Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: £49,525 to £54,860
Awesomely fast, comfortable, great gearbox, practical cabin and boot.
Steering lacking in feedback, thirsty, not as exciting as you would expect.
This fast but spacious saloon is a worthy addition to the M heritage.
The 3-Series has been around in non-M form since 2005 and has proved to be a solid, dependable car, so there's no reason to expect any problems with the M3. Obviously, with the extra power on offer, the clutch and brakes may not last as long in the M3 as they do in, say, 3-Series Coupes, but as long as you don't drive like a lunatic all the time they'll stand up well to daily use.
Fit and finish inside and out of the M3 is impeccable, with glossy paintwork and sumptuous leather. There are a lot of electronics in the M3, but there haven't been any reported issues with the more complex electronics in the M5 or M6 so the M3 should be equally trouble-free.
Latest Readers' Drives About the BMW 3 Series
wrote on 08 10 2007