10,000km road trip?

[AlexB7RS4]

My wife and I are looking to take a month off in either Dec or Jan and do a lap of the western half of Australia (Adelaide > Alice > Darwin > Broome > Geraldton > Perth > Adelaide). With other stops along the way of course.

We currently have an Audi B7 RS4 Avant which we've done some smaller trips in (Adelaide > Tassie twice, Adelaide > Sydney etc) but it's getting dated and a bit firm with full KW V3 coilovers, and my wife can't drive manual. And I miss RWD. I'm planning on swapping it out for a 2016ish F80 M3 DCT in the next few months.

Anyway, long story short. Anyone done any big drives in their F80/F82 in Australia? Would you take an M3 on that long a trip? I could probably trade a family member for a 100 series LC or a X5 for the trip but there's something about doing a big trip in one of these cars that appeals to me.

[ruley74]

iIve done 5k twice and i thought it was great, however that was east coast and in the mountains as much as possible. Being in the open for the majority the only thing i see really is possibly getting sick of the road noise but's still easily livable.

[domino_z]

road noise and general nvh on our coarse bitumen highways is very loud on the f80

although i haven't done those legs exactly, i have driven in victoria high country and ski areas and the nvh was painful

if you aren't taking the trip to scout driving roads, there's no point in taking a sports sedan with low profile tyres and solid mounted subframe

[drgmt]

X5 - for comfort.

[Qemal]

I lived in Alice for a bit and have done Darwin-Alice-Adelaide a couple of times.
There is heaps to see along the way especially off-road where you wouldn't take an F80.
The roads are straight and boring, Good quality fuel can be a problem in some places.
Do it in a 4WD if you can you'll enjoy it a lot more!

[AlexB7RS4]

Comfort and road noise don't stress me too much. They'll be better than the RS4 is, with M3's adaptive suspension. The areas you can access is a good point though - and a solid case for a 4wd with more ground clearance.

[ruley74]

I got to admit, I've been considering a run across to WA with my wife as she's never seen the bite etc. The M4 has not been the vehicle in my head to do this trip in.

Either a decent spec X5 or high end Touareg is what I've been considering of late.

[WatashiEd]

Originally Posted by drgmt

X5 - for comfort.

+1

I’ve got both m4 and x5, for longer road trip, the x5 beats m4 in all aspects

[MOSTRO]

Ditto above. I have done 2000km Victoria High Country tour in my F80 M3 ZCP and a recent Melb - Byron Bay - Melb 3000km holiday in our X5 with wife and 3 kids in back.

M3 was near unbearable in NVH and kids were very edgy as a result.

In comparison, the X5 used for the longer trip felt like driving in our living room. Acres of space. Very little noise inspite of the 22" M Sport wheels. At the scheduled stops, the family got out of the car fresh and happy.

[mynameisplayer]

X5. Comfort, radar cruise, space, option to go off road/dirt, it's probably a Diesel - so no fuel worries out-back....

[domino_z]

Yep there just seems to be this constant vibration that comes from the f80 chassis on the road - it's nothing I ever experienced in past gen m3's

It's really noticeable when jumping bw cars

As soon as you hit a coarse chip surface the vibration just gets unbearable...for me at least

[donR]

Yep F80 M3 is a good for a spirited targa style road warrior trip with you and mate but perhaps not a family road trip as it is a little firm and rightly so.

I think you should test drive both but consider a F30 335i or 340i for comfort and performance or even an F31 330i which is on par with the old E91 335i. Of course you can flash the 330i for improved performance. These are all great performing, handling and low maintenance cars and the 8 speed ZF is excellent for shifting.

Or why not consider the B8.5 RS4 which are great buying at the moment albeit a money pit for potential maintenance costs, but a fine touring car none the less.

I'd also consider a Panamera if you have the coin.

[domino_z]

im in a 140i atm while my car has the driveshaft replacement done

this is what you want to do a road trip imo

it's just sporty enough to not bore you, and it's so smooth and quiet over a rough road not to irritate you

these 'warm' sedans make a much better argument as a daily then the full sports sedan which just seem to be getting stiffer and more compromised - seemingly to appease journos on track day launches and the marketing department track time ads

funnily enough, having owned previous gen m3s and amgs in the past, this 'warm' sedan balance of comfort and sport used to be the norm