Review of the new BMW M3 Saloon

One rather curious decision with BMW's last generation M3 was Munich's decision to offer it here only in Coupe and Convertible bodystyles. You could, after all, buy its arch-rival Audi's RS4 as a saloon and an estate. With the latest generation M3, BMW weren't about to repeat that mistake. Which is why there's the option of the four-door saloon variant we're looking at here.

Just as the M3 Coupe looks like, well, a 3 Series Coupe but actually most of the body panels are changed, the saloon version is the same. In other words, there are virtually no body panels shared with your common or garden 3 Series Saloon. Which given the £50,000 price tag attached to this M3 is probably just as well.

The car features the same sleek front end design from the Coupe M3 which includes the lowered, sportier headlamp design and striking power dome in the bonnet. Primarily, the design of this model is created by the need for significant volumes of air for the induction system. As a result, the M3 does without front foglamps, while three large air ducts in the front lower valance keep the engine breathing. Like the Coupe, the M3 Saloon features 18-inch Dark Graphite double-spoke light-alloy wheels as standard, with a 19-inch forged and polished wheel as an option.

Otherwise, the recipe is much the same. In other words, you're getting the pace and poise of a Porsche 911 at two-thirds of the price. In fact, you're getting more, since the entry-level 911 offers 'only' 321bhp against the M3's 420bhp V8. The BMW's is an engine that's not only lighter than its six-cylinder predecessor but one which punts the M3 into a new performance realm.

The V8 engine plumbed beneath the bulging bonnet of the M3 had a lot of commentators a little worried at first. The balance of the six-cylinder E46 model was so exquisite that the prospect changed a big four-litre 'bent-eight' shoehorned into the svelte 3 Series shell smacked of an almost Mercedes-like obsession for power at any cost. Seems we needn't have worried. BMW assures us that the weight of the V8 is, at 202kg, a full 15kg lighter than the old 'six'.

"For someone who wants their speed with a dash of subtlety. ..."

The aural signature from this engine is like no other road car powerplant. To sit beside Germany's Nurburgring race track and hear development cars screaming past was otherworldly. Every single time the engine note came bouncing off the Eschbach trees, it sounded as if a sawmill had just cranked into operation somewhere in the valley. The cause is the induction system which features an oscillating tube fed by eight lightweight intake funnels. Add a fruity exhaust blare and you have a car that will swivel heads from a long way out.

BMW quotes a 0-62mph time of 4.9 seconds for the Saloon (for some reason, it's 0.1s slower than the Coupe) and the same electronically limited top end of 155mph. Like the Coupe, the four-door is said to nudge 180mph with the software nanny shackled. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard with a seven-speed SMG sequential box available as an option. With a stiffer body, carbon-fibre reinforced plastic roof and an even more aggressive version of the legendary M-diff hydraulic centre differential, the M3 isn't just all about that astonishing engine.

The E92 M3 is packed with intriguing design features but the most important one for many is that it looks the part. Move around the car and there are intricately formed side sills, while at the back, there's ventilation to draw hot air away from the differential. Four chrome-tipped exhaust pipes leave others in no doubt as to what's just blown by. Another BMW M trait, a side gill in the front wing, also includes the side direction indicator and the M3 logo. Such is the performance of this car that even the exterior door mirrors enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of the car and provide a degree of downforce.

Like the larger BMW M5 and M6 models, this M3 also features an MDrive button that brings together numerous personalised functions of the car. The settings for the optional Electronic Damper Control (Normal, Comfort and Sport), three DSC+ traction control settings and three specific engine control maps, plus the response rate of the Servotronic power steering can be controlled with one button on the steering wheel. Once the desired settings are created in the iDrive menu, part of the standard Professional navigation system, one push of the MDrive button transforms the M3 from a car to drive to the shops to a track day special.

Though Start-Stop technology enables BMW to claim at 25.2mpg combined fuel cycle figure, you can expect to average not much more than 20mpg in normal motoring. Plus you'll be hit hard in the wallet by your insurance broker (expect a group 20 classification). Some compensation however, should come with low depreciation, particularly in this model's first couple of years of life when it's likely to be a 'must have' upwardly middle class life accessory.

Packing a savage punch and developed by a team of enthusiast drivers, the M3 looks the sort of super saloon most petrolheads would design given a blank sheet of paper. In Saloon guise however, it will attract a slightly more reserved buyer to the Coupe. Someone who wants their speed with a dash of subtlety.

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