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Re: Reliability question, BMW smg or 5sp. auto Posted by JeffC [Email] ![]() ![]() In Reply to: Reliability question, BMW smg or 5sp. auto, aeromagic, Tue, 4 May 2004 14:03:01 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Hi Aeromagic,
I completely understand why you would prefer the 3 series to the 9-3. The 330Ci Cabrio is beeeeautiful, the motor sounds fantastic, and I hear they're quite stiff for a convertible.
I'd say the traditional manual transmission would be more reliable over the long haul, if only because they've been in use so much longer than the SMG. The tranny in the E46 3 series shifts beautifully - then again, I've never met a 5-sp (or 6-sp!) in a BMW I didn't love. I'm not sure how hard you guys plan to drive the car, or what you plan to use it for. I have not personally driven one, but a friend of a friend of mine has one - I did get a ride in it, and in my opinion the gear changes really aren't that smooth... even in Automatic mode. I was really unimpressed. You gain fractions of a second in gear-change speed which really are only useful on a racetrack.
The torque curve of the 3 litre inline six cylinder engine is most impressive for a non-turbo car. It's easy to dawdle around at low revs or wind it up to redline. It's not a car that you have to constantly row the gearbox in. For me, the 5-sp would be a no brainer. However, if you would get the SMG and have in auto mode 70% of the time, why not get a plain ol' automatic with BMW's SportTronic manual shift control? Do they not still offer it?
--jeff
'93 Aero
174,000kms
posted by 64.180.213...
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