MY M3 test drive review.
Discussion
Hi All, drove the new M3 today, bright sunny conditions.
Car came in Black metallic with Red Leather.
Not my cup of tea, but the M4 in the showroom was just great in it’s colour.
Which was Silverstone Grey Metallic.
First impressions :
It feels more like a “Boy racer” come “Go Cart” to me.
Most suited to tight “B” road blasting, it handled the corners on “A/B” roads very well.
I went hard at it, but the car is forgiving and largely kept it’s line through the corners with little over/under steer.
Interior very 3 series and nothing special at all, this lets the whole car down IMO, just too cheap looking.
Seats:
Sports Seats look great, but were not very comfortable for me, especially over a long distance they would give me a neck ache.
Upgraded “M multi-function seats” (if available) would be my choice.
Rear seats had good knee room, but again a bit upright for us on a longish journey could prove a problem for some.
Boot looked small. Rear seats folded.
The car is and felt very light and at a steady 80 MPH shows 2200 RPM in7th.
Exhaust sound was ok over 5K RPM but droned a bit at lower RPM and whilst cruising, this again may upset some so a long test drive is what I would recommend to all.
Was It as quick as my LCI........................NO sorry it was not.
The M5 is just bonkers fast in comparison in our opinion.
I us my wife as a gauge for tyre mashing , and she agreed the M5 is KING.
Straight line speed the M3 was out gunned, but give it a twisty road and it would win.
Do I want one?. NO my M6 GC CP will be more to my liking, with a classy interior to match.
Just my view guys, go test and report yourselves.
PS) M4 pictures only;)![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/O947u1UV.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/72XVRSXy" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/72XVRSXy.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/lR9GGPSo" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/lR9GGPSo.jpg)
Car came in Black metallic with Red Leather.
Not my cup of tea, but the M4 in the showroom was just great in it’s colour.
Which was Silverstone Grey Metallic.
First impressions :
It feels more like a “Boy racer” come “Go Cart” to me.
Most suited to tight “B” road blasting, it handled the corners on “A/B” roads very well.
I went hard at it, but the car is forgiving and largely kept it’s line through the corners with little over/under steer.
Interior very 3 series and nothing special at all, this lets the whole car down IMO, just too cheap looking.
Seats:
Sports Seats look great, but were not very comfortable for me, especially over a long distance they would give me a neck ache.
Upgraded “M multi-function seats” (if available) would be my choice.
Rear seats had good knee room, but again a bit upright for us on a longish journey could prove a problem for some.
Boot looked small. Rear seats folded.
The car is and felt very light and at a steady 80 MPH shows 2200 RPM in7th.
Exhaust sound was ok over 5K RPM but droned a bit at lower RPM and whilst cruising, this again may upset some so a long test drive is what I would recommend to all.
Was It as quick as my LCI........................NO sorry it was not.
The M5 is just bonkers fast in comparison in our opinion.
I us my wife as a gauge for tyre mashing , and she agreed the M5 is KING.
Straight line speed the M3 was out gunned, but give it a twisty road and it would win.
Do I want one?. NO my M6 GC CP will be more to my liking, with a classy interior to match.
Just my view guys, go test and report yourselves.
PS) M4 pictures only;)
Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 22 June 17:26
Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 22 June 17:27
Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 22 June 17:28
Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 22 June 21:21
Edited by JMBMWM5 on Sunday 22 June 21:21
Glad you had fun John 
We got our new M3 yesterday and you're right, the M5/6 will destroy an M3/4 in a straight line - it's noticeably slower than my M6, regardless of what the official stats say. Goes to show that a fancy 0-60 time (the M3/4 is actually faster to 60, by 0.1 seconds) means little in the real world. 0-100, 120 or a 1/4 mile trap speed would be much more telling of real performance.
