BMW F80 M3 Irn Bru Orange
Discussion
I'd been eyeing the market for a nice M3 for a few months, but so many of them are white or black. I think white's going to look very '2010' soon and I've never been a fan of black, as all the design accentuations that BMW have carefully built into the car - grilles, scoops, rails etc tend to be black, so get lost against the main colour. Yas Marina went out the window for being a bit effeminate, so I was left with a lovely dark blue called Tanzanite Blue and Sakhir Orange. I appreciate other colours are available, but these happened to be for sale at around the right price.
The Tanzanite blue one wasn’t the finest example and over priced so it came down to Sakhir. In the dealer's photos, to be honest, it looked pretty awful - like some of the colours you get on low end far eastern cars. But then I came across THIS thread and saw some pictures, with Sakhir Orange suddenly looking a lot more appealing.
I had to go see the car in the flesh and, for me at least, it looked fantastic. The colour varies from Tango, through Irn Bru all the way to Cherryade depending on light conditions. Oddly, I have a ginger labrador who exhibits the same characteristics.
Spec wise, the car has the correct gearbox , Harman Kardon audio system, Head Up Display, carbon trim as well as the obvious standard bits n bobs - the F80 is well spec’ed as standard.
So what’s it like? First impressions are that it’s really pleasant and easy to drive at normal road speeds. I remember when I first drove my E39 M5 and that was a b
d to drive smoothly. This, apart from some tramlining due to the wider tyres and wider track, is benign and relaxing. However, I didn’t buy it to pootle, so when you actually drive it properly, the car is very impressive.
I had an E90 M3 (V8) previously and I never liked the engine. There’s a certain poster on here, who never fails to mention his dislike for the torque characteristics of the V8 - I completely agree with him. The first time I accelerated hard in the car, I actually thought there was a fault as it was so gutless until about 6k rpm. This is definitely not the case with the F80. There is instant power, and a lot of it, from about 1500 rpm up until the red line. Although the headline power figures are similar for both the cars, the additional torque and torque spread of the F80 makes it significantly faster.
The traction control, or your own skills, have to work hard though. 550Nm soon overwhelms the rear tyres, but this makes the car interesting and involving. I ride a KTM 500 enduro motorbike and it’s similar in that it’s got too much power and torque to just open the throttle – you have to use skill and judgement to modulate otherwise you’ll immediately die.
I like the sound of the car too. I tend to drive around in eco mode as it keeps the car nice and quite, but when you want it to make noise, full throttle , high up the rev range when both turbos are blowing a gale – it sounds fantastic in my opinion. I’m also hugely relieved that it doesn’t really pop, crackle or bang. I just think that is embarrassing.
Anyway, I needed to check the handling was up to scratch, so day 2 of ownership involved heading south, through the channel tunnel and off to the hallowed Eifel mountains and the Nurburgring. I can confirm the car handles extremely well. I’m not sure what magic has been employed but the turn in is incredible. There is no hint of understeer: just turn the wheel and the car goes round the corner. The balance of the car is good too, although at very high speeds it isn’t quite as well composed as an M5, but you’d expect that. The torque of the engine allows you to really balance the car on the exit of bends. I’m sure that lairy oversteer is readily available, but day 2’s a bit early for that sort of business. On entering the final straight at the ring I accelerated hard up to about 150mph, and had a blink of the traction control light at about 130... It’s certainly got some grunt.
I think the manual gearbox adds an extra dimension of interest too. I didn’t specifically search for a manual, but a DCT wasn’t available at the right price and in a non-monotone colour. The additional control you get with the stick and the fact you actually have to go through the motions of throttle and clutch control can make for a really challenging and involving drive. I’m sure the DCT is faster, easier, smoother etc, but I really like the control. Maybe it’s the motorbike thing again.
