C.J. Ichiban

jlr I agree that the bimmers have awesome handling but the rear seats in the m3 are pretty small due to it being a 2 door

IamSMC

'01-'03 e39M5 or '06 e60M5 are viable options

Traffic53

again, i know that none of us have experience in the benz- or the new m3, but which car is most likely going to be the most interesting drive over a 3-year period? i have an s6 audi, and it is very, very good. however, i am somewhat bored with it. i'm not bored with driving the 993. the 993 has remained interesting for 50K miles. i have driven my wifes audi about 10K miles and can take it or leave it.

i wonder which of these three will be keep me interested daily for the next three years. assuming they all have similar prices and performance figures- which i believe they do.

bmw's have always seemed to excel in the area of driving stimulation. i wonder if the new v8 3 series will be the best 'drivers' car. though i would love a reason to choose the c-class benz. it looks cool, has a proven engine, and tuners will have a field day dialing up the output of what is a harnessed powerplant. i think that engine makes 500+ in some applications (cl/clk 63 amg?).

jlr

If someone does minding waiting a bit longer, there will be an M3 sedan. My 335i sedan has plenty of room in the back. The RS4, by the way, has less leg room in the back than the M3 coupe. Every magazine has mentioned how large the front seats are and how they diminish rear leg room. It is one of the reasons I didn't consider the Audi.

creator8

I've driven the RS4 on track and as a daily. I get to test a lot of cars. My brother had an M3 so I spent some time in it too. Personally thought the steering on the M3 was terrible and the SMG is a love or hate experience. Don't know about the Benz but they've never really been my thing and they're only available as an auto--may be an issue or not.

The RS4 IS a heavy car but on track hides it well. Of the many fast cars I've run at Willow including Porsche Turbos and my old 400whp STI the RS4 was the quickest closing into turn one--almost 140mph. But in reality you're not getting it to do trackdays. You can also use the throttle to get the back around quite nicely--like a big EVO or STI. On the street for spirited driving its limits are so high you're not going to get close to them. On a canyon road, the motor is so flexible you can leave it in third gear for pretty much anything from 40-100mph. Flick the sport switch and the exhaust sounds like a Nascar on full song--wicked!

Its got serious muscle--the motor is a work of art. It goes from being a luxurious boulevardier to serious hooligan at the kick of the throttle. The suspension system is superb and very sophisticated with a damping link between the corners so its not harsh yet has great roll control. Audi interiors are great places to spend time. The MMI/Nav system kicks butt over BMW's POS iDrive. There's room for three kids in the back or a couple of adults very comfortably, a big trunk and in the right color its understated but still has a presence. Its also slightly rare. If I had to have one car for everything the RS4 would be it--unless I could afford the S6.

jlr

Well, I will have to drive an RS4, because every Audi I've driven has horrible, watery steering. This must be a completely different car...

cabrio993

Which Audi's (year and model) have you driven? You must have driven very old Audi's or ones that had something wrong with it.