E46 M3 v E92 M3

E46 M3 v E92 M3

Author
Discussion

thepony

Original Poster:

1,697 posts

164 months

Wednesday 5th October 2011
quotequote all
Anyone on here that has driven both - can they tell me

which sounds louder/nicer at 8000rpm?
what do they think of the interiors how they compare?
which they think is better looking?
will either "regular" E46 M3 CS / E92 M3 Competition Package - will they be regarded as future classics in 20-30 years to come as E46 is last of NA straight six / E92 is last NA V8?
how they compare to drive?

I have been looking for a nice E46 M3 (CS/CSL) with sensible budget 20-30k but could get a used E92 for that. Please help. Thanks very much.

E30M3SE

8,465 posts

195 months

Wednesday 5th October 2011
quotequote all
Buy a CSL if you want your purchase to have any possibilty of future classic status, your budget is more than enough to purchase a nice example, put the same amount of cash into an E92 and in a year or twos time it will probably be sub £20K, whereas the CSL will probably sell for the same as you pay for it now. End of.

(ETA, this is obviously all IMO of course and I have not actual knowledge of the CSL linked to other than it ticks all the boxes as far as the advert goes.)

Edited by E30M3SE on Wednesday 5th October 18:40

dadofbud

589 posts

208 months

Wednesday 5th October 2011
quotequote all
thepony said:
Anyone on here that has driven both - can they tell me

which sounds louder/nicer at 8000rpm?
what do they think of the interiors how they compare?
which they think is better looking?
will either "regular" E46 M3 CS / E92 M3 Competition Package - will they be regarded as future classics in 20-30 years to come as E46 is last of NA straight six / E92 is last NA V8?
how they compare to drive?

I have been looking for a nice E46 M3 (CS/CSL) with sensible budget 20-30k but could get a used E92 for that. Please help. Thanks very much.
Owned both, but not at the same time.

E92 M3 sounds fantastic, matter of opinion which is better, but I would say E92 M3.

E92 interior is streets ahead of the E46 M3, no question about it.

What car is better look, who knows ?

At present the Csl is the better investment, but wait unitl they stop making the current extra over models of the E92 M3 and then ask that question, at present all performance cars at this level are worth more than their current values, sadly, very sadly the E46 M3 can be purchased far too cheaply.

If you take on board what we read from BMW the S54 will be the last N/A V8 engine, a mistake in my view

The E92 M3 is a better drive, GT like until you engage the M button as long as you have pre-saved the best performance settings and then there's very little in the market place that can give so much pleasure, the E92 hides it speed far more the the previous model but it appears to attract less attention from the police

If you have an eye on investment plus a great drive then Csl, if you want merc like comfort from a great performance BMW then E92 M3

You are in a great position if you have to make a decision like this, good luck to you and enjoy whatever you purchase

thepony

Original Poster:

1,697 posts

164 months

Wednesday 5th October 2011
quotequote all
dadofbud said:
You are in a great position if you have to make a decision like this, good luck to you and enjoy whatever you purchase
Thanks very much.

dadofbud said:
E92 M3 sounds fantastic, matter of opinion which is better, but I would say E92 M3.

E92 interior is streets ahead of the E46 M3, no question about it.

What car is better look, who knows ?
Dont you find the buttons too small on the heater controls of E92 and dont you miss the driver focussed interior of the E46 with its big buttons and it wrapped around you etc - i know this sounds really anal but i just noticed it when i sat in a E92 M3. Though i have never driven a E92 M3.

dadofbud said:
The E92 M3 is a better drive, GT like until you engage the M button as long as you have pre-saved the best performance settings and then there's very little in the market place that can give so much pleasure, the E92 hides it speed far more the the previous model but it appears to attract less attention from the police
Why does it attract less attention from the police the E92?
How does it hide it speed far more from previous model?

I think the
EDC - great idea. BMW invented it many years ago. Shame it was not on E46.
M Button is a great idea shame not in E46 in that you can save settings (Throttle mapping/EDC/Gear change speed) and have several characteristics of different types of vehicles in one.

