Thursday 4th February 2016

BMW M3 saloon (E90): You Know You Want To

An M3 saloon with a price now starting '16'; the temptation grows...

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An admission first off: we do cover M3s (and M4s) quite a lot on PistonHeads. Whether the affordable used ones, the expensive used ones or indeed a new version, there always seems to be something to talk about. With good reason too, as it's been the go-to fast saloon for 30 years now. It's also one of the performance car benchmarks, one that so many know of and aspire to own. Fair warning if you aren't an M3 then; there is some praise to follow.

Crying out for a debadge

BMW has never made an M3 Touring, which seems a shame. However, working down the bodystyle cool ranks, if estates are cooler than saloons then saloons are definitely cooler than coupes. The AMG C63 is the perfect example of this. Furthermore, everyone knows the M3 purist opts for the smallest wheels available, eschewing the widespread desire for big rims. A manual gearbox earns further kudos, particularly with the commonly held belief that recent M Division products best suit a dual-clutch or automatic gearbox (we'll ignore neither was available at the time this car built, just for now...).

So you can see why this M3 appeals. The E90 shape was never as popular with buyers as the E92 coupe; in fact it would be interesting to know if the E93 cabriolet outsold the saloon. It has the rarity factor then, plus a very good (to these eyes at least) M aesthetic. It's not as overt as the car that replaced it but there are enough identifiers for those that are looking: the bonnet bulge, the exhausts, the tiny rear spoiler.

Sensible spec, sensible miles, lunatic engine

Even just a generation on, to have a V8 that spun beyond 8,000rpm in a 3 Series sounds ludicrous. We really were spoilt in the first decade of this century with certain naturally aspirated engines. This V8, the M156 AMG V8, the Mezger Porsche flat-six, various Honda VTECs, the Alfa V6... it will surely be remembered as a great era.

Sure, this V8 is not the most usable everyday engine. Its torque peak of 295lb ft at 3,900rpm looks pretty measly a few years later, but who needs torque when you have revs? The way it keeps spinning is mesmerising, an angry V8 howl accompanying you on a rush to 8,500rpm. Just keep plenty in the budget for fuel...

However, you may need less of a budget for actually buying it. Because this M3, in a sensible spec with 67,000 miles and a full BMW history, is for sale at £16,990. Sixteen grand for an M3 saloon! It will be interesting to see just how far the E9x series of M3 falls given both the E36 and E46 have started to climb recently. As the last and most powerful naturally aspirated M3 it certainly has a USP. Question now is though: would you have it over a C63 or RS4?

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BMW M3 SALOON (E90)
Price: £16,990
Why you should: One of the finest engines of this millennium, cheap fuel, nice spec
Why you shouldn't: Selling it again? You could just keep it...

See the original advert here.

[Iamnotkloot]

Like it a lot - very similar to my E39 M5 but I guess rev'ier with a chunk less torque. I bet the space inside isn't too different either.....

[anonymous-user]

I still can't work out why they don't make an M3 tourer??


They would i think sell in reasonable numbers (afterall you see a lot hot Audi estates, and they seem to hold their value well) and i think they'd look good for the same reasons the Saloon is a more aggressive looking car than the coupe (more visual mass at the rear, gives it a nose down "sniffing out trouble" kinda look, entirely missing from the coupe imo)

[AndStilliRise]

http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/02/the-best-bmw-t...

[Krikkit]

Love the E90 M3 saloon, saw one being given a bit of a tickle this morning on the way to work, and the noise was just...

[Jez m]

Love these! Want one to replace my Z4, hopefully later this year.

This one looks fantastic! http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

[MajorMantra]

PH said:

Fair warning if you aren't an M3 then

I am not, nor have I ever been, an M3.

I'd happily drive one of these but with the best will in the world, E90s ain't the prettiest things.

Edited by MajorMantra on Thursday 4th February 19:02

[Iceicebaby1980]

I've had one of these for 12 months good all round car. Mega car for the money. Test drove an M4 in my opion not worth the extra money.

[El Guapo]

An M3 should have 2 doors and a straight six.
There, I said it.

[GreenArrow]

Yes please!! Far rarer and classier IMHO than a C63 which seem to be always driven by absolute bell ends.....

[BenGB]

I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out that the picture for the article on the homepage is not quite an M3!

