Hi there
Went to BMW Crewe this morning to have a go in a 2010 BMW M3 Coupe with DCT transmission. Got to drive the car on all types of roads, bumpy/twisty country roads, throughout town so a lot of stop start and some dual carriage way action, was out for a good 40 minutes or so and therefor a decent test drive, much better than what Nissan offered but not quite as good as Porsche. The weather was good too and roads dry so was able to make full use of the M3's power.
The car was gunmetal grey, very similar if not the same as the CSL, maybe a tad darker, was a 2010 car with 4010 miles and one owner. It seemed to have everything but EDC. Once in the car I remembered Elliots settings and told the salesman I was going to input my own settings and if that was OK and he was fine with it but did mention no turning off TCS unless you've got a race/competition license. So I set the steering to heaviest, car was in S5 on the gear change and wherever I could I set Sport+ or Sport.
The first thing I notice and its a big plus point is the flappy paddes are attached to the steering wheel, not the column which means if you really want too you can change gear with the paddles even with steering lock, in the GTR the paddles were attached to the column which was annoying.
Now I want to talk about what I think is the best part of the M3 and that is the DCT transmission, to put it blunty its absolutely amazing. In automatic mode it was smooth and by 35mph the car was in 7th gear, so in town driving it was a joy to use in auto mode, absolutely fantastic. Now what I really liked was in manual mode well you never forgot it was in manual mode and I adapted to driving with the paddles immediately, the DCT just felt a lot more involving than Nissans twin clutch affair on the GTR, BMW have certainly got the better and faster changing gearbox. The down changes were glorious and instant, at one point I want from 6th to 3rd, booting it at the same time and the car made the change in a blink of an eye and bolted off. The downchanges and the gorgeous throttle blip were so much better than that of the GTR's. Up-changes seemed a similar speed but again the M3 was more addictive, changing up beyond 7500rpm resulting in a nice but affirming kick in the back, not quite as violent as that of the CSL's but it was a welcomed punch in the back. Off the mark again the DCT was fantastic, the car shot off the line with no fuss and quickly, easily sub 5s, admittedly the car off the mark did not seem as quick as the GTR or 911 Turbo, they were truly menacing of the mark, but the M3 was no slouch and wheelspin seemed fairly limited. The salesman did say the car had LC which is quicker but at the same time it can only be used so many times and is logged by the cars ECU. All in all the DCT transmission is absolutely superb, its nearly as aggressive as the CSL's, basically it feels less mechanical, more of an electronic feel if that makes sense. But the new DCT is so much better in auto mode and very smooth and quiet. BMW have done a fantastic job here.
The drive of the car and what I do notice is out of all the cars I drove the M3 does feel the heaviest, its steering in heaviest setting is well weighted and has a good solid feel to it, but the car does not turn that fast but in saying that the car is very easy to position where you want it on the road but it does feel heavier than anything else I've driven. Still what I did notice is the steering out of every car I've driven has the least feel unfortunately, but the cars chassis is one of the most communitive. Powering out of corners you really can feel the back-end of the car telling you how much grip is left and as you push harder you feel the rear is about to let go and there is still more to give, this I found impressive and the salesman did say he has found the same in his drives, but if pushed a little harder it will let go or stability control will just kick in. Now on the country lanes I did feel the car showed its weight, trying to lay the power down was also a little hard on the bumpier ground, the car kept getting wheel hop or having a little slip and as such you knew that you were in a RWD rather heavy car. However you look down at the speedo and you are moving along at some speed as the car is so refined it hides its speed immensely, some consider this good, but this car hides its speed a little to well, they really do need a more rawer version of the M3, hint CSL....
Power wise well the car has power everywhere and booting it around 3000rpm in 2nd gear the power delivery is instant and it really shoves you back, you change upto 3rd, then 4th and your moving along at 120-130mph and the car feels like its doing 70mph, it makes going too fast on dual carriage-ways/motorways all too easy, way too easy. Infact cruising at 70mph in this car feels beneath it, it feels like your pottering along at 40mph. The sound on the downchanges and full throttle is excellent, its almost got a CSL type induction sound but with a V8 touch, really is rather nice.
The ride quality is simply perfect, this model did not have EDC but the car was never uncomfortable not even on bumpy roads, out of all the cars driven this BMW felt the most solid and best built with the best ride quality, even when throwing the car around bodyroll, what bodyroll it was fine. My only issue was the car felt heavy to drive and it was not as quick on its feet steering wise.
Infact the car this M3 felt most like against my previous cars and some may find this surprising but its driving dynamics were very similar to the Mustang, of course I am talking of my Mustang after all the suspension mods I did, but to drive it just felt incredibly similar in the corners with similar grip levels to that of the Mustang with very similar capabilities, but the M3 again did feel heavy in comparison but in favour of the M3 it is far better put together.
