M6 Cab or i8 Hardtop? aaarrrggghhh I cant decide

[live2playuk]

I have an appointment with the dealer next week to lock in the spec for my new M6 Cab - Individual Pure blue and every option except for Carbon brakes and competition pack with a set of 433m GC Wheels. Going to set me back £96k including the wheels (with a £30k discount).

A friend of mine just sent me a pic of an i8 he saw on park lane last week, just looked at some you tube video's and they look amazing.

Just specced up a loaded i8 and with the £5k government kickback its coming in at £109k

After some thoughts - Assuming id by an i8 cab in two years where as id keep the m6 for four years, which will hold its value better? which is going to be the better car?.......I'm now so confused!

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by live2playuk

I have an appointment with the dealer next week to lock in the spec for my new M6 Cab - Individual Pure blue and every option except for Carbon brakes and competition pack with a set of 433m GC Wheels. Going to set me back 96k including the wheels (with a 30k discount).

A friend of mine just sent me a pic of an i8 he saw on park lane last week, just looked at some you tube video's and they look amazing.

Just specced up a loaded i8 and with the 5k government kickback its coming in at 109k

After some thoughts - Assuming id by an i8 cab in two years where as id keep the m6 for four years, which will hold its value better? which is going to be the better car?.......I'm now so confused!

This is both simple and complicated. Two very different cars, other than price point I'm wondering why exactly these are your two choices. I would have to guess the i8 will hold it's value better, due to it's more limited production and just the innovative car it is. However, I would have to say that in most aspects the M6 is a far superior car. From luxury to performance, there isn't a better car in BMW's line up, that's why it's the M division's flagship and to me the M division is the creme de la creme for BMW. I haven't driven the i8 but from what I gather it is quite nimble and agile for a 3 cylinder hybrid. Some call it's performance, shocking given it's efficiency, but it isn't an M car. I've read many complaints about the cabin's fit and finish, many were upset with the excessive use of plastic. The i8 is a looker though and is much more unique, but if you're not buying it for it's merits of being "green", having incredible efficiency, being a showpiece for BMW's new efficient technology, etc. then I don't see why you would be considering it at all. As for the M6, if you're not after it's outstanding combination of performance, luxury, and comfort then why consider it against the i8. It all comes down to what you're really after here.

On a side note, if I may ask purely out of curiosity, why no Comp Pack and why the 433m?

[M6-Coupe]

Originally Posted by Twitch Massacre

This is both simple and complicated. Two very different cars, other than price point I'm wondering why exactly these are your two choices. I would have to guess the i8 will hold it's value better, due to it's more limited production and just the innovative car it is. However, I would have to say that in most aspects the M6 is a far superior car. From luxury to performance, there isn't a better car in BMW's line up, that's why it's the M division's flagship and to me the M division is the creme de la creme for BMW. I haven't driven the i8 but from what I gather it is quite nimble and agile for a 3 cylinder hybrid. Some call it's performance, shocking given it's efficiency, but it isn't an M car. I've read many complaints about the cabin's fit and finish, many were upset with the excessive use of plastic. The i8 is a looker though and is much more unique, but if you're not buying it for it's merits of being "green", having incredible efficiency, being a showpiece for BMW's new efficient technology, etc. then I don't see why you would be considering it at all. As for the M6, if you're not after it's outstanding combination of performance, luxury, and comfort then why consider it against the i8. It all comes down to what you're really after here.

On a side note, if I may ask purely out of curiosity, why no Comp Pack and why the 433m?

+1 for every single sentence
I can't even imagine driving a hybrid car! I'm Electrical Engineer but I hate Electrical cars with Electrical motors... They recall me my Electrical toys when I was a kid

[dan99]

I'd go for an i8

[thedapperdriver]

Love everything about the M6, saw the i8 at the Bmw showroom earlier today in Paris. It looks great from every angle. However now sure if I can drive a hybrid daily.

[michel lane]

I drove one on the I8 open day , lovely car, it does not get 134mpg ! More like 20mpg in sport mode . It's not as refined as the M6 , getting in and out of the car is very challenging , especially if you have a belly !.

[ManhattanBMW]

I have sat in an i8, and it has no real boot/trunk. So if you need a boot, ditch the i8. Also, the i8 is more difficult to get in and out of, and does not have the luxury appointments of the M6 -- e.g., soft close doors, steering wheel that remembers your preset driving position, etc.

[YungDro]

Both are stunning cars, but the i8 will hold its value abit more than the M6 if youre keeping it that long. & the M6 is WAY faster than the i8 its crazy fast.

if you want a fast hybrid sports car that will break everyones neck as you drive by get the i8. Seen and heard one in person its so

or If you want a super fast luxury GT car get the M6 (especially with your spec will look beastly)

*and yes the M6 gets a lot of attention too real head turner!

[live2playuk]

Thanks for the reply's. I have been thinking about this today. What bothers me about my current 2010 V10 cab is that it does 14.5mpg , however I drive it (actually about 8mpg around town the way I drive it), I've had it 2 years, use it as a daily driver, stuck 50k miles on it, and fill it up every other day. It literally eats fuel but sounds amazing, especially in 2nd and with the roof down. Ive kind of sold myself on a new one on the basis Ill get 24mpg from it (please don't shatter my dream and tell me the V8 twin turbo M6 really does 14mpg ) saving me around £350 per month. I was duped by the thought of 134mpg of an i8. The i8 only has a 42 litre fuel tank. and worse than that I've now realised I have to plug it in every night. I hate going to fuel station let alone having to plug something in everyday. And my journeys are normally quite long, its not unusual for me to do 400 miles in a day. Which in real terms means charging in places I cant and lots of refilling. I spent a few hours thinking about this today. And even went through a "I could have a 3 year old Ferrari California and a 2 year old loaded 730d for the same money" phase today......Then having gone round in a great big circle, I decided on Tuesday I would drive both, ask all the questions and probably buy the M6 in individual pure smurf blue.

