4 — BMW M3 ($84,300)
Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to drive, for a day, an M4 that our colleague Vincent Aubé was also testing . It was a good opportunity to compare it with the M3, the cousin of the original. And all the more so since the M4 we tested that time was equipped with an 8-speed automatic transmission. On this occasion, however, the M3 that was waiting for me had a 6-speed manual transmission. Under its charge: 473 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque.
At the wheel, I started to sense a recurring theme. As with the M5 CS, the X3 M Competition and the Cooper S, the fun level is high and so is the level of power, but you can’t shake the feeling that the purity is not the same anymore. An M3 from the 80s, 90s, or even the generation that extended to 2005 offered that little something marked by, yes, purity. For sure, the performance level is mind-boggling in today’s crop of Beemers, but the pleasure is no greater than it was. Food for thought…