M3/M4 Top Gear: M3 V8 drive report

[Zafiro]

Top Gear

"Well, if you've got time, there's a technical list long enough to make you break a considerable sweat just to get your head around some of it. But, for the moment, let's just say that the new M3 feels like the people who made it, created it for themselves. And they like to drive. Not helm, or pilot, or control. Not words that seem to indicate a lack of involvement; drive. And that makes it bloody good fun."

"The engine is the powerplant of the year, no question. And it's an engine that Ferrari would be proud to have made. A loud, razor-sharp unit that seems to rev for ever... and ever... and ever. Individual throttle butterflies that give the kind of response you usually only get in a racing car, coupled with that rev-range, mated to that noise which changes every incremental revolution - it's not a lump of metal, it's an event."

"It is brilliant, though. And that, for once, is not too strong a word. Roll on the TG Awards, I'm voting BMW."

 

[ILC32]

Top Gear

"Well, if you've got time, there's a technical list long enough to make you break a considerable sweat just to get your head around some of it. But, for the moment, let's just say that the new M3 feels like the people who made it, created it for themselves. And they like to drive. Not helm, or pilot, or control. Not words that seem to indicate a lack of involvement; drive. And that makes it bloody good fun."

"The engine is the powerplant of the year, no question. And it's an engine that Ferrari would be proud to have made. A loud, razor-sharp unit that seems to rev for ever... and ever... and ever. Individual throttle butterflies that give the kind of response you usually only get in a racing car, coupled with that rev-range, mated to that noise which changes every incremental revolution - it's not a lump of metal, it's an event."

"It is brilliant, though. And that, for once, is not too strong a word. Roll on the TG Awards, I'm voting BMW."

Did we select the same quotes? What a coincidence!

 

[RikfromBelgium]

 

[CorpusCallosum]

WOOOOO.... i new she wouldnt disappoint

How could we all drop our support so quickly... this is an M3 after all

AN BMW M3

 

[Zafiro]

Did we select the same quotes? What a coincidence!

I just copy your post on m3forum thanks

 

[ILC32]

I just copy your post on m3forum thanks

Don't thank me, just change that avatar!

 

[CorpusCallosum]

^ AGREED have some faith brother

 

[martinbo]

Jeez - what a contradiction to the nancies over at CAR - the world's most untrustworthy motoring publication.

Ok. So we've got two opposing ends of the scale. (Inconsistent) Top Gear cancels out (Has-been) CAR.

So we've got the relatively impartial and none-too-damning impression of Sutcliff to go on. No worries.

 

[martinbo]

Oh look. The review is by Tom Ford. Who used to write for CAR.

How quaint.

If you're useless, you can drive an M3 fast; if you're brilliant, you'll be able to wring the M3 out and still be impressed. That is a very hard dichotomous trick to pull off, and its one of the few cars that does it successfully.

It will be too hard with the EDC (electronic damper control) set to 'Sport' on British roads, but you can tune each element to your taste. Personally, I seem to get on better with everything at max setting (steering, power, response etc), but the suspension on one of the less firm settings. A bit of body roll helps me communicate with the car. Basically, I can go a bit slower, and feel like I'm really nailing it.

But it does go fast. Very fast. Steering is ultra-precise, the turn-in sharp but not extreme. Grip seemed a bit lacking on certain bits of these dusty Spanish roads we've been testing on, but I was laughing so hard that I didn't really care. Brakes felt great, but we found that BMW had stuck race pads in preparation for a hammering, so I'm going to suspend judgement.

Oh boy, now the suspension setting in "Sport" is too hard for British B-roads. Dang, that new M3's a soft little miss muffet! Poo.

Ludicrous...

 

[Maximus Decimus]

Whew!!! Was really starting to get worried for a second there. I can't wait for the comparison tests. I'm not sure how much sleep I will get over the next few days...

My favorite excerpt: "The engine is the powerplant of the year, no question. And it's an engine that Ferrari would be proud to have made. A loud, razor-sharp unit that seems to rev for ever... and ever... and ever. Individual throttle butterflies that give the kind of response you usually only get in a racing car, coupled with that rev-range, mated to that noise which changes every incremental revolution - it's not a lump of metal, it's an event."

