Not to be outdone by the brash little 135i, our long-term M3 also headed north for the holiday weekend. We saw it all, the M3 and I -- stop-and-go traffic from L.A. to Santa Barbara, glorious vistas and vectors along the incomparable Big Sur Coast Highway, and various attractions in San Francisco, from a fort called Battery Rathbone-McIndoe (above) to the Golden Gate Bridge (post-jump). Now, nearly 1300 miles later, I'm ready to take my well-known M3 fanboy status to a whole new level:
If I had to choose one car from our fleet to drive every day, this would be it.
No, BMW has not been sending me extra bottles of M-badged Kool-Aid. The M3 is just that good. It's the only car we've got that gives me a temporary case of Tourette's -- "I bleeping love this car!", "Holy bleep!", etc. -- every time I get behind the wheel.
The primary reason resides under the M3's hood. My fellow enthusiasts, believe you me, this engine is absolutely feral. Our M3 has the much-maligned stock exhaust, and I still nominate it for the "Best Soundtrack At WOT With The Windows Down" award. I obliterated the staff record for most gratuitous rev-matched downshifts in a single weekend (unofficially 247) because I just couldn't get enough of that primal rasp. And it revs so freely that other ostensibly sporting engines feel as dull as dump-truck diesels by comparison.
But the clincher for me is, well, pretty much everything else about this car. It's got the right number of pedals (sorry, GT-R, Evo and R8). The stereo sounds good (better luck next time, WRX STI), as long as you don't mind burning some CDs for the occasion. The backseat is a surprisingly pleasant place for two adults to spend some time (nice try, 135i). And while the shifter may be as rubbery as a plate of calamari, full-throttle 8,000-rpm upshifts in the M3 are worthy of inclusion in William James' magnum opus.
Sure, it's old. Sure, it cost us a mere 30 grand. This is still the best car in our garage.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 61,921 miles
cah11705 says:
04:26 PM, 09/ 2/08
its also one of the best looking
opfreak says:
04:32 PM, 09/ 2/08
cah agreed, love that style of bmw.
Albert Austria says:
04:34 PM, 09/ 2/08
Damn strong Kool-Aid...but is it as good as an Aura?
carnage says:
05:08 PM, 09/ 2/08
Yeah, the v-8 M3 sounds good, but the 3.2 I-6 is probably one of the best sounding engines EVER. Props to the beemer.
geneseedepot says:
05:20 PM, 09/ 2/08
Where's the blog on the service performed on the M3 between the last blog and this one. I take it everything went smoothly, given it didn't merit a mention.
rtharak2 says:
05:45 PM, 09/ 2/08
I just wish it had the 19" wheels. With those, it looks perfect. In white.
blueguydotcom says:
06:00 PM, 09/ 2/08
Ugh, darn them for not making an e46 M3 sedan.
mahdigga says:
06:08 PM, 09/ 2/08
I completely understand where ya coming from. I was waiting to get my oil changed the other day and i test drove an 08 M3 and it was amazing. It was almost hard to pull of in because of the amount of power. Took it up to 120 on the highway and it felt like it was just getting started.
Gotta get one
sunilb says:
06:57 PM, 09/ 2/08
Josh-- you guys forgot to tell us how much the last service cost you at the indy shop in LA...? Please let us know, as this is one of the more interesting long-term test edmunds has done in a while.
bimmerjay says:
08:32 PM, 09/ 2/08
"Damn strong Kool-Aid...but is it as good as an Aura?"
Based on the number of comments the Aura posts generate, I'd say by that measure it's clearly superior to this BMW. Also, if one were to measure gauge lighted-y-ness, the Aura wins hands-down.
dougtheeng says:
08:21 AM, 09/ 3/08
A stunning looking car, even if I cannot afford the services!
louiswei says:
08:36 AM, 09/ 3/08
Would I love to drive the M3? Yeah... Would I love to OWN the M3 and paying for EVERYTHING like a NORMAL OWNER would do? Eh...
redwoodaggie says:
08:56 AM, 09/ 3/08
I concur with blueguydotcom, I really wish they made an E46 M3 sedan.
1487 says:
09:09 AM, 09/ 3/08
Not sure what is surprising about any of this. The car costed nearly $50k when it was new and was one of the better sports coupes on the market. Why wouldnt you rather drive this than the Accord, Edge, Aura, Fit, etc. if you could drive it for free?
If I wasnt paying for it (and drove a stick) I would rather drive the M3 too. Much to the chagrin of bimmerjay and others who swear I dont like cars other than my own. Even though I never said that.
joefrompa says:
10:00 AM, 09/ 3/08
1487 - It's not about you.
