The $62,000 3-Series
I don't quite frankly know what it is about the BMW M3 that makes
it something of an automotive holy grail among many of my colleagues.
It's been given accolade after accolade, award after award&emdash;Car
and Driver has named it to its Ten Best list 3 years in a row, and
the Automotive Jouralists' Association of Canada named it the 1997
Car of the Year. So I'm supposed to love this car.
I don't.
Not that the M3 isn't a great car&emdash;it is. It's just that its
particular combination of capabilities leaves me cold. Its impressive
numbers aside, what the M3 really strikes me as is a gussied-up
3-series, at an exorbitant price.
The exterior, for example, is a disappointment for something this
expensive. Despite the shiny five-spoke seventeen-inch wheels and the
big rear spoiler and the bright blue paint of my test car, it looks
like nothing more than a highly accessorized 318is&emdash;a car that
costs a good $25,000 less. The only real clues to the M3's
performance and expense are the gargantuan exhaust pipes, poking out
of a massive muffler that looks like it's about to be eaten by a
speed bump (thankfully, it doesn't.)
For $60,000, am I remiss in wanting a little bit more pizazz?
After all, Porsche's Boxster and Mercedes' SLK both list for less but
are both far better-looking. BMW's own Z3 is perhaps an even better
counterpoint.
Inside, the same story. Same cheap, shiny-looking plastic that
you'll find in any 3; even worse is the fact that they use the dash
shape from the "normal" threes and not the more compact and logical
layout of the 318ti. Granted, most of the surfaces are upholstered in
leather, and the seats are leaps-and-bounds better than what you'll
find in any BMW all the way up to the 850, but for a car that's this
expensive, can't one expect a little more?
All aesthetic considerations aside, though, the M3 is a
spectacular performer. Fire up the engine and pull out of your
parking space, and you'll be hitting 60 on the way out of the lot.
Keep your foot in it, and the 240-bhp six will loft you to 220 km/h
without losing any perceptible steam&emdash;even at speeds well above
the legal limit on most highways, there's no shortage of passing
power, and every tap of the gas pedal feels like the car's been
grabbed by a passing freight train.
Not that you'll use the M's top speed all that often. Acceleration
is what matters, and it's there that the M3 really shines. Forget the
high-revving 321-bhp European model; the engine we get feels stronger
and has way more bottom-end torque. Sixty mph flashes by in just over
six seconds, though it feels a lot less than that. Rowing through the
gears is made easy by the slick 5-speed; its throws are slightly long
but always accurate. The only disconcerting detail&emdash;one that
plagues all BMWs that I've had a chance to drive&emdash;is that the
knob vibrates, both in neutral and in any gear. My $18,000 Honda
doesn't even do that.
What's most fun about driving the M3 (short of pulling up at a
stoplight beside some unsuspecting 325 owner with an aero kit and
fancy wheels and blowing them away)? Flinging it through a racetrack.
Not surprising, given that the M stands for Motorsport and the M3
races pretty much unmodified in the european super touring series.
Combined with the huge tires, the stiffened and lowered suspension
(you can see the ends of the Bilstein shocks if you look hard enough)
endows the M3 with an almost perfectly flat cornering stance and more
grip than most drivers would know what to do with. The steering is
typically BMW-perfect, light but unfailingly communicative, proving
that low effort doesn't necessarily mean no steering feel. The
steering wheel itself is a M-specific model, a bit smaller than the
usual one and with three spokes instead of two; it feels and looks
good.
At the edge of adhesion, the M3 corners perfectly, the big
Michelin Pilots never complaining. Pushed too hard, they start to
squeal, and the rear of the car kicks out just a bit; it's fun and
controllable, but getting to the speed where you're able to
experience it can be scary simply because the car's limits are so
high; you also need a huge, open stretch of road&emdash;something of
a rarity these days.
Fun as it is on the track, the M3 doesn't fare as well on the
road. While it loves to be pushed hard through every gear, driving in
downtown traffic quickly turns into a chore, back and forth through
first and second, with the clutch that feels so good on the track
becoming bothersome with its high effort and long throws. The
low-profile tires and stiff suspension means that the M rides quite a
bit harder than a run-of-the mill 3, and it follows ruts and
streetcar tracks enthusiastically, requiring far too many steering
corrections. (Curb one of those wheels and you're out $1100, as
somebody I know found out. The regular 3-series wheel costs a third
of that.) The only softening touches are the car's superb stereo and
blizzard-force air conditioner, both superior to the units installed
in the lesser cars.
Maybe the fact that the M3 has received so much positive press in
the States is by virtue of its lower price&emdash;down south, it
comes in at just over $40,000, which is a bona fide bargain compared
to other similarly capable coupés. Here in Canada, though,
$62,000 just seems like too much to pay for what is essentially a 325
with a bigger engine and a nice interior.
For that kind of money, there are a lot of tantalizing choices:
Porsche's amazing Boxster and Mercedes' too-cool SLK both list under
$60,000, as does the new Corvette, which will smoke the M3 on almost
any road, and is a ball to drive around the city, too. Perhaps most
important are BMW's own offerings&emdash;the Z3 2.8 is a blast and
goes for around $55,000, and the new 5, which is a size bigger, has a
much nicer interior, and is far better equipped, starts ataround
$52K. The ultimate 5, the six-speed 540i, complete with M-tuned
suspension and the 4.4-liter, 282-bhp V-8, lists for
$69,900&emdash;almost eight grand beyond the M's list, but not
unthinkable when you're shopping at the upper reaches of the
marketplace. It's a big, brawny, powerful four-door(with even bigger
tires than the M3) that will outrun the it, and with 3 passengers
along for the ride.
Don't get me wrong&emdash;the M3 is a towering achievement of a
car, tons of technology and boatloads of power packed into a
compact,useable package. But at its price point, it's certainly not a
bargain, and there are far too many other choices that are far more
enticing.