BMW M3 2002 Review

At its launch in late 2001 BMW Australia's MD, Uwe Hartmann, described the M3 as "a vehicle which is comfortable and totally useable in everyday driving, while able to deliver true supercar levels of performance when called upon".

Good enough. Our job's done. Ciao!

Not really, we're not in the business of blithely and naively taking car companies at their word every time. No sir, we'll drive the cars ourselves and judge 'em for ourselves, even if that means we have to spend an entire week in the M3. The things we do for you guys.

The M3 combines stratospheric levels of brutish performance and inch-perfect handling with true four seater credentials that is unrivalled by anything within cooee of its $150k price tag. And here's how it does it.

The M3 is based on BMW's very popular 3 Series body, specifically the 2-dr coupe, which means there's enough room inside for four adults and luggage. Try fitting that into a Porsche or Ferrari.

The M3 we tested is powered by a 3.2 litre, six cylinder engine which drives the rear wheels via a six speed manual gearbox. It's also available with BMW's clutchless SMGII sequential manual gearbox.

The engine, the same straight six found in the 330Ci coupe, is enlarged to 3.2 litres, and fitted with all sorts of high-tech wizardry, including double-VANOS - BMW's variable valve timing - to produce 252kiloWatts of power. That's 16kW up on the previous model, and no less than 78kW per litre of engine capacity - or 104horsepower per litre in the old scale.

There's plenty of torque for easy around-town driving, 365Newton metres in fact, and 80 percent of it is at your beck and call from just 2000rpm.

This all translates into an effortless car to drive daily, and in no way as taxing as other supercars would be in the weekly traffic jam. But get the M3 out on the open road and you'll forget work even exists.

Given its head, the M3 will accelerate from rest to 100km/h in a blistering 5.2 seconds. It'll break the tape at a quarter mile just 13-odd seconds after it started. There's two obvious reasons why the M3 is this bloody quick: 1) good power to weight ratio, and 2) an engine that loves to be revved.

The M3 tips the scales at a middling 1525kg, nothing to rave about, but impressive when you cast an eye over the features list. Cruise control, satnav, climate control, CD stacker, trip computer, TV, electric seats, electric windows, electric mirrors, electric sunroof, electric toothbrush - nah not quite - but you get the drift. And remember too, BMW's seemingly indestructible bodyshell with multiple airbags.

So, 1525kg spread across 252kW works out at 5.9kg per kiloWatt. A Holden Monaro CV8 rates only 7.3kg/kW, while the hipo HSV GTO Coupe, with a comparable 250kW on tap, still falls short at 6.7kg/kW.

Then there's the engine. Arguably the best six cylinder engine we've ever driven, it simply loves to be pushed hard. The 3.2 litre six will rev cleanly and quickly right through to its 8500rpm redline, matched by the aural delights coming from the exhaust.

Gearchanges are cardsharp quick, the closely stacked 'box giving you no chance to snatch the wrong ratio. The throttle is sensitive to even the smallest flex of your twinky when you're up it for the rent, but surprisingly docile touring around town in the lower revs.

The engine's on song from as little as 3000rpm, though will pull from as little as 1500rpm. The real pleasure zone really kicks in around 5500rpm, so keep the engine above this - easy to do with six ratios to choose from - and let the M3 show you a good time.

Corners and straights blur together, one bend melting into another. Braking markers get revised again and again as your brain catches up not only with the incredible stopping power of the 4-wheel discs, but at the speed in which the M3 reaches each marker.

Nothing we've driven to date can match the M3 in the ferocious way it attacks a corner. Front end grip is prodigious, the big 18inch wheels and tyres clawing into the bitumen, refusing to push wide no matter the speed. The M3's perfect 50:50 weight distribution makes for perfect mid-corner manners, while the bigger 19inch rear wheels seem to relish the task of powering out of the corner.

The M3 is incredibly stable and flat through corners, with very little bodyroll from the firm sports suspension. You'd expect such a handling biased suspension setup combined with low profile sports tyres to offer a teeth rattling ride around town, but the M3 is resfreshingly smooth and compliant. It's never going to match a standard 3 Series for ride comfort, but it's a ride you could definitely live with every day.

The M3's seats do the double act of providing good cushioning and comfort on long hauls while also keeping you in front of mission control when things get twisty.

Oh, and don't bother switching the traction control off in the twisty bits. If you're like us, that used to be the first indication to passengers that things were about to get serious. But the M3's traction control is seamless, a true extension of the driver's will. It doesn't shut the fun down, rather it slows things gently, keeping car and occupants safely within the incorruptible laws of physics.

We took advantage of an Easter long weekend to take the M3 on two seperate early morning runs, one on a clear day, the other after heavy rain the night before, which continued lightly into the morning. It's hard to say which morning we enjoyed more, the first with its unmatched speed and ferocity, or the second as the M3's plethora of electronic safety gear guided the car delicately and precisely across the mountain-side.

Pulling up at our coffe stop destination, we waited patiently for the other driver to arrive in the NSX. We'd both left together, but 16km of rain-soaked secondary roads left him far behind. When he finally did pull up, we exchanged stories and arrived at one simple conclusion. The M3 makes even the most treacherous of conditions look easy.

Convert that to the real world, where you can't guarantee the weather, you can't guarantee road conditions (oil slicks, gravel, etc), and you certainly can't trust those who share the road with you, and we'd take an M3 every time. Because it will guarantee a good drive, a great drive, a safe drive. Every time.