1487 says:
11:27 AM, 09/ 3/08
joe,
I have no idea what you're talking about. I wasn't even referencing or thinking of you.
joefrompa says:
12:50 PM, 09/ 3/08
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
That's dissapointing. Re-read the last two sentences of your first post.
Joe
Josh Sadlier says:
03:57 PM, 09/ 3/08
To break it down for pupils at the 1487 School For Kids Who Can't Read Good, what's potentially interesting here is that I'd take the M3 on a daily basis over EVERY CAR IN OUR FLEET, not just the completely boring ones 1487 listed.
For details, refer to my recent M3 post entitled "So You're The One."
-Sadlier
bimmerjay says:
07:01 PM, 09/ 3/08
^^ LOL. Nice 'Zoolander' reference.
sgude says:
03:53 AM, 09/ 4/08
"This engine is absolutely feral" -- truer words never spoken... er, written. I still get goose bumps from my E46 M3 test drive. That engine... my God, that engine...
brian60 says:
04:14 AM, 09/ 4/08
"And while the shifter may be as rubbery as a plate of calamari ..."
Jeez, go out and get the BMW ZHP knob already for $60 (plus another $50-100 on a new shift boot if you don't feel like hacking up the current one). As opposed to your $2600+ big brake kit, the ZHP knob is something you'll appreciate every time you drive the car.
e34bmwlover says:
11:03 AM, 09/ 4/08
E46 M3 is one of my favorite cars of all time. I still remember the test drive... Everything in this car works together as an extension of your body. It just fits you like a glove. The engine, steering, the brakes, the shifter intoxicates and makes you wanna drive it forever. You would make up excuses to drive it, wake up every morning so you can drive it to work, wait endlessly till you get out of work so you can drive it home. Even when you're driving it back, you take the back road cause there is "less traffic" lol.
1487 says:
08:56 AM, 09/ 5/08
Josh,
Its apparent you are pretty pompous and arrogant so you don't have to try and prove it repeatedly. We got the point the first time you "blessed" us with your high minded commentary.
I would say that the average out of touch BMW loving auto writer who drives free cars with free gas and thinks $50k cars are "average" in price would deem EVERY car in your fleet boring with the exception of the GTR, M3, R8, 135i, STi and EVO. That said, my original point still stands. No one is shocked that you and most of your colleagues would rather be driving the M3. If you love manual trannies 3 of the other 5 exciting cars in your fleet would be found lacking relative to the M3 as stated in the post. Point is, none of this is revelatory. what auto writer doesn't consider the M3 (of any generation) the best car on the road for under $100k?
hondacura4 says:
03:56 PM, 09/ 6/08
I think I would have to agree as I think this car is the perfect everyday sports coupe as its a great 2+2 GT and be seriously entertaining at the same time. What I dont understand is the BMW hatred. Yes, BMW still makes the best sport sedans and thats a well earned reputation. Some are close but just cant get the ingredients correct as BMW seems as if they get the right amount of comofort and sport in one package. Brilliant execution!
Im sure Ill get bashed for saying this....but..in terms of technology, materials, build quality, refinement, chassis composure, eager drivetrains, available power, civility, and overall performance BMW is still king of the sport sedans. Unfortunately there are always negatives to everything as overall reliability and cost of ownership could be much better.
Quote from my lil' brother who owns a 2008 BMW 335i sedan 6MT:
"There arent too many cars you can jack up, put some sticky rubber on, take it to the track and have extreme fun in. Drive it home, take off the sticky rubber and take the wife out on the town while remaining comfortable."
smedin says:
08:37 PM, 09/ 7/08
The beauty of BMWs is deeper than the numbers, even though the numbers are usually excellent.
I remember test driving an early G35 coupe as a potential "upgrade" from my 2002 325i (sport pkg 5-speed). I drove the Infiniti and was very impressed with the looks, the seats, the torque! Then, I jumped back into my 184 HP BMW, and thought to myself, "never mind."
There was that intrinsic feel in that 325i that is difficult to verbalize. But it's there nonetheless, even in the base models. Once you own a BMW, it's hard to imagine driving anything else. Especially once you climb that mountain and reach the M3 summit!
sgude says:
07:01 AM, 09/ 9/08
1487,
After reading Josh's post and the comments from E34bmwlover, hondacura4, smedlin and my own, I've gotta ask -- why are you so cranky toward him? What makes you think the auto writers who love BMWs are out of touch? Your post made it seem like you were using the cars you listed as reference points. To your credit, you did write "etc." so I see where you were going.
Still, all those auto writers and BMW owners love the cars because of what these cars do and how they feel. It's a magic feel that only the Germans seem to possess. Hondas used to have a different feel as well, but it was an incredible lightness of effort, not of driving dynamics.
The E46 M3 remains one of the most electrifying cars of our time. I can't wait to get one.