RE: BMW M3: UK Review

Wednesday 7th January 2015

2015 BMW M3 (F80) | UK Review

The M3 shone in the sun of Portugal; does it still gleam in the gloom of a British winter?



Clear Portuguese skies and Portimao circuit to play on for the BMW M3/M4 launch were always going to show a new M car in its most favourable light. And, accordingly, we returned from the trip gushing with praise, the taste of toasted Michelins still at the back of our throats. This time, however, the only laps are of the M25 and under the unremittingly grey skies of a British winter, as ever a tougher test.

Glowering in the PH car park in Black Sapphire metallic this M DCT equipped M3 certainly looks as moody as the skies above, this subtle shade and silver wheels commendably understated compared with the attention seeking Austin Yellows, Yas Marina Blues and Sakhir Oranges applied to launch cars. At least with the saloon on test we've got no M3/M4 confusion though. Four doors or not this is an M3. It says so on the back.

And proves what we suspected when the car was first shown; the saloon is possibly the cooler of the two. The transformation from 3 Series to M3 is more dramatic than it is from 4 Series to M4 for starters, the addition of the coupe's wider rear axle meaning a much more noticeable flare to the saloon's rear arches. The muscularity of this widebody look, the deep dishing on the wheels, the quad exhausts, carbon roof and the subtle bonnet bulge all combine with fabulous effect. Say what you like about the move to turbos and the rest - BMW has nailed the look.


That old launch drive caveat of 'of course, we'll have to see how it drives in the UK...' may have a ring of cliche about it but there's good reason for tempering giddy launch enthusiasm with a bit of home truth. Tyre smoking heroism is all very well but on the daily commute DAB and heated seats rapidly take greater precedence.

Much in the intervening period has been made of the character of M3's S55 turbo engine. Recent exposure to the 1 M Coupe present an interesting comparison too. Also twin turbo, the 1 M's engine was a tickled version of a regular BMW lump rather than a bespoke 'S' prefixed motor but, whisper it, perhaps a little more characterful.

It's a common thread in many new age turbo engines from German performance arms, many of whom have previously defined themselves with big capacity, high-revving and normally aspirated engines. Having established a loyal fanbase raised on this diet it's understandable that as downsizing and turbocharging are forced upon them they've attempted to replicate the feel of these traditional motors. And, like many, the S55 twin-turbo six seems determined to hide its forced aspiration. AMG has done the same thing with the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 in the GT (and soon for the M3 rivalling C63), aware that a vocal minority - us, basically - need to be placated.


The response has been entirely logical - use considerable skill, technology and innovation to disguise less desirable characteristics. Low inertia turbos, clever use of boost to keep them spinning off throttle, noise management, skilful mapping in consort with gearbox, stability control and chassis systems - the M3 uses all of this and more to try and fool you into thinking it's still normally aspirated. See the very interesting interviews on the BMW M page on engine noise and response for more from the engineers involved.

Technically the engine is a masterpiece and packed with fascinating engineering solutions. Functionally it does the numbers, with remarkable response, a willingness to rev not seen in 'civilian' BMW turbo sixes and a huge power band that sees peak torque of 406lb ft available from 1,850rpm to 5,500rpm and peak horsepower from 5,500rpm to 7,300rpm.

On the launch and quibbles like noise and low-rev response are clouded in tyre smoke. But in that accursed real world you focus less on the performance in extremis and more on the nuance, at which point the attempts to 'deturbo' the power delivery and replicate the performance of a high-powered normally aspirated engine are just that - fakery. Ungrateful swines that we are but the more crude 1 M with its slight lag and rushes of boost is actually more exciting to drive at road speeds and the S55 never quite comes across as convincing, especially aurally. Nor does it have that pent-up aggression of the best normally aspirated Ms like the E46 CSL or previous V8, both of which prickled the neck hairs at tickover.


It's the same with the variable ratio steering which never quite feels as natural and transparent as you might hope. But then nor was the E92's.

And it's these subjective characteristics - noise, steering feel, throttle response - that muffle the communication and exacerbate things like the traction issues a 431hp rear-driven saloon will inevitably experience on your typical winter road. The engineers have done superbly in mitigating the unsettling torque spikes but you see plenty of flashing yellow DSC light on even moderate throttle openings.

The active rear diff does a fantastic job of sending the power where it can be used most effectively and the stability control has everything in hand so the car never feels sketchy. But even in the dry you can feel it rationing out the power to keep the car under electronic control and there are times the M3 feels severely traction limited and a four-wheel drive hot hatch like (entirely random example...) a Golf R would be waltzing off into the fog.


But this is PH and, of course, powerfully built driving gods like us drive everywhere with the DSC off, right? There's certainly entertainment aplenty if you do and the M3 is happy to scribe exciting angles if you have the space, willingness and denial to indulge. Just don't expect it to always translate to forward motion.

One PH contributor picked the M3 and M4 as his biggest disappointments of 2014. The office isn't unanimous in that view and as a product it's a spectacular achievement. It looks fabulous. It goes like stink. It's desirable, comfortable, luxurious, pugnacious and expertly balances visual aggression with the ability to keep a relatively low profile in the company car park. The quality and extent of the M division's engineering is without question. It's as close as anyone has got to making a new-age turbo performance car with the sensations of a more traditional one yet keeping all the mod cons and returning (officially at least) mpg and CO2 that won't break the bank. And at the limit it's a magnificent thing. A common refrain these days but it's just a shame there's not more taste of that at everyday speeds.


