BMW M3: M as in "musclebound"
Written: May 06 '04 (Updated Nov 17 '06)
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Pros: Power, high limits, seats hold you in place
Cons: Heavy clutch, heavy lifeless steering, busy ride, should be much more fun
The Bottom Line: I'm generally no fan of Audis, but the S4 is superior to the current M3 in nearly every way.
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| mkaresh's Full Review: 2004 BMW M3 |
Not one for unrequited love, I’ve never driven a BMW M3. As BMW’s most sporting car, it just had to be an absolute blast to drive. But if I didn’t drive one, I couldn’t be sure, and wouldn’t have to pine for the day when I had more money to spend on a car and fewer children.
But then I drove the Audi S4, and I had to drive the M3 to see how it compared. In my initial S4 review I hypothesized that the M3 would be less civilized but more fun to drive. After all, it weighs about a quarter-ton less, has a more balanced weight distribution, and is rear-wheel-drive. If it wasn’t more fun to drive than the Audi, then what would be the point of the car?
But you know what they say about “assume…”
Styling
In a BMW 3-Series review some time ago I criticized the styling of the M3. To differentiate it from the garden-variety 3, and provide space for wider rubber, the M has flared fenders. Usually flared fenders make a car look tough, but the perfectly round wheel openings of these make the car look cute and pudgy. I far prefer the styling of the regular coupe.
Inside, the M looks much the same as any other 3. It’s okay, but lacking in character compared to older, less posh BMW interiors. The Audi S4’s interior is much more stylish and somehow feels more up-to-date.
Accommodations
One reason the BMW interior might feel dated is the driving position. I usually drive with the seat in its lowest position. In the 3, however, putting the seat in its lowest position leaves me feeling as if the steering wheel is an inch too high even in its lowest position. The obvious solution: raise the seat an inch.
The BMW M3 does have unique seats. These provide excellent lateral support, but so do those in the S4, and the latter are considerably more comfortable. The M3 I drove had the standard seats. The fixed lumbar support felt far too prominent to me; I emerged from the test drive with a slightly sore back. A second M3 in the showroom was fitted with the optional adjustable lumbar/adjustable lateral support. I highly recommend spending the extra $500. Even with this option the BMW’s seats would not be as comfortable as those in the Audi, but they would at least be bearable.
The Audi looks like the roomier car, but it’s not. Even in coupe form the small BMW’s rear seat is more comfortable, with much better thigh support. Head and leg room are tight—at 5-9 I barely fit behind myself—but I also barely fit in the Audi.
The BMW M3's trunk is on the small side, but is a usable shape. Unlike in the 3-series sedan, a split folding rear seat is standard.
On the Road
The six in the BMW M3 is a magnificent engine. Just before the 8,000 RPM redline it puts out 333 horsepower, very good for a 3.2-liter. This is only seven short of the 4.2-liter V8 in the much heavier S4. The gap in midrange power is larger, 262 vs. 302, but still less than the difference in displacements would suggest. More notable is the location of the torque peak, 4900 vs. 3500. Although the M3’s engine is hardly soft at low RPM, you need to wind it out more than the S4’s larger unit to get equivalent thrills.
At full throttle this is a very quick car—the first time I floored the car in first I didn’t quite shift before ever so briefly hitting the rev limiter. This is one of those engines that revs so fast there’s not really any time to enjoy the thrust before its time to concentrate on not botching the shift. I imagine with practice I could learn to relax and enjoy the scenery during the five or so seconds it takes to get to sixty. At full throttle in first gear, the S4 doesn’t feel quite as strong. Second gear I got to enjoy a bit more, but had to lift up well short of the redline. This review isn’t worth a speeding ticket…
Driven at part throttle in normal traffic little about the engine feels special. It just moves the car along without fuss. All too ordinary. The S4, with its plumper midrange, feels more special in this mode.
A few year’s ago I drove an earlier incarnation of the 3.2-liter M engine. Compared to that engine, this one sounds and feels much more refined. While the old engine sounded as if it had an exceptionally open exhaust for a street car, the new one’s noises are mostly mechanical.
Fuel economy isn’t pretty. The EPA ratings of 16/24 are a bit better than the S4’s but still worthy of a $1,000 gas guzzler tax.
