2021 BMW M3 Competition review

In the previous-generation BMW M3, this would have been truly terrifying. A wet road, cold Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres and a spiky twin-turbocharged, rear-drive layout would create a driving experience that’s about as enjoyable as petting a hungry tiger.

But right now, in the new G80 BMW M3 – the sixth generation in one of motoring’s most-loved dynasties – we wouldn’t wish the conditions were anything else.

We’re on the fairly unimaginatively named Mansfield-Whitfield Road in country Victoria, 62km of some of the best winding bitumen in the state.

At least that was until someone dropped the speed limit to 80km/h, presumably to make it look like things were being done in the face of an unflinching road toll, but let’s not dwell on that.

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With lots of tight corners, it remains a wonderful road, linking the charming old town of Mansfield with Victoria’s King Valley.

It’s old bushranger country (and of the Taungurung people long before that) but also where Italian immigrants settled after the war, growing first tobacco and then wine. Indeed, the King Valley is a must-visit for anyone with a penchant for a good drop.

Today we’re in something decidedly more German than Italian. This car is a big deal; an all-new M3 does not come along very often. Built on the new ‘Cluster Architecture’ that underpins the G20 3 Series and also future rear-drive BMW models, the latest M3 is 123mm longer and 26mm wider than the old one, with a 45mm-longer wheelbase (increasing rear legroom).

But even with additional use of high-strength steel and aluminium in the 3 Series chassis, which has helped to keep weight down in other models, the M3 Competition auto is unfortunately 170kg heavier than before at 1730kg.

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Some of that would have to do with the biggest philosophical mechanical change M Division has levelled at its super four-door, and that’s the ditching of the old, cantankerous but characterful seven-speed dual-clutch transmission for the eight-speed ZF torque-converter auto widely used across the BMW range.

A six-speed manual – hallelujah – is also available.

All-wheel drive will be offered for the first time in both M3 and M4, slashing 0-100km/h times and significantly extending the service life of the little bulb that illuminates the traction control icon, but today our test car is rear-drive. No complaints from me.

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The new M3 and M4 also score a brand new engine. The ‘S58’ looks a lot like the previous S55 on paper – 3.0 litres in capacity, six cylinders in a row, two turbochargers – but there’s a new closed-deck block design for extra strength (and indicating seriously big power potential), a slightly longer stroke, more boost and lower compression (9.3:1 vs 10.2:1).

BMW assures it’s much more efficient and lower-emitting, but also there’s a lot more power. In the Competition guise of our test car, that means 375kW at 6250rpm and 650Nm from 2750 to 5500rpm, easily eclipsing the 338kW and 600Nm of even the previous F80 M3 CS, with torque also arriving 1250rpm sooner.

A fully variably locking electronic rear differential distributes power to a pair of 285-section rear tyres, which on our Competition test car are very sticky and focused Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. Tamer Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber is available as standard.

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With launch control, BMW claims the new rear-drive M3 Competition will hit 100km/h in 3.9 seconds from rest, matching the F80 CS. It smashes the CS from 80-120km/h, though, at 2.6sec vs 3.4sec in fourth gear.

All-wheel drive drops the M3 Competition’s 0-100km/h sprint to just 3.5sec. We ran numbers on our test car at Heathcote Dragway, but the soaking conditions were such that the results aren’t worth publishing. We will try again in dryer and warmer times.

Now we come to that exterior styling. To some, it will look tough, a bit space-age and original. To others, it will look like a weird mish-mash of BMW, Alfa Romeo Giulia and Lexus IS.

We admit that, with the metaphorical ghost of Chris Bangle jangling chains and moaning forlornly up and down the corridors of BMW Design in Munich, we were surprised BMW ported the M4 front end treatment across to the M3 as well.

We guessed the M3 might look like a hotter, more aggressive M340i. Indeed, it will be interesting to see if the new gnawing-rodent nose survives the models’ first Life Cycle Impulse (BMW-speak for facelift). At least the M3 keeps a Hofmeister Kink where the M4 doesn’t.

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In the metal, there is no denying this car’s presence. Spot it in a dark alley and you will be gripping your wallet tighter, turning 180 degrees and walking off as fast you can. It strikes a menacing silhouette, those big, wide, low offset wheels filling the pumped guards perfectly, creating a mega stance. Under a street light, the mesmerising three-dimensional weave of carbonfibre, on the roof and mirror caps, draws you in for a closer look.

