Dom Miliano, Newark BMW Examiner
If you know anything about New Jersey, you know it’s a crowded place to drive a car. Big SUVs, slow humdrum slugs and anything that’s not nimble will put you in second place (or worse) in the daily joust that is the Garden State Grand Prix. Also, if you buzz the roads in a bright red, super sexy, low, sleek sportster, you have essentially tipped your hand to the competition – i.e., that mouth breathing bozo in the lane next to you! But a well made slate gray, 4-door sedan – no wings, no buzzy exhaust, no bill board sized decals – can level the playing field. It just might let you fly under the radar and give you an edge when it comes to squirting into a gap or making time in traffic. If that’s your cup of espresso, I have your car – the BMW M3 sedan.
While the heart of a BMW is the engine, in any BMW “M” series vehicle it’s the same but even more so. The engineers in Munich some how manage to breathe more Teutonic oomph into each new iteration. In the new M3 sedan, you’ll find a race proven 4.0 liter, 414 bhp V8 under the discrete hood bulge that’s capable of propelling this 3,700 lb Bimmer to 60MPH in well under 5 seconds. More than enough performance to make that grocery getter on your “6” disappear in the mirrors. More important in a tight place like NJ is the ability to stop on a dime and get 9 cents change. And while I have waxed poetic in the past about BMW brakes, the binders in all M series cars benefit from the same engineering attention paid to the engine. In the new BMW M3 sedan, the brakes do not disappoint delivering racecar-like feel and control in what looks like your basic family grocery getter.
The M3 sedan body style has three benefits over its sexier coupe stable mate. It is more of a plain-brown-wrapper BMW than the zoomy looking M3 coupe – that makes it a real Q ship. Next, it has that second set of doors – always an asset when loading the kids, packages or “stuff”. Finally, you get a really better “greenhouse” – greater visibility all the way around. Again, in the cheek-to-jowl NJ roads, visibility counts for something.
The interior of the M3 benefits from a few of the more desirable M goodies like the fat, grippy steering wheel and great, supportive seats. Otherwise, it’s pure BMW “3” series inside which is not a bad thing. And yes, it has a musical sound system with iPod connectors that integrate your MP3 player seamlessly with the basic radio controls.
Even though this is a sedan, this M3 4-door is shod with very high performance tires. Mounted on Double Spoke (Style 219M) Satin Chrome finish M light alloy wheels, 18 x 8.5 front, 18 x 9.5 rear; you will find 245/40 front and 265/40 rear performance tires. And, yes, expect a very high level of road holding – a level not normally experienced in a 4 place mid-size sedan.
Despite the low profile image of the M3 Sedan, you get a hint of the sporting intentions once you are behind the wheel and spark the high-revving V8 to life. The throaty growl of the sport-tuned exhaust is exciting without being annoying. Flick the right paddle, located behind the leather-wrapped wheel at the 3-o-clock position and you are in first gear; ready to set off for an exciting ride. You, of course, have the option to let the manual/automatic gearbox do the shifting for you or you can play boy racer and make like an F1 Pilot as you charge the corners. On my road test, I decided to let the transmission and its electronic programming shift for me. In a half hour jaunt on twisty two lane roads with hills and medium speed corners, the car always felt like it was in the right gear. In fact, it was so smooth and docile, I could almost forget I had 414 peppy ponies on tap should I need them. And yes, dinosaur that I am, I would have preferred a slick shifting 6 speed three pedal conventional manual transmission. BMW’s Getrag-built units set the standard for self-shifters and I hope then never stop making them. But in the M3 Sedan I drove, I got the paddle shifter box and as Beretta used to say, “dats the name of dat tune.”
However, I was fortunate to be able to both drive our subject M3 on both the twisty two lane roads in upstate New York and on the challenging nearly two dozen turn Monticello racetrack. And while the M3 sedan was exciting and fun on the road, the benefit (and limits) of the sports-tuned suspension and wide, aggressive tires can only be explored safely away from the dangers of two-way traffic and the worries of snagging a traffic violation. On the track, it really all came together. First, acceleration was startling. Switching to “let me shift it myself” mode lets the driver hold a gear all the way up to the red-line – the place where smiles are born! On the track, the nearly 300 lb-ft of torque and direct control over shift points allowed for explosive launches out of low and medium speed corners. Even though I had just driven this very same car on the road, it became an entirely new experience on the track.
Despite the mixed road conditions – cool temps, damp surfaces – the M3 was more racecar than any 4-door car I have ever driven. It may, in fact, be the perfect BMW Car Club vehicle – a real world commuter during the week and track day star on weekends all rolled into one.
As with all modern BMWs, there are lots of plusses and a few minuses. The plusses are obvious – it’s fast, stealthy, has a real trunk, offers great handling and brakes and comes with all of the safety and comfort we expect from the boys from Munich. But, the rear seat legroom is still a little cramped, especially if the driver or front seat passenger is tall. And, alas for car guys and gals on a tight budget, the M3 Sedan is not cheap. At nearly $60,000 without options, tax and tags, it’s a serious purchase.
However, if you are looking for a fast, comfortable, entertaining family sedan, one that could blow the doors off most sports cars on the road today, look no further. The BMW M3 Sedan is your steed.