The adjustable modes of the car (steering, suspension and eco/sport/sport+) are OK in that they slightly change the elements of the car as you would expect. The differences don’t seem so acute as in the E90, but it’s nice to cruise along when you’re not in the mood in ‘comfort/ ECO modes’
One thing that I would grumble about, is that in ECO and Sport throttle modes, the car auto blips the throttle on down changes. This is a good idea, but doesn’t work at all well in practice: The revs are raised correctly, but then don’t fall quick enough so you end up accelerating into a bend when you, sensibly, would rather be slowing down. I don’t know whether there is a s/w update for this? Fortunately in sport+ the blipping has to be done by the driver – but I didn’t pay all this money to press the throttle myself
Brakes are good. This is the first M3 to have multi piston proper brakes. Oddly, they seem to be the same callipers you see on all the 320d MSports in the company car park where they’ve paid the extra as part of the optional ‘bragging pack’ The brakes make quite a lot of noise when used hard on the track or autobahn, but I think this is the nature of drilled, semi floating discs.
The rest of the car is pretty standard 3 series. It annoys me that the key doesn’t have a slot – what’s the point in that? and cup holders are only available if you take out the nice shelf, handily sized and positioned to take your iphone and the key... The M3 seats look cool (as you may be able to see in the pics, mine are a nice normal colour
)and they are very supportive and go plenty low enough. The iDrive etc is unnecessarily complicated and the sat nav a bit st, but the previous owner’s decision to upgrade to Logic7 Harman Kardon is appreciated. It’s a impressive sound system and nearly goes loud enough to drown out the deafening tyre noise on certain road surfaces. 
One thing I wasn’t initially too bothered about was the Head Up Display. But actually it’s really good. You have your speed up there, which you can change to km/h for continental driving, and your Sat Nav instructions aswell as a few menu functions. You soon get used to relying on just the HUD – brilliant. There is an option for ‘M display’ which is a rev counter and a few other bits, but this is a bit gimmicky.
So we left the Nurburgring and headed off down the autobahns. 150/160mph is very achievable, but the poor surfacing in places can upset the balance of the car. Also, the relatively parsimonious nature of the car is turned on its head at these speeds. One notable and amusing event, was on finding a quiet bit of autobahn and attempting to get to the horizon as quickly as possible, I could not lose the following car. I could see in the rear view mirror it was a Merc SL W129. His high speed cornering was not great, but on the straights he was right behind me again. I let him by and it was an SL600. Roof down, an elderly chap driving, long grey hair flapping around in the not insubstantial breeze that 160mph tends to create. I’d like to be him when I’m older
Off into the Alps and did the Stelvio pass for the first time (I’ve spent a lot of time in the Alps, on 2 and 4 wheels, but never the Stelvio before). To be honest, the M3’s a bit too much of a handful to be fun. The bends are so tight that full lock is only just sufficient and the road surface is too rutted to put down much power. Had to have the DSC off, as every bend saw the inside rear wheel in the air. Definitely more fun on a bike or maybe a Caterham or similar.
On wider, less extreme Alpine roads, the car excelled. Quiet, comfortable, composed and if you need to overtake, it’s so easy. 6th gear is useable down to about 40mph – let the torque do the work!
Overall, the car is great. It returned 30mpg over the 2500mile trip. (E90 M3 – 22mpg) I really like the engine – it suits my driving style and my preferences (more diesel that VTec) I also love the appearance of the car – especially the stance as people cooler than me call it. I wouldn’t say it’s subtle, especially in orange, but it’s a very competent, do everything and anything car. Thanks for reading.
The Tanzanite blue one wasn’t the finest example and over priced so it came down to Sakhir. In the dealer's photos, to be honest, it looked pretty awful - like some of the colours you get on low end far eastern cars. But then I came across THIS thread and saw some pictures, with Sakhir Orange suddenly looking a lot more appealing.
I had to go see the car in the flesh and, for me at least, it looked fantastic. The colour varies from Tango, through Irn Bru all the way to Cherryade depending on light conditions. Oddly, I have a ginger labrador who exhibits the same characteristics.
Spec wise, the car has the correct gearbox , Harman Kardon audio system, Head Up Display, carbon trim as well as the obvious standard bits n bobs - the F80 is well spec’ed as standard.
