Was Audi right? (New M3 reviews are starting to appear)

MPowered

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In addition to the already mentioned Top Gear review, Car magazine, Edmunds, Autocar, and Autoweek have all posted their thoughts on the new M3:

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/first_drive.php?sid=841&page=1

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=121566

http://www.autocarmagazine.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/BMW-M3-4.0-V8/226432/

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070706/FREE/70706014/1024

The consensus so far is that although the new M3 is a great all around car, the problem is just that...it's too all around. I guess these guys were looking for something more hardcore. Given that the M3 has evolved from a purist road-legal racecar to the ultimate yuppie-mobile, I guess I'm not surprised by the news that the new car may be a little soft. I'm also not surprised to hear that a hardcore CSL version is already in the works. Which I guess means that Audi had it right all along. I always wondered why there was an S4 and an RS4, but I guess I know now. One is for the masses, and one is for the enthusiast. M3 vs. S4, M3 CSL vs. RS4. I wonder if MB will extend the black series to all of their AMG cars.

In either case, I'll take an M3 sedan with the upcoming dual-clutch semi-automatic please. Oh, and a Tubi. :D
 
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BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE AN M3 WITHOUT A MANUAL...OR A FERRARI FOR THAT MATTER; AND A DSG BOX ISN'T A MANUAL!!!
 
^ Steady on - for some people it's a genuine annoyance. I know your thread was hijacked, no need to bring it in here.
 
I love the Ferrari reference in there... :lol:

I saw a manual M6 at the dealership yesterday, it just seemed so weird to me. I didn't even know the M6 came with a MT.

BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE AN M3 WITHOUT A MANUAL...OR A FERRARI FOR THAT MATTER; AND A DSG BOX ISN'T A MANUAL!!!
 
Those CSL versions are bloody annoying.

What's wrong with having one legendary car, which goes by the name M3,
and is the same for everyone. No hardcore and softcore versions.

They're just ruining their reputation in the long run.
 
Those CSL versions are bloody annoying.

What's wrong with having one legendary car, which goes by the name M3,
and is the same for everyone. No hardcore and softcore versions.

They're just ruining their reputation in the long run.
is porsche ruining its reputation for having a carrera, a gt3 and a gt3RS?

CSL versions have a history themselves and as long as the M3 will already be faster and better on the track than the RS4, i don't know how an even more extreme CSL version should hurt.
 
is porsche ruining its reputation for having a carrera, a gt3 and a gt3RS?

Nope, but they would ruin it if they made the gt3 more user-friendly for the
aging businessmen who want to impress their secretaries.

CSL versions have a history themselves and as long as the M3 will already be faster and better on the track than the RS4, i don't know how an even more extreme CSL version should hurt.

The M3 was the "extreme" version of a 3-series... now the M3 has moved closer
to what the 328ci used to be, and the CLS has moved to be what the M3 used to be.
 
Still should be much faster then the RS4, I mean the old E39 M5 is way faster then the RS4.
 
Richter tells us, "For 20 years, people have learned to pay for more power, not less weight. But that must change."

And yet the car is 3649lbs, couldn't they sacrifice just 1 or 2 of those side impact air bags?

Sounds like an impressive car if you want something that can do just about everything.

Direct Link to Edmunds Video:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/MediaNav/articleId=121566/firstNav=Gallery/videoId=20125934

Sounds rather... boring to me. V8's should be left to the American's and the Italian's, no one else seems to know how to make them sound good.
 
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I love the Ferrari reference in there... :lol:

I saw a manual M6 at the dealership yesterday, it just seemed so weird to me. I didn't even know the M6 came with a MT.

But only available in NA.....for some weird reason:cry:

There's also an M3 with a DSG-box in the making it's due to next year though, it won't replace the manual 6-speed box.

Personally I don't like the idea of an M3 with a V8, i think the e46 M3 with the really high-revving I-6 was just perfect, this car still had some sportyness in it left, it was small and nimble, the e90 is far too big.

My personal fav is and will always be the e30 M3 with its tiny I-4 engine, that car is just perfect.
 
Sounds rather... boring to me. V8's should be left to the American's and the Italian's, no one else seems to know how to make them sound good.

I never did like german V8s. They walked the walk but never talked the talk. They sounded too much like a monk for my likings.
 
^ Have you ever heard an AMG V8? :D
 
Still should be much faster then the RS4, I mean the old E39 M5 is way faster then the RS4.

Wouldn't the M5s Direct competitor be the RS6? Thats like saying the old 5 series is more comfortable and spacious than the A4, two different markets
 
Well, I'd say it sounds just great. I've been overtaken by a white one 2 weeks ago, and even while he didn't floor it for doing that, i put a smile on my face.
Now, I'm extremely prejudiced for this car and I love it to death. I can tell you it looks stunning in white and I recognized it from 400 meters away, broke all speed limits just to get behind it, overtake it and than being overtaken.
I guess I should earn the money to buy one within the next 5 years and I won't look at anything Audi has.

Considering the RS4 (with grippy tires) is 14 secs faster on the ring than the 335i (normal tires), the M3 is in play for a 8 min to 8 min 5 sec time, I hope. Faster than the RS4 anyways...
 
Personally I don't like the idea of an M3 with a V8, i think the e46 M3 with the really high-revving I-6 was just perfect, this car still had some sportyness in it left, it was small and nimble, the e90 is far too big.

My personal fav is and will always be the e30 M3 with its tiny I-4 engine, that car is just perfect.
So which one's more perfect then? ;)
 
Wouldn't the M5s Direct competitor be the RS6? Thats like saying the old 5 series is more comfortable and spacious than the A4, two different markets

It was more that a larger older less powerful car was faster then Audis new small sedan.
 
but thats why it costs more. they only stopped making the E39 4 or 5 years ago right?
 
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