BMWCar Reviews e46 M3, e92 M3 and F82 M4

[warzilla]

BMWCar (English mag for Bimmer fans) has a recent issue covering the E46 M3, E92 M3 and the new M4.

Main point - they agree the M4 is an improvement all around on the previous model. But there was one line that I think spoke very highly of the E92 in the article:

Similarly, the E92's character and ability are still intoxicating even seven years on. This may well have been one of BMW's finest hours as driving the older M3 even now feels rewarding and the engine is just electric, ready to feed and thrive off your every input. Even the torque-happy M4 can't match the special kind of feeling it gives.

I still remember fondly my E92 and to be honest, I'm on the fence if I want to get a new F80 M3 or just grab a late model E90 M3 down the road. That V8 was just special in my mind.

[djdiplomat]

Exactly why I went the E90 route....It's more than just numbers.

[IB M]

I test drove a loaded new M3 with CCB last week. It is an awesome machine and I will be purchasing in the near future. That said I would agree the engine in the E92 feels slightly more immediate and responsive to the gas peddle input. To me it is cool that each generation M3 has it's own unique characteristics. All good, all smiles, all best in class for their era but different enough to keep it interesting.

[Haywood]

Link?

[warzilla]

No link but here is what the cover looks like:



Here is the first page of the article:



Here is that paragraph about the e92 (was on last page as they were summarizing things):



Got to go to barnes & noble to see the issue.

[davesaddiction]

Recent R&T review wasn't too enamored with the M4, compared with the Cayman S and new Corvette.

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1044432

I don't need to have the fastest car, but "intoxicating" and "rewarding" are what I'm looking for.

[xiliy]

I am happy with my 08 today just as i was when i got it 6 years ago.

[warzilla]

Again, more, if you read the last paragraph:

But if there’s one thing learnt from looking back at the older cars here it’s that there’s more to an M car than that. The E92 in particular possesses a really special quality that makes it still stand out. The question is, does the M4 manage this?

[CBS]

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

Recent R&T review wasn't too enamored with the M4, compared with the Cayman S and new Corvette.

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1044432

I don't need to have the fastest car, but "intoxicating" and "rewarding" are what I'm looking for.

Fully agreed! I recently had a full day at BMW's Performance Center Track with the F80 and F82 and while they are amazing vehicles, "intoxicating" was not a word I would use. "Engaging" perhaps.

Intoxicating is a word I would use to describe the E9X and the S65.

[JRV]

Def not wrong keeping your rev happy M3. I like how they pointed out it like it was made during BMWs finest hours. I found the new F series cars to be great cars and better on gas but there is something signature about the older M3 that I can only feel and can't explain. Keep it if you can!

[FVM3]

No offense and just to me, new m3/m4 feel like a modded 335i to me with fancy looking.Test drove the new m4 and not planning to get the new one

[Yugo]

Not a fan of the M4 at all. I can see myself getting to like the new M3, main reason 4 doors, but just not a fan of that front...too much going on, looks like a bad aftermarket version. The turbo motor is growing on me, better gas mileage and performance, why not.

On the other hand, I like how they included the E46 in the comparison. Even though I drive an E90 now, I still drool when I see an E46 drive by and look at their car more than they do at mine, lol. IMO E46 is and will remain the best M3 true to it's roots. E90 and F80 are both great, but certainly cars that have evolved a lot from the orginal E30.

If I could afford them all I would have them, but since I have decided to "down scale" from having two cars at a time, I am stuck with driving the E90 daily as a fun car and as a family sedan when needed.

OP - thanks for sharing.

[imserious]

Yeah not a huge fan of the M4 although it must be blazing fast and is a current interpretation of the M car. Love the s65. Still really really like the e46 package overall.

It is not all about the numbers.

Cars are losing their mechanical analogue nature and the experience is changing. Can't stop the future but it is missing a little something as the numbers get better.

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by Yugo

Not a fan of the M4 at all. I can see myself getting to like the new M3, main reason 4 doors, but just not a fan of that front...too much going on, looks like a bad aftermarket version. The turbo motor is growing on me, better gas mileage and performance, why not.

OP - thanks for sharing.

why not ? i think the engine sounds awful.

IMO i would rather have the new AMG, corvette, new CTSV coming, a 911S etc.

there are more cars that are getting good MPG and still retain a good engine.