These guys have seen/experienced nearly every notable powerplant there is, for them to say that is indeed good news.

 

[EnI]

Like it was said many times by many. Every single car (even M3) goes a step further in refinement with every next generation.

I remember the same bitching about the M3 E36 vs M3 E30, and then about M3 E46 vs E36 M3, and now about E92 M3 vs E46 M3.

"Gone too soft."
"Not anymore a true driver's car." (when SMG was introduced)
"Styling is too ricey."
"Not so responsive anymore."
"Too estranged from driver."
"Too much electronics." etc

Every new generation is more refined. Especially when pushed upmarket. The "raw" feeling is gone due the customer base is now broader & there are many other needs to be pleased than just the ones of aficionados. BMW had asked the customers about the new M3, and they responded ... And this is a perfcet product - right the one MAJORITY of customers want it. Real aficionados will get more niche oriented, raw & racing-like M3 CSL version ... Or can shift to Z4 M, or wait for M1.

Or at least wait till M-DCT comes ...

Also: every new generation of model comes bigger. So bigger cars have naturally lower limits - due the laws of physics.

Btw, the CAR Magazine reviewer said it very well:

"The M3 has grown up and lost a little of the E46’s edge to the more weight/more power vicious circle. But BMW has no doubt judged the market perfectly. The M3 is now a genuine volume seller and, last time, accounted for 13 percent of all UK 3-series sales. The new car needs to be a brilliant all-round package, capable of pleasing those who like the idea of the badge more than what it first stood for: track-honed thrills. And it is very, very good. This car is fast, practical, well built, comfortable and safe.

But in trying to hit so many targets, the E92 leaves purists wanting. So a CSL – a lightweight, more dynamically focused special edition – is now an absolute must and should form an integral part of the range going forward, filling the niche that the original E30 once satisfied in 1986. The good news is BMW’s top brass dropped some very large hints in the press conference, so the CSL sounds like a dead cert. We’d bet on it arriving in 2010.

If you want a great all-rounder and you don’t drive everywhere at ten tenths, the new M3 won’t disappoint. But if you crave trackday thrills, hold fire for a CSL."

 

[klier]

No, you got it all wrong. It should be like this:




I tell you know, C63 EATER

 

[warot]

Oh look. The review is by Tom Ford. Who used to write for CAR.

How quaint.



Oh boy, now the suspension setting in "Sport" is too hard for British B-roads. Dang, that new M3's a soft little miss muffet! Poo.

Ludicrous...

Haha nice post Martin. It was only a matter of time before the world went back to normal. Let's make it a rule here in GCF. From now on, no one should ever doubt ///M (or RS or AMG come to think of it)

A soft M, come on my friends.

 

[LaArtist]

f you're useless, you can drive an M3 fast; if you're brilliant, you'll be able to wring the M3 out and still be impressed. That is a very hard dichotomous trick to pull off, and its one of the few cars that does it successfully.

this is not a good quote..

I feel that in the C63 reviews you can replace MB name with BMW.. and in these reviews you can put in MB where it says BMW..
and that would make more sence..

 

[RikfromBelgium]

no, I disagree, because the AMG's never were/ are the hardcore drivers cars; this car can be.

 

[LaArtist]

^that might be true.. but seriously think about the reviews..just change the brands.. and both reviews would be valid to that brand.. especially the C63 review

 

[Kowalski]

Tom Ford also works in Fifth Gear.

 

[martinbo]

Tom Ford also works in Fifth Gear.

Correct. It seems that there is a fair amount of floor crossing when it comes to print vs television media. For example, Richard Porter writes for both EVO in print and also for Top Gear on telly...

 

[Centurion]

Oh boy, now the suspension setting in "Sport" is too hard for British B-roads. Dang, that new M3's a soft little miss muffet! Poo.

Ludicrous...

Can it be that Top Gear drove a car equipped with the optional suspension package and CarMag didn't?

 

[wltsm]

It's interesting how reviews can be so different, I want to believe the TG review, simply because they like the car so much, will have to wait till they get the cars on UK roads to see how good the M3 really is!