E92 M3 advice please

[Tim F]

Thinking of changing my E46 M3 Coupe for an E92 M3 Coupe. Advice please on the following:

1. Is EDC a requirement for this car? Do I need it (I won't be taking the car on a track day).
2. What other options should I consider as a priority?
3. First child is imminent - very understanding other half - am I mad? Can't get excited by the 4 door.

thanks

[krallicious]

Just buy it. I've had mine now for 1 month and 3400 miles. I use EDC all of the time so I would say it is a must have.

There is plenty of room in the coupe for a child seat in the back and the boot is large. It is the best car I have ever driven but it takes a little while to gel with. Everything fell into place during an evening drive over Snake's Pass and I have been smitten ever since.

Pete

[-Z-]

With a newborn get the saloon. A newborn babyseat with isofix is a very bulky thing. My wife had to use her brothers e92 325 coupe for a day and it was, in her words a "fking nightmare".

[J-P]

I bought an E92 coupe in Jan. It's awesome!!! I have two kids - one is 3, the other 18 months - they both fit in the back in their car seats without difficulty - It's a little bit more difficult to take the seats out than it would be in a saloon but not so bad that it detracts from the coupe as an ownership proposition if you have kids IMHO.

It's got a pretty big boot too, so all of the kids' stuff (including pushchair) fits in the back. We've been on a couple of weekends away in the car (with the kids) and we were amazed by how much we could pack in there and still have everybody in total comfort. Two adults fit comfortably in the back and if you want to scare your friends, you can do that too.

I've driven a lot of cars including some really high end stuff and the M3 is incredibly able.

I use EDC quite a lot, so I'd say it's worth it - should help with the resale value as well as a lot of people want it. I've driven a non-EDC car and it's still a nice drive but the EDC does add something - the comfort setting is good on motorways and Normal is excellent on fast b-roads, if the road was very smooth though, I'd use sport mode.

If you need a car that can do a lot of things, a true jack of all trades, then there's nothing to match it - a 911 loses out on practicality, a GTR doesn't work so well for business use and big miles and a C63 AMG although also awesome is not as comfortable (you don't get trick dampers) and is quite a bit more expensive (although it is quicker in a straight line, I'm not convinced that it'll be as quick around the twisties).

I'd also agree with one of the other comments on here that it takes some time to learn the car (an RS4 is more immediately accessible) but once you've gelled with it, you'll absolutely love it.

Get one, you know you want to and have a lot of fun - Good luck;)

[mat205125]

-Z- said:

With a newborn get the saloon. A newborn babyseat with isofix is a very bulky thing. My wife had to use her brothers e92 325 coupe for a day and it was, in her words a "fking nightmare".

Bonus is that the saloon looks loads better IMHO. Coupe looks like J-Lo after 10,000 Ginsters Pasties.

[GameOverMan!]

mat205125 said:

-Z- said:

With a newborn get the saloon. A newborn babyseat with isofix is a very bulky thing. My wife had to use her brothers e92 325 coupe for a day and it was, in her words a "fking nightmare".

Bonus is that the saloon looks loads better IMHO. Coupe looks like J-Lo after 10,000 Ginsters Pasties.

You might want to get down to Specsavers.....

To the OP: A lot of it is personal choice as it comes with quite a bit as standard. I went for 19" alloys as I just think they look better, IMHO. I also find EDC very useful given the variety of surfaces tup north and use it everyday. It hooks up well with the M sport settings/button.

I went for the integrated iPod connectivity which is driven through the iDrive. I also have front and rear PDC which is useful as I have the rear windows tinted. The bluetooth connectivity seems OK but for me not a must have, along with adaptive lights which again are nice to have.

It's a very flexible car which is fine to potter around in or if you fancy turn on the 'M' toys and go for blast. If you do a search on here there was a similar thread not long ago.

Good luck with the test drive. Make sure the 'M' settings are set correctly so you get a real feel for the performance of the car.

[MC99]

I have an E92 M3 with EDC and use it frequently; as said before, it works well in conjunction with your chosen M button settings. Mine's on 18s, more because I bought it a year old, as opposed to what I would spec new, but Melbourne Red and Anthracite seems to work.

I would agree with the comments previously of USB, PDC, EDC are all good choices. Size and practicality are perfect if you look for a versatile/docile everyday option with fantastic b-road pace and motorway refinement.

I like the coupe; I also like the saloon, but I like carbon fibre, so the coupe roof won.

[SydneyPom]

I loaded mine up with everything apart from the ski bag. I'd say everything apart from the heat reflective screen (not much value in the UK) and the crest headrests I'd go for again (didn't have any choice on the headrests, Aussie cars come pretty fully loaded).

Did get extended leather, i-drive, edc, high end audio, pdc, sunroof (buying as executive wagon rather than pure toy), 6m, usb, bluetooth, 19", roof rack etc etc. I use EDC all the time, have comfort on normally, and Normal on the M button. Save sport for track days. I found Normal on the non-EDC cars to be too firm for day to day.

Great car, but planning kids next year and the E92 isn't baby friendly (you can't use baby seats in the front seat in Aus and they'd be a nightmare to load in the back) so planning so spend 12months in a 997 (getting the sports car thing out of the blood) before coming back for an E90 M3, probably with DCT but otherwise the same spec.

[pjv997]

I'm in a E90 saloon, bought pre-registered so didn't have choice on spec - but have EDC and 19's and think they are excellent.

Mine is manual which I prefer - matter of choice.

I really rate the bluetooth and will always spec it on any car - and if I buy pre-registered again, will not buy without it. Agree with other comments re ipod etc.

My kids are well past baby stage so cant comment on baby seats, but the saloon won over for me because I can get five in the car when I need to and our other cars can't do that.

The things I would like to add to my spec are heated seats (cold leather in the winter doesn't agree with me - maybe I'm just getting old) and split folding rear seats for a bit more versatility to carry larger stuff. I came from a 5 series and whilst the boot is supposed to have 90% of the capacity of the 5 but it just seems to be a bit small for what I want.

It really is an excellent all round car and can balance practicality with serious performance.

[-Z-]

Just in case the size of a newborn seat comes as a surprise heres a photo of my beautiful daughter modelling an M3! Heaving it in and out of a coupe doesn't seem fun to me!