Think of a race track like those fenced-off dog parks. They let you take a performance car off its electronic-stability-controlled leash, because like your excited dog, you really just can’t let it run wild and loose down the street. We got a chance to exercise a new 2015 BMW M3 at the Consumer Reports test track, and a fun time was had by all.
Chassis code-named F80, this latest incarnation of BMW’s legendary, high-performance 3 Series variant makes the leap from a V8 to a turbocharged engine. Most of M3s will have a double-clutch automated manual transmission—in other words, a very quick-shifting automatic—in lieu of a traditional manual with a clutch pedal. Equipping the press car (that we paid to drive) with the double-clutch robs away some of the fun, according to Auto Test Director Jake Fisher and Test Technician Ryan Pszczolkowski. As you see in the video, some jabs are thrown at the steering feel and the plethora of button-directed driving mode selections too.
But those gripes vanish into a cloud of gray tire smoke. Within the safe confines of the track, Jake and Ryan push the car to its limits, and as our torn-up grass will attest, sometimes beyond. Even though few M3 owners will ever get to the dog run, er, race track, rest assured that the car shines there. Whether that is worth the $84,000 of this well-equipped example is between you and your accountant.
We’ll have more on the M3 in episode 41 of our video podcast, “Talking Cars with Consumer Reports,” due out Tuesday, August 5. Also check out our first drive of both the four-door M3 and two-door M4.
—Tom Mutchler
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