Well, test drive complete. Both me and the wife had a short drive. Was a quick one as they had appointments booked end to end all day!
First junction wife approached she instinctively went for the stalks but soon got use to it. Going around roundabouts wasnāt a problem as unless theyāre really small I guess (I.e. mini roundabout) then your hands donāt move too far from the middle anyway. Managed to figure it out. Didnāt kill anybody or get taken out.. I targeted a quite a few to purposefully test it out, and you know what? It was okay. For me it wouldnāt be a deal breaker. Yes itās not ānormalā and yes you have to adapt and learn. Iād rather have stalks 100% but Iād get over it. If you couldnāt, choose differently.
It was only a standard range but still had some poke and the car stereo sounded pretty near to mine although a fraction less dynamic. Perfectly livable. If I was given one or that was all I could afford Iād happily take it for Ā£10k less than the LR. It is not a poor personās replacement. I assume the LR would be better on both counts which would be the one Iād get again if and when the time comes.
Was notably quieter and more solid. Suspension differences notable and sounded more contained. All Iād say would be try it for yourselves. For me was a smoother quieter ride with better sound insulation. Inside was nice and wouldnāt need a wrapped dash like my current wooden one that I changed on day 1. Light bar inside a gimmick. Canāt say I noticed it after we set off. Iām sure you would on night driving though.
Overall Iād swap if I could but as I said to the sales kid my M3 is less than 2 years old so in massive negative equity. End of story. Iāll come back in 2 years and see what the market has to offer then?
As for the S Plaidā¦ how ridiculous was this monster. You hit 3 figures without even noticing. Itās a loaded weapon. Tesla have to sit in on a test drive and driving left hand side took some adjustment as car was bumping along the white lines with my dodgy road positioning to start with. Didnāt get to launch it sadly as I took the wrong route but was fun all the same. Although similar controls the haptic indicator buttons on the new M3 are much better than in the S which donāt give any feedback. Plus Iām converted to the single display. For me, it was harder getting used to the driver display in the S than it was figuring out the new indicator buttons on the M3. Itās all what youāre used to.
Overall, like anything new there is a learning curve. Iāve driven 3 different hire cars in the past 3 weeks in Ireland, all with different functions which needed familiarisation.
Was a fun morning but nice to get back in my own car with its stalks and USS
(controversial!!)
