Has BMW dropped a clanger with the M3?
Discussion
Don't think it is necessarily the others having caught up, more they have surpassed BMW on this occasion. Bit disappointing as in the UK on real roads it seems almost a "poor car". I am sure the M Power division will sort it but its been a while since they released a car which has had such a lukewarm reception.
shim said:
how anyone can think the new M3/M4 is a lesser car than the E92M3 is beyond me. Night and day inho.
Some models don't always get better with each incarnation, e39 to e60 5 series is a perfect example of this.However, I haven't driven the new M3, so I'm not commenting specifically....
Just my 2 penith , drove one a couple of months ago on a mixture of roads and tbh , found it a massive step up over a e 46 , just felt a whole lot quicker every were compared to the e 46 and more keyed into the road , I even found that the much derided noise was pretty good and it looked great. Only thing i wasnt a fan of was the steering , found it a bit needlessly heavy.Was surprised with evos latest verdict on it considering when they pitted it against a 991 s it did pretty well.
Technically it's an improvement and they have done well in what they have created but it's missing something. Faster and sharper, but it feels bigger and the character has gone.
The gap between these and the hot hatches is also now much closer than ever and they are half the price.
Same story with the M5 I just don't find myself wanting one anymore...
The gap between these and the hot hatches is also now much closer than ever and they are half the price.
Same story with the M5 I just don't find myself wanting one anymore...
Edited by daz05 on Sunday 9th November 21:13
daz05 said:
Technically it's an improvement and they have done well in what they have created but it's missing something. Faster and sharper, but it feels bigger and the character has gone.
The gap between these and the hot hatches is also now much closer than ever and they are half the price.
Same story with the M5 I just don't find myself wanting one anymore...
its called getting older!The gap between these and the hot hatches is also now much closer than ever and they are half the price.
Same story with the M5 I just don't find myself wanting one anymore...
ive driven all the M3/M5 and the latest is a big step up to the E92.....which was really only a minor improvement over the E46
Once you get over the shove I don't think it is. The torque is nice but you lose the sense of reward you gained from the old engines. I felt further away from the experience and didn't sense the night and day experience you quote. Wasn't just a short drive either was an extended experience.
shim said:
its called getting older!
ive driven all the M3/M5 and the latest is a big step up to the E92.....which was really only a minor improvement over the E46
I disagree. I much preferred the n/a power delivery of the e92. And that V8 was magnificent. I just don't feel the same about the new car. The package feels like style over substance and it seems to have lost it's heart and soul. It just doesn't appeal to me. Money no object... I'd take the nicest e92 I could find. ive driven all the M3/M5 and the latest is a big step up to the E92.....which was really only a minor improvement over the E46
my recent drive of the new M4 was a bit of a let down. I had the car for a couple of hours so was able to try some motorway cruising, fast A/B roads etc. As others have said it is clearly a far superior car technically than the E92, but I'm left with a list of small annoyances, although the HUD in M mode is fantastic. The engine is fast without a doubt but the engine/exhaust noise reminded me more of my old 335d than the E92 M3, in fact the car felt more like a slightly hotter 335 than an M4. I will not be buying one, I'm going to try the new C63 but apart from that I think I will hold out and see if the Cayman GT4 materialises. Plus at the end of the day I can think of a lot of much worse cars to make it to 100K miles in than my E92.
My local dealer asked me what I thought of the new M4 and I said because I was so disappointed with my E92 M3 that I had gone off them a fair bit, don't get me wrong I am sure the new one is a stunning motor but I just don't like the direction of GT car that they are now and I include the E92 in that too.
BMW obviously know their market and customers must just want a comfortable car with a nice turn of pace if needed but for me the M4 is pretty much a 5 series in feel but at least there is the M2 to look forward too and that hopefully will have a little more focus on a little more fun maybe.
BMW obviously know their market and customers must just want a comfortable car with a nice turn of pace if needed but for me the M4 is pretty much a 5 series in feel but at least there is the M2 to look forward too and that hopefully will have a little more focus on a little more fun maybe.
I bought one of the last E92 M3s off the production line specifically so that I could experience a large, high-revving, normally-aspirated engine in a (relatively) affordable car before they are phased out for good due to legal constraints etc.
I had a highly-tuned and modified 135i prior to this which put out similar peak power to my M3 with a lot more torque but I find the M3 much more enjoyable. The E92 M3 engine has so much character and I find every drive an 'occasion'. The fact that one has to work a little harder for the performance than one would with a heavily torque-laden engine is what I like about the V8 (although I appreciate that others dislike the V8 precisely because of this). It's not really about absolute performance but rather how the performance makes me feel.
I certainly won't be swapping my M3 for one of the turbo-charged ones...
I had a highly-tuned and modified 135i prior to this which put out similar peak power to my M3 with a lot more torque but I find the M3 much more enjoyable. The E92 M3 engine has so much character and I find every drive an 'occasion'. The fact that one has to work a little harder for the performance than one would with a heavily torque-laden engine is what I like about the V8 (although I appreciate that others dislike the V8 precisely because of this). It's not really about absolute performance but rather how the performance makes me feel.
I certainly won't be swapping my M3 for one of the turbo-charged ones...
I got in and out of an M4 within 6 weeks, I thought it was an utter dog. Suspension too stiff meaning it skips all over the road, terrible flex and shimmies through the chassis, numb steering, traction control which has to be turned off as you cannot drive anywhere near quick with it on, DSG gearbox which is miles off a PDK box, power delivery which lights up the back wheels far too quickly, ceramic brakes that loose their feel when driven hard and a bloody irritating creaking dash. I found the car so bad that on my favourite back road I actually shut off as the experience was so poor. I would recommend the M3/M4 to nobody. I'm off back to a Porsche.
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