[Sitoni]

I was looking at this car yesterday. Thinking of 'trading up' from my e46 m3 coupe. I love the saloon and smaller wheels. Or how about a left field option - Lexus ISF for a couple of grand more? What would you do?

[Bobo W]

El Guapo said:

An M3 should have 2 doors and a straight six.
There, I said it.

Well that's the E30 out then !

[rb5er]

Looks so much better than the coupe.

I'd still rather and ISF though except they are all autos.

[MDMA .]

BenGB said:

I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out that the picture for the article on the homepage is not quite an M3!

What is it then ? M2.5 ? Seems like an M3 saloon to me. Would love one of these. Silverstone saloon please. Just need to drop a few more k for my liking though. One round the corner from me. Sounds awesone.

[GroundEffect]

El Guapo said:

An M3 should have 2 doors and a straight six.
There, I said it.

Hear the engine rev to 8400rpm and say that again.

[Avus Blue]

You should hear one with the BMC filter on! Put one on my E92 a few months back and it's made a hell of a difference to the induction noise, sounds really angry at full throttle now.

The article is right about two things though,the V8 is a thirsty beast and the torque figure is poor for an engine of its size, both of which can become a bit tiresome on the daily grind, but the noise and grunt in the upper reaches of the rev range do make up for it on the days you get to cut it loose, it's silly fast above 6k,and if the throttle setting is in sport or sport plus it borders on violent when you stamp your foot down!

Jerez black is a nightmare to keep clean too but it looks amazing when it is. I've changed the front grilles on mine to black and the side gills to carbon which has made it look a lot more menacing, the standard chrome coloured plastic looked cheap and made the front look "toothy"

Edited by Avus Blue on Thursday 4th February 19:31

[D200]

Looks so much better with the 'small' standard wheels. Rarely see them with the 18's

[GroundEffect]

Avus Blue said:

You should hear one with the BMC filter on! Put one on my E92 a few months back and it's made a hell of a difference to the induction noise, sounds really angry at full throttle now.

The article is right about two things though,the V8 is a thirsty beast and the torque figure is poor for an engine of its size, both of which can become a bit tiresome on the daily grind, but the noise and grunt in the upper reaches of the rev range do make up for it on the days you get to cut it loose, it's silly fast above 6k,and if the throttle setting is in sport or sport plus it borders on violent when you stamp your foot down!

Jerez black is a nightmare to keep clean too but it looks amazing when it is. I've changed the front grilles on mine to black and the side gills to carbon which has made it look a lot more menacing, the standard chrome coloured plastic looked cheap and made the front look "toothy"

Edited by Avus Blue on Thursday 4th February 19:31

I was considering a BMC but most of the chat on cutters says it makes no difference. Odd.

To say there's no torque low down is all relative but on my commute to work, I am barely above 1000rpm at any point once above 2nd gear. It'll lug quite happily down to around 800rpm too.

I love my M3.

[anonymous-user]

I'd recommend the 2.5 pipe mod from PCW, great guy to deal with. Other than that I'd really lean on the brakes from speed and see if they wobble. Throttle actuators can give expensive problems so I went for an AUC and spent the extra knowing it came with a warranty. So far 10K miles 23 mpg, this drops a fair bit if you hoof it around (lowest so far is 17 on the road) or spend your life in traffic. I have used a 1.2L of oil which doesn't seem like much, I don't hang around.

My wish list if I keep mine include Alcon BBK, proper ITB's running a cable, proper dipstick (not that daft electronic one) and Ohlins dampers. I have the EDC dampers but there isn't a middle ground setting, I leave them in soft.There is a long list of tweaks but it's quick enough and sounds bloody amazing. It's basically a 4 door practical saloon which is ordinary enough to blend in but has 911 type performance. Oh, try and find one with the rear folding seats, it's an option on the saloon but standard on the coupe.

Great cars, light on torque (comparatively) but this makes them really easy going on slippery days, oh and they are nicely balanced and hide their weight pretty well. This does mean you need to feed them tyres and stay on top of the alignment, standard stuff on anything putting out 400+HP

Last of the iconic M engines and for me the last of the genuine M cars. I like the M4 but prefer the throttle and the way the power is delivered with this V8. I also like how it looks and the fact it's a manual.

[Kawasicki]

I'm also a big dan of the e90 m3, it's my second favourite after the e30.

Easy to drive at the limit, composed, precise, forgiving, polished. It's like the opposite of the f30.