So what’s it like? First impressions are that it’s really pleasant and easy to drive at normal road speeds. I remember when I first drove my E39 M5 and that was a b
d to drive smoothly. This, apart from some tramlining due to the wider tyres and wider track, is benign and relaxing. However, I didn’t buy it to pootle, so when you actually drive it properly, the car is very impressive.I had an E90 M3 (V8) previously and I never liked the engine. There’s a certain poster on here, who never fails to mention his dislike for the torque characteristics of the V8 - I completely agree with him. The first time I accelerated hard in the car, I actually thought there was a fault as it was so gutless until about 6k rpm. This is definitely not the case with the F80. There is instant power, and a lot of it, from about 1500 rpm up until the red line. Although the headline power figures are similar for both the cars, the additional torque and torque spread of the F80 makes it significantly faster.
The traction control, or your own skills, have to work hard though. 550Nm soon overwhelms the rear tyres, but this makes the car interesting and involving. I ride a KTM 500 enduro motorbike and it’s similar in that it’s got too much power and torque to just open the throttle – you have to use skill and judgement to modulate otherwise you’ll immediately die.
I like the sound of the car too. I tend to drive around in eco mode as it keeps the car nice and quite, but when you want it to make noise, full throttle , high up the rev range when both turbos are blowing a gale – it sounds fantastic in my opinion. I’m also hugely relieved that it doesn’t really pop, crackle or bang. I just think that is embarrassing.
Anyway, I needed to check the handling was up to scratch, so day 2 of ownership involved heading south, through the channel tunnel and off to the hallowed Eifel mountains and the Nurburgring. I can confirm the car handles extremely well. I’m not sure what magic has been employed but the turn in is incredible. There is no hint of understeer: just turn the wheel and the car goes round the corner. The balance of the car is good too, although at very high speeds it isn’t quite as well composed as an M5, but you’d expect that. The torque of the engine allows you to really balance the car on the exit of bends. I’m sure that lairy oversteer is readily available, but day 2’s a bit early for that sort of business. On entering the final straight at the ring I accelerated hard up to about 150mph, and had a blink of the traction control light at about 130... It’s certainly got some grunt.
I think the manual gearbox adds an extra dimension of interest too. I didn’t specifically search for a manual, but a DCT wasn’t available at the right price and in a non-monotone colour. The additional control you get with the stick and the fact you actually have to go through the motions of throttle and clutch control can make for a really challenging and involving drive. I’m sure the DCT is faster, easier, smoother etc, but I really like the control. Maybe it’s the motorbike thing again.
The adjustable modes of the car (steering, suspension and eco/sport/sport+) are OK in that they slightly change the elements of the car as you would expect. The differences don’t seem so acute as in the E90, but it’s nice to cruise along when you’re not in the mood in ‘comfort/ ECO modes’
One thing that I would grumble about, is that in ECO and Sport throttle modes, the car auto blips the throttle on down changes. This is a good idea, but doesn’t work at all well in practice: The revs are raised correctly, but then don’t fall quick enough so you end up accelerating into a bend when you, sensibly, would rather be slowing down. I don’t know whether there is a s/w update for this? Fortunately in sport+ the blipping has to be done by the driver – but I didn’t pay all this money to press the throttle myself
Brakes are good. This is the first M3 to have multi piston proper brakes. Oddly, they seem to be the same callipers you see on all the 320d MSports in the company car park where they’ve paid the extra as part of the optional ‘bragging pack’ The brakes make quite a lot of noise when used hard on the track or autobahn, but I think this is the nature of drilled, semi floating discs.
The rest of the car is pretty standard 3 series. It annoys me that the key doesn’t have a slot – what’s the point in that? and cup holders are only available if you take out the nice shelf, handily sized and positioned to take your iphone and the key... The M3 seats look cool (as you may be able to see in the pics, mine are a nice normal colour
)and they are very supportive and go plenty low enough. The iDrive etc is unnecessarily complicated and the sat nav a bit st, but the previous owner’s decision to upgrade to Logic7 Harman Kardon is appreciated. It’s a impressive sound system and nearly goes loud enough to drown out the deafening tyre noise on certain road surfaces. One thing I wasn’t initially too bothered about was the Head Up Display. But actually it’s really good. You have your speed up there, which you can change to km/h for continental driving, and your Sat Nav instructions aswell as a few menu functions. You soon get used to relying on just the HUD – brilliant. There is an option for ‘M display’ which is a rev counter and a few other bits, but this is a bit gimmicky.