Totally agree with the interior - it's the most disappointing aspect of the car and is more like our previous M135i than a 5 or 6 series. I do disagree on the seats though as I find them exceptional. I know you have a thing for the Multi-Function seats (not available in the M3), but truth be told I do find the 'sports' seats in the current BMW range perfectly comfortable (and they look better
)
Where the M3 does have the M5/6 pinned to the wall is body control. Not so much handling, as the big-M's can handle, but how it controls body movement at high speed on bumpy roads. The big M's generate far too much uncontrolled movement (no doubt weight being the root cause), which effectively slows you down because it's moving about too much. In contrast, the M3 is so solid and controlled, moving no more than the size of the undulation and recovering immediately - I actually think it's more pinned down than the 991 C2S I drove recently.
We got our new M3 yesterday and you're right, the M5/6 will destroy an M3/4 in a straight line - it's noticeably slower than my M6, regardless of what the official stats say. Goes to show that a fancy 0-60 time (the M3/4 is actually faster to 60, by 0.1 seconds) means little in the real world. 0-100, 120 or a 1/4 mile trap speed would be much more telling of real performance.
Totally agree with the interior - it's the most disappointing aspect of the car and is more like our previous M135i than a 5 or 6 series. I do disagree on the seats though as I find them exceptional. I know you have a thing for the Multi-Function seats (not available in the M3), but truth be told I do find the 'sports' seats in the current BMW range perfectly comfortable (and they look better
)Where the M3 does have the M5/6 pinned to the wall is body control. Not so much handling, as the big-M's can handle, but how it controls body movement at high speed on bumpy roads. The big M's generate far too much uncontrolled movement (no doubt weight being the root cause), which effectively slows you down because it's moving about too much. In contrast, the M3 is so solid and controlled, moving no more than the size of the undulation and recovering immediately - I actually think it's more pinned down than the 991 C2S I drove recently.
Palmball said:
Glad you had fun John
We got our new M3 yesterday and you're right, the M5/6 will destroy an M3/4 in a straight line - it's noticeably slower than my M6, regardless of what the official stats say. Goes to show that a fancy 0-60 time (the M3/4 is actually faster to 60, by 0.1 seconds) means little in the real world. 0-100, 120 or a 1/4 mile trap speed would be much more telling of real performance.
Totally agree with the interior - it's the most disappointing aspect of the car and is more like our previous M135i than a 5 or 6 series. I do disagree on the seats though as I find them exceptional. I know you have a thing for the Multi-Function seats (not available in the M3), but truth be told I do find the 'sports' seats in the current BMW range perfectly comfortable (and they look better )
Where the M3 does have the M5/6 pinned to the wall is body control. Not so much handling, as the big-M's can handle, but how it controls body movement at high speed on bumpy roads. The big M's generate far too much uncontrolled movement (no doubt weight being the root cause), which effectively slows you down because it's moving about too much. In contrast, the M3 is so solid and controlled, moving no more than the size of the undulation and recovering immediately - I actually think it's more pinned down than the 991 C2S I drove recently.
Hi Andrew, yes I found the seats were holding my neck a bit forward (if you know what I mean) and had to recline them more than I would have liked.We got our new M3 yesterday and you're right, the M5/6 will destroy an M3/4 in a straight line - it's noticeably slower than my M6, regardless of what the official stats say. Goes to show that a fancy 0-60 time (the M3/4 is actually faster to 60, by 0.1 seconds) means little in the real world. 0-100, 120 or a 1/4 mile trap speed would be much more telling of real performance.
Totally agree with the interior - it's the most disappointing aspect of the car and is more like our previous M135i than a 5 or 6 series. I do disagree on the seats though as I find them exceptional. I know you have a thing for the Multi-Function seats (not available in the M3), but truth be told I do find the 'sports' seats in the current BMW range perfectly comfortable (and they look better
)Where the M3 does have the M5/6 pinned to the wall is body control. Not so much handling, as the big-M's can handle, but how it controls body movement at high speed on bumpy roads. The big M's generate far too much uncontrolled movement (no doubt weight being the root cause), which effectively slows you down because it's moving about too much. In contrast, the M3 is so solid and controlled, moving no more than the size of the undulation and recovering immediately - I actually think it's more pinned down than the 991 C2S I drove recently.
The road holding as you say is outstanding though and for the twisty stuff perfect.
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff