A new steering wheel, clock faces, gear lever and minor switchgear greet the M3 driver. This cabin shares few of the quasi-race details that characterised the first-generation car. But then it is supposed to serve as everyday transport.
As with all M3s, the new car has an entirely new seat design with electric operation. The speedometer now reads to 200mph and the rev counter incorporates graduated amber and red sections to indicate when the oil is warm. Unique to this 3-series is M Dynamic Mode, which provides the driver with controls to alter steering weight, throttle map and damper response.
There are only a few issues inside the M3, but one is a major irritation: you sit too high. M engineers insist that the squab material compresses about an inch over the first three weeks of ownership, but even that’s not enough. In fact, in a car whose base philosophy is low centre of mass, it seems counter-productive. And the steering wheel is way too thick.
But otherwise it’s an extremely comfortable place to sit. Rear occupants have enough legroom for one six-footer to sit behind another, and the boot is vast. This is also an exceptionally well assembled car.
Fuel economy is not a great strength, though. During fast running the car returns somewhere between 17 and 20mpg. Longer motorway runs see that figure rise to 25mpg. Which still leaves the car with a poor range (265 miles).
Much has already been written about the excessive cost of this new £50,625 M3, but such criticism isn’t entirely fair. For starters, Audi has just sold every RS4 saloon it could build for £50,675 apiece, proving that people are willing to pay such prices for cars of this type.
The UK’s M3 allocation for 2007 is already gone, but we’re told initial adverse publicity has lead to a few people dropping off the list. With a further 2000 units due to arrive in 2008, with a saloon and the eagerly awaited DSG gearbox, residuals will be strong.