KMII
[Montblanc Moderator]
51276
Gone but not forgotten - the M3 Competition Touring 🇩🇪
Continuing with some reminiscing of past cars, this time with the M3 Competition Touring. I wrote a longer piece about it back in the day (here: www.watchprosite.com ).
It’s the first time there has been an official estate version of the M3, to battle the C63 and RS4 variants with the larger boots (although the hybrid battery in the current C63 makes the boot look like a joke).
While most automotive magazines wax lyrical about the car I found it more of a mixed bag. Hugely competent on a dry road, with monster grip and relentless acceleration, it still left me rather cold emotionally.
It never shrank around you on a country road and you always had to manage the space it took up on the road - to the extent that it never really appeared nimbler than the larger E63S estate we ran concurrently.
It also didn’t have the all weather unflappability one would expect from its AWD - admittedly, many of the foibles here were much more visible in a German autobahn environment at speeds above the limits in many other countries but still. Where on a rainy stretch of autobahn the ESP went absolutely beserk at about 90mph I drove 15 minutes later with the E at 130 like on rails.
The other thing that didn’t fully gel was the engine. Objectively strong and providing solid acceleration, I always felt that using the last 1000 rpm was semi-useless - there never was that heady rush to the redline that the hot v of the AMG displayed. So functional but not stirring as many emotions.
On the plus side, the 3 is finally of a size adequate for two adults and two children, with the Touring a week long holiday is well within the realms of possibility.
Would I get it again? That’s an interesting question. The answer may well be yes, not because I was over the moon with it but because at the moment it is the absolutely last of its kind, with the C63 having the laughably small boot and the E63 and RS4 and RS6 no longer in the portfolio (would have to try the M5 Touring, even though that one is of a size and weight more akin to a non-existent M7).
So a very competent car for sure but with the Freude am Fahren more from the absolute speed it manages over the ground than the grins it produces in the process. But as always with cars there are personal preferences in play and who am I to oppose all the car journos 😊
Gone but not forgotten - the M3 Competition Touring 🇩🇪
Continuing with some reminiscing of past cars, this time with the M3 Competition Touring. I wrote a longer piece about it back in the day (here: www.watchprosite.com ) . It’s the first time there has been an official estate version of the M3, to battle th...
Gone but not forgotten …
Now you will have the pleasure of searching for a new experience and create fresh memories.
Fair point…
Seriously thinking of one of the Wave from Alfa, while they are still available 🤞🏻 But it’s then either the RWD Giulia as a sedan or the AWD Stelvio as an SUV 🤷🏻♂️🧐
I always think …
A car, even if we really love it is rarely for ever and the fun is in hunting for new experiences.
That’s a fair assessment indeed 😊👍🏻
And a car needs more TLC than a watch over time so similarly sized collections are probably less feasible 🤷🏻♂️
I don’t think that’s a likely outcome with this one 😊👍🏻
I would say it’s reasonably reliable and any servicing costs should be manageable 🤞🏻
If I may interject...
The M2 is something i would buy as it is much more reminiscent of the first M3 (which I very well remember*), whilst the rest of the M3 and M5 are, since many years now, somethimg different. As for the Giulia, it is the only car I would buy straight away,...
Good to hear your thoughts …
The M2 is definitely a modern homage to the original M3, except for the fact that the original M3 was built to enable BMW to go racing with a version of it. The Giulia is a good looking car 👍
* a friend's neighbor from Rome was a...
Champion driver in the nineties with the M3, he also owned a very nice one M3 himself.
Yes, it was...
Especially when he was getting his E30 out of the parking lot. We were so young!
The won on Sunday, sell on Monday…
Approach seems to be long gone, unfortunately 🤷🏻♂️
The M2…
Would be a fun only car, as it’s not feasible to fit in the family, unfortunately. And as the basis is the same (sans 4WD) I would need to check it out first anyhow 👍🏻
Beautiful Side Profile, a good car but doesn't warm the soul and the Mercedes Fanboy in me heard not as good as Mercedes hahaha, not Surprised 😋
Very Nice Review, I trust your Judgement more.
I have historically not been a Mercedes fanboy…
But have to say that both the C43 and E63S that I had more experience with recently (on top of the CLSs from the other post) have been reasonably convincing 👍🏻👌🏻
Very nice review and more importantly, you put this M3 through its paces!
As a former owner of a E63 wagon and currently own a RS6 Aavnt, I concur the E63 is amazing.
How would you compare the E63 to the RS6 then?
