I have SMG and I absolutely love it (archive)

I wouldn't change it for anything. I grabbed every magazine with an article on it and it's true that an number of them don't find it too great a thing and then again other's do praise it quite high.

For one thing, it's not a car you can jump in and totally enjoy it from the first minute. It took me a couple of weeks to really get it to work as smooth and fluent as I want it. And I'm from Europe where we grow up with manual gears. So I guess if these reporters pick up there test car and scream out of the dealer's lot and write their report within the next half day, I assure you they don't get the full performance an feel out of that SMG box.

But once you get the hang of it, there is nothing nicer than to take it for a serious drive and work that damn little shifter...

: A German friend of mine with a 98 Euro M3 SMG liked his 95 5sp trans better. Also from everything I have read to date the SMG transmission is not as great as it is made out to be. Almost every Brit and German Car mag I have read that had extensive tests of the M3 equipped with the SMG were less than impressed by it. So far I have not seen anything other than tech analysis and "short takes" in US auto pubs where it is made out to be manna from heaven. However I must admit I have not driven one! But so far the Brit magazines seem to be pretty objective when evaluating cars (except British cars) unlike most US magazines where even the Chevy Malibu is a great car LOL.

: Rick Key
: 95 ///M3 JimC ///Motivated

Follow Ups:

[ Follow Ups ] [ E46 M3 Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.