BMW M3 G80 Review (2021-present)
BMW M3 cars for sale
5.0
Expert review
Pros
The performance of a four-door supercar
Four-wheel drive is available, promising a secure drive in all weathers
More playful to drive than its immediate predecessor
Cons
Noise and restless ride make the M3 harder to live with than a regular BMW 3 Series
Basking shark grille may put off some buyers
No manual gearbox
The CarGurus verdict
The G80 BMW M3 is more ferocious than ever. While the previous M3 was a little bit clinical, the latest model regains something of a playful, muscle car feel. It’s brimming with drama and is a riot on road, while still retaining breathtakingly precise responses, aided by a world of impressive electronic features and driver aids. It’s even a pretty easy thing to live with on a daily basis, too, thanks to an impressively comfortable ride.
Many prospective owners will like and embrace the fact that the BMW M3 never feels like anything but a very serious sports car. After all, the performance car class has now grown to encompass all manner of cars, including super saloons and SUVs alike, many of which feel more like GTs with an abundance of straight-line pace and a dab of handling pizazz. That the BMW M3 is totally in its element on a race track, even though you can also get the kids in it or take it to a board meeting, is precisely its appeal. Nothing balances all of those lifestyle demands with quite the same flourish and finesse as the BMW M3, so it remains the benchmark for the breed.
What is the BMW M3 G80?
The BMW M3 is one of those cars that anything with even a remotely similar price, power or performance intent will be measured by. It’s more than a benchmark, it’s virtually a blueprint for practical performance cars, and as such the world of fast SUVs and saloons will all be judged by its standards.
Yet the G80 BMW M3 reviewed here is not the guaranteed king of its class. The outgoing generation, codenamed F80, was often criticised for not delivering as much on-road fun as you might want, despite its formidable pace and precision. That F80 generation was also where the coupe variant of the BMW M3 gained its own identity, becoming the BMW M4. Prior to that, the three-door BMW M3 had always been known as a BMW M3 Coupe but today the BMW M4 is just as well-known.
How practical is it?
Being a BMW, the M3 is practical and lavish to live with, as well as fun. You’ll get two adults in the back seats no problem and the 480-litre boot is big enough for a chunky buggy, but the hatchback boot openings in the Audi RS 5 and Porsche Macan will make life easier if you regularly lug big items around.
Alternatively, there's the BMW M3 Touring estate. Yes, for the first time ever, BMW makes an estate version of the M3, and it has as much space (500 litres of boot space) and practicality as any other 3 Series wagon. Competition for that variant includes the Audi RS4 Avant and Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate.
The cabin finish feels suitably expensive, meanwhile, but we'd advise you avoid the optional carbon fibre bucket seats; they’re expensive and they have peculiar protrusions in the middle of the seat base that won’t suit everybody. Electrically adjustable sports seats with leather upholstery are standard.
What's it like to drive?
The 2021-onwards BMW M3 – known as the G80 - is the sixth generation of this long-lived performance giant. It features an all-new platform offered with rear-wheel drive or the switchable ‘xDrive’ four-wheel drive system, which allows for full rear-wheel-drive shenanigans when you want them, and active four-wheel drive the rest of the time. It's the first time that the BMW M3 is available with four-wheel drive.
The UK only gets the high-spec BMW M3 Competition, which means that the twin-turbo, in-line, six-cylinder engine produces 503bhp and sends power through an eight-speed torque converter automatic gearbox, replacing its predecessor's dual-clutch gearbox. There’s no manual gearbox; that’s only offered in the lower-powered M3 variant that is, sadly, not coming to these shores.
We’ll not mourn the absence of the more basic BMW M3 for too long, though, since the new BMW M3 Competition is more than a little diverting. It's savagely fast with 0-62mph despatched in 3.9 seconds. More importantly, it’s got enough grip to not be too frightening, but it’s also playful and engaging when you want it to be. It’s certainly a more characterful drive than its predecessor, even if it’s still brimming with the trademark BMW M3 brutality.
Given its agility, you might expect the M3 to be a little short of comfort, but not a bit of it. Sure, there's enough edge to the ride to remind you of what sort of car you're in, but there's enough forgiveness that it never becomes jarring or unsettled, so the car flows along very nicely on most types of road surface. And that's with the adaptive suspension in its rawest setting: select one of the more relaxed ones, and things become a shade cushier.
But despite this civility, the M3 still manages to deliver a raw, edgy character that feels totally appropriate. The BMW M3 really does have the feel of some unholy blend of supercar, muscle car and executive saloon, with its precise, meaty steering and explosive, high-revving 3.0-litre engine.
