I was having my M5 serviced this afternoon and spotted a Smurf Blue M3 looking lonely on the lot Got my salesman and we were off. Observations:

1) Low rent interior. It was like a 325 on the inside. The demo must have been poorly optioned interior wise. Shiny black plastic trim in the middle of the pasty gray dash. Grey seats of mediocre quality leather. Good bolstering though.

2) Throaty exhaust w/great I6 sound, esp. above 4K rpm. Strange bucket of bolts rattle under generous throttle coming from the rear of the car (sounded like exhaust rattle or even leak). Funky induction wail that was kind of spotty.

3) Dead below 3K rpm (feels like a 328) esp. relative to my M5. 3K and up, a real screaming banshee of power. Pulls all the way up to the rev limiter. Never matches the push of the M5 though (torque feel, not real acceleration).

4) Man, throttle response is insane w/sport mode on! I was heal and toeing from 3rd to 2nd (good pedal position, better than my m5), I blipped the throttle and expected about 5K rpm. Instead I got about 6~7K rpm. It was so fast I could hardly believe it That needle swings faster than in any other car I've driven.

5) Mixed bag of handling. The steering wheel is thick and small (for a BMW). Steering feed back is good. But steering effort was a little light. But wow, it had 0, none, nada numbness off center (my M5 seems to do nothing -2 to 2 degr. off center). The car changed direction very fast, and was sure on its feet. When not at the limits, it may even change direction quicker than the S2000. Really surprised me. On the other hand too much under steer at the limit for my taste. I had to work harder than I'd like to balance it out with the throttle in low speed tight corners. Not really a problem at moderate or high speeds. Up to the limit though, it is an imminently tossable car at all speeds. It felt way lighter than what it weighs.

6) The brakes were good, with a nice firm push from the pedal. No fade issues. But I was expecting a little better stopping power.

Well, that's about it for now. If I didn't have my S2K and M5, I'd get a M3 and have a great hybrid of both worlds. But I sure as hell wouldn't pay 53K for it. 47K yes, 43K low mileage used, hell yes.

 

The reason for the black strip is that the supplier of the titanium trim that is supposed to be fitted is having problems meeting demands, therefore the first M3's will have the crappy black plastic stuff. The titanium looks much better.

Also, the reason that the M3's steering feels better than your M5's is that the M3 has rack and pinion steering while your M5 uses recirculating ball. Rack and pinion is superior, but did not fit in the 5 series with the V8 engine. Hence, they had to revert back to a recirculating ball system.

 

Not just better feel than my M5 S2kRob. Better than my previous E36 M3 and current S2K in some ways. But the lightness kind of lets it down. It also isn't as quick overall (more turns lock to lock). But speed of response to input is lightning quick.

 

Thanks for the review!

Unfortunately I have to wait until my friend gets his M3 before I can test drive one... Bay Area stealers are all selling theirs for $15k over MSRP.

I'm looking forward to it, that is... if don't end up getting the RS4!