2005 BMW M3 Test Drive

BMW's Street Racer

The BMW M3 won't be redesigned for another year or two, which is fine, because the 2005 model is still a thrill.

The first day driving a BMW M3 can be a little uncomfortable, but hold on and adapt, because the payoff is worth it.

The tight suspension exposes every crack, crevice and stray pebble in the road and the race-tuned transmission's sensitive clutch takes some time to get used to. Big brakes quickly bring the heavy M3 to a standstill from 60 mph, but can make parallel parking a head-jerking ordeal.

These 19-inch lightweight wheels are part of the competition package + enlarge image  |  view gallery >

Once drivers adjust to these quick reflexes, it's immediately apparent that the M3 is one of the finest and most fun high-performance cars on the market. It's so good that you might even create excuses to run errands or make an unplanned trip to a friend's house more than an hour away.

The M3 — now in its third generation and awaiting a fourth update sometime in the next two years — is a race car masquerading as a street car. The M3's origins tell the story. In the late 1980s, BMW wanted to enter European touring car racing. To qualify, engineers had to create a race car based on a regular production vehicle and build at least 5,000 of them.

The resulting M3 — the M is for motorsports — was "basically a race car with a leather interior," says Larry Koch, M3 marketing manager. Now the M graces not only the 3 Series but the 5 and 6 Series models as well. A convertible M3 is also available.

Although the third generation is more powerful, larger and looks different from the first-generation M3, which had a high-strung four-cylinder engine, its character remains the same and makes you feel like Indy racer Danica Patrick when taking off from a stoplight or cutting through corners.

The base 3 Series received a major overhaul this year, but the M3 won't be updated for at least another year or two, which is typical of BMW. M versions are usually the last to get updated in a product refresh.

Koch wouldn't say exactly when a new M3 will debut. But he suggests people would do fine leasing the current version for 30 months, by which time the new one should be arriving at dealers.

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Exterior | Interior | Performance | Is the M3 for You?

  Published on 2005-09-01