Answering an earlier question 433m wheels BTW for me are THE perfect wheel. Even better than after market wheels, there's something about them that just looks so mental, They look just perfect to me. The competition pack is half made up of the competition wheels (which I don't like) and from all the reviews drives to hard as a daily driver.

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by live2playuk

Thanks for the reply's. I have been thinking about this today. What bothers me about my current 2010 V10 cab is that it does 14.5mpg , however I drive it (actually about 8mpg around town the way I drive it), I've had it 2 years, use it as a daily driver, stuck 50k miles on it, and fill it up every other day. It literally eats fuel but sounds amazing, especially in 2nd and with the roof down. Ive kind of sold myself on a new one on the basis Ill get 24mpg from it (please don't shatter my dream and tell me the V8 twin turbo M6 really does 14mpg ) saving me around 350 per month. I was duped by the thought of 134mpg of an i8. The i8 only has a 42 litre fuel tank. and worse than that I've now realised I have to plug it in every night. I hate going to fuel station let alone having to plug something in everyday. And my journeys are normally quite long, its not unusual for me to do 400 miles in a day. Which in real terms means charging in places I cant and lots of refilling. I spent a few hours thinking about this today. And even went through a "I could have a 3 year old Ferrari California and a 2 year old loaded 730d for the same money" phase today......Then having gone round in a great big circle, I decided on Tuesday I would drive both, ask all the questions and probably buy the M6 in individual pure smurf blue.

Answering an earlier question 433m wheels BTW for me are THE perfect wheel. Even better than after market wheels, there's something about them that just looks so mental, They look just perfect to me. The competition pack is half made up of the competition wheels (which I don't like) and from all the reviews drives to hard as a daily driver.

I was just asking about the 433ms because it seems they are the least popular OEM wheel on this forum based on the fact that they are cast, not forged, which makes them the weakest and by far the heaviest of all the OEM wheels. I have the Comp Pack with the 343m, it was a no cost option, just told the dealer I didn't like the Comp Pack wheels. I am however swapping out the 343m for ADV1 wheels. As nice as the 343m are, no OEM wheel can compare to custom forged performance wheels by a manufacturer like HRE, Vorsteiner, ADV.1, etc. in terms of strength or lightness, and IMO style. Also I would advise you to test drive both cars with and without Comp Pack, specially with the steering in Sport + mode. I completely disagree with the everyday driveability of cars with CP being inferior to non-CP. You'll notice it's nearly impossible to drive the non-CP car with the steering in Sport+ around a city, the steering mode there is just incredibly heavy, in comfort the steering is nice and light but the steering ratio on non-CP cars is a little slow. Steering with CP is light and much faster and direct on all settings. Also mention the suspension is greatly improved as most of its components (control arms, dampers, tuning of EDC etc.) have been upgraded over non-CP translating to a lot less body roll. Not to say non-CP isn't great for daily driving, but having driven both I can say CP is an improvement. Specially on the steering. If you're used to the V10 M6's steering (I was too, had a '08 M6 for almost 5 years before this one) you'll prefer CP steering. If you're gonna use the car as mostly a highway car though, CP may be a waste of money for you. I'm also at the pump much less than in the '08 M6, not only is gas mileage a bit better, the tank on this car is also bigger, the old car had a somewhat small tank.

[lfc3153]

I drove an i8 last week and I have to say it is a fantastic car, without doubt the future of motoring. Added to that it looks fantastic, in my opinion is cheap at the price and I am sure will hold its value over most BMW's. However it in no way compares with the M6. I think I would get bored with it pretty quickly. No way does it do 300 miles to the gallon unless you never use the petrol engine. I agree with nearly all other statements made in previous posts. Mind you much as I love my M6 I don't think I would go for a convertible (just my opinion - each to their own)

Cheers

[RichardP]

I looked briefly at the i8 when considering the M6. I riled it out for several reasons :

- Lead time is long, not as long now as it was a year ago, but still quite long.
- Boot size, it's tiny, 45 liters or something ridiculous.
- Real world MPG on the long journeys I tend to do would probably be in the 35-40mpg region driving normally.
- New tech. This is new technology and new technology is always expensive and relatively poor. In 3-5 years time when the next version comes out it's likely o be very significantly better, what will that do to second hand values? They could hold up because the i8 will be made in relatively small numbers and it's the first of it's kind, they may plummet because the new i8 is an order of magnitude better than the old one.

If my usual driving was short journeys every day with time to recharge and thus use mainly battery power, then it would have made more sense. But for my profile, 250 miles on consecutive days 2 times a month and not much in between, the M6 is a better fit.

[live2playuk]

After a massive amount of research video watching and forum hunting. I have ruled out the i8 and going to stick the M6 cab.

BUT while doing that research I found the German document below stating definitely it will get LCI 03/2015 along with the development pics of LCI on the below.

http://translate.google.co.uk/transl...0%26bih%3D1083

Have appointment at park lane this week to order the car, and being individual it wont arrive until Jan 2015.

I just want my car sooner, but Im so thinking for 90 days I should wait for LCI. Although ill probably miss out on the £30k discount if I do that.....Ahhhhhhh

Going to meet with Park lane Bmw and talk it all through anyway.....Decisions decisions.......

[dnw]

Good call. Your £96k (after discount!) M6 would have been worth little more than £60k the minute you drove it out the dealership.