Source: Examiner.com
If you know anything about New Jersey, you know it’s a crowded place to drive a car. Big SUVs, slow humdrum slugs and anything that’s not nimble will put you in second place (or worse) in the daily joust that is the Garden State Grand Prix. Also, if you buzz the roads in a bright red, super sexy, low, sleek sportster, you have essentially tipped your hand to the competition – i.e., that mouth breathing bozo in the lane next to you! But a well made slate gray, 4-door sedan – no wings, no buzzy exhaust, no bill board sized decals – can level the playing field. It just might let you fly under the radar and give you an edge when it comes to squirting into a gap or making time in traffic. If that’s your cup of espresso, I have your car – the BMW M3 sedan.
While the heart of a BMW is the engine, in any BMW “M” series vehicle it’s the same but even more so. The engineers in Munich some how manage to breathe more Teutonic oomph into each new iteration. In the new M3 sedan, you’ll find a race proven 4.0 liter, 414 bhp V8 under the discrete hood bulge that’s capable of propelling this 3,700 lb Bimmer to 60MPH in well under 5 seconds. More than enough performance to make that grocery getter on your “6” disappear in the mirrors. More important in a tight place like NJ is the ability to stop on a dime and get 9 cents change. And while I have waxed poetic in the past about BMW brakes, the binders in all M series cars benefit from the same engineering attention paid to the engine. In the new BMW M3 sedan, the brakes do not disappoint delivering racecar-like feel and control in what looks like your basic family grocery getter.
The M3 sedan body style has three benefits over its sexier coupe stable mate. It is more of a plain-brown-wrapper BMW than the zoomy looking M3 coupe – that makes it a real Q ship. Next, it has that second set of doors – always an asset when loading the kids, packages or “stuff”. Finally, you get a really better “greenhouse” – greater visibility all the way around. Again, in the cheek-to-jowl NJ roads, visibility counts for something.
The interior of the M3 benefits from a few of the more desirable M goodies like the fat, grippy steering wheel and great, supportive seats. Otherwise, it’s pure BMW “3” series inside which is not a bad thing. And yes, it has a musical sound system with iPod connectors that integrate your MP3 player seamlessly with the basic radio controls.
Even though this is a sedan, this M3 4-door is shod with very high performance tires. Mounted on Double Spoke (Style 219M) Satin Chrome finish M light alloy wheels, 18 x 8.5 front, 18 x 9.5 rear; you will find 245/40 front and 265/40 rear performance tires. And, yes, expect a very high level of road holding – a level not normally experienced in a 4 place mid-size sedan.
Despite the low profile image of the M3 Sedan, you get a hint of the sporting intentions once you are behind the wheel and spark the high-revving V8 to life. The throaty growl of the sport-tuned exhaust is exciting without being annoying. Flick the right paddle, located behind the leather-wrapped wheel at the 3-o-clock position and you are in first gear; ready to set off for an exciting ride. You, of course, have the option to let the manual/automatic gearbox do the shifting for you or you can play boy racer and make like an F1 Pilot as you charge the corners. On my road test, I decided to let the transmission and its electronic programming shift for me. In a half hour jaunt on twisty two lane roads with hills and medium speed corners, the car always felt like it was in the right gear. In fact, it was so smooth and docile, I could almost forget I had 414 peppy ponies on tap should I need them. And yes, dinosaur that I am, I would have preferred a slick shifting 6 speed three pedal conventional manual transmission. BMW’s Getrag-built units set the standard for self-shifters and I hope then never stop making them. But in the M3 Sedan I drove, I got the paddle shifter box and as Beretta used to say, “dats the name of dat tune.”
However, I was fortunate to be able to both drive our subject M3 on both the twisty two lane roads in upstate New York and on the challenging nearly two dozen turn Monticello racetrack. And while the M3 sedan was exciting and fun on the road, the benefit (and limits) of the sports-tuned suspension and wide, aggressive tires can only be explored safely away from the dangers of two-way traffic and the worries of snagging a traffic violation. On the track, it really all came together. First, acceleration was startling. Switching to “let me shift it myself” mode lets the driver hold a gear all the way up to the red-line – the place where smiles are born! On the track, the nearly 300 lb-ft of torque and direct control over shift points allowed for explosive launches out of low and medium speed corners. Even though I had just driven this very same car on the road, it became an entirely new experience on the track.
Despite the mixed road conditions – cool temps, damp surfaces – the M3 was more racecar than any 4-door car I have ever driven. It may, in fact, be the perfect BMW Car Club vehicle – a real world commuter during the week and track day star on weekends all rolled into one.
As with all modern BMWs, there are lots of plusses and a few minuses. The plusses are obvious – it’s fast, stealthy, has a real trunk, offers great handling and brakes and comes with all of the safety and comfort we expect from the boys from Munich. But, the rear seat legroom is still a little cramped, especially if the driver or front seat passenger is tall. And, alas for car guys and gals on a tight budget, the M3 Sedan is not cheap. At nearly $60,000 without options, tax and tags, it’s a serious purchase.
However, if you are looking for a fast, comfortable, entertaining family sedan, one that could blow the doors off most sports cars on the road today, look no further. The BMW M3 Sedan is your steed.
Source: Examiner.com
No comments:
Post a Comment