Suraj Gaurav

After couple of BMWs including 2012 X5 50i, I am in the market for 2012-13 GTS or Turbo. I have driven both and truly love the power of Turbo, sound and sportiness of GTS. I would love to get some input to make a decision.

Here's how I am thinking

+ GTS - Selection is wider on autotrader.com.

+ GTS - Comes with special colors like Red with Carmine interior, blacked out wheels. Really looks cool. Turbo's selection is far narrower with mainly std choices like White/Black. Infact, I haven't seen a Red one. Makes me wonder why it's more common for GTS to have such choices. Thus, appearance wise, GTS wins.

+ GTS - Many of the models are barely used with 10K miles. Turbos have more miles at 25K approx.

+ GTS - sport exhaust is sweet! Sounds badass.

+ Turbo - In the power department, Turbo is a clear winner and feels like a step up from my current ride X5 50i (400 HP, 450 torque/1500 rpm). GTS is slower than X5, much slower than Turbo. Torque is available 3500 rpm+ which isn't great for daily driving. Also, I don't intend to track.

Budget - More or less in same ballpark with calibration of miles, model year 12 vs 13. So, it's not a major factor.

Thus, without the power issue, GTS is a clear winner. No doubt, power is a big criteria. Would love to hear your opinions!

PCA1983

You are mostly correct, IMO. Except - for the 958 series the Turbos run 2011-2014 and the GTSs 2013-14. With that said, for 958s, a 2011 Turbo is generally quite a bit lower price than a GTS. 2012 turbos are close, and 2013s and 2014 turbos are generally higher priced than comparable GTSs. I've seen mileage on recently advertised 2011 958s run from 5k to 106k miles, so it all depends...

Igooz

I went through the same debate a couple of years ago and picked the GTS...
A close friend of mine was going through the same debate and bought a Turbo S.
Try and drive both cars would be my advice.

rebrewer

I went through this same decision process recently. I had decided on a GTS over an S. The power and sound of the GTS is wonderful. Then I drove the Turbo. Bought the Turbo. That extra power was all it took. I do think the GTS sounds better, but a TechArt exhaust should help with that. I'll know in a week when I bolt it up.

ArcticFox

Good feedback.... I am in the same boat....looking at 11 and 12 turbo's.

fatmatt0116

Bypassing the secondary cats on the turbo makes it sound great.

Sniffer

I really want to do that mod - the standard car is just too quiet

I`ve looked at HHR bypass pipes and they are offered in 2.5" or 3" (standard is 2.56" IIRC) and supposedly the 3" is the more "boomy" sound so thats probably what I`ll go for when I take the plunge