So, I guess this is long overdue. I have had several people emailing and messaging me, asking about the new car, but also, curiously, about how it compared to the M3. At first, I thought “wow, I never even thought of that – they’re not really all that comparable, are they??”, but then, after a little thought, I thought, of course they are – one can compare and contrast ANY two cars, really.
To outline the background from where I am coming from: I owned first an SMG e46 M3, and kept it absolutely stock – I don’t think I modded a single thing on it. Loved that car. The SMG transmission was mild to moderately irritating at times, but it seemed to fit the character of the car. I tracked this car extensively – mainly Autocross, and loved it.
I then purchased an Individual e92 M3, with DCT. The aesthetic mods were many, but irrelevant really to a comparison between two cars, IMHO. “Performance” mods: KW V3 coilovers (moderate drop only), ESS ECU tune, Rogue Engineering pulley, Macht Schnell filter, and my favourite mod of ALL TIME, the Akra Evo full system. The car dyno’d at 367whp, which made for some nice (and noticeable) gains (and with that, I feel I must fire off kudos to Nate and the boys at IND – crazy, CRAZY great guys, in every way). I used OEM 18” wheels with Michelin PS2s for Autocrossing this car, and it was FAST. It made ME look like a decent driver, which is no small feat
Sadly, I had to sell the e92 to make way for my dream car, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 you see in my Avatar. It’s an egear. Mods so far? Nil. Nada. I researched exhausts, chip tunes, suspension modifications, but so far, I haven’t felt the need to proceed with them.
OK, so here goes. I’m going to compare (and contrast) the e92 M3 to the Gallardo – keep in mind, I am not an automotive journalist, nor am I an expert driver – think of this as through the eyes of an enthusiast.
Engine/drivetrain: Most people will think automatically that the Lambo engine would win every aspect of an engine comparison hands down. Sure, the Lambo’s more powerful, but there are valid comparisons to be made. Throttle response in the two cars is almost identical, i.e. – instantaneous. Both engines pull very, very well from low rpm – surprisingly well – but in actuality, I think the M3’s engine is relatively more tractable down low. The M3 could pull cleanly from 1600rpm in 7th gear, without issues. The Gallardo doesn’t like anything less than 2000 rpm in 6th.
Transmissions? I think this is an EASY win for the DCT, which really is an amazing accomplishment, I am thinking. Seamless, and smooth, it was never cost me a thought operating it. The six-speed egear is a vast improvement over the offering made available early in the Gallardo’s lifetime, but it is still obvious that it is of the single-clutch variety – occasional jerkiness, with a paucity in gear changes that is missing from the DCT, unless one drives in “Corsa” mode all of the time, when gear changes take on the subtle characteristics of your friendly neighbourhood sledgehammer (albeit a very lightweight, fast-moving sledgehammer). At redline, the shifts are violent. There are many posters on the Lambo forums that not only dislike this, but find it alarming. I love it, and find myself driving in either Sports mode or Corsa all of the time. (The Corsa mode has the added advantage of actuating the valve on the exhaust, thus making the Gallardo a very noisy thing all of the time, which is really for the best…. ). The egear is miles, miles better than the e46’s SMG transmission. In it, one can take off from a stop effortlessly, and smoothly, and for the most part, the egear is transparent, necessitating attention and measured driving inputs only some of the time (low speed, tight radius corners in a parking lot, for example, or coming to a stop). Auto mode? – never use/used it in either egear/SMG, or very rarely so, but in the Gallardo, it is a VERY viable option – smooth, and for the most part, a non-issue. The SMG in auto mode? How can I put this politely? I can’t. It sucked shwanger – jerky, non-responsive, and seemed to get WORSE, as it “adapted” to one’s driving habits. Enough said. I’ve already violated my Mom’s old adage to say nothing, if you have nothing good to say.
It did take a little bit of getting used to having the transmission paddles static, on the steering column. They are mounted a little higher, relatively, than the paddles in the e92/e46 when in the straight-ahead position, and for the first few minutes, I found myself pulling back on the signal stalk/wiper control stalk. Which do I prefer? Tough call. I haven’t had the Gallardo on the track (yet), but first impressions would indicate that after a little adapting, it’s a non-issue.