[modkrazy]

Originally Posted by FVM3

No offense and just to me, new m3/m4 feel like a modded 335i to me with fancy looking.Test drove the new m4 and not planning to get the new one

Turbo enthusiasts in the past that didn't like the M3 but wanted a 3-series coupe would buy a 335i, put M3 suspension parts on it, and push boost to 18+psi, adding meth if necessary to maintain temps. If they were particularly insecure, they would put M3 body panels on it. Now BMW offers you that very thing, with the engine reinforced, uptuned, and with all sorts of extra cooling to allow it to maintain those power levels reliably (only read of two instances of turbo failures so far, with a backorder on the parts until november). For previous 335i owners who are now in a financial position to move up to an M, this is a godsend. For posers who bought M3s for the badge but never pushed their cars (these are the people you hear complain that they can't pass in 7th gear at highway RPMs), this is a godsend. Plus, the car now has all that neat stuff from the M5, like the god's eye cameras, the heads up display, full leather dash and ass cooling seats.

BMW is not dumb. They got the system down:
1. Look at what the enthusiast customer base is doing to their cars.
2. Make their own, better version.
3. Profitz!

Why do you think M Performance now carries carbon fiber lips and side skirts (or why M Performance was created in the first place)? M is now a trim level, not a separate division, and the best and brightest have moved on from the M to the lower case i. Granted, this is not as exciting for the soul as engines based on F1 efforts that have been behind all of BMW's recent racing triumphs, but BMW is still producing very capable cars and are continuously hitting ever higher milestones of success in this post-2008 economic crisis, heavily-regulated world.

Take heart that you own one of the pinnacles of old-school analogue automotive technology, and watch what BMW comes up with next. The next M3 will have a bunch of trickle-down tech from the i8, and will probably be a 3200lb, all carbon fiber body hybrid electric uber-rocket pushing a combined 500BHP out of a 2-liter 4-pot.

[M3guy3]

Originally Posted by modkrazy

Turbo enthusiasts in the past that didn't like the M3 but wanted a 3-series coupe would buy a 335i, put M3 suspension parts on it, and push boost to 18+psi, adding meth if necessary to maintain temps. If they were particularly insecure, they would put M3 body panels on it. Now BMW offers you that very thing, with the engine reinforced, uptuned, and with all sorts of extra cooling to allow it to maintain those power levels reliably (only read of two instances of turbo failures so far, with a backorder on the parts until november). For previous 335i owners who are now in a financial position to move up to an M, this is a godsend. For posers who bought M3s for the badge but never pushed their cars (these are the people you hear complain that they can't pass in 7th gear at highway RPMs), this is a godsend. Plus, the car now has all that neat stuff from the M5, like the god's eye cameras, the heads up display, full leather dash and ass cooling seats.

BMW is not dumb. They got the system down:
1. Look at what the enthusiast customer base is doing to their cars.
2. Make their own, better version.
3. Profitz!

Why do you think M Performance now carries carbon fiber lips and side skirts (or why M Performance was created in the first place)? M is now a trim level, not a separate division, and the best and brightest have moved on from the M to the lower case i. Granted, this is not as exciting for the soul as engines based on F1 efforts that have been behind all of BMW's recent racing triumphs, but BMW is still producing very capable cars and are continuously hitting ever higher milestones of success in this post-2008 economic crisis, heavily-regulated world.

Take heart that you own one of the pinnacles of old-school analogue automotive technology, and watch what BMW comes up with next. The next M3 will have a bunch of trickle-down tech from the i8, and will probably be a 3200lb, all carbon fiber body hybrid electric uber-rocket pushing a combined 500BHP out of a 2-liter 4-pot.

i would say more than half the people buying a 335i couldn't afford the M3 or didn't want to spend 20k more. most M3s and 335i on the road at somewhat stock. So that just proves that point.

those same guys who bought the 335i in the past, are probs just going to move into a F30.

[warzilla]

Originally Posted by modkrazy

BMW is not dumb. They got the system down:
1. Look at what the enthusiast customer base is doing to their cars.
2. Make their own, better version.
3. Profitz!

Why do you think M Performance now carries carbon fiber lips and side skirts (or why M Performance was created in the first place)? M is now a trim level, not a separate division, and the best and brightest have moved on from the M to the lower case i.

I agree. BMW went the route of Audi, and basically made M a marketing and sales device for any car they can sell from their portfolio. The day my friend told me he had a M X3 (basically he was sold a X3 with some M performance parts and the salesperson sold him that it was a M car), thats when I knew BMW sold out.