EDMUNDS: 2005 BMW M3 Competition

[GTaudiophile]

The end of an era my friends...

Think M3, but with the knob cranked to 10 and a half. The suspension is a bit tighter, the steering a bit quicker and the car's responses, all of them, a bit sharper. This vehicle begs to be driven hard and usually gets its way. It's one of those cars that makes you redline every gear and storm into every corner.

"Oh, the M3," said one tester after a night in the car. "Unlock the door, buckle up and boom: instant jackass. I can't help it."

...

And its engine, man oh man, what an engine. The 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder is as smooth as molasses, and has the bottom-end torque of a V8, the midrange of a V12 and the upper-rpm rush of a superbike.

 

[Fenixgoon]

i really don't get what people's infatuation with bmw's are...they just arent that sleek

 

[Doggiedog]

What's up with Edmunds and their slow 0-60 times? 5.6 secs for the M3? It should be under 5 seconds.

 

[EvilYoda]

lol, I love the tester's comment...so true

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i really don't get what people's infatuation with bmw's are...they just arent that sleek

I'm usually not, but this latest M3 BMW has built is one of the sexiest cars on the planet, IMO. I would buy one of these for sure if I had the money, but then again I might save another 20k$ and get the new C6 Z06 instead.

 

[mb]

hawt!

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i really don't get what people's infatuation with bmw's are...they just arent that sleek

Sorry, but both the E36 and E46 M3s define the IDEAL car for me:

Beautiful, yet conservative.
Agile, yet comfortable.
Powerful, yet smooth.
Designed with only the driver in mind (curved dash unlike E90).
Tactile and direct (no active steering BS).
Simple, yet functional (no fvcking iDrive).

And as far as I'm concerned, the day the last E46 M3 rolls off the assembly line, my ideal car will cease to exist. The E90 M3 will attempt to do just a little more with a lot more BS between the car and driver: iDrive, Adaptive Steering, V8 replaces I6, etc.

Sad indeed

 

[DivideBYZero]

Makes 10hp less than the stock UK M3 and we also got the CSL...

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Makes 10hp less than the stock UK M3 and we also got the CSL...

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i really don't get what people's infatuation with bmw's are...they just arent that sleek

Sorry, but both the E36 and E46 M3s define the IDEAL car for me:

Beautiful, yet conservative.
Agile, yet comfortable.
Powerful, yet smooth.
Designed with only the driver in mind (curved dash unlike E90).
Tactile and direct (no active steering BS).
Simple, yet functional (no fvcking iDrive).

And as far as I'm concerned, the day the last E46 M3 rolls off the assembly line, my ideal car will cease to exist. The E90 M3 will attempt to do just a little more with a lot more BS between the car and driver: iDrive, Adaptive Steering, V8 replaces I6, etc.

Sad indeed

I agree 100%. There's always the used market . . .

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
lol, I love the tester's comment...so true

Hmmm. The "instant jackass" one? Sadly, it seldom wears off after they leave the car, either.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i really don't get what people's infatuation with bmw's are...they just arent that sleek

Sorry, but both the E36 and E46 M3s define the IDEAL car for me:

Beautiful, yet conservative.
Agile, yet comfortable.
Powerful, yet smooth.
Designed with only the driver in mind (curved dash unlike E90).
Tactile and direct (no active steering BS).
Simple, yet functional (no fvcking iDrive).

And as far as I'm concerned, the day the last E46 M3 rolls off the assembly line, my ideal car will cease to exist. The E90 M3 will attempt to do just a little more with a lot more BS between the car and driver: iDrive, Adaptive Steering, V8 replaces I6, etc.

Sad indeed

I agree 100%. There's always the used market . . .

Oh, and one more thing concerning the E90 M3: BMW may try to sell it with only an SMG tranny as they attempted to do with the latest M5. SMG = shite. DSG = maybe. But neither compare to a real 6-speed manual.

 

[Davegod75]

wow..not usually a fan of beamers but this one looks sweet. They have done much better with the interiors

 

[KingNothing]

The competition package removes cruise control? Did I read that right?

 

[MasterAndCommander]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i really don't get what people's infatuation with bmw's are...they just arent that sleek

You're not the only one...reminds me of a Lincoln LS.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Makes 10hp less than the stock UK M3 and we also got the CSL...

X2

 

[Crucial]

Originally posted by: KingNothing
The competition package removes cruise control? Did I read that right?

Yes you pay more for less.

 

[Koing]

Sod SMG on any car. I 'want' a manual gear box! I don't care if the dam SMG is slightly faster. I'm not likely to go racing anytime soon

Koing

 

[pray4mojo]

Originally posted by: KingNothing
The competition package removes cruise control? Did I read that right?

to make it lighter?

 

[pray4mojo]

Originally posted by: pray4mojo

Originally posted by: KingNothing
The competition package removes cruise control? Did I read that right?

dp

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
What's up with Edmunds and their slow 0-60 times? 5.6 secs for the M3? It should be under 5 seconds.

Everyone know's Edmund's editors can't drive for nuttin.
Their reviews/comparos are also crap.

They are good for mostly for pricing and specs.

 

[Chadder007]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
What's up with Edmunds and their slow 0-60 times? 5.6 secs for the M3? It should be under 5 seconds.

Thats the manufacturers time. BMW has always been very conservative on their power/time estimates.

 

[Keyvan]

i didn't like beemers much til this last summer.
i visited relatives in germany, and they own a 320 which i got to drive for a bit. it's not even the high end of BMWs, and it was a blast to drive, the car was so responsive, and it felt so light, powerful, but always in control. i can only imagine what the M3 must drive like!

 

[V00DOO]

Originally posted by: Keyvan
i didn't like beemers much til this last summer.
i visited relatives in germany, and they own a 320 which i got to drive for a bit. it's not even the high end of BMWs, and it was a blast to drive, the car was so responsive, and it felt so light, powerful, but always in control. i can only imagine what the M3 must drive like!

Most people don't appreciate BMW engineering until they driven one for extended period of time. I bet you most of the BMW bushers haven't even driving a Bimmer.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: psteng19


They are good for mostly for pricing and specs.

hell, they really aren't all that great at that. their site has been horrific to use since the redesign about a year and a half ago