Well, after a long hiatus the reviews are back. If you recall the end of the last review session ended up in me buying a 2008 Corvette. Well lets just hope we don't go there yet again, my wallet couldn't handle it.
There is a back story to what led me to this review, however it is rather long and lengthy so I won't bore you with the details... At least until the Trans Am arises from the ashes in it's new form. In the mean time I have set a goal to test drive something really special this year. Unfortunately the first attempt this weekend was a bust, so I decided the M3 was good enough. I doubt I'll get any complaints.
So the car in question is a brand new M3 Coupe. It is loaded, moon roof, nav, performance package, tech package, uprated leather, etc. From a gadget perspective it has all the little toys I enjoy so much on the Vette and then some. The keyless entry, 3 peat turn signal, speed sensitive audio, and dual climate zone are all present. Also making its presence known are chilled cup holders, the ability to schedule the air conditioning system to cool the car at a time of day, and real time traffic. Then again we all know none of these things is really what gets my blood boiling about a car, so this will be the last you hear about the gadgets.
You also can't discuss the M3 without pointing out the abundant rear seat and trunk room. The back seats even fold down leading to a very deep storage area, if a little on the narrow side. For some reason it also comes with roof rack mounting locations as standard, just in case you want to take your 50k rwd high horsepower car in the snow I guess? Then again I drive a Trans Am in the winter, so he who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones. Finally, the BMW service package also adds to the experience, full maintenance for 4 years is nothing to sneeze at.
If I haven't bored you yet with the last 2 paragraphs, this may be the car for you. What you say? You haven't even mentioned how it goes? You the guy who loves cars for the way they go saying the M3 should be judged on the gadgets and luxuries? Before the crowd starts throwing rocks and shouting "You call yourself a petrol head" perhaps I should clarify.
Well, as surprising as it is, I didn't like the new M3s driving manners. Now don't get me wrong the car is plenty fast and goes around corners as if on rails. Its slightly slower in acceleration then my Vette (4.7 seconds), but also faster then the Trans Am. Simply outlandish numbers for a 4 door sedan. So why am I so non pulsed?
Well first theres the acceleration. The car doesn't feel fast. I mean I know I was going fast because the speedo said I was, but if you sat me in the forest with no reference for speed I'd probably be writing this from the hospital. Why? Well I spent most of the rest of the weekend thinking about that, which lead me to a laundry list of gripes about the car. The BMW fans in the room may want to leave now, as this is about to get gruesome.
First the exhaust, I know an aftermarket exhaust is a cheap fix, but this thing is obscenely quiet. My exhaust valves closed on the Vette make this car sound like a Hoover. Not a good thing for a sense of speed, not a death blow though of course.
But then you get to how it delivers it's 414 bhp. It does so at 8300 rpms, 200 below it's 8500 rpm redline. It does it with a power curve that rises steadily from 100 bhp (yes you read that right 100 bhp) all the way up. In other words below 2000 rpm my grand mom's 92 Saturn is faster. According to the dyno in the brochure it takes it all the way to 5000 rpm to clear 300 bhp, something my Vette does in just above 2000 rpm. This means off the line and in gear acceleration just feels lethargic. By the time it gets into the power band in any gear, even first, your moving too fast to discern the power it has built so gradually. Again this is another area that is easily rectifiable, simply down shift the car and rev the nuts off it. I'd like to say I did this a lot on my test drive, but I was struggling to cope with the difference in shift gate to what I was use to. Those times when I did get it right though, it still didn't feel right. By now your thinking I should be committed to the nut house, but hear me out.
The last thing that made me feel like the car was not that fast was the steering and shifting. Both were extremely light with absolutely no feedback. I mean a Corvette and a Trans Am aren't exactly known for feedback, but this was a whole other level. I felt like I could twirl the steering wheel with my pinky. It was disconcerting to say the least. There was no speaking to me in the corners, like I enjoyed so much with the Caymen S. Don't get me wrong the steering was direct. For a car weighing nearly 500 lbs more then the Vette, it certainly was nearly as nimble, but without that feel I felt like the whole situation was sanitized. It just left me cold.
Have you ever wanted so bad to like a car you just can't believe what you thought after you drove it? Thats honestly how I feel about the new M3. Honestly nothing of what I've written here on it's own is that big of a deal. I like the S2000 despite having to rev the crap out of it to get going. I like the TA despite having to modify the car to really feel what it is doing. Sadly combine the two traits together and I quickly lose interest.
Let the flames from the BMW faithful begin.
Graywolf's review of the new M3
Thank you mate, nice read !
) and to keep from these guys going to buy something else (they all really want M5's but can't always swing the money) they simply turned the new M3 into the old M5 
Linear Mode
