[chutrain]

Seriously, how many own or driven all three?

I own two of them and driven my buddy's GTI. They all do things differently, and can reward the driver in different ways. Each obviously feel different and all have flaws. Nothing in this price range will be perfect.

Since this a forum catered to the FRS/BRZ, the comments are more than likely biased as most are talking from only one standpoint.

This is how I see them.

BRZ/FR-S
The twins are really phenomenal cars for what they offer for the price. The handling and precise feeling is truly up there with more pricey cars. But there is a lot of compliance in the drivetrain that you start to feel when you start to push the car. You can feel it in the rear end and when shifting. But most of this can be fixed fairly cheaply. The suspension can be a bit taxing on the rough and undulating road surfaces, so this shows that the suspension is developed toward the sport side of things. Nothing wrong with it, but people can have different opinions.

The brakes modulate well and have decent grip. For street use I have not reached a point where they start to fade. The pedals are good for heel-toe, and the rev rise and fall easily. The transmission is very precise and those shifts are short and smooth, except for the pesky second gear when the fluids are cold. Gearing is good with the six speed and the 4.10 diff in the rear, but a 4.45 diff will give the car more pep down low which would be great around town. Just shows that compromises were made to make the car still liveable for daily commutes.

The interior is good, but nothing to brag about when compared to the GTI. I have the BRZ Limited for reference. But it is well laid out and everything is very intuitive. The interior for the front is good enough. It just fits my friend that is just under 6'5" after some tweaks to the seat. The rear is useless as we all know. The trunk is decent for most things, like groceries and smaller items. But once you get slightly longer or bulkier items into the mix, things start to get tougher and you'll will wish for a bigger car. However those are far and few between as I usually plan in advance to dictate what car to use.

Styling for the twins is good. I still think the companies could have done just a tad more to give it more of an exotic/concept look. A lot of the lines are very classic and clean, while some styling cues do take a little getting used to. Certain lines could have been more exaggerated for a more stunning presence, but instead create some econobox lines. Don't get me wrong, I still love how the car looks and people are constantly looking and coming up to ask questions.

GTI
The GTI is a great daily driver that will not beat you up for the long drives. The suspension is set up more for all around use from city to highway and everything in between. It'll plow as expected with a front drive vehicle, but the Germans do have their tricks to make it more bearable. The car is not easily upset over bumpy roads compared to my BRZ. The car does sway a bit and this is granted with the smaller sways and high center of gravity. This was obviously the compromise when catering the towards everyday comfort.

The seating position is totally different as you sit higher and will cause less fatigue over longer distances. In comparison the GTI you feel like you are sitting on top of the car, and the FR-S/BRZ you are sitting in the car. The interior feels very upscale when compared to the twins. The materials and switches feel similar to an Audi in some respects, and this can be done since there are a lot of parts bin swapping between the brands, which in turn keeps costs down. The driving of the car is catered more towards the daily driving duties. It is a lot more compliant and after jumping from one car to the other, you can definitely feel things loosen up and in some cases a bit vague. The hatch can fit that baby seat, and folding the seats can net you some decent space to swallow up a good amount of cargo.

The clutch is extremely easy to modulate, and if you stall in this car you are an idiot. It is really that forgiving, but in return you will be greeted by that vague feeling. It could be good for others, but that is my opinon. The shifter feels long and lose. The gearing feels good for highway use, and the motor feels plenty strong for highway passing. But that turbo does lag down low, so around town you are depending on that 2.0L to get the car going rather than the force feeding of the turbo.

The styling is very faithful to the German styling, at least for this segment of cars. It's nothing controversial or groundbreaking. It kinda follows their traditional shape, and it's been doing well over the years. Look at Porsche, how much have they changed? So in this category, the GTI does not quite match up to the twins in the styling department.

Overall, this is not a bad car. I would not personally own one, but would not knock it if one were to buy one. It has it quirks and positives just like any car.

E30 M3
A lot of people seem to hate on the old classic. If you have not driven one that is well maintained after the 25+ years, then you are truly missing out. The steering is telepathic and you really know what they rear end is doing at all times. This is not BS. Granted my car has come a long way and far from stock. However after having the opportunity to drive one of my friend's completely stock car, all I can say was how much of a pleasure it was to taste the original formula again.

Suspension was the highlight of this car. There was just something pure and straightforward with how the car handles. Things always happened progressively. A stock suspension soaks up the road imperfections nicely and sporty enough for higher speeds. It does exhibit body roll, but the car had great turn-in and can manage those turns with precision. For a car that was developed in the mid-80's, it can definitely hold its own.

The interior is very straightforward and business-like. Great leather wrapped seats and plenty of space in the rear seats to hold two addition people. No slanted roof to encroach on the rear passenger headroom. Visibility is excellent out the windows compared to the little slits on the twins. These cars can be daily driven, and there are owners that do that, but they do tend to be buzzy and the high revs on the highway from 60-80 mph can very easily wear on you. The five speed is good, but not as precise and short as the twins, but a lot better than the GTI.

Another highlight and supporting cast to the suspension was the motor. This was a 2.3L high revving four banger that sounds mechanical and purposeful. This motor does not wake up until you reach the northern hemisphere of the tach. Anything above 4.5k was where the fun begins. And this was a motor that you had to drive it like you stole it to fully enjoy the experience. With the 4.10 rear diff and the motor always buzzing over 3k, you are pretty much always in the powerband. These motors were always given the stigma of being high strung and temperamental. That is not the case. As with any motor, as long as you maintain it properly you will see many miles. There are plenty of 150k+ cars with original motors and putting out good compression numbers. There is even a 400k+ car running around with the original internals.

The 80's were all about the box flares. During that decade the DTM series was the hot racing circuit and Mercedes was doing their thing. BMW had wanted to enter this series as well. This series dictated that all cars had to run stock bodies and suspension geometries. All manufactures used one of their current production line cars to create these DTM cars. What BMW did was create the track car first, and then release to the public. So that is way there are boxy flares, the unique bumpers, the bump on the rear of the roof, the boy racer rear wing, and different angled rear window. It was not for show. As the seasons progressed many evolutions of these DTM cars were released. BMW was required to sell 500 road going cars a year and they were easily able to surpass those sales goals. Love it or hate it, this is classic BMW.

They call this the benchmark for a reason. It was either Evo or Car magazine did a comparo of all M cars past and present, and the E30 M3 Sport Evolution was able to snag the title from cars that were bigger, faster, more expensive, and in some cases had an additinal 6 cylinders more. If this car was not good or relevant today, it would have long been forgotten about.