The problem the M3 has for me is once your past 2nd/3rd gear its acceleration is just far far too refined, it simply does not feel fast, if it was not for speed limits you'd just keep going until you hit the 155mph limiter as the car hides its speed so well which takes away the element of speed, but don't get me wrong the car is accelerating damn fast, its definetely quicker than the 911's except the turbo but the 911's approaching 100mph and you'd back off as they feel so much rawer, wheras the M3 is a little like the GTR you'd just not realise if you were not careful and end up at silly speeds.
Brakes used to be BMW's weakness, the brakes on the new M3 seemed powerful enough, though braking harder into tight corners and you really could feel the cars weight and the brakes were nowhere near as feelsome as the 911's or as powerful as the GTR's. Infact I think the GTR is heavier than the M3 but to drive the GTR always felt lighter whether it was when turning or braking the GTR felt the lighter car. The brakes could be more feelsome but are more than upto the job.
I think out of all the cars Ive driven the M3 is the best all round car, it simply does everything and to a very high standard indeed. But the GTR would embarras it on the road due to its abilities and the 911/Cayman would be so much rewarding in their drive and quite possibly quicker too in the twisty stuff. Ability wise in the corners the M3 seemed a dead even match to the Mustang, it just lacked all out power but at the same time far better put together and the DCT really gives the car the edge.
So in practicality, usability and been good at everything really makes the M3 a winner. Unfortunately for me it kind of just lacks a bit of character, its typically BMW, hugely capable and very precise but at the same time it just a 3 series thats been seriously fettled to turn into a mega impressive car.
The M3 is a good drive and you do feel very involved, the chassis is very communitive, the steering well weighted but lacks feels and the DCT transmission is the best I've used. But after all this the car just well lacks something, its damn good but not good enough for me to buy it if that makes any sense and I have to say it but I preferred my CSL as it was more rawer, though not quite as quick and nowhere near as well put together but the CSL was just more fun.
But now I've driven the new M3 yes its bloody good and I can see why in the USA Ford are pitching fettled Mustangs like the BOSS302 against it as on a UK country road my Mustang was as good if we talk in terms of handling, but the M3 as Fox said is a much better put together car.
Any questions just ask.....
Went to BMW Crewe this morning to have a go in a 2010 BMW M3 Coupe with DCT transmission. Got to drive the car on all types of roads, bumpy/twisty country roads, throughout town so a lot of stop start and some dual carriage way action, was out for a good 40 minutes or so and therefor a decent test drive, much better than what Nissan offered but not quite as good as Porsche. The weather was good too and roads dry so was able to make full use of the M3's power.
The car was gunmetal grey, very similar if not the same as the CSL, maybe a tad darker, was a 2010 car with 4010 miles and one owner. It seemed to have everything but EDC. Once in the car I remembered Elliots settings and told the salesman I was going to input my own settings and if that was OK and he was fine with it but did mention no turning off TCS unless you've got a race/competition license. So I set the steering to heaviest, car was in S5 on the gear change and wherever I could I set Sport+ or Sport.
The first thing I notice and its a big plus point is the flappy paddes are attached to the steering wheel, not the column which means if you really want too you can change gear with the paddles even with steering lock, in the GTR the paddles were attached to the column which was annoying.
Now I want to talk about what I think is the best part of the M3 and that is the DCT transmission, to put it blunty its absolutely amazing. In automatic mode it was smooth and by 35mph the car was in 7th gear, so in town driving it was a joy to use in auto mode, absolutely fantastic. Now what I really liked was in manual mode well you never forgot it was in manual mode and I adapted to driving with the paddles immediately, the DCT just felt a lot more involving than Nissans twin clutch affair on the GTR, BMW have certainly got the better and faster changing gearbox. The down changes were glorious and instant, at one point I want from 6th to 3rd, booting it at the same time and the car made the change in a blink of an eye and bolted off. The downchanges and the gorgeous throttle blip were so much better than that of the GTR's. Up-changes seemed a similar speed but again the M3 was more addictive, changing up beyond 7500rpm resulting in a nice but affirming kick in the back, not quite as violent as that of the CSL's but it was a welcomed punch in the back. Off the mark again the DCT was fantastic, the car shot off the line with no fuss and quickly, easily sub 5s, admittedly the car off the mark did not seem as quick as the GTR or 911 Turbo, they were truly menacing of the mark, but the M3 was no slouch and wheelspin seemed fairly limited. The salesman did say the car had LC which is quicker but at the same time it can only be used so many times and is logged by the cars ECU. All in all the DCT transmission is absolutely superb, its nearly as aggressive as the CSL's, basically it feels less mechanical, more of an electronic feel if that makes sense. But the new DCT is so much better in auto mode and very smooth and quiet. BMW have done a fantastic job here.