But back in broad daylight there’s no denying the M3 is like a muscled-up boxer with a bent nose and cauliflower ears. Also, on a car with already challenging front styling, couldn’t they have integrated the front radar unit a little more elegantly?

Thankfully, you only see the side of the car in shop windows, and inside it’s a nicer story altogether. As you open the doors and slide inside, there’s no denying the impeccable BMW build quality. Everything feels solid yet precise and tactile.

Apart from the dash pad, which is quite an oppressive, large chunk of soft black plastic, the material choices and finishes are exactly what you would want.

With the 12.3-inch digital instrument display (a moment’s silence for the loss of analogue dials) and 10.25-inch central infotainment display, the interior is a luxurious, intuitive and high-tech place to sit. And iDrive 7.0 is as good as ever.

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Then you notice the seat… This car is fitted with BMW’s optional M Carbon seats, which, curiously, have a raised carbonfibre mound between your thighs. The idea is to hold your legs in place during high-g cornering, but they mustn’t eat much in the engineering department at BMW… I’m a small man with medium-chunky thighs and the weird mound was definitely uncomfortable.

Especially as I like left-foot braking, and the right-aligned brake pedal placement means having a chunk of protruding hard plastic under my left knee. Although they do offer incredible hip support, granting a very tight connection to the rear of the car, make sure you try these seats before ordering them!

Awaken the S58 with the starter button on the transmission tunnel and, after enjoying the loud exhaust note at idle, within 100 metres you’re aware the engineering runs very deep below any superficial styling criticisms. Immediately the steering feels more connected and precise, having the effect of making the car feel marginally smaller.

The old car’s steering was always a bit muted, which was annoying as it has such a mega front-end. The ride quality compared to the old car is much improved as well. No more thudding into potholes or jiggling over low-speed irregularities. Aside from quite a lot of harshness we would attribute to the Cup 2 tyres, this is a comfortable car.

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The torque converter, as you would hope, has banished all the ugly driveability issues of the old DCT unit. It still feels tight, but it is a lot smoother and there’s no more creep forward or back as clutches jolt and engage. It’s completely changed the low-speed character of the car; for urban manners, the M3 is a lot more refined, more grown up.

This is a very nice car to drive around town, as we find during the trip from BMW’s suburban HQ to Mansfield, where things heat up. Points are also awarded to the new active cruise control, which will steer the car even down a challenging country road, so long as you touch the steering wheel often.

Curiously, even in the vibrant San Marino blue of our test car and riding on fat 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels, our new M3 attracted hardly any attention from pedestrians or other drivers – and, to be fair, that’s just the way many owners would like it.

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Having driven the 215km from Melbourne to Mansfield, it’s time to uncork the M3 on the way to Whitfield. Care is needed because the Cup 2 tyres are cold – and an ever-flickering traction-control light only reinforces that – although these tyres, while apparently optimised just for M3, don’t feel to be the death traps in cold and wet conditions that they used to be.

Blessedly, as we arrive on the Mansfield-Whitfield Road, the surface is dry and it’s as if we have it all to ourselves. Flicked into Sport mode, it is immediately obvious the M3 is seriously, eye-poppingly fast, with way too much power for the rear tyres. When it hooks up, your brain will want to be wide awake.

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Interestingly, the new M3 doesn’t feel enormously faster than the old one, and the S58 doesn’t feel that much different to the old S55.

It’s all about torque with this engine, winding up the turbos and surfing the 650Nm then short-shifting, as hitting the soft limiter is quite the buzz-kill, but also there is nothing really to gain in the upper revs.

The power delivery, from about 3000rpm and onwards, just feels like a massive slingshot of torque.

Somewhat disappointingly, there is still quite a lot of lag and it’s easy to catch the engine snoozing.

It’s not quite as ‘bad’ as the old S55, but hardly the unbelievable, razor-sharp response AMG has managed to achieve from some of its latest turbocharged engines.

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Fortunately, though, the power no longer arrives with a mind of its own, somewhat independent of whatever instruction you have given with the throttle pedal. The old car liked surprises; the new one at least is a little easier to predict.

It was with a trembling index finger that you ever went near the ESC button in the previous M3; with the new one, it’s a button you are excited to play around with. It’s just a shame the reduced M Dynamic Mode (MDM) ESC setting is not that different to ESC fully on.

