BMW M3 Pure Edition 2011 Review

You could want for a little more ride comfort. You might find it just a bit much to live with. Then you should be looking for another car. A V8, a manual transmission, rear-wheel-drive and something approaching 50:50 fore and aft weight distribution is of itself a formula for perfection, yet BMW's M3 somehow transcends that to be something altogether more.

VALUE

Recently we asked, rhetorically it seemed at the time, if an M3 was worth the premium over the rather splendid 335i Coupe with its twin scroll turbo charged inline six (which makes 225kW but shares the M3's 400Nm).

Well, as it turns out, yes it is, especially the 100 examples of the Australia-only Pure Edition coupes and sedans (priced at $145,000 and $131,700) that we drove in two door form. The first V8 M3 is very likely to be the last with a naturally aspirated engine. Auction an organ on eBay for you will never want or need another car. You will keep this forever. Amen.

Specifics? Well, there's the multi-media system with proximity sensors and stuff but none of the myriad ride or steering setting that come with the top priced models. Frankly you'd pay to be without these.

TECHNOLOGY

As stated: a glorious, tuneful, 4.0-litre V8 good for 309kW and 400Nm, a six speed manual and the M Differential on the rear to abet your haste in leaving a corner. "Pure" is no empty marketing catchphrase.

DESIGN

The E92 shape has been with us since '06 and remains the most becoming 3 Series though this is no boast next to an outgoing a sedan that appears to have been sculpted in Lego. The M3 is distinguished partly by its badging but mostly by that tumescent bonnet bulge.

The Pure Edition is further marked by smoky 19-inch alloys and black accents. Design signatures double kidney grille, Hoffmeister kink in the rear side windows and slight front overhang are present and correct.

SAFETY

Of the top drawer. Five NCAP stars and all the active acronyms. Love the way in which the front seatbelts are extended by robotic arms. Less enamoured by the absence of a spare tyre.

DRIVING

Even on Australian mule tracks, among the Western World's worst drivers and a venal "road safety" regime, the M3 is life enhancing.

Like the least BMWs, it can be driven in a leisurely, even lazy, fashion and yet reward with its fulsomely weighted steering and near exact balance. At 4.8 seconds from standing to 100km/h it's blazingly quick for a road car but that would be meaningless if it didn't translate to such sublimely intuitive handling. Cornering seems an act of osmosis; you observe the road's curvature negotiate it without conscious input at a rate of knots that would elude you in almost anything else.

Yet the ride, while leaving you in not the least doubt as to the road's precise topography, is better than tolerable. The only caveat is the slightly long throw nature of the shift action. Something bespoke, short and sharp is surely warranted. Even this is more characteristic than outright fault and in any case cannot persuade us not to award our first perfect score.

VERDICT

Count the stars. This a great car.

BMW M3 COUPE PURE EDITION

Price: $145,000
Warranty: 3 year/unlimited
Resale: 15,000km/12 months
Safety equipment: Six airbags; ABS, EDBA, EBA, TC
Crash rating: five stars
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 petrol; 309kW/400Nm
Body: 2 doors, 4-seats
Dimensions: 4615mm (L); 1540mm (W); 1424mm (H); 2761mm (WB)
Weight: 1600kg
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Economy: 12.4L/100km; 290g/km Co2

"Blazingly quick for a road car but that would be meaningless if it didn't translate to such sublimely intuitive handling"