New BMW M3 saloon review

BMW says the new four-door M3 Saloon, priced at £49,415, or £52,005 with the seven-speed double-clutch gearbox, is the only performance saloon car on the market that incorporates award-winning specialist fuel-saving and emissions-reducing systems under the banner of EfficientDynamics.

For example, Brake Energy Regeneration utilises the previously lost energy of an engine on overrun to re-charge the battery. BMW claims this feature alone helps the M3 Saloon become one of the cleanest and fuel-efficient performance cars ever.

The BMW M3 Saloon has been designed to be the most sporting, yet practical, M3 BMW has ever made. While the M3 Saloon is the most powerful production four-door 3 Series in the company’s history, it also has the largest ever luggage capacity. It is this blend of performance and everyday practicality that enables the M3 Saloon to offer the best of both worlds to owners.

Styling

Nearly 80 per cent of the parts on M3 Saloon are new compared to the standard 3 Series Saloon. The M3 Saloon shares the same front design as the M3 Coupé and three large air intakes dominate the front profile below the iconic BMW kidney grille.

A prominent powerdome in the aluminium bonnet covers the 420hp V8 engine lying beneath. Two air vents are situated either side: one on the passenger side allows for engine cooling, the other visually balances the front of the car.

From the rear, an aerodynamically efficient diffuser emphasises the M’s trademark twin double exhaust pipes that protrude from beneath the valance. The boot lid also features a discreet rear spoiler that provides an additional level of downforce.

The BMW M3 Saloon also has slightly larger dimensions when compared to the standard car. The new car’s wheelbase has increased by 1mm, the rear section of the car is 44mm longer, while the front section of the car is 5mm longer due to tweaks in the aerodynamic styling.

The height of the M3 Saloon is 26mm taller than a ‘standard’ 3 Series Saloon due to the diameter of the wheels and the bespoke suspension configuration.

The new M3 Saloon features 18-inch double-spoke light alloy wheels as standard but 19-inch forged and polished wheels are available as an option costing £1,265. It is predicted that nearly 80 per cent of customers will specify the larger wheels. Both wheel options are shod with ‘standard’ tyres (not runflats), which can be repaired in the event of a puncture.

Interior and driving position

The interior of the BMW M3 Saloon has deeply contoured, individual M sports seats with full electric power adjustment. To give a sporting and luxurious finish to the cabin, the headlining is finished in individual Anthracite and the seats, arm rests, gear stick gaiter and door trims are upholstered in Novillo leather as standard. The M three-spoke, multi-function leather steering wheel has its seams stitched in BMW M’s traditional purple, blue and red colours.

Facing the driver is a white back-lit M-specific instrument panel, comprising a 200mph speedometer, oil temperature display, red needles and variable warm-up lights on the rev counter.

To their left is the M iDrive controller finished in brushed aluminium that is used to access the infotainment systems. It also serves to control the MDrive Manager function that enable personalisation of the M3’s driving characteristics.

Practicality and trim

The M3 Saloon can also come with the option of a 60:40 split fold rear seat with ski-bag through-load system to further underscore the car’s practicality. This adds an additional tier of practicality to the 450-litre boot – an area capable of holding three sets of golf clubs.

A luggage compartment package can also be specified that includes a cargo net, a bag holder and a 12-volt socket in the boot, storage nets on seat backrests and two 12-volt sockets located in the rear centre console.

All BMW M3 Saloons come with a navigation system as standard, providing the driver with a colour map and arrow display for directions. Eight programmable ‘Favourite’ buttons are located below the radio.

The buttons can be customised and used as shortcuts to the most frequently visited parts of the complicated iDrive system such as navigation, radio stations or, in combination with Bluetooth, telephone contacts.

Customers can choose to upgrade from the standard-fit Hi-Fi to the LOGIC 7 Professional 13-speaker Hi-Fi loudspeaker system.

It will be the user-friendly four-door layout that will appeal most to some M3 owners. A fast and muscular business car during the week in some cases needs to double up as family transport at weekends with a boot to match, so on that front the M3 Saloon wins. However the M3 Coupe looks a more elegant high speed performance machine and will still continue to be the best-selling M3 model overall.

Power and performance

The 420hp and 400Nm of torque from the 4.0-litre, V8 petrol engine allows acceleration and instant response in virtually in any gear at any speed and whilst it is a high revving, 8,400rpm unit it does not need to be thrashed to perform. On most roads the engine will be operating quite happily at quite low rpm so it has the potential for reasonable fuel economy, 24.1mpg during our test drive on quite busy roads in Spain last week.

But as I found out last year with the M3 Coupe, fuel consumption can get down to around 12-14mpg if pushed really hard. Customers also need to consider the new £400 road tax bill from 1 April because of the high 295g/km CO2 emissions and the implications for much higher levels of company car tax.

What can you say about a family sized saloon car which has a top speed limited to 155mph and zero to 62mph takes 4.9 seconds, except stunning?

The transfer of this power through the wheel wheels is taken care of by BMW’s variable M differential which provides 100 per cent of the power to the wheel with the most grip, but care is needed when its wet or on broken road surfaces, this car will bite. The same can be said about its main competitor, the equally stunning to drive but better to look at, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG four-door saloon.

The M3’s steering is beautifully weighted and the car well balanced so the driving experience is exceptionally high in every respect. The quality and design of the interior, the comfort of the seats and the accessibility by having four doors is the icing on the cake.

MILESTONES

BMW M3 Saloon.

Price: £49,415 manual, £52,005 7-speed double clutch automated gearbox

Engine: 4.0-litre, V8, petrol, 420hp at 8,300rpm and 400Nm of torque at 3,900rpm

Performance: Limited to 155mph, 0-62mph 4.9 seconds (manual version), 22.8mpg, (24.1mpg actual), CO2 295g/km, VED Band M (new rating) £400

Insurance group: 20

For: EfficientDynamics technology, engine performance, fine handling, comfortable ride, roomy, four-door access, large boot

Against: High fuel costs, high road tax costs, high company car tax bills.

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