arr0gant

According to Car & Driver, the new E92 M3 coupe beats out the brand new 911 Turbo as well as the GT-R.

First Place: 2008 BMW M3

The voices in our head say: “How could the M3 win against a GT-R and a 911 Turbo? Are you guys goofy? BMW jock sniffers! How could you let this happen? Impossible!”

In this group of radical cars, the M3 emerged quickly as the voice of reason. The extremist voices of the Porsche and the GT-R are just not present in the M3. It never shouts, utters complaints, or makes any unbecoming demands. Road and tire noise are subdued, the fabric-covered seats are perfect, and there is a back seat and a real trunk. But even with those attributes, the M3 doesn’t skimp on supercar performance. It just happens to be dressed in a polished and practical package.

Even without the optional adjustable electronic dampers, our M3 test car displayed a better ride-and-handling compromise than either the 911 or the GT-R. Handling, both on the track and public roads, matched the GT-R in our individual scoring. But the M3 goes about its business differently. The GT-R steamrolls the tarmac into submission in an eerie sort of way; the M3 allows the driver to use the car as an instrument. Not many cars can play the road—the car world has more fakers than a middle-school band concert.

As one test driver put it, “The M3 is the car that the driver has the most control over.” Oversteer, understeer, and neutrality are all on the M3’s résumé, but they’re dependent on the driver’s inputs. The chassis has no surprises, no snap reactions, no bad habits—even midcorner bumps are sopped up without drama. Strong brakes have excellent initial bite and didn’t fade even after many, many laps. The BMW’s lap time lagged 1.5 seconds behind the 911 Turbo’s, but that translates to an average speed throughout the lap that was only 0.3 mph slower than the far more powerful Porsche. Thus the BMW, though suffocated by the thin air at 4200 feet, managed to make up most of the difference by cornering faster.

Unlike the heavyweights, the BMW feels smaller the harder it is driven. Part of that feel is due to light steering, but the importance of having the lowest mass and the narrowest width also plays a huge role.

It is immediately obvious (especially at altitude) that the M3 isn’t as quick as its turbocharged competition, but 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds is nothing to scoff at, either (other M3s we’ve tested have been slightly quicker). A naturally aspirated 4.0-liter V-8 can’t deliver the massive torque of the blown sixes, but the M3 delivers its 414 horsepower in a linear and consistent manner from idle to its 8300-rpm redline. No lurching, no drama, no sudden explosions of boost. And the sound the BMW V-8 makes is due a Grammy. It’s a V-8 note not often heard outside racetracks, while the Nissan and the Porsche both sound as though they could wear a Dyson label.

If you’ll overlook the now cliché complaints about the iDrive control system and the car’s light steering, the M3 didn’t draw any negative words in its logbook. And the iDrive gripe is easily solved by not ordering the $2100 optional navigation system.

The M3 offers an unparalleled mix of hassle-free livability and performance at a price that undercuts those of the *Nissan and the Porsche. For that, it wins in our book. We say its performance deficit is made up by the near perfection and sophistication of the rest of the package. And before you think we’ve gone soft and are too old for a wildcat like the GT-R, know that the average age of the test drivers (and the voters of the comparison test) was 29.5 years. Moreover, we’re the only three C/D staffers who dream of having a Lotus Elise as a daily driver. Trust us, we can put up with a lot of crudeness—you should have heard our dinner conversations. But if you can have it all without the pain, who would vote against that? And until that Elise thing happens, the M3 is the car we’d take home forever.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...st+page-4.html

dresler

yeah, saw that. Car and Driver has been getting more conservative. It really depends what they have in mind as judgement criteria. In this price range, there is no "one" car you need to take home forever. As a fun car, I wonder if they would still pick the other two if they had a 500 series wagon in the garage.

And if they hate the turbo so much, why didn't they pick the GT3 to compare against?

Kind of ironic how the 911 out dragged the others, not exactly what most people buy them for.

GNR996

What I get out of all of these comparisons is Porsche is THE bench mark... always will be.

Cars today from A to Z are all very competent, drivers..hmm not so much.