The drive of the car and what I do notice is out of all the cars I drove the M3 does feel the heaviest, its steering in heaviest setting is well weighted and has a good solid feel to it, but the car does not turn that fast but in saying that the car is very easy to position where you want it on the road but it does feel heavier than anything else I've driven. Still what I did notice is the steering out of every car I've driven has the least feel unfortunately, but the cars chassis is one of the most communitive. Powering out of corners you really can feel the back-end of the car telling you how much grip is left and as you push harder you feel the rear is about to let go and there is still more to give, this I found impressive and the salesman did say he has found the same in his drives, but if pushed a little harder it will let go or stability control will just kick in. Now on the country lanes I did feel the car showed its weight, trying to lay the power down was also a little hard on the bumpier ground, the car kept getting wheel hop or having a little slip and as such you knew that you were in a RWD rather heavy car. However you look down at the speedo and you are moving along at some speed as the car is so refined it hides its speed immensely, some consider this good, but this car hides its speed a little to well, they really do need a more rawer version of the M3, hint CSL....
Power wise well the car has power everywhere and booting it around 3000rpm in 2nd gear the power delivery is instant and it really shoves you back, you change upto 3rd, then 4th and your moving along at 120-130mph and the car feels like its doing 70mph, it makes going too fast on dual carriage-ways/motorways all too easy, way too easy. Infact cruising at 70mph in this car feels beneath it, it feels like your pottering along at 40mph. The sound on the downchanges and full throttle is excellent, its almost got a CSL type induction sound but with a V8 touch, really is rather nice.
The ride quality is simply perfect, this model did not have EDC but the car was never uncomfortable not even on bumpy roads, out of all the cars driven this BMW felt the most solid and best built with the best ride quality, even when throwing the car around bodyroll, what bodyroll it was fine. My only issue was the car felt heavy to drive and it was not as quick on its feet steering wise.
Infact the car this M3 felt most like against my previous cars and some may find this surprising but its driving dynamics were very similar to the Mustang, of course I am talking of my Mustang after all the suspension mods I did, but to drive it just felt incredibly similar in the corners with similar grip levels to that of the Mustang with very similar capabilities, but the M3 again did feel heavy in comparison but in favour of the M3 it is far better put together.
The problem the M3 has for me is once your past 2nd/3rd gear its acceleration is just far far too refined, it simply does not feel fast, if it was not for speed limits you'd just keep going until you hit the 155mph limiter as the car hides its speed so well which takes away the element of speed, but don't get me wrong the car is accelerating damn fast, its definetely quicker than the 911's except the turbo but the 911's approaching 100mph and you'd back off as they feel so much rawer, wheras the M3 is a little like the GTR you'd just not realise if you were not careful and end up at silly speeds.
Brakes used to be BMW's weakness, the brakes on the new M3 seemed powerful enough, though braking harder into tight corners and you really could feel the cars weight and the brakes were nowhere near as feelsome as the 911's or as powerful as the GTR's. Infact I think the GTR is heavier than the M3 but to drive the GTR always felt lighter whether it was when turning or braking the GTR felt the lighter car. The brakes could be more feelsome but are more than upto the job.
I think out of all the cars Ive driven the M3 is the best all round car, it simply does everything and to a very high standard indeed. But the GTR would embarras it on the road due to its abilities and the 911/Cayman would be so much rewarding in their drive and quite possibly quicker too in the twisty stuff. Ability wise in the corners the M3 seemed a dead even match to the Mustang, it just lacked all out power but at the same time far better put together and the DCT really gives the car the edge.
So in practicality, usability and been good at everything really makes the M3 a winner. Unfortunately for me it kind of just lacks a bit of character, its typically BMW, hugely capable and very precise but at the same time it just a 3 series thats been seriously fettled to turn into a mega impressive car.
The M3 is a good drive and you do feel very involved, the chassis is very communitive, the steering well weighted but lacks feels and the DCT transmission is the best I've used. But after all this the car just well lacks something, its damn good but not good enough for me to buy it if that makes any sense and I have to say it but I preferred my CSL as it was more rawer, though not quite as quick and nowhere near as well put together but the CSL was just more fun.
But now I've driven the new M3 yes its bloody good and I can see why in the USA Ford are pitching fettled Mustangs like the BOSS302 against it as on a UK country road my Mustang was as good if we talk in terms of handling, but the M3 as Fox said is a much better put together car.
Any questions just ask.....
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
![[ui]ICEMAN](/styles/overclockers/avatars/5.png){kind=avatar}
