RX8 > 04 330i ZHP
 

I'm thinking of trading my RX8 in (end of lease) for an 04 BMW 330i w/performance package (ZHP) Anyone here have any experience with both cars? Not interested in thoughts on the standard 330i/325is/ just the 330i with the performance package (6spd, +10hp over the base 330) only interested in the relative driving experience of the two cars (so no BMW overpriced kind stuff either!)

Hope someone can shed some light because I'm beginning to feel very sad that my time with the 8 is coming to an end.... Going to drive a ZHP this afternoon, but tough to get a good feel for a car from a quick test drive.

Thanks!

ZHP is a much nicer overall car, good handling, better power than the RX-8. I would trade my 8 for a clean manual ZHP with the Alcantara interior and black cube trim any day. That being said original retail prices the Zhp is nearly 2X the price of a base RX-8 so you get what you pay for. The suspension, interior and other small touches make the ZHP a great buy over the normal 330.

Car I'm going to look at will be a silver manual ZHP with silver cube trim and the cold weather package. I recently drove an FX45 (awful auto box, felt slow but cool) and a Volvo S60R, the S60R was pretty fun, super comfy seats, planted around the twisties (AWD) with three suspension setups at the press of a button (comfort/sport/advanced) it was fun but the 8 just has so much more feel to it. Hope the ZHP can match the great steering feel/handling of my 8.

I drove an auto 330 recently. Honestly, I was unimpressed. The handling feel was good, but not as good as the 8 (at least mine with RB sways and springs), and the acceleration was nothing to write home about, certainly not measurably better than the 8. Pretty nice stock exhaust note though :doh:

Looks wise the 8 wins hands down . Hope you get a new cardigan with the BMW ?

i actually had an 04' 330 w/ sport package before i got the 8. love the 8, but i do miss the roominess of the bmw. also, it's a bmw, can't go wrong with that.

I hear the cardigan even has leather trim on the elbows!

You should try one that has the suspension package, it actually makes a pretty big difference (I'm guessing this one didn't have it because most AT's dont)

I had an S60R. Mine was pretty heavily modded.... stock hp is 300...mine was pushing 350-360. lowered, springs, sways... body kit....i could go on...

lots of power, lots of room (compared to an 8) and very comfy... nice luxury sports sedan. with some mods you can pull big power otu of it.

but at 3700-3800 lbs... it's heavy and will NEVER handle like an 8.

i recently test drove an RX8 ... 10x more fun than my S60R... and probably a 330 ZHP. my car would roast the 330 zhp. by the way..

it's ahrd to compare a heavy luxury sedan to a ligth weight sports car....

i don't know what it was about the 8 that wa sso much fun...but it was FUN. not fast...but FUN.

my S60R...and probably the 330 ZHP...is pretty fast, handles nicely, very functional and comfy...but nowhere near as "fun" as a smaller sporty car.

A friend has a 04 330ci and a RX8 (he has some other cars $$$$$) and to have fun driving he always takes the 8.

Also, the times he has taken the 330ci and we've go to some twisty road (yes yes I know...) you know the outcome, and he drives much better than me. In the highway it's me who can't follow him (it's 231HP are really 231HP, not like the ones in the 8.)

As a FX 45 owner I can tell you it is anything but slow, and can hang with most any sports car considering with a simple tire change it can pull .9 or greater on the skid pad and goes 0 to 60 in about 6.3 seconds, remember it is a 4500lb vehicle, plus soon there will be a whipple supercharger available. Of course you could always get a 35 and go SC or twin turbo, there are at least two twin turbos running around. It can be scary driving something that big at its limits but it can definitely outperform the BMW, also there is supposed to be a 50r coming when they redesign in the next few years.

You will only like the alcantra interior and the torque. Other than that you will be disappointed it will feel extremely artificial, not to mention it'll be considerably heavier.

Consider this: I have an 06 BMW Z4 3.0si 6MT (N52 engine with 255 hp 220 lb ft of torque), and am lusting after either an RX-8/ Miata.

Can't go wrong with that? Notorious problems with their inline 6 - had two bimmers 525 and 328 first blew its head the other its head gasket... Now my rx8 gives me no problems whatsoever for 56K miles so far. Before I got bimmers I had nissan 240sx (inline 4 - rwd) and that was so much more reliable then bimmers and taking much more abuse. I really would be careful with a bmw although it is a nice handling car, not as nice as rx8 though.

My buddy has a '04 zhp that he has owned since new. I have driven it many times, including laps at VIR, watkins glen & lime rock. very refined, smooth, solid car. nice, balanced handling and one of the best ride/handling compomises of any car i have driven. on the other hand the car has overly tall gearing (like the 8), slow steering ratio, inferior shifter (my buddy installed a shortshifter but its still not great), no LSD, and is somewhat bland. I had an e46 m3 when he got the zhp so it seemed especially bland compared to my car. I don't own an 8, and only driven one once but i take one over an zhp for driving pleasure.

My E46 330Ci 6spd was one of my overall favorite cars. It handled great. Balance and weight transfer were perfect. Feedback was amazing. Shifter accurate and direct (not as good as the 8 of course). And the I6 is one of the smoothest, sweetest, free-revving, best sounding engines outside of a rotary imho.

It was a great all round package. Miss it lots.