Happy driving folks,

Geoff

epegasus

JMTCW, but when ever I see a comparison between a Porsche and anything else I always look to see if the test drivers mention any of the things a Porsche driver has to do different to get the most from the car. If not, I automatically assume they are attempting to drive the RR car the way they drive FR's. Then there's the boost issue. I know these guys are suppose to be pro's but I've seen my share of so-so Pros.

Then again, I like M series BMWs. They make going really fast real easy.

ElTorrente

Well we all know the M3 is a hell of a car, and this latest one is obviously pretty amazing. It's different than a Porsche, of course, but the thing is pretty mean and capable.

I wouldn't get defensive and try and make excuses for the Turbo - no need to, really. I'd rather have a Turbo, or of course, a GT3, but if I was looking for a DD high performance sedan, the M3 would be, and always has been, a great car to pick- as many around here have done already.

I recently watched the review on "Motorweek" on t.v., and they loved it, too - plus I think it looks great. Quite a bargain price for the performance level, too.

arr0gant

VERY, VERY well said, El-T!!

Mfletch

I was at Borders today in the magazine section. I picked up a copy of Bimmer magazine to skim over an article on the new M3. It featured a comparison with the 911. I was surprised by what I read. They were comparing the base 997 Carrera to the M3. I thought I was reading a Porsche magazine. The Carrera compared very favorably to the M3. The writer also said that he preferred the 996 to the 997.

I enjoy the practical aspect of my BMW. It is a better car for hauling the family around. My Porsche will always be the passionate choice, for sheer driving pleasure.

Meister Fahrer

Yeah, so the new M3 is a great car. Too bad they had to ditch the straight 6, wish they could have done the car with a turbo 6, but it's hard to beat the giant torque of a V8 (look at Mercedes).
Then again, you've gotta give BMW credit for making the new V8 lighter than the 6.

I'd take more issue with ranking the Datsun over the Porsche (!), but they do state that price was a big factor in the total ranking.
Of course Nissan owners are probably the bulk of the population for C&D these days....

caf

I don't know how big that track was, but a lap difference of 1.5 seconds is pretty substantial. Of course, give the turbo's price, it ought to be faster.

Ray S

The answer is in this statement. They test a sports sedan against two sports cars/GT's and then claim a desire for a comfortable back seat and a trunk.

If that's the criteria, I guess the M3 does win.

arr0gant

The M3 they tested was a coupe, not a sedan. And if you read the whole article, they aren't basing it on any one thing, rather the whole package.

Besides, the M3 has always been compared to the 911's. I think the difference now is, the M3 has 420BHP and the standard 911 has 320 and Turbo 480. Compared to last generation where the M3 had 330BHP and the standard 911 had 296-320.

The M3 is NO substitute, but I would seriously consider a NEW M3 before a new standard Carrera, or maybe even Carrera S.

Ray S

The M3 has always had the classic 3 box profile of a sedan. In this case it is a 2 door sedan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan

Again, they clearly took a sports sedan and considered qualities that it has by it's very nature (large back seat and trunk) and took that into consideration when comparing it to two sports cars/GT's.

If you factor those qualities in (as Car & Driver obviously did) the M3 is the obvious winner. The other reason the M3 does well in the C&D test is because they are comparing it to with two other very portly cars.

Run a comparision of Sports Cars, test lighter weight cars like the 997S and the C6 against the M3 (closer power to weight ratios), and don't factor in back seats or trunks (i.e. test them all as "sports cars") and I think you would see a different outcome.

ElTorrente

Doesn't matter how you look at it- the fact that a sports sedan costing half as much can even begin to compete with a 911 Turbo is extremely impressive. It's obviously a bad-*** car, no matter how many seats it has.

arr0gant

Here's another review (Car Magazine) in which the M3 was pitted again against the Gt-R and the 911 Turbo, as well as the Audi R8.

This time the M3 came in second and was only beat by the GT-R. They said the M3 had the "BEST" engine out of the bunch, best interior and was the most fun on the track.

Riad

However, I'd rather take the bus than be seen in that Nissan block of crap.