I really really really liked this car...

[Stifull]

My son works for a large car company and has his choice of traded in cars every afternoon, for the last week or two he has been bringing home a 23 model Corolla GR 1.6lt turbo AWD. Fabulous little rocket that does everything well. Quicker than a rex with awesome brakes and handling . I really enjoyed the drive of this medium size awd rocket. He has had it a while as it was a demo car with over 700klm it had to be driven to 2000klm+ to be classed as a 2nd hand car... Today, and this is the one I want to take home to meet my parents, he cam home in a BMW X5 M50i (G05)... Twin turbo AWD 4.4lt V8 0-100 4.1 sec 8 speed auto.... wow.. 12.5 sec 1/4 mile and it does it soo nicely... It had new Michelin PS4s fitted today.. 275/30/22 front and 315/30/22 rears on the back. I've been a petrol head for over 55 years and had a lot of quick cars from my HQ Holden 4 door SS that i used to drag race at Surfer's Paradise International Raceway back in the early 70s through to my collection of Subarus which I love driving but this BMW was just awesome with the most softest accelerator pedal that gives almost no resistance and the enormous brake rotors and calipers that would put you through the windscreen if you were ever silly enough to jump on them hard. Here is the spec sheet. Very impressive... I wouldn't want to own one unless money was not an issue because they are very expensive to maintain. The tyres alone today cost almost $3500 but it is the fastest car I have ever driven.. I guess I would be feeling the same if I had driven an R8 or Lambo or a DB9 or F type Jag or any number of supercars but I am happy to have had the opportunity to experience that level of performance. https://fastestlaps.com/models/bmw-x5-m50i

[Jack_Keaka]

BMW have really come leaps and strides in the latest 2 generations. I've been a BMW hater for a long time, but the M2 really put egg on my face, imo the best sports coupe of the past decade (along with the entire 1 & 2 series M range. fantastic sports cars). I'd like to know what the XM drives like... hate to say it appeals to me quite a bit...
Will be interesting to see what happens to the X range as EV's take over.

[subyroo]

Stillfull, re the Michelin PS4s fitted today.

I put Michelin 215-55ZR17 98Y XL Pilot Sport 5's on my Honda HR-V, I have done >3000kms on them so far, and I love them. Very, very responsive on the road, good in both wet & dry conditions, yesterday it was raining and we were sitting at a set of lights, I said to my wife "I am going to test the grip of these new tyres in the wet".
I put the HR-V into sport mode, when the lights changed I floored it, the wheels spun very very briefly (less than I was expecting) and we were away.
The HR-V is by no means a speed machine, far from it, but when it's moving it's still fast enough for you to lose your license.

[Jack_Keaka]

Stillfull, re the Michelin PS4s fitted today.

I put Michelin 215-55ZR17 98Y XL Pilot Sport 5's on my Honda HR-V, I have done >3000kms on them so far, and I love them. Very, very responsive on the road, good in both wet & dry conditions, yesterday it was raining and we were sitting at a set of lights, I said to my wife "I am going to test the grip of these new tyres in the wet".
I put the HR-V into sport mode, when the lights changed I floored it, the wheels spun very very briefly (less than I was expecting) and we were away.
The HR-V is by no means a speed machine, far from it, but when it's moving it's still fast enough for you to lose your license.

PS4's /PS5's are fantastic tyres.
My R33 was a lot of fun... until I stuck a set of PS4's on it. Suddenly it was an F1 on qualifying tyres.

[Stifull]

Yes they are a good tyre. We have had them on several of our cars. My Club Spec wrx still has a set of PS3s on it and they have never let go and they have lasted for ages.. . I have been waiting for them to wear out as I have a set of RE003s sitting on the ground next to the car ready to go on probably next week. The car doesn't get used much so there is no point waiting for the PS3s to wear out because that could take a couple more years and I don't want to be driving with almost worn out tyres on it for 2 more years. I don't drive it often and when I do I don't want to be worrying about tyres.. My Lib has RE003s as well. They are a great tyre in all conditions and wont break the bank. The BMWs are soo expensive compared to Japanese performance cars and I don't think they are as reliable. One of our daughters has an 07 Impreza with 443,000klm and the engine hasn't been touched apart from belts etc. My rex has done 300,000ks and hasn't been touched since I bought it 10 years ago . It had just had a 2.5 engine fitted not long before I bought it. I collected all the normal goodies and fitted them and got a safe 16lb tune and it's been making 180kwatw for all those years. The M series I drove last night is going onto the market for just over $100,000 ..... We couldn't get that if we sold all 6 of our Subarus ...lol..

[Yowie]

Make sure you go back to using your indicators when you get out of the Bimmer and back into a Subi.