Pulling off slick shifts would seem less like work if such shifts were easier to come by. The salesman drove the car off the lot, and I initially wondered if he wasn’t very adept with a manual. Then it was my turn, and I soon learned that the engine doesn’t react terribly well when you lift off the throttle to shift then dip back into it after the shift. The likely reason: a light flywheel. The salesman said that there’s a sweet spot to be found in the clutch, but neither of us were finding it. Shifts were hardly neck snapping affairs, but I pride myself on smooth shifts, and mine in this car were not.
The shifter itself feels pretty good in the BMW M3. Throws are of average length, and effort is moderately light. Gears engage with a very evident snick. I usually like this sort of feel; I was oddly disturbed by it this time, but suspect the real blame lies not with the shifter itself but with the above driveability issue.
The clutch, well the clutch is among the heaviest I’ve sampled in the last few years. Unlike with the S4’s, I’d quickly become tired of dealing with the M3’s far left pedal in traffic. While at a stop I tended to stick the thing in neutral to give my left leg a rest.
Now we come to what should have been the M3’s strong suit, handling. To my great surprise, the car’s steering is heavy and numb. In the past I’ve found the regular 3’s steering a bit lazy and luxo-car smooth rather than sports car sharp, but I expected the M3’s to be different. Actually, I guess it is different, but in the wrong direction. An overly thick rim doesn’t help matters. The S4’s steering also required more effort than most, but in that case seemed to contribute to the car’s sporty character. A more direct feel helps, as does greater willingness to turn-in. In the BMW M3, the heavy steering merely made me not want to turn the wheel. The car seemed perfectly happy to just keep going straight. I’m sorry, but this car should be begging you to turn the wheel.
Like the engine, I suspect the steering acquits itself better on the track. (The regular 3’s certainly did when I took a BMW-sponsored driving course.) But aside from such rare events I do my driving on the street.
Once the wheel is turned the car faithfully and accurately goes where you point it, without much in the way of lean but also without verve. Stability control keeps you from getting the rear end too far out of whack with the throttle. The salesman said I could turn it off, but without more practice I thought this might be a bad idea. All in all, I did nothing during my test drive that remotely approached the car’s very high limits. I do not doubt that the car comports itself very well at ten-tenths. The problem for me is that ten-tenths is far, far away during any driving I’d normally be doing, and at five-tenths the car feels ready for a nap—“wake me up when you really need me.”
Especially from the passenger’s seat the M3’s ride feels much busier than the S4’s, if less flinty than the Cadillac CTSv’s. This was with the standard 18-inch wheels; the optional 19s might be harsher. Although road noise is evident on some surfaces, noise levels are generally low, if not as low as in the S4. The M3 might be the sportiest BMW, but it’s still every bit a luxury car.
If you like your BMW raw, I suggest digging up a late model M Coupe or M Roadster. Even in 240-horsepower form you’ll have much more fun. Heck, even with the relatively mundane 3.0-liter the Z3 was much more fun. Technically inferior, certainly, but I personally put driving fun well ahead of technical perfection. If you can use the M3’s high limits, either because you’ll take it to the track or regularly traverse very challenging roads, then it might make more sense for you. But I sadly do neither.
BMW M3 Price Comparisons and Pricing
For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.
Like the Audi S4 and Cadillac CTS-V the M3 has a list price in the low fifties. Comparably equipped it’s a bit more than the other two, but the prices are close enough that this won’t be the deciding factor. The regular versions of all three cars are about ten grand less. This is a significant chunk of change, but it does buy you significantly higher performance. A Volvo S60R is also about ten thousand less, but isn’t in the same league. If you want the highest possible performance with little cost in terms of luxury, you’ll have to pay the price.
Last Words
This was a shocking test drive, to put it mildly. I expected a more user-friendly drivetrain, and I especially expected livelier handling. As it stands, not only is the Audi S4 a more practical car with a more stylish, more comfortable interior, but it is also more fun to drive. Among $50,000 high-performance luxury cars, the Audi is the easy choice.
The next M3 will likely have a V8 with 400 or so horsepower. But power is the least of the car’s problems. The car’s steering and handling require much more urgent attention. The M3 might not be breaking a sweat in most driving on public roads, but it should at least pretend to be enjoying the trip. As it is, it feels musclebound, strong but inflexible.
A Note on BMW M3 Reliability
I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.
Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy an M3 rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in BMW M3 reliability comparisons.
Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the M3--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.
For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.
A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Audi S4 review
BMW M Coupe review
Cadillac CTS-V review (v material follows main review)
Volvo S60R review
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 52000
Model and Options: M3 manaul most options
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