#BMW M3 MARP DRIVER#
Depending on conditions, though, you might find yourself a gear or two too high for the torque you need, so the wise driver will keep the engine on the boil before charging into a serpentine. It heads into turns with slight understeer that can be countered with the accelerator, providing excellent roadholding and control. Even with its larger engine, the M3 coupe’s front/rear weight distribution is 51.2/48.8, the same as the 335i coupe’s. Handling remains BMW’s ace in the hole against the Audis and Mercedes-Benzes of the world, thanks in part to optimal balance and steering that’s unencumbered by drive hardware. When you’re driving the M3, you hear your engine’s speed and how hard it’s working, you sense the body’s yaw and you feel the steering angle through its terrific, thick-rimmed steering wheel. A good performance car is an extension of the driver, and you can’t achieve this without communication. Thankfully, the injection noise doesn’t seem to penetrate the cabin, which gives the beneficial sounds a clear channel to the driver. I have witnessed the future of high-efficiency engine design, and it is a clattering mess. Blame the direct fuel injection, which seems to afflict all engines and all manufacturers similarly. All good stuff, with the exception of the cacophony you hear when standing at the front of the car, with or without the hood open.
#BMW M3 MARP FULL#
You hear some overall drivetrain whirring in the cabin, and a throaty exhaust note is audible at lower engine speeds and becomes loud, but not obnoxious, at full revs.
The M3 provides a full symphony of sounds: When clutching at lower speeds, there’s a faint rattle as the driveline unloads. If you’re in it to drive, freakin’ drive. Despite the timed superiority, I can’t imagine why anyone would buy a driver’s car with this kind of transmission, even a well-executed one, when a traditional stick shift is available. It has an automatic mode with your choice of five levels of responsiveness, and it can be shifted manually using the gear selector lever or shift paddles on the steering wheel. Typical of dual-clutch automated manuals, the M DCT shifts virtually instantaneously, providing the stated 0.2-second advantage over the stick. If you choose the seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission for an additional $2,900, it’s 4.5 seconds. BMW estimates the zero to 60 mph time at 4.7 seconds with the stick shift. The redline - literally, the red line on the tachometer - starts out lower and slowly climbs as the operating temperature increases.
The acceleration rate climbs with engine speed all the way to the redline, which is an impressive 8,400 rpm once the car has warmed up. Once it gets revving, the engine fulfills expectations with 414 horsepower that will push you back in your seat - never more dramatically than when you downshift a couple gears and nail it when already in motion. The M3’s power delivery isn’t a problem, it just requires an expectation adjustment. The 2011 335i, which goes on sale this spring, brings the torque peak on earlier and, according to BMW, holds it until 5,000 rpm. in 1995, but the 335i we’ve come to know and love certainly has raised expectations, and it doesn’t end here.
#BMW M3 MARP MANUAL#
(The cars’ manual transmissions are geared the same, but the M3 has a 3.85 final drive ratio and the 335i’s is 3.08.) The M3 started its life modestly powered in 1986, and it hasn’t been about prodigious torque since it came to the U.S. *MPG ratings are the same for manual and automatic.Īs the table reflects, the more affordable 2010 335i coupe’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six produces more torque at considerably lower rpm than the 2010 M3’s 4.0-liter normally aspirated V-8. But that’s the story of BMW’s M3 and 335i. The world is a very different place, performance fans, when a V-8 engine is built to rev and a turbocharged inline-six-cylinder produces more low-end grunt. Now in its 24th year overall and its 15th in the U.S., the BMW M3 is simply a phenomenal car that proves you really can have it all.įrom the first time I let out the clutch on our six-speed-manual test car, I was surprised - not by overwhelming thrust, but by a lack thereof. And that would be true if you couldn’t appreciate a car, with four seats and a trunk, that’s comfortable enough to drive daily yet capable of hitting the track and beating the tar out of any model in its class - and most other classes - in terms of overall performance and fun. The BMW M3’s starting prices - $55,400 for the sedan, $58,400 for the coupe and $67,050 for the convertible - might seem high for performance versions of BMW’s compact 3 Series.
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