You made an excellent choice, great luck to you and your new Bimmer!

Nick

Im excited to see your future reviews and how you like it for your daily driver.

PS BLACKLINES!!!

So basically you choose to spew CO2 for no good reason, just for personal enjoyment. See, SUVs at least have some reason to exist: people may need 4×4, some own dogs, some tow trailers, some have 3+ kids. There is no good reason for 400 hp sub 5.0s car to exist on public roads. I bet 99% of owners are not able to use 10% of the car potential. Handling? What 400 hp has to do with handling? No surprise that even on the ring recommended car is something like 120i or 325i.

You’ve got to be kidding me. I mean this is an enthusiast’s website that has always had an eye towards efficiency as well as performance but to take somebody to task for a personal decision to buy a car that isn’t individually dangerous to anyone else is in extremely poor taste.

This is not some 6000lbs SUV we’re talking about. It’s not a decision that impacts other lives like a dangerous lumbering SUV might.

I’d compare this to smoking. Sure, people enjoy their cigs at the beach with kids playing around. Unfortunately, it is still legal. As is legal to burn as much gas as one wants. It is possible to walk away from a smoker but it is not possible to find another planet. Maybe you own winds turbine or whatever, but most M3 owners don’t.

I mean honestly you’re digging your own grave with comments like these. I’m personally (extremely) conscious with what I do and how it effects the environment and I can’t imagine (A) imposing my thoughts like this on someone else and (B) lumping a Sports Sedan in with large scale individual issues that negatively impact the earth.

As far as helping the environment, I’m sure the general public could save the planet by not turning on the TV because that saves electricity (or even buying a TV because manaufacturing a TV takes resources), or not driving to the movies or sporting events or artistic events because that would be frivolous spending of money and resources, just for the sake of entertainment. Say no to iPods or any kind of cuisine that is more than just basic food. Even the clothing that is on one’s back used precious resources to design, color, produce, advertise, ship, sell, etc. But would it be realistic to expect the general public to give up these things?

Second: is the M3 a purchase or lease? I’m just curious whether M3 owners plan to keep these cars for a long time.

Third: did you switch to winter tires/wheels right away? It’s kinda of tricky to get a car with performance tires in the middle of winter.

I’d compare this to smoking. Sure, people enjoy their cigs at the beach with kids playing around. Unfortunately, it is still legal. As is legal to burn as much gas as one wants. It is possible to walk away from a smoker but it is not possible to find another planet. Maybe you own winds turbine or whatever, but most M3 owners don’t.

E36 was 20/28. No longer performance car? Oh, I see, performance now means “faster than your mom’s car” and “I can’t be seen in a car that does 0-60 as my neighbor’s Toyota”.

Pure show.

Thanks for the kind words… May you have a happy and prosperous New Year. You do not know my situation and the last time I checked the E36 would get pounced by an E90, I respect your opinion but personal attacks are a bit immature. As a car enthusiast I take it that you are not familiar with progress.

The first 911s were also more efficient than the current twin turbo version, but I don’t hear people often state that people that drive them are just showing off, or that it is a pig.

Review after review have stated that the E90 ///M3 is the most livable day to day performance car on the planet and thus far it is.

I have put 700 miles on the car in mixed driving and am averaging just north of 19 mpg. I am not a street racer and tend to be efficient on the street. I expect to be somewhere in the 18 MPG range, that is not HUMMER territory or even close to it. I have friends that sell them and people are lucky to get 12 on the highway (there is even a guy in my town that has “8 MPG” as his plate).

While I do consider the E36 ///M3 a classic, it is no longer a performance car. My mother has a 1963 Split-window tanker Corvette (if you look up what that is you will see it was the full out performance version) in near mint original condition. I consider that car an ultimate classic but also no longer a performance car. Technology changes and things progress, while it would have been nice for the ///M to be a more efficient car it was not in the cards.

This is most likely the last of the naturally aspirated high revving motors BMW will make, it is one of the finest examples to date and that in part was a big reason I decided to get this car, as we are at the end of an era. While the new turbos are great in their own right they are just not the same. I love the sound and the power this engine produces. I am sure the turbos will be more efficient and produce more power but I fell in love with this engine the first time I experienced it, it truly is a work of art for a street car to have an engine like this.

We all have opinions and reasons we do things, as I started this process the ///M was not even in the cards but when it was offered up I could not say no. It is like someone giving you an extra acre of land for the price you were prepared to pay for it originally (the extra acre is going to cost you more in taxes and maintenance but who would say no?) I am glad she is in the garage and love every minute I get to drive her… not everyone’s cup of tea.

It is also interesting to see the EPA numbers… b/c it really is not all bad, while the carbon footprint has increased a bit, the Air Pollution score has dropped by a lot. I guess my wind turbine will have to offset my car carbon footprint…. lol.

Side by Side EPA comparison

Congratulations on the new ride. I look forward to seeing your review of the M3 as a real-world car. Every review I have read thus far only contains discussion of the M3 as a track car, which is not applicable to my needs. I am interested in whether it is a comfortable and reliable car to live with everyday. Thanks for the great blog.

We’ve got three M3 reviews on the site so far – two of which focus on how the car handles everyday life. You can see them in the review section on the right.

Nate- I thought long and hard about the clearance issues and the rack situation. I agree that the rack does kill the look when on all the time unless you get a sick fairing… I am not sure if I am going to get an additional trunk mount or have a custom hide away hitch installed. Honestly the deal was so good I could even get a used car for just biking (VW Jetta wagon etc..) In the mean time places I know will be issues with clearance I would just have someone else drive and the bike will be on the roof until I sort that out, one of the downfalls but I may just be able to use my wifes XI when the need be as well.

Michael: Same gas sucker as HUMMER.

Really, I was not aware of a Hummer that was getting 22 mpg. At 2900 RPMs in 6th I am doing 68. The break in procedure on this car makes you realize that this engine is designed for decent economy (it is still a V8) until you make it scream. I can live with anything close to 20. The car also features regenerative braking. By no means is it green but I figure since I heat my house with renewable bio-mass pellets (or corn/wheat), compost my waste, have dual flush toilets, chemical free cleaners etc and putting up a wind turbine… I more than do my part so my car is the least of the planet’s issues.

I rather not go into details, it is just how I am. The car essentially costed me the same as some 2009 335s are going for, I consider it an absolute bargain. Sure it does not have the new iDrive or the new rear lights which are nice but not worth the difference it would have cost.