Ergonomics: Again, the M3 wins here, overall. The Gallardo still has some of the old Italian idiosyncrasies plaguing it. The window switches, for example, are located on the central portion of the dashboard, which I have always found strange, in any car. In the Gallardo, you push the buttons up to make the windows go down, and down, to make them go up. Weird. iDrive is so much better than the THING that attempts to pass as a NAV system in the Gallardo, that really, comparison here is laughable. BMW’s most recent iteration of iDrive is excellent, its interface between car and driver intuitive, and attractive. The Gallardo’s NAV system (and I use “system” here very loosely), seems like an afterthought, which I suppose it is in a way, as the unit is stolen directly from the Audi parts bins. (The Gallardo’s NAV system DOES display in night mode automatically when lights are on, though – something I always thought curiously missing from the M3’s NAV system). I miss having stereo controls on the steering wheel, and the volume knob in the Gallardo is on the RIGHT side of the stereo’s face, making reaching it kind of a chore. My Gallardo’s steering wheel has the aluminum section at six o’clock, which is nasty – when turning, you grip nice, perforated leather (optional) for most of the turn, but then all of a sudden, you get this cold, hard, thin, metal. I will upgrade this section to carbon fiber at some stage, and put up with it for now.
Garage opener: I could program the garage remotes in our BMWs in about three minutes flat. In the Gallardo? There have been entire threads on Lambo forums about how to succeed in programming said buttons. I managed mine, but have no idea how it came about. I think it had something to do with the planets aligning at just the right time, or something to that effect.
Seats: Close, but victory again goes to the e92. Supremely comfortable, and very adjustable. The side bolsters’ adjustability is not just a gimmick, I have found. They stabilize MUCH better than those in the Gallardo, they do a pretty poor job of holding my 165 pounds in place – seemingly designed with the American market in mind….. you can read into that as you will. (Flame suit on
). For some weird reason, when you lower the power seats all the way in the Gallardo, the centre of the seat cushion bulges upwards, as though there is an eight inch square brick lying directly underneath the cushion. Strange. As a result, even though I’d like the seat to be at its lowest setting, I have it about a half an inch higher, to avoid the dreaded “brick” (and yes, I have checked to see if an assembler in the Lambo factory had left anything in there….. no horse’s head, or anything of the sort).
Seating position: here, I must give the nod to the Gallardo. Having been raised largely on Japanese imports, I find the lower seating position to be more comfortable, and more in keeping with a car with sporting aspirations. Sitting in an M3 now, feels like I’ve entered a truck – albeit a very comfortable, very supportive truck, but it does seem very high.
One thing that drives me mental, is the position of the cigarette lighter outlet. In the Gallardo, it is located in the posterior portion of the central console – between the seats. Until I get my V1 hardwired in, I have to run a cord from the windshield, all the way back – strange.
Overall, I can find very little fault per se, with the general ergonomic design of either car. They both work well – the M3, perhaps a little more so, just in terms of ease-of-use.
Driving: Ah, finally – the best bit. I consider myself VERY fortunate to have owned both of these cars, and drive them. Here, I will try to be as objective as I can. Responsiveness? I’d give the edge to the Gallardo for initial turn-in. It’s IMMEDIATE. The M3 is fantastic, but I’ve never driven anything like the Gallardo. I know what the journalists mean when they say “telepathic inputs”. Both of the cars are phenomenal. Perhaps it’s the almost complete lack of body roll in the Gallardo that gives it the sensation of immediacy, but it seems more responsive, to me.
Ride? Surprisingly, the Gallardo rides as well as the V3-equipped M3. Also VERY surprising – I have considerably more clearance at the front end in the Gallardo! (It also has a hydraulic lift at the front, but I have rarely felt the need to use it). The M3 with coilovers and resultant lowering was always cause for concern, approaching anything greater than a gnat’s butthole.
Acceleration does not really lend itself to comparison. The LP560 would of course rip the M3 a new ass. From a dig, with AWD, it would be a sad case of “no contest”. In any situation, of course, 0-60, ¼ mile, 60-130, the Gallardo would have the M3 begging for mercy. Not really worth comparing, so I won’t go any further than that.
I can’t really comment too much more here, until I get the Gallardo out on the track. To be honest? I really do think that I would be quicker in the M3 on an Autocross course. Especially a very tight one. I am still getting acquainted with the Gallardo, but I get the distinct impression that the M3 is that much more user-friendly, its limits that much more reachable, comfortably, than one would find in the Gallardo.
Funnily, at a constant 130kph, the mileage I am seeing in the Gallardo is about the same as I used to get in the M3…. eek.
