Quote:
Originally Posted by Moflow
Here's the thing about the S55: It does seem less thrilling and pure than the NA V8 it replaced, but once the S58 powered M3 and M4 come out people will start throwing shade at it saying "it's all about easy power, why did BMW have to lower the redline and make it less about the experience and more about instant torque?" and then the successor to the S58 will come out and people will suddenly start looking at the S58 and thinking "Well now we have an M3 that redlines at 6500 RPM, man the S58 was such a characterful and awesome engine!" And then the successor to that will come out and it will be electric and everyone will say "Awww man! Remember the previous gasoline powered engine? That thing was a peach!"
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The S58 is very similar to the S55. It has all the same strengths (power, cooling, reliability) and fixed some of the weaknesses (crank hub, slightly improved sound) but its by no means compares to the change from a naturally aspirated S65 to forced induction S55. I'd be surprised if the S55 is eulogized, its effective but dull. Drive an E90 M3 back to back with an M2C, the M2C is numb and lacking soul by comparison and its literally the best BMW can cough up in this generation. I was sorely disappointed with mine for that reason (despite the fantastic chassis, diff, electronics) but perhaps I was expecting too much.
And sure, any ICE engine compared to an electric appliance is going to be more interesting. But the feel and sound of a naturally aspirated big displacement engine beats turbos every time for driving enjoyment. For a daily driver don't get me wrong, turbos are great. The B48 in my 3 series is very impressive, torquey, responsive, refined, easy on fuel. Some folks will disagree on turbos muting the modern performance car experience and I understand that POV too. Certainly I applaud that BMW still make manual transmission 4 seater cars and they haven't lost that track on Sunday, take the kids to school on Monday appeal.