Our car wears the standard seats, which are nice and comfy, but you can opt for full carbon-fiber buckets ($3,800) if you so choose.Ī silvery Aluminum Tetragon trim covers a portion of the dash and center console, but honestly, it’s not my favorite look. High-quality Silverstone and Black Merino leather covers the seats and bleeds onto the dash and door panels as part of the $2,250 full leather package. If you've previously sat in any modern BMW product, this cabin should look very familiar. Unfortunately, BMW didn't do anything dramatic inside of this particular M3. The back end is comparatively subtle, but the quad exhaust tips are a nice touch that carry over from the previous gen, and the Individual Shadowline elements (a $300 option) give the taillights a cool smoked tint. There's an aggressive beltline that runs the length of the profile, further toughening up the look, and the staggered 19- and 20-inch multi-spoke wheels on the Competition model are standouts. But even then, kudos to BMW for making something that won't simply blend into the crowd. Granted, the Tanzanite Metallic Blue paint (a $1,950) on our tester certainly helps tame the styling where brighter hues like Sao Paulo Yellow or Isle Of Man Green make the big, black inserts stand out more dramatically. While the new BMW M3 does look busy, that’s not to say I don’t like it. The rimless inserts mean there's more of a seamless visual transition into the bodywork, and when joined by a large lower vent just below them (for additional cooling), it makes for one hell of an aggressive look. Instead, the M3 and M4 opt for clean horizontal black slats that run top to bottom with no busy frame. Those big kidneys come directly from the 4 Series, which sports a busier honeycomb pattern and a big chrome outline. The extra-tall schnozz gives the M3 a look that, for better or worse, you won't find elsewhere in this otherwise stoic segment, which I can appreciate. Sure, the big vertical kidneys aren't what most would call conventionally attractive, but the styling is more appealing in person than in photos. A simple task like driving on the highway requires constant inputs just to keep the car centered, and although the steering does get heavier in Sport and Sport Plus driving modes, it doesn't feel any more refined. But it’s almost too direct, which makes it twitchy, light, and generally unpleasant in most scenarios. Yes, the steering is very direct – credit to BMW for tweaking the rack over the standard 3 Series and making it feel more connected to the body. That results in some jerkiness in the steering and makes the car feel out of sorts.Īnd that harshness translates to the steering itself, which is borderline offensive. When taking a fast corner in the most aggressive Sport and Sport Plus settings, it feels as if the M3 is skipping over the pavement rather than smoothly attacking the corner as other performance cars might. While common in many M Competition cars, that general harshness stands out more significantly here. The M3's suspension does suffer somewhat from typical BMW crashiness. The suspension is balanced, body movements are almost entirely flat, and although this car will get tail-happy without too much effort, it never feels totally out of sorts – just a lot of fun to fling around. Flogging it on the only twisty-ish road in all of South Florida, the M3 Comp shows great poise. Unlike other M models that have switched to all-wheel drive, the M3 Competition maintains its iconic rear-wheel-drive status, with all-wheel drive coming as an option later. But the grip from the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires (275/35ZR19 285/30ZR20), at least, is unflappable. Sometimes power lingers long after you’ve taken your foot off the gas. This gearbox still rips off lightning-quick shifts and isn't afraid to hang revs near the 7,000 RPM redline – but perhaps too often. Yes, BMW actually ditched the previous dual-clutch gearbox for a normal auto instead – in preparation for the upcoming xDrive model – but the difference is inconsequential. Managing all that power is an updated eight-speed automatic transmission. Gobs of low-end torque helped by the two new turbos launches the M3 Comp to 60 in a manufacturer-estimated 3.8 seconds, but it actually feels quicker based on my butt test, on par with the larger models like M5 and M8 Competition. The twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six – now one of my favorite engines, alongside BMW's larger V8 – delivers 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet in an absolutely brutal fashion (but also totally effortlessly). A vehicle's verdict is relative only to its own segment and not the new-vehicle market as a whole.
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