Never took the M3 above 186mph and the one more relevant thing, I usually keep the ESP on just in case, when driving on the road.
There’s some pretty great comparisons and more professional on YouTube, but I ‘ll give my 2 cents.
the E63 had a much more throaty exhaust note ( who doesn’t love that ) and I’d say the handling was a tiny bit more responsive. The RS looks infinitely more attractive ( the MB design was long in the tooth ) and the interior substantially more updated and...
I guess the throaty exhaust is much diminished in the latest iteration…
The engine still sounds nice and might be more palatable on a long journey but is not as boisterous anymore. Thanks a lot for your perspective - prefer first hand owner experience over YouTube - old school I guess 😉
I’m certainly not biased by subscribers! I’m old school as well.
Do you know if MB is making a new E63AMG Wagon?
There should be…
A hybridized V8 out next year, so it would be natural that an E63 would be a recipient. The I4 hybrid of the current C63 and GLC63 is being retired shortly, as it did not perform nearly as well commercially as hoped for. The funny bit is that for the firs...
For fun or reliability reasons? 🤷🏻♂️
500k a year? 😱 Or over the lifetime of a particular car?
Multi cars, it's the older model seats and more spacious cargo area he prefers.
He and i have driven across Europe multiple times over the years. Like me, he's also a retired Formula car driver, so thankfully, he always has his cars on Mich Pilot top-compound rubber. Oh the stories.........
here you go.... you asked for it :)
At Audio Note UK, we practice what we preach at all levels. The cars we drive are an example of this; quality lasts and longevity is the best judge of quality, so here is a picture of the cars we use. Six Mercedes W124s, combined mileage 2,400,000 miles b...
A Fellow Purist here has a E500 which I drove, it's so much Fun!
Spotted an E500 Limited in Tokyo ...
Just checked…
And the E36s are about 50% more expensive than the 500s, in spite of the latter’s higher tech engineering. Quite surprising, actually. So how would they compare driving wise to a more ‘modern’ car?
Market Rewards Rarity
The Seats have a different feel, softer, the door frame thickness is less, very analog feel of the cabin, solid build quality and switches, that V8 rumbles, has an American muscle feel, tremendous low end torque, when floored there is a slight loss of tra...
KMII: Care to share one or two ?? OH, now i see what you;re asking......................... 😊
OHHHHHHHH, you meant sharing some stories. Oh, well... hmmmm... The one time we were just, you know, 'casually driving' ~200 km East of Paris on the nicely open and wide-sweepers.... and then we saw some flashing lights.... Or the time, we were playing th...
Great to hear your thoughts
Re. Alfa I'm afraid that it's only downhill from here. My wife wanted a Stelvio and they didn't offer the interior colors she wanted (black was the only choice, she wanted tan). The Giulia QV is one of the only modern alfa I test drove and it left me want...
That’s interesting to read…
We had a Stelvio rental once and my wife fell in love but you are right, the choices are severely limited. What did you find was missing with the Giulia QV? 😊🤷🏻♂️
I was expecting something more intense
I was fortunate enough to be able to test both the 6 speed and the 8 speed. To journalists who grew up on German cars it may have been a revelation but nothing really blew me away steering, engine. Overall I couldn't connect with the car emotionally. I'd ...
Thanks so much 👍🏻🙏🏻
Probably time for a test drive then 😊 How would you say it differs from said Germans?
Purely looking at M cars
I think it's fair to say that when the Giulia came out it was a very different option compared to the F80 but the current generation from the G80 is an incredibly capable product, both in the cabin, under the hood and in terms of refinement. Anyway back t...
Again thanks so much for this!
The interior and tech of course are in the meantime almost two generations behind - it’s an almost 10 year old car in the meantime (and that was an aspect that didn’t have a lot of money pumped in, as the Giorgio platform swallowed most of the funds) and ...
Thanks a lot 🙏🏻
Again I am sure there’s many a satisfied owner out there it’s just that it didn’t light my world on fire 🤷🏻♂️
Still nothing apart from a vanilla daily transport…
Efficient, reliable and comfortable but not at all exciting. Hopefully that will soon change 🤞🏻
"Hugely competent on a dry road, with monster grip and relentless acceleration, it still left me rather cold emotionally"
I felt exactly the same about my 2022 M4. I adored everything about car, except the "driving enjoyment". I very much miss the aesthetics, but I don't miss driving it at all. ...
Maybe the two of us were very much not the intended audience 😊🤷🏻♂️
Good to hear I am not the only one, though 👍🏻