Technology, equipment & infotainment
The G80 BMW M3 is well equipped as standard, so you don’t need to add anything. There are even seven standard paint options including a bright yellow, and five metallic shades ranging from sensible anthracite grey or black to bright orange, green or blue. But you'll probably spend loads on options anyway, and BMW is very ready to oblige, with an extensive and expensive extras list. From keyless entry to advanced adaptive LED lights or a de-restricted top speed of 180mph, there’s an extravagant list of stuff to tempt you. But be choosy, as you could easily end up with a £100,000 BMW M3 if you aren’t careful.
The infotainment, meanwhile, is fantastic. The big screen has some of the best graphics of any in the market, and it’s easy to control via a rotary switch and shortcut buttons. There's standard gesture control and voice control, along with Android Auto, wireless Apple CarPlay, satnav, Bluetooth, digital radio and online connectivity. It’s a great finish to a dashboard that’s easy to use.
BMW M3 running costs
The BMW M3 isn’t cheap by any measure. The Audi RS5 Sportback and the Porsche Macan Turbo both undercut it by a useful amount, while the Mercedes-AMG C63 – which is a plug-in hybrid with a four-cylinder petrol engine, four-wheel drive and powerful electric motor – costs even more.
If you’re that fussed about fuel economy then the BMW M3 Competition probably isn’t for you. But in the scheme of super saloons with more than 500bhp, the official economy of 28mpg is perfectly respectable, and you could even see that sort of economy in the real world on an unhurried motorway run.
Otherwise, the 20-inch rear tyres are going to wear out quickly (even if you go for xDrive four-wheel drive) and won’t be cheap to replace, and the M3 sits in the highest insurance group. But you’re buying a car with near-supercar performance, so none of this should come as a surprise. Nor will the fact that you’ll take a big hit of depreciation initially, but the BMW M3 typically holds its value reasonably well by the standards of big, expensive performance saloons, as there’s always demand on the used market.
BMW M3 running costs
The G80 BMW M3 is too new to offer much reliability data. Even the BMW M3’s S58 engine is heavily modified, but the 3.0-litre, twin-turbocharged straight-six has been around in various forms for some 10 years or so and has proven very reliable. There aren’t any drastic common issues to report other than some reports of crank housing failure; this is a very rare issue, often linked to cars that have had aftermarket engine modifications to raise the power output. Ultimately, the BMW M3 should prove a reliable option.
BMW as a brand was rated a healthy 12th out of 32 brands rated in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, putting it ahead of premium German rivals in the shape of Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. A three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty comes as standard.
- The M3’s basking shark grille has certainly attracted plenty of attention: suffice it to say that you won't miss the BMW M3 coming. But for every person that finds it offensive, there's another who loves the brazen stance and aggressive looks. It’s certainly divisive, then, but there’s an argument to say that that’s always better than boring.
- Everything is adjustable in the BMW, including the suspension dampers, steering, gearbox and even brake pedal response. You can even dial in the precise amount of slip you want the traction control to allow. The sheer variety of tweaks and adjustments you can make to the car’s dynamics can be intimidating, but two M buttons on the steering wheel allow you to set up the modes however you wish; with some trial and error you can figure out what settings you like and activate them easily. There’s more stuff to play with, too. If 503bhp and 650NM of torque aren’t enough to keep you busy in general, there’s a ‘drift analyser’ that tells you the specifics of your skids and gives them a star rating out of five. Strictly for track use only, of course.
- One of those many options on the BMW M3 is the M Pro Pack, which includes a derestricted top speed and carbon ceramic brakes. These brakes are a great option if you want to spend time driving on track, since they reduce brake fade under repeated heavy use. But the standard brakes are still huge and deliver just as much stopping power in anything but consistent heavy use; don’t bother with that nearly-£7,000 pack unless you really think you’ll get the benefit. If safety is a point of concern, there’s always the Technology Plus Pack, which brings advanced driver aids including automatic parking and adaptive cruise control, which adjusts automatically to the speed limit.
- If you’re worried about traction: To improve general usability in poor conditions, go for the BMW M3 Competition xDrive, which brings the all-wheel-drive system. This adds fantastic wet-weather traction when you need it, but because it can be switched off to revert back to rear-wheel drive, you can have tail-happy handling when you want it. Best of both worlds, we'd say.
- If you need lots of space in the back: If luggage space is a big consideration then go for the Touring estate version. It gives you a whopping 500 litres of loadspace underneath a handy hatchback tailgate.
- If you want lots of choice: Options aside, that's one thing that BMW can't offer at the moment. There's only one model, and that's the BMW M3 Competition in all its bonkers glory. Undoubtedly there will be lighter and more focussed versions in the future, which might not be tricky for designers, given that the BMW M3 is bigger and heavier than ever, and weighs nearly as much as the BMW M5 at 1,800kg. However, since this version already has 48bhp more than the last BMW M3 CS, it’s hard to imagine needing or wanting more power and aggression.
