I have an FL5 as my daily driver.
My thoughts?
Positives: The new FL5 looks awesome, so much better than the FK8, and the new widebody has amazing road presence. The new interior is awesome too, with one of the best seats, controls are easy to use and overall the car is very well made. Love all the newer tech, wireless CarPlay, and all the lane keep/centering/adaptive cruise works perfectly. Driving position is bang on and the clutch is way better feeling compared to the E9x M3. The car gets lots of attention and and thumbs ups. I'm getting 25-27mpg on average, and the ride is very nice in comfort mode.
Negatives: Steering is accurate but a little numb compared to the E9x M3, fake engine noises with piped-in sounds, you can turn it off but then it sounds very uninspiring. The engine’s powerband is rubber band-like, it doesn't have that instant crisp throttle response of the S65, not even close. The shifter is nice and direct but I actually prefer the feel of the M3’s 6MT with the Autosolutions shifter, which feels more mechanical and precise. It's been a while since I've had a FWD car and while the Type R does cool party tricks to mask that it's FWD, it's still obvious it's a higher-powered FWD. It feels odd when giving it heavy throttle and turning, no torque steer but it has a weird sensation where it feels like it wants to go straight instead of turning.
Overall I think the FL5 is an amazing car and I love having it as a daily driver. Very fun, refined, easy to drive and I highly recommend one if it’s your only car. If you can afford the upkeep, terrible gas mileage, the M3 feels more raw and special, it has this immediate response and sheer theatrics the FL5 can’t match. Getting into the M3 and getting ready to drive feels like an event, but sometimes you just want to get in and drive without having to warm up the car for 10 minutes. The M3 definitely feels faster but the Type R is no slouch with meaty mid-range torque.
