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A non-Boss owner's review of the Boss

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Been in the market for a new car. Currently, I have an E36 M3 track car...and needless to say, after testing the boss, I'm sooo getting one!

Test drove a Grabber Blue Boss the other day, after much persuasion to the sales rep. They wouldn't let anyone touch the Boss (limited car, blah blah blah), so he did it behind the manager's back.

In short, the car surpassed expectations. Driving position is great (not cayman great, but better than m3 actually). All the controls are good and where they should be. Steering wheel size is perfect, headroom is adequate (for helmet) and shift effort is low (just the way I like it). Forward visibility is good. Oddly, actually better than my 90s car.

Turn in is immediate... I was impressed. Cold weather, fat heavy car with 2 occupants and not a problem. The response to driver input at the wheel is swift and minimal input is needed. Directing it to a corner, it hustles straight in--weight not a factor! Delicate. Easy to balance with mild changes in throttle or steering - much more so than E36 actually. The stiffened front strut hats made a big difference here.

Chassis feedback is excellent. You know what the car is doing at all times--it's always talking to you. Much feel through the pedal box, your ass, the wheel. After trying it out, I have no qualms really driving it hard at the track. I figured I'd be intimidated due to the power, and it's heavy ass dragging around at high loads. And yes, the power certainly must be respected...but the stock setup is so good, and chassis feedback so clear that it is actually confidence inspiring.

Brake effort was spot on for me. Not over boosted like most. Modulation was very easy, and actually better than the Cayman in this regard. Not really grabby up top--just the way I like it.

Size shockly wasn't such a huge deterrent, and in my short arsed test drive (wanted to be sensitive to keeping the mileage low), I was very impressed. Chassis is easy to manipulate, and at least at sane speed levels, the car is spot on. Engine response is really quick. Drive-by-wire be damned! It was instant. It even revs faster than my E36 does...so much so that I wasn't used to how touchy the go pedal was. Even more responsive than the Cayman--and this was before the track key too.
 
Wait until you get more camber in the front end. It still won't have the feedback of a Porsche but it will feel nice. Add TracKey and you'll get more aggressive throttle mapping and some nice engine braking which really wake up the engine.

BTW if you're going to be tracking your Boss when you find one you've come to the right place. Welcome to BMO.
 
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NFSBOSS said:
Wait until you get more camber in the front end. It still won't have the feedback of a Porsche but it will feel nice. Add TracKey and you'll get more aggressive throttle mapping and some nice engine braking which really wake up the engine.

BTW if you're going to be tracking your Boss when you find one you've come to the right place. Welcome to BMO.

Thanks for the welcome, Rick!

Definitely - some camber bolts, brake ducts and pads are #1 on the list for me. I'll take the rest as it comes!
I'm probably one of the odd few that much prefer the look of the 2012 'stang the best, so I'll be on the hunt for a used one. I just listed my current car yesterday :D The hunt continues for that Boss! Wonderful car. Ford did great here.

I know it doesn't matter, and shouldn't...but what kind of average mpg are you good folks getting in this car? :D
 
boro92 said:
I'm probably one of the odd few that much prefer the look of the 2012 'stang the best, so I'll be on the hunt for a used one.
You are not alone on the look of the 12'. ;)

boro92 said:
I know it doesn't matter, and shouldn't...but what kind of average mpg are you good folks getting in this car? :D
I get around 6 mpg at the track and around 14 mpg the rest of the time. Mine is a weekend warrior and I like to verify the rev limiter is working properly as often as possible. On two longer trips I've gotten 22 and 26 mpg so it's possible to get what is advertised. The one trip where I got 26 I did hit triple digits a few times but it was mostly downhill.
 

Domestic Product

Big fat tires and everything !
Well you better hurry up and get one as supply is limited. New or used. I too had a E-36 M3 that was all set up for the track, great car. BMWs are great to drive, something about how its all put together makes them a drivers car. I think the description I heard once was the performance is greater then the sum total of the parts. Sort of black magic.
It is the same with the Boss. Built to beat the E-90 M3. Fords secret project 747 developed the Boss on track with a E-90 M3 at Laguna Seca. Ford gave the go ahead for the Boss only if it could beat the M3. It did and does and for a lot less money. Every time I drive the Boss I'm thankful that Ford built the car. Grew up a Ford guy, strayed away with 3 BMWs and a Corvette. So glad to be back and in the Boss. I like the 12s better as well. No idea on mpg but if you baby it and use skip shift I think they do OK. I bought a pre-owned one as well 6,500 miles, perfect condition, $38,500.
 
Yea they certainly accomplished their goal. A little proof came when a guy in an E-90 M3 with a license plate that said "MOVOVR" had to repeatedly move over when he met the Boss at two different tracks in the Upper Midwest ::) Last year he showed up in a GT3RS lol. The Boss isn't quite at that level but with some mods will play ok with a GT3. I'm good with it since I'm in for about 30% of the cost of that GT3RS ;)

Welcome to BMO and I too am partial to the look of the '12 but you can't go wrong with either MY.
 
How in the sam hell did you get such a great test drive. My salesman squeeled like a girl when I got onto it an a on ramp in third. I was still hooked.
 

batman48195

I never get tired of driving it!
Always cool to hear from someone who has driven the competition (and liked it) and gives a positive review of the Boss and has some experience on the track.

Brian
 
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Wow! A lot of brave souls buying cars without testing here!

I definitely kept up with all reviews of the Boss, and have been super enamored with it since its introduction. However, I needed to hop in and feel for it myself, as some minor things can be game changers for me (over boosted brakes being an example!). So it was wonderful to drive the car and experience this great machine first hand. Needless to say, I'll be joining the ranks of all of you good fellows pretty soon! I'm boss hunting :D

The sound, the look, the feel...everything. Spot on. This is the most exciting modern car to hit our shores in the past decade (in my personal opinion). I'm excited to find one!
 
cloud9 said:
Yea they certainly accomplished their goal. A little proof came when a guy in an E-90 M3 with a license plate that said "MOVOVR" had to repeatedly move over when he met the Boss at two different tracks in the Upper Midwest ::) Last year he showed up in a GT3RS lol. The Boss isn't quite at that level but with some mods will play ok with a GT3. I'm good with it since I'm in for about 30% of the cost of that GT3RS ;)

Welcome to BMO and I too am partial to the look of the '12 but you can't go wrong with either MY.

Love the comment on the BMW license plate ......
 

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