RE: BMW M3: UK Review

[hornetrider]

Dan Trent said:

If only the car were still here - sadly it's gone back to BMW. And unfortunately it seems I failed on the interior shots. Here are some interiors from a US-spec M3...









...and an M4 in something close to what we had in this car...



Cheers,

Dan

EDIT: If you can't see the pics in the forum view click on the icon and it should bring it up. Apologies, some sort of tech issue.

Edited by Dan Trent on Wednesday 7th January 11:12

Cheers! Do like the hard back sport seat, very GT3.

[mwstewart]

The engine I suppose is almost OK in a saloon, but the coupe definitely needs something more interesting under the bonnet.

[r11co]

A product of its time. That is a damning enough statement.

[soad]

Tuvra said:

That looks brilliant in black!!

Most cars do.

[moffat]

Went for a test drive and I was really underwhelmed. Very fast, great looking (M3, not a fan of the M4), but lacks character in my opinion. I am coming from a C63, but I just didn't feel it was worth it. In all honesty I felt that my old 135i Coupe (mapped, BMW Performance Exhaust) was much more exciting, so I understand the comparison to the excellent 1M.

I think the door is wide open for the new C63 to provide the sense of occasion a car like this really needs.

No doubt to many not coming from the previous M3, C63 or RS4 it will be epic, but to many it will miss the mark in my opinion, hence the polarised opinions.

Maybe a decent upgraded exhaust will help, but that should have been standard.

[0a]

Kind of like a super 335i by all accounts

[anonymous-user]

moffat said:

Very fast, great looking (M3, not a fan of the M4), but lacks character in my opinion.

Doesn't that ^^^^^ describe every car on sale in 2015, from a Kia C'eed to a Mcl P1 ??


It's worth noting that "booted" saloons aways look better with 4 doors, as the higher rear deck give the car a more aggressive "ar*e up, nose down" rake to it. It's been true since the E36 arrived, but certainly most obviously so for the E9x platform cars where the large wheel diameter and small tyre side wall height sit so nicely in the blistered rear arches

[Guvernator]

g3org3y said:

Lovely stuff. There's a new M4 that parks close to where I live, IMO they've really nailed the styling. Only seen one new M3 in the wild so far.

at the amount/cost of options!! Almost 20k added to the base price.

kambites said:

Article said:

...peak torque of 406lb ft available from 1,850rpm to 5,500rpm and peak horsepower from 5,500rpm to 7,300rpm...

Yuck! Sounds horrible.

Why do you say that?

I think he is alluding to the fact that a car setup with this kind of power curve will not be that exciting to drive. It's designed for ease of every day use rather than providing thrills which doesn't sound right for an M car. However people complained that the fabulous V8 in the previous M3 was too peaky and lacked low down torque so be careful what you ask for and all that.

I do love the styling on this M3 though and I suspect it may just be a minority of PH'ers moaning about the engine, it seems this is what the general public want in an M car these days. Personally if manufacturers are going to be forced down the turbocharged route, I'd rather they didn't try so hard to hide this fact as you loose a lot of the character that makes a turbo engine so exciting in the first place.

[mrRush]

Not trying to defend the M3 (too much variable-ratio fakery for me sorry), but why should we expect it to be anything other than traction-limited on a greasy or wet surface? I am all for extolling the virtues of a nicely balanced RWD chassis, but please don't then complain that it can't compete with 4wd for traction...cake/eat it etc....

[thespannerman]

Brompty said:

If the saloon is cooler than the coupe, why no M estate?

+1 I'd love an M3 wagon!

[Richyboy]

I remember people saying on the BM3W forum that my CSL was a parts bin special and it would be worth 20k in a few years lol. These m cars always seem to take a few years to gel with us.

[RossP]

As nobody else has said it yet...

This makes the M135i/M235i look like superb value...

Which is why when I got rid of my E92 M3 I bought an M135i

[Cotic]

So, if you tick the 'uprated stereo' option do you also get a V8?

[g3org3y]

Guvernator said:

g3org3y said:

Lovely stuff. There's a new M4 that parks close to where I live, IMO they've really nailed the styling. Only seen one new M3 in the wild so far.

at the amount/cost of options!! Almost 20k added to the base price.

kambites said:

Article said:

...peak torque of 406lb ft available from 1,850rpm to 5,500rpm and peak horsepower from 5,500rpm to 7,300rpm...

Yuck! Sounds horrible.

Why do you say that?

I think he is alluding to the fact that a car setup with this kind of power curve will not be that exciting to drive. It's designed for ease of every day use rather than providing thrills which doesn't sound right for an M car. However people complained that the fabulous V8 in the previous M3 was too peaky and lacked low down torque so be careful what you ask for and all that.

I suspected as much and had in the back of my mind the various complaints laid at the door of the E92 M3.

[ManOpener]

Richyboy said:

These m cars always seem to take a few years to gel with us.

I do recall lots of people moping about the weight/steering feel/ride/engine/price of the E90 round about release time.

[aston addict]

Not the greatest of reviews - almost like you haven't really driven the car, Dan! And very few pics, esp. showing off the wider rear track.

There's very little on what it's like to live with day-to-day and more a rehash on the merits of the engine etc.

Now where's shed....

[GTEYE]

British Beef said:

£74k less change for a 3 series!!!

The cost of some of those options fails to amaze and surprise me.

Surely a base M5 would offer more of everything if comparing new for new prices?

Fair enough. 2 points to bear in mind though:

1) No sane person would actually spec one up from £56k to £74k

2) No sane person would pay full price for one.

I would imagine a sensibly specced one listing at circa £60k could be on your drive for maybe £52/53k?

[kambites]

g3org3y said:

I suspected as much and had in the back of my mind the various complaints laid at the door of the E92 M3.

Sensible people didn't; the E92 M3's engine was lovely for this type of car.

I've no objection to this sort of torque curve for a car designed to spend 90% of its time on the motorway but for something that's meant to be "fun" it's appalling, IMO. It almost might as well be a diesel.

[Lowtimer]

g3org3y said:

I suspected as much and had in the back of my mind the various complaints laid at the door of the E92 M3.

Of course, someone who hates having easily accessible power all the way through the rev range always has the option of opening the throttle gradually, while they watch the other guy disappear off into the distance.

[Amirhussain]

g3org3y said:

Guvernator said:

g3org3y said:

Lovely stuff. There's a new M4 that parks close to where I live, IMO they've really nailed the styling. Only seen one new M3 in the wild so far.

at the amount/cost of options!! Almost 20k added to the base price.

kambites said:

Article said:

...peak torque of 406lb ft available from 1,850rpm to 5,500rpm and peak horsepower from 5,500rpm to 7,300rpm...

Yuck! Sounds horrible.

Why do you say that?

I think he is alluding to the fact that a car setup with this kind of power curve will not be that exciting to drive. It's designed for ease of every day use rather than providing thrills which doesn't sound right for an M car. However people complained that the fabulous V8 in the previous M3 was too peaky and lacked low down torque so be careful what you ask for and all that.

I suspected as much and had in the back of my mind the various complaints laid at the door of the E92 M3.

I agree.