Amenities: It is continually amusing me how much I miss little things that I had in the M3. Self dimming mirror (granted, the Gallardo USED to have this, but there were issues with the self-dimming mirror leaking, and damaging dashboard plastic, so instead of fixing the issue, Lamborghini chose to revert to a manually adjusting mirror. I giggle every time I have to reach up and adjust it myself… sigh… SUCH a chore, hahaha). The Gallardo has power seats, but only for height (and you can’t adjust the front and back of the seat individually), rake, fore/aft, and lumbar support. The M3 seats are more comfortable, more adjustable, and just “fit” better – at least for me. No memory settings are available for the Gallardo, either. The lazy bastard in me finds it a chore to have to reach over to the centre of the dashboard to turn the lights on, haha – I do actually miss the automatic lights-on feature from the M3.
For longer, boring drives, I do kinda miss Sirius radio. I do have an iPod input in the Gallardo, but…. OK, don’t get me started. It’s a laugh. It does display track title (in between the tach/speedo), but the main screen is next to useless – displaying “CD” (for your iPod’s individual folders), and “track”. At least one CAN download music onto two SD memory cards in the Gallardo (no hard drive storage built-in, as in the M3, which I never used, but it’s there for those that wish to use it).
Cruise control? Multi-adjustable, easily set and understood in the M3. In the Gallardo? Also multi adjustable, through an interface known to the commoner…. as “your right foot”. Not even an option. Not an issue for me, but I can see some drivers wishing they had it.
Fit and finish: I’d have to say this is a wash. Both of the cars are made to a very high standard. The Gallardo has that exotic look and feel to it, and is actually screwed together very well (gone are the days of the fragile, fix-it-daily Italian exotic (knock on wood)). The leather in the Gallardo is to die for, and even though I only have the lower-level leather package, the stuff is EVERYWHERE.
Esthetics: This is obviously (at least to me) an easy win for the Gallardo. The e92 is based on a mass produced, family sedan, and while I think BMW have done a fantastic job distancing it from the base models, it is still very much apparent. Did I always have to look back at the M3 as I walked away from it? Oh yes, absolutely – and loved it every time I did. The Gallardo is just on another level, though. I thought my modded M3 drew attention – the Gallardo makes people lose their minds – as I found out, unfortunately, driving down a street this past weekend – a few (teenage) girls were hanging out of their windows trying to take cell phone pictures, and the driver, not paying enough attention, rear ended another car,
. Another time, my wife and I came back to the car after brunch, to find a girl SITTING on the hood, legs splayed (wearing a skirt), with the Bull emblem between her legs, so her boyfriend could take a picture. I was p1ssed, and yes, she did scratch the clear bra (hurray for clear bra!!!), but the damage had been done. Interesting pic, I’m sure…. I neglected to ask them to forward me a copy. I have a hard time finding a bad angle for the Gallardo. That said, I thought the same thing of the e92.
Interior? Again, easy win for the Gallardo. I sit in it, and often just whisper to myself “wow…”. In the M3, again, very well built, very functional, and attractive, but still obviously a family sedan-based interior.
In terms of esthetics, I’d have to give the Gallardo the outright win, here – both outside and inside.
Grins: The intangibles…. the factors that tear at one’s heart strings….
Both of these cars are incredible. At the end of the day, I can see why so many automotive journalists have labeled the M3 as “the greatest sports car in the world”. It is a decathlete – good at EVERYTHING, and phenomenally so.
I still think the M3 is the best sports car in the world. What other car does so many things, so well, so easily?
Would I trade back to an M3? Not on your life, LOL. That said, I fully intend on coming BACK to the fold, in the not-too-distant future. Not to come back, but to add. I’ll be looking with more than just a passing fancy, when the next iteration of the m3 surfaces. I can’t wait. Many are wary of the introduction of forced induction to the M3. I look forward to it – I can’t think how my beloved M Division could screw it up – I think it’ll be a screamer, and that M Division will do it RIGHT. Can’t wait.
Some might think comparing these two cars is ludicrous. I disagree. In terms of sheer satisfaction, pure enjoyment derived from ownership and driving, it surprises me how much, and in how many different ways I miss having the M3. That I find a comparison between the two cars valid, is in my mind, a good indication (to me at least) what a fantastic job BMW have done with this car.
For those of you that have gotten this far in my extended dissertation, thanks for reading. It was not meant to be a global account of the two cars, but rather, just a smattering of my thoughts after a couple months of Gallardo ownership.
Final thoughts? We are very fortunate for having the opportunity, means, and inclination to own the M3. It truly represents the pinnacle of ability across every aspect of car ownership.
I’d buy another. In fact, I will!
Thanks for reading, everyone!