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Well I rented an e92 M3 with 9,000 miles on it and drove it 150 miles today. My initial post was based on a 5 mile test drive with a sales guy. This time, I took the car out on the highway and up in the twisty two lane mountain roads of Napa county so this was a much better test.
Wow this is an amazing car. I "get" all the comments in this thread now. The engine is sublime - it has limitless power, which reminds me of the 997 turbo but to me, it's maybe even a bit more responsive with the M settings enabled than the Porsche and feels more sure footed and better balanced. The handling in either normal or sport around twisty corners is incredible not to mention the growl of the V8 in 2nd gear at 7500rpm.
The steering wheel thickness no longer bothers me, nor does the hood bump. The ride quality is great, the engine/V8 is great.
I really enjoy the quality of the interior as well. The leather definitely feels and looks nicer than the 335i.
This car screams "DRIVE ME FAST". I found myself going full throttle from lights and wanting to gun it up to 90 on every on ramp. Driving at 65 on the highway was torture, boring, the car was urging me to stomp on it. It felt like the car just wasn't content at <90mph.
At 100mph+ the car shines - amazing limitless pull, amazing sound.
The torque issue really doesn't bother me as long as I keep it in the right gear, 3k RPM or so minimum for power.
The '08 idrive bothers me. It is clunky clunky clunky. Maybe it takes some getting used to as others have said but damn.
As good as it is, is this the car for me, as a daily driver, that probably won't ever see a track nor the Napa county twisties on a regular basis? Probably not:
-This car has way more power than I can use since I'm not driving around at 150mph, and I'm tempted to use it all on a daily basis. That's going to get me into trouble for damn sure - let the tickets pile on. Plus, when I can't use the power it feels frustrating in this car -- i.e. stuck behind cars on two lane roads going 50 mph for 30 minutes is torture. And I can't use the power when anyone else is in the car because it will totally freak them out.
-The gas mileage does bother me. I ate up 3/4 of a tank in under 200 miles and averaged 14.3 mpg. I'm used to much better mileage in my 330i. Yes I know I was driving more aggressively than would be normal.
-I do feel like it is more work to drive the M3 than the 335i or my 330i. More rewarding in the twisties yes, but more work the rest of the time. I think this is due to its crispier clutch and transmission, and throttle response, plus the high revving V8 wanting to always be in the mid-rpm range.
-Some have said that the cabin/road noise is low, but I find it to be a bit high and tiring, for me. The engine sound and feel, while fantastic when driving aggressively, does add to fatigue a bit on the highway.
I think the M3 is a bit too much car for me right now. Maybe a bit too big of a leap from my e46 330i. Maybe I'm a better fit for the quick but more docile 335i as an interim step, so that when I adapt to it, I can more fully appreciate all that the M3 can do, down the road.
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