Is the BMW M3 Too Perfect?

[Andrew 30]

The latest BMW M3 is faster and more sophisticated than ever, but is that a good thing? Last weekend I caught up on some early reviews of the new 414-horsepower BMW M3.

You can pretty much sum up all of the accolades in a quick factoid from Gerhard Richter, vice president of BMW M Power, who said in Motor Trend that the V-8-powered M3 clocked 3.4 seconds faster on the Nürburgring Nordschleife than the V-10 M5. That’s 8:10 a lap. He added: “I could do that while talking to you as I drive.”

But there’s another side to that story. In the same Motor Trend review, Angus Mackenzie, the magazine’s editor in chief, called the E92 M3 “a pussycat around town.” And he wasn’t the only one.

What Car? said it was “comfortable and well equipped, and is as eminently suitable as an everyday car as it is at home on racetracks.” AutoWeek said it was “not quite as tactile in its actions, perhaps, as the car it replaces.” And Car thought that “in trying to hit so many targets, the E92 leaves purists wanting.”

Kind of sounds like the bean counters have turned the M3 into an AMG: all big engine and great numbers and a drive that’s too refined.

My friend Jared, who’s had far more track time than I’ll ever see, is more harsh. “Haven’t driven the new iteration,” he wrote in an e-mail. “BMW hasn’t made a genuine M3 since the E36. Motorsport means fleet, not just fast, and certainly not fat. Americans want fat, obviously.” (He’s referring to the fact that 50 percent of M3s will be sold in America when it goes on sale next spring.)

Jared also thinks the M3 has been on a downward slide since the E30, when it was a homologation special built to square up against the Ford Sierra Cosworth and the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 in the World Touring Car Championship; when its sole purpose was to satisfy racing regulations and not to be profitable, i.e., the good ol’ days.

Me? I loved the E46 M3 (Competition Edition) but can see Jared’s point. And therein lies the conundrum of the day. Just because the M3 didn’t start life as a daily driver does it mean it shouldn’t, with modern engineering and materials, evolve into one?

At this point I need to admit to burying the lede. Jared and I began this discussion while driving an Audi R8 to Lime Rock Park for the American Le Mans Series race last weekend. And I bring up the R8 only because neither Jared nor I have driven the M3, and the R8 serves as a pretty good example of what I’m getting at.

The R8 is fast. Its 0-to-60 is 4.6 seconds. We didn’t get a chance to put it through its paces (as if I have the ability) or even do a burnout, but on the winding roads along the Housatonic River leading up to Lime Rock, the R8 felt as good as the best cars I’ve driven on this kind of road. When the windows are down, the R8 sounds like an eruption. When they’re up, you could easily forget you’re in a 420-horsepower sports car. It’s that quiet.

Which could be good or bad. I don’t have the $120,000 to buy an R8, so I don’t know if after spending $120,000 on a sports car whether I’d want to hear it or not.

Remember the days when you didn’t have a choice? Sports cars were, by definition, loud and difficult. The Testarossa’s gearbox was awful. The Diablo’s rear window was useless (well, so I’m told). The two things I recall of my first drive in a Porsche 944 were the height of the seats and feeling every bump in the road.

But things are different now. I’ve been in an Audi RS4 on the track… and it goes. On the road it’s as easy to drive as an S4. The same goes for the R8. But could they be too perfect, as the reviewers are saying about the M3?

Purist is a word that gets thrown around, but for people like Jared, I think that simplifies the emotion. They long for some semblance of the idea (or soul or spirit) behind the original car �" or maybe they just want to feel more of the road.

My position on the matter depends on the day you talk to me. For the most part, I fall for the “best of both worlds” argument. My back can’t stand up to long encounters with “track-tuned” suspensions. I rely on navigation too much. But then there are days when I wonder if there’s something we’re engineering away that we’ll never get back.

[drifty325i 0]

Interesting, im sure the new m3 will be amazing, and will still be a drivers car, bmw will never go away from that

[hybrid 1043]

e46 m3 "bitch moan bitch moan moan bitch moan" (still won best engine design)

e46 m3 CSL "OMFGZZZzz!!11 Best Car ever!1111"

e92 m3 "bitch moan bitch moan moan bitch moan"

e92 m3 CSL "OMFG its better than anything else i've ever driven!"

