BMW M3 2022 Review

French playwright Charles-Guillaume Etienne was certainly onto something when he penned the phrase ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’.

The manual-transmission 2022 BMW M3 is a modern-day case in point.

Much more affordable than the equivalent automatic-equipped BMW M3 Competition, the manual M3 makes a small concession in power and some equipment.

Yet it stands alone in the competitive German sports sedan segment as the last true analogue car – a vehicle that allows you to take the controls and do things for yourself.

Entry into the sixth-generation 2022 BMW M3 currently starts at $153,500 plus on-road costs for the manual-equipped base car driven here, which is $8600 higher than when the new G80 arrived early last year.

The equivalent BMW M4 coupe is priced at $158,500 plus ORCs, while the more powerful 375kW M3 and M4 Competition models are set at $163,500 and $168,500 respectively. Specifying xDrive all-wheel drive on the Competition twins adds $6000 apiece.

Whichever way you look at it, M3 affordability has been stretched – so much so that the latest non-Competition M3 on test is $24,000 more expensive than the predecessor F80 M3 Pure entry model that started at $129,529 plus ORCs (auto) when it was last on sale.

Standard features across the BMW M3 and M4 entry models include a carbon-fibre roof, 19-inch front and 20-inch rear forged alloy wheels, adaptive M suspension, BMW Laserlight headlights, M sports seats with power adjustment including lumbar and heating, dual-zone climate control and a Harman Kardon surround sound system.

Infotainment comprises a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and 10.25-inch touch-screen run by BMW’s Operating System 7, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and wireless smartphone charging.

We’ll get to the mechanical nuts and bolts in the next section, but standard performance kit includes a 10-stage M traction control system, M Drift Analyser, M track mode and lap timer.

The BMW M3 and M4 Competition models add an eight-speed automatic transmission, additional Merino leather upholstery, the comfort access system which includes smartphone-based ‘digital key’ vehicle access and engine start, carbon-fibre gear shift paddles and improved semi-autonomous driving aids via the driving assistant professional pack.

The additional outlay for Competition variants also pares back the 0-100km/h claim from 4.2 to 3.9 seconds, while the fuel consumption claim is 10.8L/100km for the M3 and M4 and 10.2L/100km for the Competition models. That’s based on the NEDC standard with 98 RON as the recommended fuel.

On the safety front, the regular M3 and M4 get autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, lane change warning, rear cross traffic warning, rear collision prevention and a head-up display.

The Competition models upgrade to an adaptive cruise control system with front radar that goes as well as stops. They also have front cross traffic warning, steering and lane control assist, lane keep assist with side collision warning, crossroads warning and evasion aid.

Importantly, all M3 and M4 variants also come with a complimentary BMW Advanced Driving Experience Centre course.

There are no shortage of available options on the M3, as detailed by our separate pricing story from launch.

Servicing is conditions-based and can be paid for in advance over five years/80,000km. A basic package will set you back $3810 and the Plus package $10,520.

BMW Australia insists its customers are content with an outdated three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, but even on a dedicated performance car, those provisions are showing their age.

The 2022 BMW M3 takes the award-winning foundations of the G20-generation BMW 3 Series and then goes to town with rigidity and performance.

The base CLAR architecture is stiffened and braced in a bid to improve torsional and longitudinal rigidity.

Compared with the predecessor M3, the new car is 123mm longer and now tips the scales at 1705kg in manual form – 25kg lighter than the automatic.

At the heart of the M3 is BMW’s new S58 aluminium inline-six engine – the same as that in the BMW X3 M and X4 M.

The engine features two mono-scroll turbochargers, indirect air charge cooling, direct fuel injection with up to 350 bar pressure (previously 200 bar) and variable timing of the 24 valves and two camshafts.

In manual form, the M3 promises a broad performance spectrum: peak torque arrives on a band of revs between 2650rpm and 6130rpm, while peak power materialises at 6250rpm.

One key consideration for some could be the M3’s 59-litre fuel capacity. In hard driving, you can expect mileage of less than 500km. Just saying.

The technical package is completed by a limited-slip ‘active’ diff, adaptive suspension (MacPherson strut front and five-link rear), electromechanical rack and pinion steering with M-specific tuning and 380mm front disc brakes combined with six-piston callipers.

There are 370mm discs at the rear with a single sliding-piston calliper. Carbon-ceramic brakes are optional for an eye-watering $16,500.

There are countless headline features with the 2022 BMW M3, but arguably its most appealing aspect is that it gets the basics right.

