Bing.
It’s a sweet tone: a small little bell echoing through the cockpit of the 2008 BMW M3.
The problem was I didn’t know what it meant. Bings, bongs, and little beeps always mean something, and usually it’s something wrong: check your seat belt; your door is ajar; the engine is about to explode. I didn’t know what this particular unobtrusive bing meant in the greater scheme of warning signals, so I took my foot off the accelerator and looked over the sleek black leather dashboard.
Not a sign, but wow, the M3 is sweet.
Some cars can impress with their performance, others with their posh touches and cool technology; the M3 manages both. It has to with so many other high-end sports sedans vying for the No. 1 spot with American racers. The Audi RS4, Lexus IS F and C63 AMG all beat the M3 in one area or another — but none offer as complete a package.
The C63 AMG offers more luxury (and power) than the M3 in terms of comfort and quiet ride. The RS4 can outperform the M3 in extreme cornering and in bad weather. But that’s not taking anything away from the M3, which wins the triathlon of fun, sporty and luxurious without taking first in any of the events.
Of course, with any of these cars, you’ll need more than $50,000 available just to be given a free cup of coffee at the dealership. The M3 sedan starts at $55,875, which includes shipping and a $1,300 gas guzzler tax or the same amount my 401(k) lost while you’re reading this.
All that money won’t buy you great gas mileage. The M3 hits 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 mpg on the highway. Then again, if you have the cash for this car, you’re more concerned with performance and leather-wrapped exclusivity than gas mileage.
Familiar look; extreme comfort You’re never far from little reminders of your special BMW. The M logo decorates the steering wheel, the speedometer, the front fenders, trunk and door sills.
The dash keeps BMW’s simple black-faced gauges and red needles. There’s a reassuring and familiar look to them. A display screen is mounted under a simple sloping edge at the top of the dash.
The seats, which include an optional back-widening function, are extremely comfortable and hold you snugly, the way a sports car should. The leather is premium and every touch of trim is tastefully applied. Your friends will smell the German craftsmanship — which is significantly better than smelling a German craftsman.
Connected to the iDrive, the display screen shows each click and twist of the knob. Now, I know lots of people complain about the iDrive, but I no longer understand those quibbles. BMW has vastly improved how it works, and without ever getting the owner’s manual out, I could find the navigation system and adjust the radio without turning the AC off.
High-revving performance Luxury is nice, but performance is king with the M3. The fourth generation finally got a V-8. Not just any V-8 either. It’s a 4-liter, 414-horsepower, high-revving piece of German ingenuity.
By replacing the six-cylinder engine from the previous M3, BMW has made a bigger engine that is lighter, more powerful and more efficient.
I could go into detail about the individual throttle butterfly for each cylinder, the variable double-VANOS camshaft management or the volume flow-controlled, pendulum-slide cell pump that keeps each cylinder super slick to show off how advanced this engine is, but you’d stop reading.
Instead, I’ll tell you what all of that technology does: Woooo hoooo!
The M3 has great pickup, especially at speed, when the revs are high. Driving a high-rev engine at first feels all wrong. Most V-8s would rather throw a rod than rev past 6,000 rpm. At 6K, the M3’s engine is just getting started, and that’s where the twitchy, seat of your pants fun kicks into a new gear (pun completely intended).
I always want to shift too early with these rare V-8s and I have to listen to that little William Wallace in my head as the revs climb higher and higher like the approaching English cavalry. Hold, hold, hold … shift.
Bing.
Here we go again. I pull off the highway, tap the brake pedal and let the performance brakes easily bring the 4,720-pound M3 to a stop. While the car remains heavy, its oversized brakes and big engine make it feel much lighter.
The M stands for monster Sitting in a parking lot along Eureka Road in Taylor, I looked over the M3.
What a piece of machinery. BMW has sharpened all the edges and bulked up the M3 significantly.
This is as chiseled as Mark McGuire in the late ’90s.
The bulging aluminum hood, the glowing streams of light circling the Xenon headlights, the dual kidney grille and the wide shoulders of the flared front fenders pushing out all make this Bimmer ripple.
Along the side, the small gills on the front fenders add to the look, and in case someone doesn’t know it’s an M; little badges point it out for them.
There are certain connotations that come with this kind of car: wealth, adventure, wealth, appreciation of the finer things, wealth. People should know exactly what it is.
As for its performance, the M stands for monster. It’s phenomenal and much more than any person driving off an autobahn really needs. The stiff body tears through corners, and the wheels stick to the road like bear claws to a tree. The steering is firm and precise.
BMW has improved its electronic stability control to allow for some dampening by setting the chassis dynamics on Sport, Normal or Comfort. The sport mode stiffens up the ride and lets you push this rear-wheel-drive rocket more than any other setting. It is ideal for the track wannabe who thinks he understands race car driving and buys a machine he may never really test.
But if he does want to test it, he’d better learn what that bing means.
After a few days of testing this BMW and hearing that bing, I discovered it was a notification that I was driving above 70 mph — a gentle reminder to slow down.
Quickly, I looked through the owner’s manual — which is thicker than the Wasilla, Alaska, phonebook — and figured out how to turn it off. I shouldn’t be distracted if I’m driving that fast through a school zone.
But it would make a great ring tone for my phone.
2008 BMW M3 Sedan
Price: $55,875
Type: Five passenger sports sedan
Engine: 4-liter V-8
Transmission: Six-speed manual or seven-speed double clutch automatic (debuts on the M3 convertible this fall)
Power: 414-hp; 295 pound feet torque
EPA gas mileage:
14 mpg city / 20 mpg highway
(Premium fuel required)
Price includes: $775 shipping and $1,300 gas guzzler tax
For Online:
Dimensions (inches)
Wheelbase: 108.7
Length: 180.4
Height: 57
Width: 71.5
Trunk volume: 15.9 cubic feet
Fuel capacity: 16.6 gallons
Curb weight: 3,726 pounds
Gross vehicle weight rating: 4,740 pounds
Weight distribution (front/rear): 47.8 percent / 52.2 percent
Steering: Rack-and-pinion
Brakes:
Front: 14.2-inch ventilated discs
Rear: 13.8-inch ventilated discs
By the numbers
155: Top speed in miles per hour
4.7: Time in seconds to go from 0-60 mph
16: Combined average fuel economy
345: Approximate range in miles
Report Card
Overall: *** 1/2
Exterior: Excellent. Clean and cut like a body builder. If people don’t know what an M does, they’ll figure it out by the way this Bimmer looks.
Interior: Good. Comfortable and graceful. This interior emphasizes quality instead of trying to show off.
Performance: Excellent. Adjustable chassis dynamics make this a great cruiser on the highway and speed demon on the track.
Safety: Good. Refined crumple zones and improved frame, four air bags including side-curtain air bags for the front and rear passengers.
Pros: Fun, sporty and luxurious. BMW enthusiasts will love the M3. Offers an excellent combination of all three.
Cons: Good in all three doesn’t make it the best in any. Some competitors offer a more sporting ride while others offer more luxury.
Grading Scale
Excellent: **** Good: *** Fair: ** Poor: *