But there is 10-stage traction control, another new toy possibly borrowing inspiration from rivals AMG – although, while AMG uses dashboard and steering-wheel dials to adjust its nine-stage TC, in the M3 you have to turn the ESC fully off and then tap between one and 10 in the new drive-modes menu (where every setting can be easily selected on the fly).

And while 10-stage TC sounds cool, really you only find yourself using level three to give the slip and safety net that should have probably been MDM.

In the previous-generation M3, selecting Sport mode for the adaptive dampers was a step too far on most roads, but in the G80 you find yourself reaching for Sport Plus – and more.

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However, it seems there is a trade-off for that lovely new ride quality, one exacerbated by the extra weight and sticky optional tyres: body roll. While the M3 still sits acceptably flat in corners, at the ragged edge a bit of patience is now required as you turn in and wait for the body to settle.

And a bit of care is needed during hard changes of direction too, particularly as the rear end now moves through a slightly larger arc. Yes, the bigger, heavier, softer new M3 is not quite as agile as the old one. The upside is that the M3 now encourages you to keep pushing even as the road gets a bit choppy, where you would be backing off in the old car.

Luckily, though, they’ve ‘fixed’ the steering. It is much better. You now find yourself carrying speed into long corners and trying to feel with your fingertips how much front purchase is left, something unheard of with the mute tiller of the F80. Big ups to M Division, as the front-end is now pure joy.

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The overall softening of the suspension has also breathed some life into the M3’s handling it probably needed. It’s a more natural-feeling handler now, more predictable, more inspiring of confidence, more fun.

And, in the dry, on the Cup 2 tyres, it’s insanely fast and grippy. In fact, the Michelins are so good that it’s quite the task trying to judge the chassis with such incredibly feelsome and communicative rubber bolted to it. But they are both as good as each other.

The eight-speed auto also steps up to the plate in an impressive way. It has three shift speeds, but all are incredibly smooth so there’s no reason why you wouldn’t just always use the fastest one.

The changes are fast, slick and responsive up the gears, even if there is a bit of a delay going back down again.

And, if we’re honest, part of us does miss the highly strung, racy personality of the old dual-clutch, however flawed it was overall, but such is life. The new auto’s eight ratios are spaced well, there seemingly being a gear for every possible corner.

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The brakes are interesting too. Now brake-by-wire, you can select between Comfort and Sport modes. They offer incredible stopping ability (optional carbon-ceramics were fitted to our tester) and BMW has done well to make them feel as natural as possible.

Sport mode just reduces travel and increases sensitivity, but we preferred Comfort as it was somewhat easier to modulate.

They did feel a tad muted, and we would be interested to push them hard on a track, where brake-by-wire on other cars (like the Alfa Romeo Giulia) has shown up some weird calibration quirks at the edge of the performance envelope. On the road, though, the carbon brakes were more than convincing enough, and completely fade-free.

BMW has also made improvements to the M3’s sound. In an age of petrol particulate filters and anti-fun brigade oppressive European noise regulations, it’s true the active exhaust button on the M3 may as well not even be there such is the difference it makes in the G80, but BMW has improved the Active Sound Design, so the fake engine noise coming from under the dash is a lot less PlayStation and instead a lot more convincing. Put the windows down and there’s a good amount of turbo personality to be enjoyed too. Does the M3 sound good? It’s no wailing E46 CSL, but it’s okay.

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As we get to the end of the road and the King Valley beckons, our mind is made up about the new M3 – it’s brilliant. Just as E30, E36, E46, E92, F80 all had very distinct characters, this one has a different personality again. While it is still plenty feral for most people and has hardly ‘gone soft’, there is a new, grown-up manner about it around town.

It’s a more road-focused performance car. It’s almost like a more serious rear-drive M340i, or a baby straight-six M5. And it continues a run of good form from M Division that started with the current M5 and continued into M2 Competition.

But probably the biggest compliment we can give BMW’s new M model is that it is a lot more fun. It no longer feels to be plotting to kill you when you’re not looking.

Yes, there are still some surprises lurking within to keep you on your toes, but find yourself on cold Cup 2 tyres, on a wet road, and you will be giggling to yourself as you easily enjoy the car rather than just trying to survive.

More of a big kitty cat, it’s no longer the pet tiger – and how the car looks will be a million miles from the front of your mind.

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2021 BMW M3 Competition specifications