BMW M3 E90, E92, E93 Review (2008-2012)

What is the BMW M3?

There’s often a frisson of excitement that sweeps through the car community prior to the arrival of a new BMW M3, but the big news surrounding the debut of the fourth generation was about its engine. After two generations of M3 with a straight-six engine the new car would feature a V8 for the first time, and what an excellent unit it turned out to be.

The E92 M3 launched in 2007, initially as a coupe, and it was joined by the E90 four-door saloon in 2008 along with a two-door E93 convertible, which for the first time featured a folding metal hardtop. The saloon’s performance is nigh-on identical to the coupe’s but the convertible is slightly less accelerative thanks to its additional weight.

Externally, the E92 M3 gains the sort of pumped-up stance you’d expect from an M3, without appearing too overblown, and the result is a blend of style and aggression. There’s a large bonnet bulge to clear the V8 engine, along with slightly flared front wheel arches, M aerodynamic door mirrors and, on the coupe version, a carbon fibre roof to reduce weight and lower the car’s centre of gravity. At the back there’s a rear diffuser, BMW M’s trademark quad exhausts and a discreet boot spoiler.

When the time came for the E90/91/92 to be replaced, BMW split up the coupé and saloon model ranges, so from 2014 this car was succeeded by both the F80 BMW M3 saloon and the F82 BMW M4 coupé.

How practical is it?

With spacious, fold-down rear seats even the coupe is a relatively practical car – especially compared with the smaller Audi TT. But even more useful if you need to use the rear seats regularly is the M3 saloon, code-named E90, which gains two extra doors, making access to the rear much easier, as well as more head- and leg-room.

Unlike its rivals, the Audi RS4 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, however, the M3 can’t be had as an estate. So if you need to shift larger loads or want more space to take the family away on holiday, that might count the M3 out. That being said, it offers 430 litres of boot space even in the coupé, which is a decent size, and the saloon manages an extra 20 litres on top of that.

Perhaps one of the let downs on the E92 M3 is an interior that isn’t quite as plush as the car’s price tag would suggest. Fit and finish is excellent and the level of standard equipment is surprisingly good – the iDrive infotainment system and satellite navigation are both standard – and the leather seats are comfortable and supportive. However, it’s clearly closely related to a normal 3 Series and lacks a little of the sort of pizzazz expected when a new M3 cost more than £50,000.

What's it like to drive?

The high-revving, naturally aspirated, 4.0-litre V8 engine was closely related to the V10 engine that was fitted to BMW’s M5 and is a . Codenamed S65, the engine was around 15kg lighter than the straight-six fitted to the previous generation M3, which was quite an achievement given the increase in capacity and the addition of two cylinders. It revs to a heady 8,400rpm and develops 414bhp at 8,300rpm along with 295lb ft of torque, produced at 3,900rpm. With 85% of that torque spread across a 6,500rpm rev band, it feels far more muscular than the figures would suggest. Performance is pretty sensational, with the M3 covering the 0-62mph sprint in a scant 4.8 seconds, and boasting a top speed electronically limited to 155mph.

There’s a depth and breadth of ability to the M3 that makes it a great all-rounder. The engine is sensational with a good spread of torque that makes it very flexible, but it’s also ready to thrill with a press on the throttle; its ability to rev to over 8,000rpm makes it a spine-tingling companion. The chassis is well balanced with lots of grip and an excellent level of driver involvement.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The suspension is a thoroughly reworked version of that fitted to the contemporary BMW 3 Series range, with additional strengthening and bespoke springs and dampers. Many forged aluminium components are used to keep weight to a minimum and, for the first time on an M3, there was the option of adding Electronic Damper Control (EDC) to the car’s set up with three settings for suspension stiffness.

In 2008 a seven-speed DCT dual-clutch automatic transmission was introduced as an option, costing £2,590. Not only did it improve fuel economy by 2.4mpg, it also reduced the car’s emissions to 263g/km from 290 and made the M3 faster to boot, chopping 0.2 seconds off the 0-62 sprint time. It’s a great gearbox, offering whip-crack gear changes when driving hard, yet its automatic mode is far better than with BMW’s older SMG sequential gearbox, which was fitted to the previous generation E46 M3. Driving enthusiasts will still probably opt for the six-speed manual gearbox, however.

