Some thoughts (our review) about the M3 after the first week

[Bastet]

Here's some of our thoughts and experiences about the new M3 after one week driving. This is just a short description of our views and will be nowhere near Filthy Monkey's or Savage's detailed reports.

Photos (for the newbies to this forum) can be found in this thread:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108541
(high res pics are in the middle of the thread)

The Sound. The sound of the engine when you press the start button still makes the hair on my arms go wild in the morning when I switch the engine on in the garage. Obviously the first acceleration, when leaving the garage, gives vibrations as well. The fact that we have a really nice uphill when leaving the garage helps a lot to make it clear its throat in the morning .

Steering. Fantastic. Light, precise and when you switch into M sport mode (and change the EDC settings) the steering becomes totally different. As I've said earlier, it's like having 2 different cars. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. And the steering wheel is really nicely designed as well, you get a nice grip to hold on to it.

Handling. Handles very well. Feels bigger than it actually is. Also feels somehow very safe to drive seen as it responds immediately to everything. Turning, breaking, accelerating. Very funky feature is also the 2 sec. assistance when leaving (don't know what it's called, manual is in the car) - in other words, the car does not roll back when you lift the foot from the break. I have no problem with hill starts, but this feature is not a bad invention at all - it will make us very lazy drivers .

Speed. My god, this thing goes !!! The dangerous bit is that you do not feel anything and with a little toe pressure on the accelerator you are suddenly at 150 km/h, without any effort at all! And you don't notice it, it just flies on the road. Somehow it also feels like it really wants to go faster to show what is under that bonnet. Like a big dog pulling its leash. We'll have to be patient until the first 2000 km though before we can take the leash off.

Looks. It looks gorgeous! (like we say in French 'elle a de la gueule' - free translation would be something like 'she looks really agressive' although gueule is the thing horses and dogs have (snout)). And yes, I do feel like a proud owner when people turn to look at it or take a second look when they hear the engine. This car, with or without the M3 badge, was built partially so that the owners can show off with it. It feels GREAT and you need nothing else to be noticed!

Interior. Is spacy and the materials used don't feel like cheap plastic. (maybe because they aren't ) Like a colleague of mine describes, when you close the door it's a smooth 'whoosh' sound instead of a 'bang' from a tinbox. There's not much storage or cubholes, but well, you are not meant to empty your handbag/briefcase contents inside the car either.

iDrive. Navigation is really easy to use and next week-end we'll find out if it will bring us to the right destination . The other functions under iDrive are pretty much 'instinctive' as well, no manual has been needed until now. And we discover more every day.

Extra gimmics. I like the little things like when you lock the door and keep pressing the button the windows come up (or when you unlock and keep pressing the windows + sunroof open), or the lights when you unlock the doors, or the programmable button etc. These add no real extra driving value of course, but are just funky functions.

All in all, it's a dream to drive. If I could, I would take two weeks off right now and just spend the whole time driving this thing around. The M3. Our very own Batmobile.

[Epacy]

Excellent read!
Glad to hear the car impresses you so.
Looking forward to those feelings as well.

[devo]

That's great to hear. It makes me want my car now!

Nice review, thanks.

[masmole]

nice review! what, no negatives worth mentioning whatsoever?

[26.2]

"Speed. My god, this thing goes !!! The dangerous bit is that you do not feel anything and with a little toe pressure on the accelerator you are suddenly at 150 km/h, without any effort at all! And you don't notice it, it just flies on the road. Somehow it also feels like it really wants to go faster to show what is under that bonnet. Like a big dog pulling its leash. We'll have to be patient until the first 2000 km though before we can take the leash off."

All this speed without the DCT??? I'm stoked about the 6MT!!

Thanks for posting!

[Hans Delbruck]

It's nice to read more thoughts from actual owners, instead of magazine reviews. thank you

[kuruptracing]

nice review! i don't think I could possibly be more excited to get mine... each thread I read just makes it harder and harder to wait for it!

[rvacha]

Nice review! I am curious... is there a French translation for Batmobile? Or is it just... well, Batmobile?

[OzStriker]

Thanks for the review.

I concur with your view on speed.
I still remember going through a few gears on my test drive (looking after the new engine, <5,500rpm) and thinking meh, then glanced at speedo and I was well and truly in license losing territory.

You say the car feels "bigger than it actually is" I would have to disagree with this, it is actually a pretty big car but does not feel so on the road, especially in tight manoeuvres.

You should definitely read the manual, I have studied half of it now and not yet got my car, but there are sooooo many litle settings you can play with on this thing! Comfort access sounds awesome...

[Saturn]

Merci pour le critique. J'aime beaucoup ton choix de couleur. Fyi gueule = muzzle/mouth.

[Bastet]

Thanks for your feedback !

Now, the car feels bigger than it is from inside, or maybe it's just because we are comparing with our old 320 Cabrio in which the back seat was really quite small - not to mention the ridiculous legroom behind. In the M3 you can easily fit 4 adults which is a bonus. And the trunk is big as well

It doesn't feel big when driving and I agree with OzStriker that there's absolutely no problem with tight manouvres. I have actually read those 200 pages of the manual , but the thing is, I didn't have it upstairs last night when I tried to describe the take off assistance so I didn't have the correct term.

The smooth gear changes and 'short' clutch make it easy to get it to speed up quickly - even without DCT. (It's all about the excellent driver really, isn't it ? )

Saturn, Je crois que Batmobile est Batmobile même en français

[the_stranger]

Thats a really nice write up. You said the steering is light. when you change the steering settings in Mdrive, does it get heavy or it still remains light?

[Bastet]

Originally Posted by the_stranger

Thats a really nice write up. You said the steering is light. when you change the steering settings in Mdrive, does it get heavy or it still remains light?

Thanks . Oh yes, the steering changes quite a bit (stiffens) when you change the settings in Mdrive.

[Saturn]

Originally Posted by Bastet

Saturn, Je crois que Batmobile est Batmobile même en français

Non: Batmobile = Incroyant!

Congrats on your car, I'm so jealous!

[the_stranger]

Originally Posted by Bastet

Thanks . Oh yes, the steering changes quite a bit (stiffens) when you change the settings in Mdrive.

How heavy does it get compared to a normal 3 series?

[Bastet]

Originally Posted by the_stranger

How heavy does it get compared to a normal 3 series?

Compared to our old E46 convertible it's just as heavy, but a lot more direct at speed.

[the_stranger]

Originally Posted by Bastet

Compared to our old E46 convertible it's just as heavy, but a lot more direct at speed.

Thats good enough. Thank you very much.

[JEllis]

Glad you like it

[JoB01]

Sounds awesome, can't wait to drive one!!!

[Bastet]

Originally Posted by masmole

nice review! what, no negatives worth mentioning whatsoever?

Yes, actually, there is one thing in this car, worth adding to the negatives list and which is not fast enough - the bloody seat belt thing !!! I remember seeing other remarks on its flimsyness and I must agree that I wonder how long that thing is going to last before it breaks. Maybe it will never break, but it's not the most convincing moving part in the car