After driving my M3 around for about 3 months now, I can say it has been a great joy to cruise around town day in and day out. The more I drive my car, the more I appreciate how it handles and what it can do simply amazes me.
In my last drive review, I mentioned that the suspension was stiff. I think the suspension has softened up some more as the springs worn in but it is still rough. It won’t be near what you typically find in a Lexus and frankly I didn’t buy the vehicle for a soft ride quality. It’s just something to be aware of if you value ride quality over performance. I would say there are better performance sedans that fill that void. The M3 is made to hit the track and then drive back home. I usually don’t notice the bumps in the road when driving but when I started paying attention I could definitely feel the changes in the road.
I often hear that the electronic steering is numb and there is no feedback. I do agree that the steering don’t allow me to feel the front of my tires but I think that is okay. I enjoy being able to control the weight of the steering feel and that’s something a hydraulic steering system will not be able to accomplish. Also, the suspension is stiff enough in sport + that I feel like the steering feel doesn’t matter as much. I can feel the road through the chassis movement throughout the car. And trust me does the car communicate, sometimes even a bit too much. There have been times when I have been thrown out of my seat and hair grazing the top of the roofline. Those situations have been rare but on some occasion the roads are quite terrible in parts of the Bay Area.
In the past month or so the Bay Area has gotten quite a lot of rain so I decided to take the M3 out. I realized that traction would be a problem but having never owned a RWD vehicle before, I didn’t know what to expect. Driving moderately on summer tires, namely the Continental SportContact 5P, wet traction is acceptable. From what I have heard, they are not the best tires but BMW uses these tires in case their supply of Michelin Pilot Super Sports run out of stock. The back end will start to break loose if you apply additional throttle. Anything other than pretending to drive a van with your family inside will result in the back end sliding out. I applied less aggressive steering and less throttle to keep the vehicle in control. It needs some extra care when driving. Lane changes seemed to be okay as long as it was slow and smooth. I don’t think the M3 is something I would take out for a leisurely cruise in the rain or bad weather. I need to be extra diligent in making sure my steering input and throttle input are just enough but not too much. Even at highway speeds, applying throttle in 4th or 5th gear will still result in the back tires losing traction. Normally in dry weather, 3rd gear usually will not result in any loss of traction when full throttle is applied. Even with traction control on I would not suggest any aggressive driving of any type in the rain. By the time the traction control kicks in and is able to compensate for the loss of traction, the vehicle might end up in a ditch. Driver input is absolutely necessary or the vehicle will spin out. I am not saying don’t get the M3 if you live where it rains or snows a lot. All I am saying is that be extremely careful in less than ideal conditions. It’s still a fantastic car, don’t get me wrong, but that tail is pretty loose at times.
I read somewhere but I don’t remember where but BMW believed that only the Michelin Pilot Super Sports can handle most of the traction issues with a RWD in their M5/M6 lineup without getting into track tires. These vehicles have gone to the extremes of what tire technology today can handle so their upcoming M5/M6 will have AWD with a RWD bias so that consumers will still be able to buy tires that are not dedicated for track use thus prolonging life of the tire and saving cost. I would really like to try out these Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires and see if they actually do make a noticeable difference. I was actually kind of disappointed when I found out that vehicle didn’t come with them initially but hey the rears will need replacing sometime soon anyways. I am hoping to try out the new Michelin PS4 tires which will be the replacements for the Pilot Super Sports so I am hoping that these tires will be even better.
The way I drive my M3, I am getting closer to the combined mileage of highway and city driving, sometimes averaging closer to city driving. From just normal everyday driving, the lowest mpg I was able to achieve was 10mpg and the highest was around 35 mpg. Driving the M3 every day is a bit of a hassle not because of the lower ride height or the rough suspension but the fact that it has to be refueled every couple of days. The fuel capacity is 15.9 gallons which is not too bad for a sedan but low mileage does affect the range. I prefer to refuel every 400 miles if I drive moderately and with some spirited driving around 300 miles of range would be nice.
