RE: BMW M3 tester's notes: PH Blog

[AUTOLOADER]

[daz05]

matsoc said:

"Some were looking for a car to use mostly in weekends or spirited drive BUT retaining boot and seats for 4 and also 4 doors if you need it. .....
In other words I can't consider levaing the V8 good news..."

Thanks, I am one of those people, for me this model isn't designed primarily as a daily driver, you want or need additional low down grunt buy the 335, when I read this article I read that it's excellent but I don't get the feeling of excitement from the overall tone of what is written. Something seems to be missing.

[piston3461]

Just finished up driving this car on the track. The sound is fantastic both inside and out. Very throaty, roaring engine from inside and a whole heap of cracks and backfires under load and off throttle from high RPM. Loved it.
Torque is phenomenal, as are the carbon brakes. The dash is now leather instead of hard plastic, and the seats are also much improved. Buyers are going to be very happy indeed.

[jon-]

piston3461 said:

Just finished up driving this car on the track. The sound is fantastic both inside and out. Very throaty, roaring engine from inside and a whole heap of cracks and backfires under load and off throttle from high RPM. Loved it.
Torque is phenomenal, as are the carbon brakes. The dash is now leather instead of hard plastic, and the seats are also much improved. Buyers are going to be very happy indeed.

BMW absolutely nailed the driving position and seats in the M135i, so much so getting into my E46 M3 feels extremely odd now. I can't wait to sit in the new M3.5, I can only imagine bliss.

[Wills2]

piston3461 said:

Just finished up driving this car on the track. The sound is fantastic both inside and out. Very throaty, roaring engine from inside and a whole heap of cracks and backfires under load and off throttle from high RPM. Loved it.
Torque is phenomenal, as are the carbon brakes. The dash is now leather instead of hard plastic, and the seats are also much improved. Buyers are going to be very happy indeed.

I believe the dash is only leather if you pay £3000 for the full leather option.

[s m]

piston3461 said:

Just finished up driving this car on the track. The sound is fantastic both inside and out. Very throaty, roaring engine from inside and a whole heap of cracks and backfires under load and off throttle from high RPM. Loved it.
Torque is phenomenal, as are the carbon brakes. The dash is now leather instead of hard plastic, and the seats are also much improved. Buyers are going to be very happy indeed.

Are you a motoring journo?

[piston3461]

Nope, just a customer who was invited to attend the launch

Some pics from the day.

http://imgur.com/a/p8vB7#0

Edited by piston3461 on Wednesday 21st May 19:12

[s m]

piston3461 said:

Nope, just a customer who was invited to attend the launch

Some pics from the day.

http://imgur.com/a/p8vB7#0

Edited by piston3461 on Wednesday 21st May 19:12

Good result

So it sounds a lot better in the flesh than on paper?

I see a 1M on the way to work quite often and that sounds really nice when 'extended'
Often wind the window down to catch the 'thunk' from the exhaust on gearchanges

Edited by s m on Wednesday 21st May 19:23

[piston3461]

It sounded like throaty I6 noise to me, with a hint of turbo whistle and whooshing. No complaints here.
I was in an M6 before it, and that was far quieter and toned down inside the cabin.

[s m]

piston3461 said:

It sounded like throaty I6 noise to me, with a hint of turbo whistle and whooshing. No complaints here.
I was in an M6 before it, and that was far quieter and toned down inside the cabin.

I guess I'll get to judge for myself soon as I live right near the local dealer test route

The black M3 in your photos would do me nicely

[g3org3y]

piston3461 said:

Nope, just a customer who was invited to attend the launch

Some pics from the day.

http://imgur.com/a/p8vB7#0

Edited by piston3461 on Wednesday 21st May 19:12

Thanks for sharing.

[Kawasicki]

piston3461 said:

It sounded like throaty I6 noise to me, with a hint of turbo whistle and whooshing. No complaints here.
I was in an M6 before it, and that was far quieter and toned down inside the cabin.

did you pull the fuse to the stereo amp, just to see what was actually coming from the engine?

[RMac]

Chris Harris said:

RMac said:

Please can we have an estate? Ideally with a tow bar option too.

Put that to the man from BMW. His response " You always say that, but when we build one, not many people buy it'"

But they have never built one!