SPECIFICATION | 2014-2018 BMW M3 (F80)
Engine:
 2,979cc 6-cyl twin-turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual/7-speed dual-clutch auto (M DCT), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 431@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 406@1,850-5,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.3 sec/4.1 sec M DCT
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,595kg/1,635kg M DCT (EU, with driver)
MPG: 32.1mpg/34mpg M DCT (NEDC combined)
CO2: 204g/km/194g/km M DCT
Price: £56,755 (£73,570 as tested comprising Sakhir Orange full Merino leather £2,915, M DCT gearbox £2,645, M Carbon ceramic brakes £6,250, reversing camera £330, electric rear sunblind £275, rear window sunblinds £190, sun protection glass £265, 'extended storage' £155, rear seat heating £280, front armrest £140, Aluminium Blade interior trim £300, Adaptive LED headlights £1,600, lane changing warning £440, Driving Assistant £370, Surround-View £500, M Head-Up Display £825, Harmon-Kardon sound system £675, Internet £95, Online Entertainment package £325 and Speed Limit Display £220)

[Sources: M-Power.com]





Author
Discussion

British Beef

Original Poster:

2,191 posts

164 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
£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?


kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
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.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
The article is a bit light on interior pics, given how interesting it might be. Got any more Dan?

Claudia Skies

1,098 posts

115 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
An expensive, if fast, way to buy the junior rep-mobile!

The £74k version of a £24k car might make sense for some people but I struggle to see it myself. (OK, from £56k....)

Dan Trent

1,866 posts

167 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
The article is a bit light on interior pics, given how interesting it might be. Got any more Dan?
Apologies on that, it was damned murky (as you can probably tell) and I didn't have a tripod or lights with me. Let me have a look through the rushes and if there's anything more I'll post it up. Did rather like the understated exterior/blinged interior combo though.

Bear with...

Dan

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
That looks brilliant in black!!

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
Dan Trent said:
Bear with...

Dan
thumbup

Alternatively - nip out to the car park with your iPhone hehe

Luca Brasi

885 posts

173 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
It does look much better as a saloon than as a Coupe.

Dan Trent

1,866 posts

167 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
Dan Trent said:
Bear with...

Dan
thumbup

Alternatively - nip out to the car park with your iPhone hehe
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

leedsutd1

770 posts

185 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
Claudia Skies said:
An expensive, if fast, way to buy the junior rep-mobile!

The £74k version of a £24k car might make sense for some people but I struggle to see it myself. (OK, from £56k....)
I agree ,75k for a Bmw 3 series seems mad, my neighbour bought a 2008 M3 when 3.5 years old (convertible) not sure how much new but paid £28k for it with low miles ,think it had around 46,000 on it. unless you are loaded and don't mind blowing 50k in a few years ,does not make sense to buy new .

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
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.

eek 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?

The Don of Croy

5,975 posts

158 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
One of these - or it may have been a M4 variant - burbled into the Tesco car park on Monday...sounded like a shonky MaxPower type at walking pace, really surprising. And not in a good way.

Add the £74k price point and it's beginning to smell a lot like poor value. Still, I doubt they'll struggle too much to flog them.

daz05

2,904 posts

194 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
Dan, good article, regarding the steering did you also find the steering a tad fidgety on the road, it feels like you are constantly making minor corrections.

V8A*ndy

3,695 posts

190 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
Luca Brasi said:
It does look much better as a saloon than as a Coupe.
I agree it really does look proper. Also like the 1M the new M3 doesn't look as good as it should/could in black.



ZX10R NIN

27,490 posts

124 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
The Don of Croy said:
One of these - or it may have been a M4 variant - burbled into the Tesco car park on Monday...sounded like a shonky MaxPower type at walking pace, really surprising. And not in a good way.

Add the £74k price point and it's beginning to smell a lot like poor value. Still, I doubt they'll struggle too much to flog them.
That's 74k before BMW give you between 10-15% off depending on how hard you haggle, as a side bar I'd get the M5 they are kind of fighting for the same Market.

Mike Roberts

126 posts

197 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
I had a jolly at Oulton driving these, and can confirm they're deeply frustrating unless you're turning most of the stuff up to 11. At that point it'll go like a stabbed rat, but its capability is far greater than our roads allow for.

I still want one, but you'd spend 90% of your time with it pulling at the lead. Which is a bit of a sad waste.

Dan Trent

1,866 posts

167 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
daz05 said:
Dan, good article, regarding the steering did you also find the steering a tad fidgety on the road, it feels like you are constantly making minor corrections
Thanks! And not fidgety as such, the variable ratio rack 'slows' it around the dead ahead but there's excellent bite from the tyres. It just feels a bit dead immediately off-centre though. Not so bad once you've got some lock on and it's interesting that they've used geometry to return the wheels to the dead ahead rather than power assistance to make this feel more natural. More detail in this very interesting tech piece on the M Power page - fill your boots here!

Indeed, that's an excellent resource for anyone looking to geek out on the M3/M4, loads of really in-depth interviews with the engineering team and underlines how much work has gone into the car over the standard 3 Series and 4 Series.

Cheers,

Dan

Howroyd

662 posts

122 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
My close friend just picked up a 6 month old ex demo M3 fully loaded for around 50 - pretty decent considering it has only got 2.5k on the clock. From BMW dealership in Kent

Sampaio

377 posts

137 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
Happy to see my country being praised here on PH biggrin


Brompty

153 posts

143 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
quotequote all
If the saloon is cooler than the coupe, why no M estate?