There were few changes to the M3 during its production run, but 2010 did see the introduction of the M3 Competition Package to the options list, but only for the coupe. With improved suspension and 19-inch CSL-style wheels it was a popular box to tick for the keen driver.

The ultimate version of the E92 generation of M3 was the GTS, a stripped-out, track-orientated model produced in very limited numbers (just 25 right-hand drive examples) and with a £117,000 price tag. It used a 4.4-litre version of the V8 for 444bhp and featured coilover suspension and rigid bushings for improved handling, along with even more powerful brakes. The interior was stripped out, a half roll cage was added and adjustable spoilers were fitted. All were painted bright orange.

BMW M3 running costs

Despite its relatively humble BMW 3 Series origins, the E90 generation of M3 will not be as wallet-friendly to run as a diesel-powered 320d. For starters, that V8 engine might be an absolute jewel but its emissions are high and all models attract an annual VED cost of £600. Insurance will be expensive too, with most M3 models sitting in insurance group 43 or 44 (out of 50).

It also has the sort of fuel economy figures to have an oil baron rubbing their hands together with glee. An official combined MPG of 22.8 for the coupe (or 25.2mpg for the DCT version) might not sound too bad for a high-performance coupe, but even on a gentle motorway cruise it’ll only return 25mpg and if the full 400-plus horsepower is used, fuel consumption will plummet to 15mpg.

Servicing shouldn’t break the bank but as the M3 uses a condition-based servicing system, it can feel like they come round quickly. An oil service at a main dealer will be about £265 (or £370 if the microfilter’s done at the same time) and if an M3 needs an oil service, air filter, plugs and microfilter all doing at once it’ll cost around £750. A vehicle check will cost £60-£70 and a brake fluid change should be less than £100. An independent specialist should be able to beat those prices.

Consumables such as brakes and tyres won’t be ruinously expensive, but aren’t cheap either. A set of front brake pads will be in the region of £220 fitted and £195 for the rear set, but if new discs are required then pads and discs at the front will cost £710, with those at the rear costing £620. Again, these prices are from a BMW main agent with independent specialists often able to do the work for less.

Cars with the optional electronic dampers will be more expensive to repair should the dampers leak or become worn. Front dampers are £800 each with rears costing £500 each, so a set of replacement dampers will cost £2,600 in parts alone.

BMW M3 reliability

BMW as a brand hasn’t been scoring the best results in reliability surveys recently, but when the E90 generation M3 was new it did have a slightly better reputation in this regard. On the whole, the M3 is a well put together machine and the materials used have proved suitably durable – with a few caveats.

The engine is the heart of the M3, so it’s slightly disappointing to report that there are a couple of Achilles heels with the unit. The issues can be solved, but not cheaply. The first relates to the engine’s throttle actuators – there are two, one for each cylinder bank of the V8 – and if a fault develops with these parts, various warnings will flash on the car’s iDrive screen, such as ‘Engine fault! Reduced power’, ‘DBC failure! Drive moderately’, ‘Start assistance inactive!’ and ‘DSC failure!’

New actuators from BMW cost nearly £1,100 (each!) but there are now several specialists who sell a rebuild kit. It’s a relatively straightforward DIY repair for those that are handy with a tool kit, but a BMW specialist will rebuild both throttle actuators for around £600 to £800 (for the pair) fitting parts with a lifetime guarantee.

The second major issue for the M3’s S65 V8 is a problem relating to the conrod bearing shells in the bottom part of the engine, which have been found to wear far faster than they should. If not attended to they can start to break up and deposit minute parts of metal in the engine, which can lead to an expensive engine rebuild. As the shells are tucked away it’s impossible to examine them to see if they’re worn, so many owners are opting to replace the bearing shells as a precautionary measure. It’s quite a labour intensive repair and when undertaken at a specialist will cost in the region of £1,500 to £2,000. It's an expensive fix, but far cheaper than a full engine rebuild.

So far, the M DCT gearbox is proving to be more reliable than the SMG transmissions fitted to the E36 and E46 M3s, and quite often any maladies with the gearbox can be cured by a software update. Similarly, any glitches with the car’s iDrive system will more than likely be remedied by a software update.