What do the buttons do?
-Power?
-Sport?
-DSC OFF - presumably turns it off
-the one with skid marks what does that do is that not DSC?

dadofbud said:
If you have an eye on investment plus a great drive then Csl, if you want merc like comfort from a great performance BMW then E92 M3
If i could find a really great CSL i would keep it forever and it would do me. However, i cant find one that i am happy with as all been owned by lots of people/tracked/crashed/modified/or fked around then put back to standard/not serviced enough in my opinion - it is just so hard to find and who to trust in my opinion and so few if any at BMW Dealers too. Maybe i am expecting too much.

Either way it would be a garage queen as i have a regular BMW to drive about in.



Edited by thepony on Friday 7th October 21:54

ant man

169 posts

169 months

Wednesday 5th October 2011
quotequote all
thepony said:
dadofbud said:
You are in a great position if you have to make a decision like this, good luck to you and enjoy whatever you purchase
Thanks very much.

dadofbud said:
E92 M3 sounds fantastic, matter of opinion which is better, but I would say E92 M3.

E92 interior is streets ahead of the E46 M3, no question about it.

What car is better look, who knows ?
Dont you find the buttons too small on the heater controls of E92 and dont you miss the driver focussed interior of the E46 with its big buttons and it wrapped around you etc - i know this sounds really anal but i just noticed it when i sat in a E92 M3. Though i have never driven a E92 M3.

I went from E46 to E92. I didn't miss the more wrap around dash one bit. The cabin of the E92 is a much nice place to spend time and the E46 looks very dated in comparison.

dadofbud said:
The E92 M3 is a better drive, GT like until you engage the M button as long as you have pre-saved the best performance settings and then there's very little in the market place that can give so much pleasure, the E92 hides it speed far more the the previous model but it appears to attract less attention from the police
Why does it attract less attention from the police the E92? Too many chavs / boy racers have E46 now unfortunately.
How does it hide it speed far more from previous model? The engine doesn't stop pulling and so one doesn't realise how high the speed is (it's feel more serene) until looking down at the dials.

I think the
EDC - great idea. BMW invented it many years ago. Shame it was not on E46.
M Button is a great idea shame not in E46 in that you can save settings (Throttle mapping/EDC/Gear change speed) and have several characteristics of different types of vehicles in one.

What do the buttons do?
-Power?
-Sport?
-DSC OFF - presumably turns it off
-the one with skid marks what does that do is that not DSC?
Power button is normal and sport. M mode allows sport plus. Changes the throttle map.
There is no sport button.
DSC off - yes, correct.
dadofbud said:
If you have an eye on investment plus a great drive then Csl, if you want merc like comfort from a great performance BMW then E92 M3
If i could find a really great CSL i would keep it forever and it would do me. However, i cant find one that i am happy with as all been owned by lots of people/tracked/crashed/modified/or fked around then put back to standard/not serviced enough in my opinion - it is just so hard to find and who to trust in my opinion and so few if any at BMW Dealers too. Maybe i am expecting too much.
Get a road test in a CSL, you may find it way too compromised over bumpy b-roads and may not like the way the SMG gearbox works when you just want to cruise or when driving slowly around town.

PeteB

35 posts

265 months

Thursday 6th October 2011
quotequote all
Having had an E46 M3 for the past 6 years and done over 60k in it, it has been by far the best car I have owned. It's been ultra reliable, comfortable, docile when driving round town, and the family and golf clubs all fit. Yet then, when you hit the sport button and turn the gearbox up (it's SMG) the car becomes a completely different animal and will compete with some much more exotic machinery. It really is a fantastic all rounder, and surprisingly economical (30 mpg on the motorway is commonplace) which is why I've kept it so long. So after a trip to my local dealer in April to buy a secondhand 325 for the wife, which ended up with me taking their demo E92 M3 out for the day, a couple of weeks ago I took delivery of a new mineral White E92 with competition pack. Put simply it's awesome. It does everything the E46 does, but takes it a stage further. The V8 sounds fantastic, the gearbox is sublime even in auto mode and with the EDC, despite the lowered 10mm suspension it really does ride almost as well as our Range Rover Sport family bus (which is now the wife's!).