This belongs in General Automotive not RX-8 discussion.

My only gripe about the 2004 330i is that it's just another ugly looking sports sedan.

The 2007 335i Coupe, on the other hand, is another story..

i somewhat concur.

but really the bmw forums would have more answers than here..

beers :beer:

dprx8,
I purchased an 04' zhp last fall after considering the 8, g35 (coupe), older s4 and e36 M3s, sti and the s60r (I've owned an s80 and my wife has an xc70). I also have an 01 miata and have had nothing but great experiences with Mazda. Basically, here's what I was dealing with:
1. budget $25-30k
2. 2 year old and car seat
3. mainly commuter car that needed to be fun to drive (I fell in love with how the miata handles and wanted that as close as possible in a car with a back seat)
4. architect in later 30s and frequently drives around with clients

So after driving all the cars mentioned, all fit the bill with respect to general fun while commuting. Here were my conclusions:
7th place: the s60r because of all my problems with previous Volvos, the weight and I really don’t like FWD-biased cars (I know its AWD). I did like the interior and the suspension settings, though.
6th place: older s4s; I just couldn’t find any with low-enough mileage and turbos that weren’t suspect. Also, preferred a RWD car (don’t drive through much snow in Texas).
5th place: E36 M3: loved the car, felt right. But also couldn’t find many with low miles and I was starting to figure I needed a sedan…only the 97 and 98 M3 had this meant it was even harder to find.
4th place: STI: amazing car…and if the ’07 limited edition had been available I might have gone that route. In the end, the boy racer image wouldn’t work with my spouse and the office…though when the miata dies this could be a track car option. Btw, I also drove the Evo but uglier than sin (to an older guy that is)
3rd place: RX-8: I almost bought a Shinka edition. For the price, I don’t think you can beat the RX-8. But in the end the lack of low-end grunt did it in. It handled like the miata, the backseat had more room than I thought it would too. I also have loved the last edition of the RX-7. I still consider it one of my most lusted after car. Unfortunately, Mazda stopped making them before I could actually afford one…damn. That leads me to say I’m on the fence about how the 8 looks. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I think what was Mazda thinking.
2nd place: the G35, like the RX-8 is great bang for the buck. Though more expensive, it also has more power, the butt dyno says it’s just as quick and handles well…maybe just a notch below the 8. I didn’t get the G because by the time it came to purchase one, I realized I needed four doors and I didn’t like the sedan. Getting the little one in the car seat can be a huge hassle and the coupe proved too difficult. I also see G35s on just about every street corner.

So 1st place: the 330i ZHP – in the end the ZHP had the best overall combination of everything I was looking for:
Though not the fastest, it handles better than all the cars I drove with the exception of maybe the STI and a tie with the 8.
It was pre-certified and the standard warranty doesn’t expire until 12/2010. The looks are understated but after owning it for half a year…they’ve really grown on me and I’m in love with how the car looks. The interior is great and the whole car feels so much more solid than any of the other cars listed. And as far as fun-to-drive factor, it’s been a lot of fun. I have no illusions that I’ll blow away most of the other cars I’ve driven, but for an extremely fun commuter car…no complaints!!

Hope this helps.

Hope to offer a perspective...I was going to buy a 330i coupe, and my bud was going to buy an 8. For months we debated the merits of both, tried both, and I ended up buying the 8 and he bought the 330i, both '05's.

His is not the ZHP, but it has the sports package. The 330i has better seats and far more luxuries than my GT (i.e. power vents, heat settings on the seats, mirrors that dip down, auto climate, windows that self seal, Harmon-Kardon that’s better than my Bose, etc.). As a BMW owner, I loved the whole service experience too.

But I fell for the dynamics of the 8, it had the instant handling response of my old Miata, yet had an even better ride/handling compromise than the 330i. At speed we’re pretty even, but ever since I got my MS flywheel I’ve been able to inch away. The ZHP has an extra 10 hp I think over his 330i though, nothing a few mod’s wouldn’t duplicate.

Update
 

So I took the ZHP for a nice drive on Friday. Loved the torque, the sound of the inline 6, handled great, amazing seat heaters, nice supple ride, but at the end of the day it just wasn't 10k better than my oh so fun 8 so I decided to just buyout my lease. Things I didn't like about it were the Alcantara steering wheel, made my hands feel sweaty, handbrake is in a really awkward position, gearbox felt a little notchy and the gear knob didn't feel particularly comfortable.

Just out of curiosity what was the buyout amount and what were the lease terms (mileage, years)?

Buyout is ~$17.5k which was negotiated down from the $18.5k residual in the lease agreement. I have 19500 miles on the car and it was a three year lease 12k miles a year ($385/mo I think). Going to see if they will go lower as these cars are only fetching 15k at the dealer/Manheim auctions.

I will have a similar situation in 16 months and was wondering how willing banks are to negotiate residual value. I think you did a good job making them drop the residual $1k, but even dropping it to $16k would save them money and make everybody happy. Keep us posted in regards to your further negotiations. Thanks!

$17,560 was their best price, the system wouldn't allow them to offer it any lower. They had also initially offered a rate of 5.99% on the loan at the original price but couldn't do that on the lower price so went through my credit union who offered 6.15 (the bank was shooting for 6.9) This was all done through USBank.

Hope that helps.