I just picked up my M45 Sport a week ago. I absolutely love this car. I have been going back and forth over what to get for a couple months. The cars on my list were M45, G37, BMW 550, 335, 2015 WRX, even the 2014 Accord Sport Manual or Civic Si. (Im coming out of an Accord V6) Wide range of cars I know. I even thought about keeping my Accord and getting an S2000.
The BMWs I looked at all seemed to have crappy quality and were showing too much wear and tear for 2008 year cars. The WRX is still a couple months away, and I didn't want to spend any more money on my Accord, and the AC needed a new compressor, tires were coming up and motor mounts just started showing signs of needing replacement. Civic doesnt look good to me like I thought the 06 model year looked, and the Accord Sport is just way too slow and no V6.
It was a close call between the G37 and the M45. I really wanted a manual transmission. But the G37 looked too much like a jellybean, and as I was reading up on the M45, I saw that the shiftable transmission was pretty smart, and blipped the throttle on downshifts.
Then I saw this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhSTGh-lE5k
I went straight to CarMax to drive one after that. There was a 2008 M35 Sport and a 2006 M45 non sport. So I drove the M45 because of the V8 and loved it. Very smooth. And the ride was still firm to me. I didnt want a sloppy suspension. It was firm but supple. Very nice. I couldnt wait to see what the sport suspension would be like. But even the non sport had very responsive steering and a very planted feel. I would hustle that down a mountain road any day. And the cooled seats on that hot day really made me want the car, especially knowing my AC was out with the black leather in my Honda.
So I transferred my car in from Birmingham last Wednesday, sold my Accord on Thursday, and picked up my M45 on Sunday. I am very happy with it. Its a 2008 M45 Sport and has 49,000 miles. It does not have the premium package, I guess the upgraded audio would be nice but the rear DVD screen on the 06 I drove blocked the rear view. It seems like the radio in my 08 sounded better than the 06 I drove and that one didnt have the speakers in the seats. Rear sunshade, reclining rear seats, radar cruise control, lane departure assist I will have to do without. Makes for a lighter car anyway right?
It was raining when I got it and rained for a few days after, I never got to wash it properly till today.
The car had pinstripes (and crooked at that) and the carmax sticker. Those had to go. I had a friend help me with that.
I was also concerned that the seats were showing wear, and was wary because the Accord Coupe perforated leather seats are terrible for cracking and wear. But after treating my seats with leather conditioner, the couple spots where I thought the dye had rubbed out of the leather returned to the color of the rest of the seats, so I was very pleased with that. The CD player stopped loading CDs properly so I took it back to the dealer to get changed out.
So likes and dislikes:
Likes: Smooth engine, planted yet compliant suspension, luxury features, relentless thrust. Shiftable transmission with rev-matching, one touch windows and sunroof, cooled seats, very nice styling that is really holding up well ( I prefer the Y50 to the Y51, just like I thought the 08 Accord looked worse than the 03-05)
Dislikes: Is there no way to get a numerical figure for average fuel economy other than a graph showing something roughly in between 15-20mpg?
Audio system does not have fine enough control over volume at lower levels. Either its too loud or too quiet.
I wish it took DVD MP3s. Not just CD. Or allow me to rip MP3 directly to the hard drive.
Steering wheel buttons have to be pushed lightly so as not to honk the horn.
No map pocket in rear doors? Really?
Front map pockets are tiny.
Cupholder gets in the way of shifter and armrest and doesnt really hold a water botttle well. Id prefer if the right cupholder was the smaller one so at least I can use the shifter.
No way to go from Ignition ON position to ACC without turning it to OFF position first. Sometimes I just want to hear the rest of my song before I turn the car off.
Wish there was bluetooth audio streaming but I will add that in
Center upper LATCH child seat anchor is offset to the side because of the BOSE subwoofer in the middle. Weird. I prefer my daughter have her car seat in the center.
No programmable door locks to lock when the vehicle is put into drive or rolling past a certain speed?
2500 RPM at 70MPH in 5th? I know this is a sports sedan, but the Corvette is a sports CAR and doesnt do that.
And Im really nitpicking, but I dont want to see my cars total miles all the time. I wish it rotated with the trip odometers.
Sounds like I hate my car? Nah! I love it. Every car has a personality right?
Here is my beloved Accord I sold. I do miss it, but it gets easier every time I push the start button and hear the growl of the 4.5 liter quad cam V8.
I plan similar things for the M. A mild drop, 15mm spacers or a set of Velgen VMB5.lip spoiler, Subwoofer, Exhaust, Intake, LED conversion for all interior lights, turn signals, license plate lights, reverse lights, LED DRL conversion of the foglamps, tint the clear part of the tail lights to give the red more visual width and pronounced shape, ceramic tint the windows, paint the brake calipers black, swap the rotors for Powerslot Cryo Slotted rotors.