Settling into the driver’s seat for the first time, occupants are treated to low-slung and cosseting surrounds, within excellent reach of the key controls and with equally amenable outward view.

The cabin environment is considered, too, with ample cubbies and incidental storage spots and quality furnishings at all the contact points.

Spatially, the M3 offers sound first- and second-row proportions. The latter is a tad smaller for knee-room than the equivalent C-Class sedan – which will soon form the basis for a four-cylinder C 63 sports sedan – but its fitment of ISOFIX attachment points, split-fold seats and a 480-litre boot mean the M3 is more than practical enough.

Ultimately, there is a slight last-generation feel to the centre fascia – which doesn’t quite keep pace with BMW’s newest-generation products and features more switches and dials – but it all seems fitting for a vehicle that is so analogue.

Even the absence of adaptive cruise control somehow makes sense in this base M3. This is a vehicle driven by its user, you could say, not an on-board computer.

And that brings us to the real focal point of the cabin. The stubby six-speed manual shifter, complete with a quasi E30/E36-inspired motif on top.

For all the cabin’s white-and-black decor, the stick shift is what draws the gaze of passers-by on test – and for good reason.

As a driver, you simply revel with the level of involvement with the manual-shift M3.

Forget that it features a lower output count, or that it’s marginally slower to 100km/h. When you strip it all back, this is enjoyable driving personified.

And thankfully, you don’t need to be driving a million miles an hour to exploit it.

The engine and transmission combination offers enjoyable progress in low-speed passage, with a light clutch take-up and plenty of torque in the lower echelons of the rev range.

The transmission action is classic BMW: a little bit of lumpiness with a clean gate and well-spaced ratios.

There is something so inherently engaging about working a combustion engine through its rpm cycle, learning its running idiosyncrasies, and in this instance using its gear ratios to maximum effect.

In an era of increasing electrification and automation, the M3 presents as a throwback.

The other telling feature of the M3, even at low speeds, is its precision and accuracy. There are no second inputs required for turns and the car controls its mass brilliantly; there is a digital veneer to the controls, but they offer excellent precision and weighting all at once.

The M3’s adaptive suspension manages to iron out bigger bumps in the road enough to be liveable enough as a daily. There’s some expected low-speed jiggliness and occasional thudding and road noise, but it merely enriches the feedback sensation, not detract from it.

It’s a similar story with the on-board driver aids, which cut in benignly to ensure safe forward progress but never take away from the experience.

The M3 happily facilitates open-road driving, too. It lopes along rural roads and on highway surrounds, averaging a respectable 12.0L/100km on test but getting as low as 8.4L/100km.

We’ve already had a full-blast tilt of the BMW M3 and M4 Competition at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

This test is all about assessing the regular road wares of the entry 2022 BMW M3.

Depressing the M2 button on the steering wheel quickly delivers more intent from the key controls in their most aggressive Sport Plus setting, while ensuring ESC remains on but in a looser mode.

With open road ahead of us, the M3 breathes over undulations underneath and moves progressively on its Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber.

There’s no noticeable surge from the turbos, rather the inline six pulls progressively through the range, finding its happy cadence in the middling revs and pulling hard to the circa 6750rpm cut-out.

The mechanical limited-slip differential is equally progressive with how it promotes distribution of power and with how well it changes direction.

It means the G80 M3 feels more cohesive than its predecessor on road and does without the light-switch-like delivery in power and performance.

With higher speed comes the need for reliable body control and brakes. And in that vein the M3 performs predictably well, shaking off mid-corner undulations and offering reliable stopping power.

This is a vehicle that is rich in feedback at speed, too.

Visceral soundtrack aside, there’s road noise, there’s some mild feedback through the steering wheel and the suspension is prone to a little thudding. But honestly, it is in keeping with the rest of the vehicle and is never a detraction.

We found a little more movement in the driver’s seat than some may want, especially if regular track driving is on the cards. Fortunately, BMW has $7500 sports seats in the catalogue if that’s a concern…

It’s fair to say the previous-generation F80 BMW M3 took a couple of attempts to get it right, and eventually it turned out to be a really enjoyable and really capable sports sedan.

Happily, the new G80-series 2022 BMW M3 picks up where the F80 left off: it’s fun, engaging and bears all the specialist handling hallmarks of an M car.

Although most buyers won’t consider the manual transmission, this is undoubtedly the pick for a consummate enthusiast.

The last of the analogue sports sedan and a vehicle we’re comfortable in anointing as a modern classic.

How much does the 2022 BMW M3 cost?
Price: $153,500 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol
Output: 353kW/550Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 10.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 248g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)