This concludes my 3-month review of the M3. Overall I would say I am pleased, no, just as excited about my car as the first day I picked it up. It might under perform in certain areas but behind the wheel it is just a blast.
In my last drive review, I mentioned that the suspension was stiff. I think the suspension has softened up some more as the springs worn in but it is still rough. It won’t be near what you typically find in a Lexus and frankly I didn’t buy the vehicle for a soft ride quality. It’s just something to be aware of if you value ride quality over performance. I would say there are better performance sedans that fill that void. The M3 is made to hit the track and then drive back home. I usually don’t notice the bumps in the road when driving but when I started paying attention I could definitely feel the changes in the road.
I often hear that the electronic steering is numb and there is no feedback. I do agree that the steering don’t allow me to feel the front of my tires but I think that is okay. I enjoy being able to control the weight of the steering feel and that’s something a hydraulic steering system will not be able to accomplish. Also, the suspension is stiff enough in sport + that I feel like the steering feel doesn’t matter as much. I can feel the road through the chassis movement throughout the car. And trust me does the car communicate, sometimes even a bit too much. There have been times when I have been thrown out of my seat and hair grazing the top of the roofline. Those situations have been rare but on some occasion the roads are quite terrible in parts of the Bay Area.
In the past month or so the Bay Area has gotten quite a lot of rain so I decided to take the M3 out. I realized that traction would be a problem but having never owned a RWD vehicle before, I didn’t know what to expect. Driving moderately on summer tires, namely the Continental SportContact 5P, wet traction is acceptable. From what I have heard, they are not the best tires but BMW uses these tires in case their supply of Michelin Pilot Super Sports run out of stock. The back end will start to break loose if you apply additional throttle. Anything other than pretending to drive a van with your family inside will result in the back end sliding out. I applied less aggressive steering and less throttle to keep the vehicle in control. It needs some extra care when driving. Lane changes seemed to be okay as long as it was slow and smooth. I don’t think the M3 is something I would take out for a leisurely cruise in the rain or bad weather. I need to be extra diligent in making sure my steering input and throttle input are just enough but not too much. Even at highway speeds, applying throttle in 4th or 5th gear will still result in the back tires losing traction. Normally in dry weather, 3rd gear usually will not result in any loss of traction when full throttle is applied. Even with traction control on I would not suggest any aggressive driving of any type in the rain. By the time the traction control kicks in and is able to compensate for the loss of traction, the vehicle might end up in a ditch. Driver input is absolutely necessary or the vehicle will spin out. I am not saying don’t get the M3 if you live where it rains or snows a lot. All I am saying is that be extremely careful in less than ideal conditions. It’s still a fantastic car, don’t get me wrong, but that tail is pretty loose at times.
I read somewhere but I don’t remember where but BMW believed that only the Michelin Pilot Super Sports can handle most of the traction issues with a RWD in their M5/M6 lineup without getting into track tires. These vehicles have gone to the extremes of what tire technology today can handle so their upcoming M5/M6 will have AWD with a RWD bias so that consumers will still be able to buy tires that are not dedicated for track use thus prolonging life of the tire and saving cost. I would really like to try out these Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires and see if they actually do make a noticeable difference. I was actually kind of disappointed when I found out that vehicle didn’t come with them initially but hey the rears will need replacing sometime soon anyways. I am hoping to try out the new Michelin PS4 tires which will be the replacements for the Pilot Super Sports so I am hoping that these tires will be even better.
The way I drive my M3, I am getting closer to the combined mileage of highway and city driving, sometimes averaging closer to city driving. From just normal everyday driving, the lowest mpg I was able to achieve was 10mpg and the highest was around 35 mpg. Driving the M3 every day is a bit of a hassle not because of the lower ride height or the rough suspension but the fact that it has to be refueled every couple of days. The fuel capacity is 15.9 gallons which is not too bad for a sedan but low mileage does affect the range. I prefer to refuel every 400 miles if I drive moderately and with some spirited driving around 300 miles of range would be nice.
This concludes my 3-month review of the M3. Overall I would say I am pleased, no, just as excited about my car as the first day I picked it up. It might under perform in certain areas but behind the wheel it is just a blast.