Powered By M: The All New BMW M3 & M4 - Part One

Near identical... Well obviously apart from the doors. The all new BMW M3 and M4 is reborn rather differently than purists & enthusiasts might expect. 

Lets start with their similarities... Mainly Turbocharging... For the M division of BMW, turbo's are not common and are unusual amongst their nearly perfect sports cars and super cars. With the new twin-turbocharged straight-six engine's lower redline at 7300 rpm as compared to the rpm of previous car's 4 litre V8 at 8300rpm, this new car does bring up a lot of new worries. The previous M3, M5 and M6 all had superb naturally aspirated engines. The previous M3 (E90) had an amazing V8 that revs to 8300 rpm and the engine from the M5 (E60) and M6 (E63) had a superb V10 that revs to 8250 rpm, so turbos? Hmmm... not so music to your ears when you're an M Power enthusiast because when a poorly engineered engine with turbo's are developed, it kills engine response and causes turbo lag. But we'll get back to this topic in a moment...

The Twins?

There are some common similarities amongst the M3 and M4 as you can expect which includes the suspension setting and system which only differs fractionally but only to take into account the M3's additional 23kg due to the additional doors and so on. Available still is a 6-speed manual gearbox, although 90 percent will opt for the 7-speed dual clutch DCT transmission. Power is delivered via a carbon propshaft through a very sophisticated differential to the rear wheels. M compound steel brakes (with blue calipers) come standard with 18 inch rims whereas carbon ceramic brakes (with gold calipers) are optional with 19 inch rims.

Launch Control Procedure - With Double Clutch M-DCT

1. Turn off stability control & traction control.
2. Engage manual mode on the shifter.
3. Make sure the DCT transmission is in the most ferocious setting.
4. Hold brake.
5. Floor the throttle (while still holding brake)
6. Release brake.

And so... The M3

First, the driving experience. The basics, which will start with the seats which are beautifully sculpted to your body, holding you in while you corner hard. There's even a conventional handbrake, which is great! The knob for the 7-speed double clutch DCT gearbox is a bit of a hassle to operate at low speed cruising but does the job brilliantly. Beside the transmission knob are the buttons for controlling the steering response, engine response, suspension damping, gearbox ferocity and stability control. Traction control does cut in slightly early however, but hey turn it off and you'll be having the time of your life....

Pushing it to its limits, the M3 doesn't seem to be putting in much effort. Its difficult to criticise, even when placed aside its rivals. A comparable C63 AMG would be too ghastly due to its twitchy character and really an over-torqued powertrain. An Audi? The RS4  would might be just as fast but might be less involving and less fun due to its Quattro 4-wheel drive set up. All great cars, but my pick would be the M3. The drivetrain does exactly as told, steering, pin sharp and accurate, suspension, smoothing out bumps and isolating body roll, gearbox, utterly smooth and crisp. So far so good, you'd be getting exactly what you'd expect of an M-Powered vehicle. 

This generation of the M3 differs in character as compared to the previous M3 with a 4 litre V8. The previous M3 had an engine so crisp, so responsive, so pure that it had a certain 'on the edge' character. You had to adapt to the drivetrain. The new generation however, is more of an all rounder. The broad torque curve delivers a great driving experience. Though the redline of this new engine is lower by 1000 rpm as compared to the previous M3's V8, the response is amazing. Torque comes in at an early 1850 rpm. As stated earlier, it's not a very happy couple when poor engineering is used to bind engine and turbocharagers together, but this new M3 is different, it responds to every blip of the throttle, with every millimetre of pedal travel it responds immediately. No lag, no hessitation in the powertrain. By far this could be the most well engineered turbocharged engine out there. It's amazing how two teeny turbo's the size of a bottle cap is kept spinning at 120,000 rpm and maxes out at 190,000 rpm, so when you need the power and jab at the throttle, all you need is already there. 

Conclusion... Hmmmm... A baby or junior M5? That's rather inaccurate but there are undoubtedly some similiarities such as the 7-speed dual clutch DCT transmission and so on, but the M3 is so much more agile and entertaining. It's an amazing car: Quick, Brutal, Unstrained, Utterly Superb and Amazing...
So, turbocharged M3? Yes, please....

Read part two of my review @ http://automobilesatitsbest.blogspot.com/2014/07/m-power-all-new-m3-m4-part-2.html