BMW M3 replaces the Audi RS4 as a long term test at EVO.

What could possibly replace the RS4? That’s what I wondered last month as I tapped in the final words of our round-up of 15 months with the Audi. Well, how about an M3? I know, I know – jammy sod doesn’t start to cover it, though strictly speaking this is not a long-term test. The BMW will be with us for just a couple of months, but that should be long enough to assess its prowess as a day-to-day prospect compared with the Audi.

I'd begun to wonder if I’d ever get to drive the E92 M3. I missed out on the twin test with ‘my’ RS4 (evo 108), and even though I was on the first two days of our M-cars test (110), when at last I’d driven everything else and went to find the new M3, I discovered that Andy Morgan had strapped a tripod and camera to it, so I left Wales without sampling it. It was more than a week later when I finally got the key.

Not surprisingly, the M3 attracts a great deal of interest and, equally unsurprisingly, I’m able to tell those who wander over for a closer look that, yes indeed, it’s a very fine bit of kit. Would I rather have it than an RS4? Now that’s a ticklish question.

I don’t think this particular shade of red is the best colour for the M3. I reckon silver is better, but even in that hue, which makes the standard carbon roof look less like a vinyl one, I have reservations about the new M3’s visual impact. All the M cues are there – the gaping grilles in the ground-skimming nose, the vast, slender-spoked alloy wheels, the quad tailpipes jutting from the rear – yet it doesn’t quite hit the spot for me. I think the reason is that the 3-series coupe shape it’s based on is just a bit lacking in tautness and muscle definition. Still, it does leave scope for the CSL version…



The interior of ‘our’ M3 reminds me of the cockpit of the Disaster Area stunt ship described in Douglas Adams’ The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; the all-black trim features carbon-look highlights and black buttons that light up black when you press them. I’m kidding about the last bit. It’s a good place to be once you’ve worked out the electric seats, trimming the tilt and achieving the desired clamping forces. Granted, this gives drivers of many shapes and sizes the opportunity to find a comfortable fit, but I never wanted to change the shape of the RS4’s simple, sculpted Recaros. And I’d argue that the quality of the Audi’s interior is of a higher level: more conservative, for sure, but the M3’s instruments look cheaper, while its frameless doors close with a less solid and satisfying noise.

Initial driving impressions suggest that the M3 and RS4 are astonishingly similar cars, their obvious differences – rear-drive versus four-wheel drive, engine behind the front axle versus engine in front – apparently outweighed by their similarities: 414bhp, high-revving V8, six-speed manual, near 1700kg kerb weight and reasonably compact dimensions. In fact, what makes them so alike is that the M3 can make confident, effective use of so much power with just rear-drive, and that the RS4 doesn’t feel like its engine is crammed between the front axle and the four-ring badge on the grille. Both are remarkable feats of engineering.

I’ve not yet had a chance to really push the M3, to feel its poise and adjustability under pressure, but I have to say that, below this threshold, on a favourite local road, I’ve got the RS4 ahead on points at the moment. However, if you’re currently in the enviable position of choosing between the Audi and BMW, the bad news is that you can’t order a new RS4 saloon anyway – with incredibly bad timing, production has been suspended to free up capacity for the R8, which is built in the same factory. So the M3 has the field to itself, or at least until the Mercedes C63 AMG arrives next summer…
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When reading this I could not help but thinking that the guy would probably need to drive the M3 at the limit before making his final judgement. And as this is a long termer there will be plenty of time to try it out.

Well, what can I say, today the latest issue of EVO was dropped though the slot...

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It was a dark and stormy night when we finally bonded, the M3 and me. The roads were slick with rain and when I arrived home after my half-hour drive, I had much greater respect for the 400-plus bhp BMW.
Thus far, it had failed to hit the highs of my old Audi RS4 long-termer, and the shortfall was in all the detail. Many cars today gave variable-weight steering, but with the best-judged systems you will never know. In the M3, I kept noticing the steering's lightening peeling into roundabouts. Not that night. All I noticed was that the front end was fantastically well hooked up, so then my attention focused on what was happening at the other end.
I'm only truly comfortable with a car once I know how it behaves when the grip runs out. You push to the limits, find out what it does, and then when you're on the right road and trevelling at speed, there are no nasty surprises. The opportunities to gahter this sort of information on dry public roads are rare, especially with a car like the M3, wich has stupendous rear grip and a high-revving engine that only truly delivers at the top end. You have to be pushing very hard. However, when the roads glistens in the headlamps, the limits are much lower. A couple of firm, exploratory prods of the throttle mid-corner in second gear showed that the stability control was active. So when I arrived at the next empty roundabout, it was disengaged. This is, in the M3 you're not on your own - the active M-diff is still working with you.
Squeeze the throttle mit-corner and you can actually feel the torque distribution between the rear wheels to give the most to the wheel that has most bite, and you exit with a sense of remarkable traction for a rear-driver. But give the throttle a more proactive shove and both rear tyres spin up, and that's when you discover the superb poise and balance of the M3. First time I felt it, I was heading up a slip-road ramp in third gear, with a quarter turn of opposite lock, and the reach of the engine kept it going for a satisfying yardage. After that, every deserted roundabout and inviting corner was fair game and I arrived home with a grin and a new respect for the new M3.



Brilliant though it is, an RS4 can't give you those thrills.
A week later the M3 was heading for Dover and Car of the Year, and I had a feeling that it might do rather better than I'd originally anticipated - especially if it rained.
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So, it is showed that while it is somewhat too civilized in M3 terms when used as a daily driver, the new M3 is a proper beast once it is pushed to the limits. Brilliant work if you as me, but it is enough that the reviewer does'nt have the nerve no push the car to the limits and thereby not getting to experience the true core of the M3 for him to get disappinted. I don't know if I can say it in a good enough way, since English is not my native language, so I will let the EVO crew say it themselves. This is from this years eCoty:

This car, more than any other, crept up on us during the week....

Read this review. That's not so much a recomendation as it is an order.

A little class defining action from the Bavarian beast? Maybe. It's performance seems to be instantly obvious but the inner qualities has to be explored by an active driver - just the way it was meant to be.

OK, how much time you drive at the limit (your limits, not the limits of the car, obviously)? Do you drift around any roundabout? If you are that kind of driver a M3 ( or even better a tuned Silvia) is your car, but for most of the situations and most of the drivers (not Internet racing drivers) the RS4 it's a better car.

The conclusion must be that if you are an active and inspired driver you will appreciate the M3 more than the RS4. If you on the other hand just like the thaught of having all that power and potential on tap the RS4 will do just as fine.

Nothing new here.

I've driven the new M3 and you dont need to be a racing driver to enjoy this car. Well-balanced and easy to drive fast with and same time easy to live with, even my grandmother can drive this car.