I still have the E46, which I should put up for sale at some point, but while I quite like the idea of having a "classic" and a new one in the garage it has also given me the chance to drive them back to back and take them both out together a couple of times. The E46 is still a great car, and compared to the E92 more focused as a drivers car and the 6 cylinder still feels and sounds great. If I had the space and could convince the wife that our current 30 year old kitchen is fine I would keep the E46 as a toy. Before I bought the E92, I tried a 997 Carrera 2S just to compare and while the intention was to compare against the E92, I found myself thinking I'd rather have the E46. BUT given the choice between the E92 and the E46, the E92 wins every day of the week. It really has taken a fantastic cars best points and made each one better. Except maybe the fuel economy (which I'm naively telling myself it has stop start and it's still running in) and I only got the loudspeaker stereo not HK, its the better car, so if you can run to the E92 do it. If not a nice E46 which your budget will easily get you, is not a bad second choice by any means.

Pig Skill

1,368 posts

202 months

Friday 7th October 2011
quotequote all
PeteB said:
Having had an E46 M3 for the past 6 years and done over 60k in it, it has been by far the best car I have owned. It's been ultra reliable, comfortable, docile when driving round town, and the family and golf clubs all fit. Yet then, when you hit the sport button and turn the gearbox up (it's SMG) the car becomes a completely different animal and will compete with some much more exotic machinery. It really is a fantastic all rounder, and surprisingly economical (30 mpg on the motorway is commonplace) which is why I've kept it so long. So after a trip to my local dealer in April to buy a secondhand 325 for the wife, which ended up with me taking their demo E92 M3 out for the day, a couple of weeks ago I took delivery of a new mineral White E92 with competition pack. Put simply it's awesome. It does everything the E46 does, but takes it a stage further. The V8 sounds fantastic, the gearbox is sublime even in auto mode and with the EDC, despite the lowered 10mm suspension it really does ride almost as well as our Range Rover Sport family bus (which is now the wife's!).

I still have the E46, which I should put up for sale at some point, but while I quite like the idea of having a "classic" and a new one in the garage it has also given me the chance to drive them back to back and take them both out together a couple of times. The E46 is still a great car, and compared to the E92 more focused as a drivers car and the 6 cylinder still feels and sounds great. If I had the space and could convince the wife that our current 30 year old kitchen is fine I would keep the E46 as a toy. Before I bought the E92, I tried a 997 Carrera 2S just to compare and while the intention was to compare against the E92, I found myself thinking I'd rather have the E46. BUT given the choice between the E92 and the E46, the E92 wins every day of the week. It really has taken a fantastic cars best points and made each one better. Except maybe the fuel economy (which I'm naively telling myself it has stop start and it's still running in) and I only got the loudspeaker stereo not HK, its the better car, so if you can run to the E92 do it. If not a nice E46 which your budget will easily get you, is not a bad second choice by any means.
Well balanced and informative insight. Good to read

Gruber

6,313 posts

213 months

Friday 7th October 2011
quotequote all
Pig Skill said:
Well balanced and informative insight. Good to read
Agreed. Pete has said what I was going to.

The V8 really is glorious. And incredibly usable. It'll happily pull from 30 in 6th and it will equally happily do 100 in 3rd, which gives it such an easy-to-live with character for the daily grind.

The e46 was super. The e92 is better.

As for the CSL... Well I've only passengered, never driven, but my impression is that they are really a fun / track / weekend car - not an easy daily driver and not a massively comfortable steed for taking the better half on a continental driving holiday. Brilliant though. And addictive induction noise. But a different proposition to the "ordinary" cars.

nutcase

1,145 posts

251 months

Friday 7th October 2011
quotequote all
E30M3SE said:
Buy a CSL if you want your purchase to have any possibilty of future classic status, your budget is more than enough to purchase a nice example, put the same amount of cash into an E92 and in a year or twos time it will probably be sub £20K, whereas the CSL will probably sell for the same as you pay for it now. End of.

(ETA, this is obviously all IMO of course and I have not actual knowledge of the CSL linked to other than it ticks all the boxes as far as the advert goes.)

Edited by E30M3SE on Wednesday 5th October 18:40
Good link- it's always nice to see a properly written advert thumbup

thepony

Original Poster:

1,697 posts

164 months

Friday 7th October 2011
quotequote all
PeteB said:
Having had an E46 M3 for the past 6 years and done over 60k in it, it has been by far the best car I have owned. It's been ultra reliable, comfortable, docile when driving round town, and the family and golf clubs all fit. Yet then, when you hit the sport button and turn the gearbox up (it's SMG) the car becomes a completely different animal and will compete with some much more exotic machinery. It really is a fantastic all rounder, and surprisingly economical (30 mpg on the motorway is commonplace) which is why I've kept it so long. So after a trip to my local dealer in April to buy a secondhand 325 for the wife, which ended up with me taking their demo E92 M3 out for the day, a couple of weeks ago I took delivery of a new mineral White E92 with competition pack. Put simply it's awesome. It does everything the E46 does, but takes it a stage further. The V8 sounds fantastic, the gearbox is sublime even in auto mode and with the EDC, despite the lowered 10mm suspension it really does ride almost as well as our Range Rover Sport family bus (which is now the wife's!).