[subyroo]

Yes they are a good tyre. We have had them on several of our cars. My Club Spec wrx still has a set of PS3s on it and they have never let go and they have lasted for ages.. . I have been waiting for them to wear out as I have a set of RE003s sitting on the ground next to the car ready to go on probably next week. The car doesn't get used much so there is no point waiting for the PS3s to wear out because that could take a couple more years and I don't want to be driving with almost worn out tyres on it for 2 more years. I don't drive it often and when I do I don't want to be worrying about tyres.. My Lib has RE003s as well. They are a great tyre in all conditions and wont break the bank. The BMWs are soo expensive compared to Japanese performance cars and I don't think they are as reliable. One of our daughters has an 07 Impreza with 443,000klm and the engine hasn't been touched apart from belts etc. My rex has done 300,000ks and hasn't been touched since I bought it 10 years ago . It had just had a 2.5 engine fitted not long before I bought it. I collected all the normal goodies and fitted them and got a safe 16lb tune and it's been making 180kwatw for all those years. The M series I drove last night is going onto the market for just over $100,000 ..... We couldn't get that if we sold all 6 of our Subarus ...lol..

I had 2003 XS Forester that did 300,000kms over 10 yrs, it was serviced by Boxer Service in Brendale.
I was very happy with the Forester, wife hated it, but she loved the 2000 RX Liberty we had before the Forester.

[Jack_Keaka]

Coincidentally got to drive a brand new X5 M Competition this week.
Very sporty, feels tight, might take the cake for the worst sounding V8 in recorded history. sounds more like an inline 6.
As usual I hit my head on the A pillar like every modern BMW. would never own, but can appreciate a quick family taxi.

[bigBADbenny]

GR Yaris are now $40 ish on the used market, I’m really tempted. Just looking into how viable/enjoyable they are…

[Stifull]

My son works in the industry and he brings home what ever he wants that they have on site.. The last few weeks he has occasionally been bringing home a GR AWD 1500cc Turbo Corolla.. It is an awesome machine. Very fast with lots of awesome features. Auto engine rev matching when downshifting. Heads up display etc etc .. Very comfortable leather seats with red stitching, cool steering wheel He has been bringing home a white one but tonight there is a red one here... He is waiting on a Yaris GR to become available and he will bring that home and I am looking forward to a test drive in that.. Stat this about half way.. The driver loves it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z86DtQxQckM

[Jack_Keaka]

I found the GR Corolla particularly underwhelming. the engine is just a little underpowered for the size of car, and when 2 adults are in it...
A: it looks cool and B: i'm sure some engine mods would possibly give it some more pep that it needs.
$70-80k for a top trim is a hard pill to swallow seeing as people paid $55k for the Yaris at launch AND its the better driving car of the two.

[FrannyStephLux]

My son works for a large car company and has his choice of traded in cars every afternoon, for the last week or two he has been bringing home a 23 model Corolla GR 1.6lt turbo AWD. Fabulous little rocket that does everything well. Quicker than a rex with awesome brakes and handling . I really enjoyed the drive of this medium size awd rocket. He has had it a while as it was a demo car with over 700klm it had to be driven to 2000klm+ to be classed as a 2nd hand car... Today, and this is the one I want to take home to meet my parents, he cam home in a BMW X5 M50i (G05)... Twin turbo AWD 4.4lt V8 0-100 4.1 sec 8 speed auto.... wow.. 12.5 sec 1/4 mile and it does it soo nicely... It had new Michelin PS4s fitted today.. 275/30/22 front and 315/30/22 rears on the back. I've been a petrol head for over 55 years and had a lot of quick cars from my HQ Holden 4 door SS that i used to drag race at Surfer's Paradise International Raceway back in the early 70s through to my collection of Subarus which I love driving but this BMW was just awesome with the most softest accelerator pedal that gives almost no resistance and the enormous brake rotors and calipers that would put you through the windscreen if you were ever silly enough to jump on them hard. Here is the spec sheet. Very impressive... I wouldn't want to own one unless money was not an issue because they are very expensive to maintain. The tyres alone today cost almost $3500 but it is the fastest car I have ever driven.. I guess I would be feeling the same if I had driven an R8 or Lambo or a DB9 or F type Jag or any number of supercars but I am happy to have had the opportunity to experience that level of performance. https://fastestlaps.com/models/bmw-x5-m50i

It sounds like you've had quite the exhilarating experience with both the Corolla GR and the BMW X5 M50i! It's fascinating how different cars can offer unique driving experiences, from the nimble and agile handling of the Corolla to the raw power and luxury of the BMW. It's wonderful that you've had the chance to enjoy such a variety of vehicles over the years, each leaving its own impression on you. Do you have a favorite among all the cars you've driven?

[Ric]

I am a little suspicious how genuine Franny is.
I hope they post again and prove me wrong, but this looks a lot like ChatGPT.

[Yowie]

If I were as suspicious as you Ric, I wouldn't have this good thing going on with a Nigerian Prince and some gold.

[Stifull]

Benny we had a GR Yaris here for a couple of days/nights last week. Great little car.. All the good gear that the GR Corolla has, we have had 3-4 Hybrid Corollas come home in the last few weeks as well. The GR series in Yaris and Corolla are awesome. Several of our 4 daughters had old school Corollas as their firs cars and they were always reliable and never had any issues apart from keys locked in car and puncture or two ... New Forged engine in the GRs boost 26lb from the factory .. No wonder they go so well. The Yaris GR got sold yesterday so we won't be seeing that one here again. It sold for $49k but it only had 20,000klm on the clock before the previous owner lost his license so he got rid of it.