They did the M5 touring but the 5 is BMW's executive luxo barge. Everyone would want that in a saloon. I imagine the only estates that were bought were by people who actually wanted a M3 estate. Many executives aren't even allowed estate cars! Daft I know but the car lists state they must have a saloon plus not that many dogs go to work in the city .

So - on the other hand, the M3 Touring - the 3 is the traditional sporting saloon from BMW and is favoured amongst family types like me because it doesn't weigh 2 tons, is not massive and is relative fun to drive.

So - we want a fun car to drive but need to transport up to 3 kids, so that rules out 911's and Lotus's. According to a 2013 pet population survey, 25% of all UK households have a dog, which rules out saloon cars.

On top of that, some of us occasionally shop at IKEA, go to the tip and have hobbies such as cycling.

As much as BMW says there is no market for the car, it would surprise me if 1 in 4 m3 / m4's sold in the UK were not estates. It would actually surprise me if the percentage wasn't higher than that.

I saw the new M3 on the m61 yesterday ( i didn't even know there were any in the country yet! ) in the blue launch colour and it made me about as excited as any car has in recent years. It looked awesome and much more pumped than anything since the E30. I want one! Really want one.

BUT - as well as the 3 kids that need taking to school every day, I also have a labrador that goes everywhere with me, and as much as I feel like leaving the dog behind so I can have a M3, I will likely buy something much duller, like another 3 series touring....

Come on BMW - please build it - give it a carbon roof too!

[ab80]

piston3461 said:

The dash is now leather instead of hard plastic, and the seats are also much improved. Buyers are going to be very happy indeed.

Unfortunately the leather dash is an option.

[Wills2]

Ref the touring M3, if BMW thought they could sell it they would build it.

They build a car for more markets than just the UK (even though I still believe it would be a slow seller over here) so even if it did sell well in the UK it would need to perform well in the US for instance and I'm not sure it would.

They sell loads of X5/6M's in the US which if you want a practical M car is the option they give you.

[piston3461]

ab80 said:

Unfortunately the leather dash is an option.

Ah ok. Thanks for the info.

Kawasicki said:

did you pull the fuse to the stereo amp, just to see what was actually coming from the engine?

No I didn't. I imagine the sound would have been significantly quieter if that were the case.
I loved the sound, so wasn't really an issue for me.

Edited by piston3461 on Thursday 22 May 17:37

Edited by piston3461 on Thursday 22 May 17:37

Edited by piston3461 on Thursday 22 May 17:39

Edited by piston3461 on Thursday 22 May 17:43

[jon-]

piston3461 said:

No I didn't. I imagine the sound would have been significantly quieter if that were the case.
I loved the sound, so wasn't really an issue for me.

I think everyone who protests online about active sound hasn't actually driven a car with it.

I thought the same, until I drove one. Now I have no problem, and actually like the fact I can "turn the car down". It's in stark contrast from my M3.

[piston3461]

jon- said:

I think everyone who protests online about active sound hasn't actually driven a car with it.

I thought the same, until I drove one. Now I have no problem, and actually like the fact I can "turn the car down". It's in stark contrast from my M3.

Half the people complaining about the choices BMW M make have never even sat in an M car

[Bezor]

hornetrider said:

Surely if one's priority is a trip to Lidl or commuting to work then an M3 isn't the tool of choice? A 335D would be more appropriate and extremely capable.

I for one lament the loss of high revving naturally aspirated engines in the M car range.

No one disagree with you that NA engines are more fun, sounds better and have faster response. But fun has a cost to be justified. But if you want a sporty car that does it all which you still can take for a inspiring drive now and then, M3/M4 would be your choice. Even Porsche owners drive to Lidl or school sometimes. M3 is a sporty sedan that does it all. It's neither a sports car, nor a simple diesel family transporter but comes close to both if needed. Even Ferrari went turbo with new California.

[Bezor]

According to BMW only 2% of the engine noise comes from the speakers. And that happens only when driving sporty. This is due to the very quite cabin that filters all noise, so even the engine noise. And when driving sporty most people want to hear the engine to get a feeling of how much they are reving the engine and also know when to shift without looking down at the rev meter.