I still have the E46, which I should put up for sale at some point, but while I quite like the idea of having a "classic" and a new one in the garage it has also given me the chance to drive them back to back and take them both out together a couple of times. The E46 is still a great car, and compared to the E92 more focused as a drivers car and the 6 cylinder still feels and sounds great. If I had the space and could convince the wife that our current 30 year old kitchen is fine I would keep the E46 as a toy. Before I bought the E92, I tried a 997 Carrera 2S just to compare and while the intention was to compare against the E92, I found myself thinking I'd rather have the E46. BUT given the choice between the E92 and the E46, the E92 wins every day of the week. It really has taken a fantastic cars best points and made each one better. Except maybe the fuel economy (which I'm naively telling myself it has stop start and it's still running in) and I only got the loudspeaker stereo not HK, its the better car, so if you can run to the E92 do it. If not a nice E46 which your budget will easily get you, is not a bad second choice by any means.
As said very nice write up and great to hear from someone who has owned both especially that can drive them back to back to provide me with good insight. Especially as you compared the driving experiences first and foremost not the image.

Were they about the same in terms of noise at high-revs by the way?

Lol seems everyone has said the E92 M3 (naturally) is better. Manual/SMGII does not bother me i can drive both.

Either way it will be a garage queen as i have a regular car to drive about in.

I think for now i will stick to searching for a E46 as it seems, the really good ones will be even HARDER to find in years to come. At least that way i can experience what it feels like to have a GREAT one. As mentioned would really like a good CS/CSL. I already put wanted ad though have yet to see any ones that interest me. I been a big fan of the BMW E46 M3 (Coupe and subsequently CS and CSL) since 2000 and i was 17 so i guess it has more emotional attachment to me if that makes sense. Before i could drive it was all i would ever read about so it means more to me in that way and the only BMW i ever wanted. I was starstruck everytime i saw one lol for all the variants of the BMW E46 M3.

If i ever want a E92 M3 Competition Package i hope there is an opportunity in the future for that to have one of the good ones providing i have enough to buy one of course.

PeteB

35 posts

265 months

Saturday 8th October 2011
quotequote all
At high revs, and I haven't really tried the e92 until this evening as it's just had the running in service, the E92 is phenomenal and almost scary for the road. But beyond 6k revs the noise is awesome and the way the power is delivered is frightening and this is coming from an E46 which is no slouch. Either I wasn't expecting it or I'm getting old, but my god the E92 flies and when I think I wanted a 997, there is no comparison especially the noise. When I was younger I always wanted a TVR as I just loved the noise of the rover V8. I came very close to buying one a couple of times, I even have the workshop manual, bought in preparation, but in the end my bottle went. After the test drive of the E92 in April, that was the best compliment I could pay the E92. A refined and practical TVR. Again, if i had the opportunity to build a collection, a tvr chimaera 500 would be on the list, but for the time being I'll stick with its Bavarian successor. Good luck with the hunt, and my advice if you're going E46 would be go with the CSL if you want noise and it is going to be a toy. Otherwise, get the best E46 you can find and I wouldn't be too hung up on the CS. I always thought that was a compromise. Fewer creature comforts, a faster steering rack (great) but no extra power of the CSL so what's the point?

scotty1

477 posts

215 months

Saturday 8th October 2011
quotequote all
Great posts all, I am hoping to pick up my e92 next week (used) and I have been having reservations as I have just sold my E46 smg. Although I liked the E46 the smg ended up doing my head in and the car never really filled the sense of occasion that my old TVR had, so I was worried I may be making a mistake with the new M3. However having read Peteb last comments I am excited again and sure I am making the right decision.... bring on nxt friday smile


