxi, often driven by some grumpy person who barely speaks English, often having an argument because the driver does not want to put on the air conditioning to save gas, often taking 20 or more minutes to go a mile or two, and paying an average price of $10, versus enjoying driving my personal vehicle, in a temperature-controlled environment, listening to my favorite music, and talking on the telephone to my friends.
But if one is accustomed to rural or suburban-rural traffic then even downtown Beverly Hills will seem traffic-y most of the time.
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Bruce "no traffic" in So Cal is grid lock to most in other places.
But yes there is that narrow window between 1:00am and 3:00am where on can get above 50mph for a few miles.Seattle traffic sucks ass at rush hour times but eventually opens up. So Cal not so much anymore. There used to be that early afternoon gap after lunch you could get around but that has been gone for years. Now its 4:am to 9:00pm traffic. One of 123,456,789 reasons why we left California and one of the reasons we left Washington state, refusal to spend money on road infrastructure (interstate 5) is another.
At least 11:00 pm to 6:00 am.
But last night (Saturday evening) you were driving just before 9:00 PM ...
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