Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: £50,935 to £50,935
Rev-happy V8, styling, carbon roof, manual gearbox, minimal electronic interference.
Expensive, artificial steering feel doesn't inspire confidence, too refined.
An excellent 21st century interpretation of the M3 - not perfect, though.
V8s are traditionally expensive to run, and the M3 is no exception. Once you get past the heady initial purchase price, there are the pesky ongoing costs to consider. Officially, the M3 will return 22.8mpg on the combined cycle, which is better than the RS4 can manage, but if you drive the M3 anywhere near its full potential that figure will easily drop into the low teens.
CO2 emissions are a high 295g/km, putting the M3 firmly in the top tax bracket, and insurance will be high as the M3 is in the top group 20, like its rivals.
The M3 is fitted with BMW's Efficient Dynamics brake energy regeneration system which tops up the battery's charge levels at any time the engine is not under load. This means that the alternator is used much less, which in turn frees the engine up from having to power it. There's also a shift indicator on the instrument display that tells you which gear you should be in for best economy... yeah, right.
It should, however, hold its value well.
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wrote on 21 09 2007