Quote:
Originally Posted by gthal
Could BMW have done better? Yes. Do most cars have room for improvement? Absolutely. Otherwise, they would cost $1M.
Was the current "effort" enough? Well, considering that several years after its release it is still considered the benchmark in the segment, has won engine of the year and has won almost all notable comparison tests (yes, even against so called torque monsters) I think BMW did alright.
Sure it could have been engineered for more torque. Sure it could have been given more power. BMW could have built a car to challenge the GT3 RS too. EVERY car will have compromises somewhere. If budget and selling price was irrelevant, then of course they could build a near perfect car. But the reality is they built what has arguably been considered one of the best overall cars available. Several magazines have made this very comment that there isn't a better car available when you look at performance, DD practicality and fun. What that also means is there are compromises somewhere. The M3 is a better car than a Cayman S if DD requirements matter. It is also a better car than a Cayman S on certain tracks (others not so much). Build quality is very good. Reliability is very good. I would bet few people would see the S65 as being the weak part of the M3 (as a matter of fact, most reviews would likely say it is the best part of the M3 and what makes the car a class leader). If torque is someone's ultimate objective, then I guess that would be one of the only compromises of the engine but even that is somewhat rectified by gearing.
Also, I can never understand how people think the M3 doesn't have enough torque for DD duties. At the track where rev range is important, it has lots of torque that is very linear to use. On the street, the gearing provides a lot of torque and if you are in the right gear, more than a 335i to the wheels (as proven here many, many times). I have owned and driven cars with lots of torque and the M3 has less but still TONS for just beating around town.
It's too bad that you seem disappointed with the M3 you have coming. It seems to me that there would be less expensive cars that might have made you happier? 
P.S. I'm not saying the M3 is perfect or even close... I'm just saying that all car's are a compromise in some way, especially cars that are expected to be very capable and practical DDs and also perform at a high level at the track or spirited back road driving. If BMW thought they could sell the M3 as a $125,000 car, they would have built the car to that level with less compromise but would then have priced it out of its market. C63... has compromises (more than the M3 IMO), RS5... has compromises (again, more than the M3 IMO), Cayman S... has compromises, I could go on... |
I agree with all of your points. The BMW is a great car, but how hard would it of been to put in the GTS engine, and price it around 3-4 grand more? The C63 AMG is a couple grand more then the M3, equally loaded. Putting in that GTS engine would of made it future proof for years to come. The reason I would of opted for the Cayman S is because BMW is milking the M division. The orange peel on the car is horrendous. The interior quality while better than the regular line, still leaves more to be desired. The M3 is BMW's most reliable car. If you look at a couple of the most recent threads, people seem to be complaining about the fender and the hood being misaligned, cars going into limp, etc...If they had put in that 4.4L engine. I'm not saying that the M3 doesn't have enough torque for day to day duties. I ride a sport-bike and high revving is what it lives for....17k redline. The point I'm trying to make is that if BMW had put in the effort to tune the engine with 310-320 lb. ft. of torque then the car would of been perfect. If they had put in the GTS engine, then the e9x M3 would be the BEST M3 in history in my opinion. The weight of the M3 doesn't help it's case. ~3700 pounds is sad. I like cars that don't make me feel like "What if they had done this or that to it?" The M3 for me offers what I want and want from a car, but the C63 AMG coupe is a car to watch. It offers the power for day to day, and the same usability as the M3. The C63 AMG BS is going to blow anything that BMW has out of the water.