'11 M3 Coupe test drive

[Titus]

On Saturday, my friend let me take his brand new '11 M3 Coupe for a spin. I am not much for giving car reviews, but I thought I would share my experience.


Looks: I did not find this car particularly special in print, but it was stunning in person. Matt's is white and I love the look of the CF roof paired with white paint.

Power: Wow... Probably more power than you ever need, but the traction control does a great job of making you believe it isn't too much power. Nothing like a N/A V8 that revs to 8400 rpms.

Transmission: M Double clutch. I didn't have enough time to get good with the paddles, which really degraded my whole test drive experience. I am sure it is fantastic once you get used to it. I was really surprised by how fast and aggressive the gear changes were with the car in M mode.

Handling: I could really see how this car could get you into trouble. On the way in, I came through some twisties in the Miata at 60... the car was leaning badly and the tires were chirping. It was telling me thats enough. I took the M3 through the same s curve at the same speed and it really felt pedestrian. No lean or tire noise at all, just this feeling like the car was laughing at me and telling me that I needed to push it A LOT harder than that to see what it was capable of. Being my buddy's new $65k toy and not mine, I decided not to take it up on it.


Overall: I have never driven anything that felt so refined even while feeling like it was built for racing first. If I had the type of disposable income needed to own something like this, I think I would be shopping for one on my next day off.

[goofygrin]

08, manuals are ~$40k.

I'd buy one of those in a heartbeat over the masses of other $40k cars.

[CosmosMpower]

08, manuals are ~$40k.

I'd buy one of those in a heartbeat over the masses of other $40k cars.

True, only thing else that's 40K and can be dd and is fast is a 06/07 C6Z06.

[miataspeedracer]

True, only thing else that's 40K and can be dd and is fast is a 06/07 C6Z06.

Not really correct. Even in the BMW family, a chipped 135i will run away from the M3 in a straight line. Put coil-overs on it as well, and it's all over for M3 on a road course.

[goofygrin]

Until you try and take a turn and the electronic "not really a diff" takes a complete smoke bath.

I've driven both (own 335i). Not.the.same.

[CosmosMpower]

Not really correct. Even in the BMW family, a chipped 135i will run away from the M3 in a straight line. Put coil-overs on it as well, and it's all over for M3 on a road course.

I wouldn't say run away either. Stock M3 is about a mid 12 at 113-114 mph. Chipped 135i is about the same range until you start adding downpipe, midpipes, exhaust, stage 2/3 reflash etc. And then the handling is still not as sharp with the softer bushings, less camber, and open diff.

[miataspeedracer]

It's never apples to apples. Just saying it's hard to find an '08 M3 close to $40K (more like mid 40s). And I'm positing that it is possible to build an 135i for $40k that will outrun a stock M3 either down a drag strip or on a road course...

[goofygrin]

When I was in the market for a 335i last fall, there were 1/2 a dozen 08 M3 coupes with a 6MT for sale for $40-43k. All under warranty and not modded.

A modded 135i/335i that can run with an M3 will never be worth as much, will be out of warranty and won't be nearly as streetable as the stock M3. So if you want to do it, great, but it's not the same.

[OZMDD]

Who the hell drives an apple? Stupid Houstonites...

[MoonieGT]

Why does the M3 weigh so much? It is an unforgiveable sin. It should weigh less than the 335, not hundreds more. As good as it is now, imagine how fantastic it would be if it wasn't obese...

[gabkwong]

Just a stupid question since I never have the $$$ to own or drive a M3 or 911 or Boxster or Z06. If you have $75K, which one to get for a DD and double duty as a track toy?

[goofygrin]

The M3 is the only one that can reliably hold 4 people without bitching...

But I'd struggle to not buy the CTS-V.

[CosmosMpower]

Just a stupid question since I never have the $$$ to own or drive a M3 or 911 or Boxster or Z06. If you have $75K, which one to get for a DD and double duty as a track toy?

Boxster Spyder for a new car, without a doubt. 997.1 GT3 for a used car.

[OZMDD]

Um, did the GT-R go off the market?

[altiain]

Boxster Spyder for a new car, without a doubt. 997.1 GT3 for a used car.

As much as I love the Boxster Spyder, I would not want one as a double duty daily driver/track toy. Erector set top FTL.

Then again, you daily drove a Lotus for several weeks, so you're not sane anyway.

Honestly, if I had $75k there's no way I'd buy one car for both. I'd rather build a nice $40k track toy out of a Z06, an Atom, an Exige, a Radical, or something else, and spend $35k on a nice comfy daily driver. Any dual purpose car is always going to be a compromise.

[Flyin96M]

Um, did the GT-R go off the market?

Um no and I can tell you it is a great DD and small adults do fit in the back. The only problem is that Nissan keeps inching the price up on the new ones, but that makes the used ones a better value. I should also add that while maintenance is higher than a Miata I have been able to do it all myself in the garage so far.

[MoonieGT]

If choosing between an M3 and a 997 GT3 to use as a DD... it pains me to say that the M3 is the better choice. I've got some seat time in the 997 GT3 (and it is my dream car), but for every day use you'd be better served with the M3. And if anyone wants to split hairs, the 997 GT3 is more streetable than the 996 GT3 IMHO. The problem with the GT3 as a DD is the low ride height and long nose. It's pretty nerve wrecking to hear the nose scraping on a $120K+ car. The nose-lift option on the 997 really helps, but it's not fool proof. I can also tell you that you will need to replace the tires with less-sticky ones. The OEM tires are so soft that rocks stick to them and then are thown off = chipped paint = no bueno...

997_GT3.jpg

[ken o]

As much as I love the Boxster Spyder, I would not want one as a double duty daily driver/track toy. Erector set top FTL.

Then again, you daily drove a Lotus for several weeks, so you're not sane anyway.

Honestly, if I had $75k there's no way I'd buy one car for both. I'd rather build a nice $40k track toy out of a Z06, an Atom, an Exige, a Radical, or something else, and spend $35k on a nice comfy daily driver. Any dual purpose car is always going to be a compromise.

This. Make your DD a tow vehicle. I just can't do it. But I am thinking about an X5 diesel.

[CosmosMpower]

Then again, you daily drove a Lotus for several weeks, so you're not sane anyway.

That was out of necessity not choice. But now I have a nice boring luxo barge to go to work in.

[OZMDD]

Gt-r ftw!