Pros:
- Smooth lines, appeals to the female eye
- Bavarian Corvette in four seat clothing
- Anti-bling, subtle cues says this one means business
Cons:
- Thirsty
- Uninspired interior
- Bit of a Heavyweight
The BMW M3 has long been the benchmark for luxury sports cars. From the original E30 M3, which was created to homologate the M3 for Group A Touring Car racing, to the wildly successful E36 M3, offered in both sedan and coupe styles, to the E46 M3 with its screaming inline 6 and SMG (semi-manual) transmission, nothing else has offered such a sublime marriage of ultimate performance with luxury and daily driveability.
Since BMW wanted to keep pushing the performance envelope with the current E92 M3, but stick with a naturally aspirated engine, we now have a 4.0 liter 414 hp V8 shoehorned into an even larger body, and available in coupe, sedan, and hard-top convertible. We decided to put the car to the test from a female perspective, to see if this is a car a woman could own, or at least drive once in a while, and the results may surprise you.
Design
Our test car was the lovely bodied coupe, which features smooth lines, subtle flairs, aggressive front and rear bumpers, and a carbon fiber roof (optional). When the M3 arrived some of our staff screamed nice car, for a female. It was the combination of smooth lines and a deep red color that exuded female ride, or at least a ride that a wife or girlfriend would gladly drive. Nissan GTR body, this is not.
We actually put this to the test and asked four women in the office to offer candid opinions about the drive, design, comfort, and convenience of the mighty coupe. The exterior received high marks: smooth, subtle, with a great overall size and shape. The vents in the hood (one functions as an air intake) reminded some of the Mustang or Cuda… probably not the response BMW was looking for. Some of the women commented on the fender strakes and wondered if those were really necessary, as they look plastic-like and take away from the fender lines. Sadly, functionality is not their main purpose.
The interior is where the E92 M3 falls short, not only to the competition (Audi & Mercedes), but also to its predecessor, the E46. There were two criticisms from our group of female drivers. The first is the dash, which is very flat and could benefit from more curves. Second is the rear seat, which doesn’t offer room for three due to the back seat center console. When back seat passengers are in the car, spirited driving probably won’t be taking place, so why not give that real estate back?