So we left the Nurburgring and headed off down the autobahns. 150/160mph is very achievable, but the poor surfacing in places can upset the balance of the car. Also, the relatively parsimonious nature of the car is turned on its head at these speeds. One notable and amusing event, was on finding a quiet bit of autobahn and attempting to get to the horizon as quickly as possible, I could not lose the following car. I could see in the rear view mirror it was a Merc SL W129. His high speed cornering was not great, but on the straights he was right behind me again. I let him by and it was an SL600. Roof down, an elderly chap driving, long grey hair flapping around in the not insubstantial breeze that 160mph tends to create. I’d like to be him when I’m older
Off into the Alps and did the Stelvio pass for the first time (I’ve spent a lot of time in the Alps, on 2 and 4 wheels, but never the Stelvio before). To be honest, the M3’s a bit too much of a handful to be fun. The bends are so tight that full lock is only just sufficient and the road surface is too rutted to put down much power. Had to have the DSC off, as every bend saw the inside rear wheel in the air. Definitely more fun on a bike or maybe a Caterham or similar.
On wider, less extreme Alpine roads, the car excelled. Quiet, comfortable, composed and if you need to overtake, it’s so easy. 6th gear is useable down to about 40mph – let the torque do the work!
Overall, the car is great. It returned 30mpg over the 2500mile trip. (E90 M3 – 22mpg) I really like the engine – it suits my driving style and my preferences (more diesel that VTec) I also love the appearance of the car – especially the stance as people cooler than me call it. I wouldn’t say it’s subtle, especially in orange, but it’s a very competent, do everything and anything car. Thanks for reading.
CornedBeef said:
That is absolutely lovely - I really like the colour, and like you say its a good change from the sea of white/black ones out there. Good to see it being used properly too at the ring, any plans for UK track days?
Thank you.I've never really been a fan of UK track days - the safety briefings, the rules, must wear helmets, no overtaking in corners etc
. At the 'ring, you just turn up and go! It works 
Having said that, I've always fancied a blast around Anglesey.
Nicely written up and great to see/ hear of a manual one! The first f80 m3 i saw was in this colour and i still remember it now, its stuck in my mind as it must have surprised me i guess. I see prices are coming down on them now, still a few years left to wait for us peasants though!
That's lovely and I did consider that colour as well. I went for a 1 yr old m4 in San Marino blue which was a rare find!
I also have a big v8 r129 sl ! They can shift ! Especially my sl60.
I has a similar experciece a few years ago in my 911 on the autobahn- left an old merc 300ce 24v for dead when traffic got out the way but I constantly had to slow down and he say at 135mph the whole time and I Judd's couldn't shake him even though I hit 175 for a few seconds here and there !
I also have a big v8 r129 sl ! They can shift ! Especially my sl60.
I has a similar experciece a few years ago in my 911 on the autobahn- left an old merc 300ce 24v for dead when traffic got out the way but I constantly had to slow down and he say at 135mph the whole time and I Judd's couldn't shake him even though I hit 175 for a few seconds here and there !
Very nice indeed, they can be a handful but that adds to the character.
The idrive is wonderfully simple to operate, you should get over the ait updates for the nav as well if you sign up to connected drive and helps keep it up to date, although the real time traffic info can be hit and miss at times.
The idrive is wonderfully simple to operate, you should get over the ait updates for the nav as well if you sign up to connected drive and helps keep it up to date, although the real time traffic info can be hit and miss at times.
Edited by Wills2 on Sunday 17th September 10:51
Thanks for all the positive comments
stevec33 said:
Did you happen to buy this from motorpoint in Peterborough? Sure its the same one i went to look at, couldn't get my funds together at the time. I agree on the auto blip on the manual car, dosent seem right to me it's just annoying. Lovely car and good write up.
Yes, that's the one. It was very well priced and there's nothing at all wrong with the car. Motorpoint were straightforward to deal with too.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff