The M3s ARE fast...0-60 in 4.69 sec...nothing to sneeze at...and for an owner to say that...? Wow, it is impressive.
Note, the OP driving the M3 was driving a '95 M3, which is probably < 2007 M3.
One thing about the Jeep SRT8...can't put the top down. :D
True, but in Minneaplis, this is only 2.5 months of the year. But I do get my sunroof when weather permits...
I'm going to have to wait a while before any decent mods come out for the Sky R/L. There's stuff now: intercoolers, tunes, exhaust, but I'm not convinced of the claims in gains let alone what the long term affects can be (mostly talking about the tune here.)
Maybe I should get an SRT8 while I wait. :D
The SRT8 aftermarket is still pretty limited in terms of tunes or performance enhancing mods. Most people throw theirs on the bottle, which I won't do. Don't feel like melting down my head-gaskets.
I guess I'm a typical Brit that thinks Yank cars are just a little over the top when it somes to size of engines etc
There's more to it than this. Living in Minnesota, I'd be driving an SUV either way, just for my safety. RWD's just are not safe in my opinion with the weather we get here. It's not unusual to drive into work on 5 inches of hard-pack snow or a sheet of ice. And the advantage of sitting up a little higher buys you extra time when highway traffic is moving at irregular speeds, especially when the road conditions are extremely poor.
The beefed up engine, drivetrain, suspension, etc... That's a bonus for me. If you're going to have a 2.5 ton vehicle with the areodynamics of a Walmart, you need to generate a ton of torque and horsepower, or it's all for not.
There's other benefits for me driving an SUV, I'm not the smallest guy on Earth and am more comfortable in a mid-size SUV than I am in a compact car. You'd better understand if you saw my seat position, even in this Jeep, you would not want to be sitting behind me. And this a very flexible year-round car. It's no problem for me to throw my 210 skis in the back and head out to the mountain, or throw my bike in the back and go hit the lakes.
Either way, I'm a 1-car driver with diverse needs and interests and this vehicle allows me approach any such condition in a manner that I prefer and am comfortable with.
If you like to rally, then small and nimble is the way to go. depends what you want to do. I'd have to wonder how Nate's SRT8 would do around the twisties compared to my Sky, or an S2000, or Miata, etc. (Well, actually, forget I mentioned Miata.)
The Jeep SRT8 would absolutely annihilate a Miata under any speed competition.
It's not as big of slouch in the twisties as one might think, here's someone who's tried it:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=10029968
It feels fairly well planted even in pretty aggressive transitions, esp. for a tall brick. You can see there's surprisingly little body roll.
With stability control disabled, coilovers to lower it and 18" wheels with rcomps it could be an interesting autocross car.
There's some good pictures posted there, too.
Road and Track weighs in, here:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=4065&page_number=3
But the biggest difference is felt when you throw the GC SRT8 into a curve. In a typical Jeep, you’d be met with varying degrees of squish; with the SRT8, rock-solid handling. A 1.0-in.-lower ride height, Bilstein dampers, stiffer springs, larger anti-roll bars and 255/45R-20 front tires and 285/40R-20 rears transform the GC SRT8 from ho-hum SUV into sports-car competitor.
The SRT8 has a seriously beefed up handling equipment from a standard JGC.
These guys took on up Pike's peak, which would normally be reserved for a Subaru STI:
http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests...grand_cherokee_srt8/mountain_performance.html
The first few corners probed the tires' grip, which turned out to be quite a lot--over 0.80 g on wet pavement. Only after crossing into the dirt did the Jeep really begin its dance with the mountain. The steering was accurate and quick, and the sideways drifts came naturally. I could feel the all-wheel drive shifting power around as the tires hunted for traction. This was unlike any Jeep I'd ever driven--it felt more like a V-8-powered Mitsubishi Evo IX.
And keep in mind that an Evo is well-known for its handling capabilities:
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/roadtests/0505scc_mitsubishi_evo_ix/index.html
Looks like they weren't babying it, either:
And of course, you don't have to take a Yank's word for it, how about a Brit?
http://www.channel4.com/4car/di/jeep/grand+cherokee/3534/3
But as I turned into the first corner, instead of the lurch, wallow and squeal I'd expected, the SRT-8 simply locked onto its new co-ordinates like an unusually well aimed SAM missile. Moreover, as I nailed the throttle to the floor, the big Jeep not only made a lot of convincing noises - which I had been expecting - it also fled down the straight to the Craner Curves with an alacrity that, frankly, I had not.
{snip}
And as we circulated Donington faster and faster, I was stunned by how well it coped. Unlike other Grand Cherokees, this one feeds 90% of its torque to the rear wheels unless loss of traction calls for redistribution, so most of the time it's effectively rear-wheel drive. Moreover there was grip aplenty from the 245/45 ZR20 tyres and even the brakes - massive Brembo discs - did not tire of this, the toughest track on brakes in all the land. The convincingly scooped sports seats did a fine job of keeping me from landing in my passenger's lap in the corners, and while the five speed auto box was not exactly the most responsive shifter I've tried, having 420lb-ft of torque to play with meant it did need to be.
{snip}
So that sounds like a pretty experienced driver driving it hard on a non straightline course.
It's probably not an EVO, in terms of handling but it's pretty good in my opinion, I throw this things into curves I wouldn't dare attempt with a regular SUV and it fares pretty well.
