So I live on Maui had a chance to go over to Oahu (where Honolulu is) to visit a friend who was visiting but wasn't coming over to my neighborhood. I planned to come over for the day and then fly back the next morning. Was leaning toward uber to get up to his family on the north shore of the island, but in looking at turo, I saw a cool looking 2019 BMW 850i cabriolet for rent for under $100. I went for it. For background sake I must disclose this is at least 100HP more than any car I've driven before.

Weird experience. The car was impressive in many ways - 500//535 horsepower/torque - so the acceleration is impressive. Honestly though it was less than the difference I feel between my 2013 GS and my dad's 2012 CRV. I mean it is faster for sure but I was disappointed that it wasn't more enjoyable. Other than that, I found the suspension stiffer than mine even in normal mode, the tire noise significantly louder than mine, the seating less comfortable, and the handling better but really not that different than the GS. Also must report that if you are not in sport mode the throttle response is nothing special unless you just mash the crap out of it. As a result I felt the need to drive in sport, and then the exhaust does this ridiculous burble every time you let off the gas, even if you're not driving aggressively, which makes you look like a douchebag every time you slow down for a stop light.

Bottom line is that I could not wait to get back home and drive my car.

Am I crazy? Maybe the LC is more my style.

 

My extended service contract just rented me a Audi A5 Sportback S Line while my GS was in the shop. I drove it about 10 plus hours from Atl to DC. It did not have as much hp but was still ample for beating to pass a car when I needed. I at one point I set it to Sport mode and the suspension was very uncomfortable hard and excessively jarring. I did not use that setting again the whole trip there and back. The tires were hard and very roaring and excessively noisy. The seats were hard and you sit on top of them, instead of in them. In addition to that, the car lit up a warning light on the way back at about 55mph saying the Trans was overheating to shift gears. I looked down and was already in normal D, so I was like wtf? The rear end then developed a thunk, thunk noise on take off and a roar, (Quattro difs drivetrain awd?) After all the problems calmed down about less that 2 hours back from home, another excessive loss of tire pressure beeps and dash waring lit up. It does Not tell you which tire ( I looked it up)? I stopped again as I always travel with a tire pressure gauge only to learn that all the tires were at even pressures. Drove off and 30 mins later same tire warning again. With Wifey and Daughter in the car of course I could not ignore the tire warning, and their mouths, so again I stopped only to find the tire pressures were ok. I deflated all to 15lbs and refilled back to spec psi. No more tire warnings till home 1.5 hours away. Also there were constant Service needed lights going off all the time. Guess Enterprise rental does care about maintaining the service on their rental cars. The A5 only had 37k miles on it.

I really wanted to like this German car, but just no way I could really. The only thing I did like was the the Quattro AWD was solid as a rock in the heavy rains we went thought. My Daughter told me one of her friends bought a new A5 about a year ago and He hates it. I've owned a few Porches and BMW's before and the Porches were more reliable than the BMW. Knew many who had Audi's and they were nightmare service stories always. At the end of the day just reminds me of why I don't want cars like this anymore as nice as they seem it be. I really like the BMW 650 and that series, but no way I would go there. Last years I wad given a Infinity Q50 rental on a business trip. I would have rather had the Q50 again.

Back to your BMW 850i, reminds me of the A5 rental some. Where you would have felt the difference in power more would have been on the Top end. But even still the 850i is a 3.6sec 0-6- car IIRC? At the end of the day, I do have my eyes on my next new car, but not until they come down in price a lot. As the GS is getting kinda outdated, I just keep working on my mods of it like increased hp, better handling suspension, Carplay/Sound upgrades, GS F parts swaps, and more if I can ever finish. I do have my eyes on a G70, GS F, or Porsche in the near future. With 51K in my 13 Lux I will still keep as my DD for a while also. To answer the question No you are not crazy as I just felt the same way, except I think you were in a $100k plus when new BMW. lol!

 

Interesting yes? It's funny because one of the better deals besides the 850 was an Audi S5. I have driven the A4 and it was smooth but very unexciting - the transmission was so smooth it almost felt like a CVT with very little shifting sensation.

I didn't want to get into this because it's a Turo car that I'm sure it's been abused, but the 850 was also creaky in the interior and had a weird vibration at speed. Speed wise it really did impress. If you floor it in sport it knocks you into your seat and the sound is guttural and satisfying. I see the appeal of the car, just not for me.

I have driven a few other Bimmers. 2017 5 series drove beautifully and was every bit as enjoyable as the GS. 2008 335i was shockingly quick and had really nice old fashioned steering feel, a very fun car to drive. 2016 430i was underpowered on paper but had plenty of zip and was also very comfortable. None of them was nice enough to sway me from my satisfaction with the GS - especially considering the questionable reliability.

One car I've driven that I could see buying used in a few years is the Acura TLX Type S. Drives great and Acura has pretty good reliability.

 

Darn. I got excited to hear about your experience with an E31.

 

850i is very boring to drive.
Its a big, heavy GT cruiser and not a sports car.
Its also not very engaging so you don’t necessarily feel the power/speed and interior is smaller than a 4 series.

I think the LC500 with Performance package is more fun.

 

Thanks for the advice, I will keep it in my mind.