MC99

410 posts

185 months

Sunday 9th October 2011
quotequote all
PeteB said:
Having had an E46 M3 for the past 6 years and done over 60k in it, it has been by far the best car I have owned. It's been ultra reliable, comfortable, docile when driving round town, and the family and golf clubs all fit. Yet then, when you hit the sport button and turn the gearbox up (it's SMG) the car becomes a completely different animal and will compete with some much more exotic machinery. It really is a fantastic all rounder, and surprisingly economical (30 mpg on the motorway is commonplace) which is why I've kept it so long. So after a trip to my local dealer in April to buy a secondhand 325 for the wife, which ended up with me taking their demo E92 M3 out for the day, a couple of weeks ago I took delivery of a new mineral White E92 with competition pack. Put simply it's awesome. It does everything the E46 does, but takes it a stage further. The V8 sounds fantastic, the gearbox is sublime even in auto mode and with the EDC, despite the lowered 10mm suspension it really does ride almost as well as our Range Rover Sport family bus (which is now the wife's!).

I still have the E46, which I should put up for sale at some point, but while I quite like the idea of having a "classic" and a new one in the garage it has also given me the chance to drive them back to back and take them both out together a couple of times. The E46 is still a great car, and compared to the E92 more focused as a drivers car and the 6 cylinder still feels and sounds great. If I had the space and could convince the wife that our current 30 year old kitchen is fine I would keep the E46 as a toy. Before I bought the E92, I tried a 997 Carrera 2S just to compare and while the intention was to compare against the E92, I found myself thinking I'd rather have the E46. BUT given the choice between the E92 and the E46, the E92 wins every day of the week. It really has taken a fantastic cars best points and made each one better. Except maybe the fuel economy (which I'm naively telling myself it has stop start and it's still running in) and I only got the loudspeaker stereo not HK, its the better car, so if you can run to the E92 do it. If not a nice E46 which your budget will easily get you, is not a bad second choice by any means.
Almost identical situation as me back in late'08. Having owned a Z3M, e46M3 and e92M3 amongst others I still think the E92 has some special qualities, the engine being a masterpiece. You won't be disapointed.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Have to say these posts are very good the E92 does really tick so many boxes - but does its MPG actually hit high 20's in general non hooning driving?

ArmaghMan

2,399 posts

179 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
Anyone moved from E39 M5 to E9x M3.
I'm thinking about letting the M5 go and getting a nice V8 M3 saloon, but I drove a couple of E46 M3s and was totally underwhelmed. If you were prepared to rev them to the limit then they sounded great and really went, but the 5 was just so much more me, just floor it any gear, any speed and it delivered.
Is the 4 litre the same or do you have to really rev it?

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
quotequote all
ArmaghMan said:
Anyone moved from E39 M5 to E9x M3.
I'm thinking about letting the M5 go and getting a nice V8 M3 saloon, but I drove a couple of E46 M3s and was totally underwhelmed. If you were prepared to rev them to the limit then they sounded great and really went, but the 5 was just so much more me, just floor it any gear, any speed and it delivered.
Is the 4 litre the same or do you have to really rev it?
Isn't it a 270bhp/tonne car it'll never feel slow.

I had the pleasure of driving an E46 M3 hard round a track (sure if never get close to driving on the road like that) it was sublime. However it is an older road car though nothing wrong with that at all - but the E92 from above comments moves the game on a lot.

E30M3SE

8,465 posts

195 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
Have to say these posts are very good the E92 does really tick so many boxes - but does its MPG actually hit high 20's in general non hooning driving?
On a motorway/'A' road cruise.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

197 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
E30M3SE said:
On a motorway/'A' road cruise.
So really 23mpg is to be expected - does it improve if the M button isn't used or is that only the M5?

E30M3SE

8,465 posts

195 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
Driven gently, yes.

'M' button doesn't alter power output on E9x M3, 414 bhp available all the time, afaik.

cpufreak

478 posts

207 months

Friday 18th April 2014
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
So really 23mpg is to be expected - does it improve if the M button isn't used or is that only the M5?
no.

on my e46 CSL, I averaged around 24mpg, with up to 30mpg on a reasonably careful long run run (and 34mpg on the best ever really careful run)

with my e92 m3s, both manual + dct I average around 18mpg with maybe up to 25mpg on a reasonably careful long run, and the best I've seen over a distance cruising at ~70mph is 28mpg.

M button makes no difference to economy or power in terms of engine mapping, just changes throttle response (if you have configured it to do so).