The 3 series has stepped into the realm of the luxary sedan ... thats it. the m3 is just a more hardcore model of that.

What people expect it is and what BMW are producing are two different things. 135 coupe? m1 ? ..

thing is .. it will still be the most successful "sports car" sold to date. Always is .. they are just raising the bar.

[Andrew 30]

I think the basic jist.. and something i've said for so many years now..

It's no E30

[M3_Power 636]

I've read every single review there is to date out there (including all videos posted) on the new V8 M3 ... The most critical ones are from the US ... the UKs are a little bit better (but not by much) ... statements like "huge disappointment" ... "BMW have dropped the ball" ... "lackluster" ...ect echo through virtually all the reviews ...

Few things are certain about this model however gathered from what I've read ..

1. They have not improved on the steering ... with many saying BMW have gone backwards with the new eletronic steering setup, lacking in any sort of feedback and probably a decade behind Porsche 911 (which apparently is what this M3 is marketed against - including the RS4, MB C63 AMG)

2. The gearbox is still notchy and hard to use ...

3. It's a stonker of an engine and will surely win awards ect ....

4. The interior sucks compared to the aforementioned brand (nothing really sets it apart from the normal 3 series)

5. It's overpriced for the package that you get.

6. It has become too civilised - ie. become more of a true GT rather than a sports sedan homologation special

7. Single piston brakes still sucks (race pads fitted for the journalists so that they wouldn't crash the cars with faded brakes .... brilliant BMW AG !!!!)

8. Inboard adjustable damping suspension is apparently quite brilliant.

I am going to wait and see the model in the flesh to really make up my mind ... but to be honest these reviews aren't doing the new model any good ... the latest one by EVO pitched the RS4 against the new M3 .. the RS4 came out in top in every aspect ... be it on the road or the track .... I highly hope that BMW raised the bar with this model ... but to be honest from what I've read so far it isn't looking good ... certainly with high anticipation comes high hopes ... but it seems BMW have failed to deliver this time around.

And for those wondering ... the E46 M3 had the same high anticipation and high hopes and it delivered ... (I still have the original EVO reivews and various other magazine reviews before the actual launch of the E46 M3 and I had a quick read through them over the weekend ... nothing like what I am seeing with this new model that's for sure ... virtually all were positive with high praises)

Edited July 16, 2007 by M3_Power

[hybrid 1043]

Do I agree with what BMW is doing with the m3 .. no

But I see their point totally .. the worlds media doesnt. As andy said .. people should just buy an e30 if they want 80's ness from there cars.

Wait till they take all this feed back aboard and produce their light weight special. Also, If I were BMW I would to put race pads in. Most of the moto journos arn't race car drivers and would spend more time on the brakes.

After a full day of racing, road pads wouldn't stand up to the punishment. The car is infact now a road car not a race breed car. Bad for press yes ... but sensible after that muppet wrote off the m5 last time.

[cainchapman 0]

I don't doubt that the new M3 is much more refined than all predecessors and a better performer. But not as harsh, does that make it worse? Surely not.

Less fun, most probably.

Being a good Bogan. How can you go wrong with a V8 in a medium sized car?

[drifty325i 0]

What about a v8 in a small car

[M3_Power 636]

If giving it even more vague steering, crappy brakes and more weight to an already very heavy car = more refined motoring then I agree completely ... however BMW specifically pitche this car against the 997 Porsche (yes I've read the entire 80 pages of sales manual on the new M3 including how to market it against its so called competitions) and to do what BMW have done is more or less shooting itself in the foot if it even considers the M3 to be a 997 rival.

The point I am trying to make is with the last 3 generations of the M3, be it E30, E36 or E46 BMW has set new benchmarks and raised the bar for the "sports car" segment - reflected in various pre and post launch reviews - this hasn't happened for the new M3. It is suppose to be a sedan based coupe which outperforms even the best of the supercars.

At the end of the day it's the bean counters in Germany that decide what comes out of the factory ... and what they've done is looked at the demographics that buy these cars (in NZ average owner's age is 52 for BMW) and decided majority of these owners aren't real enthusiasts ...

[Andrew 30]

More useful comments: Bring back the E30 into mainstream production. Badass