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REVIEW • MOTOR MATTERS
2016 BMW M3
2016 BMW M3
The 2016 BMW M3 is both a yardstick and a target, considerably different from its predecessors, but with a clear heritage of performance. It boasts an aggressive face, a turbocharged sixcylinder engine, a rigid and relatively lightweight chassis, and, most importantly, some astonishing performance. From the outside, the M3 doesn’t veer dramatically from the 3Series formula. There’s a power bump on the hood that suggests the muscle underneath, and the nose, sides, and tail get some track-bred cues to go with the flared fenders and low-profile tires. There’s even a carbon-fiber roof option to save weight up high and help lower the center of gravity. Inside, the 3-Series shapes are even more clear, with M badges, upgraded sport seats, M-specific controls for the electronics, and racier-looking carbon fiber trim that all add to the high-performance look and feel of the cockpit. The M3 was new for 2015 and this year it gets minor trim and equipment updates. The taillights are now LEDs arranged in an L shape. Keyless access, one year of satellite radio, and a Harmon/ Kardon sound system are now standard equipment. Inside, it gets additional touches of chrome, ambient lighting around the center stack, and new navigation unit hardware that promises faster startup, over-the-air map updates, better overall performance, and more realistic presentation of city details. With an aluminum hood and fenders and carbon-fiber reinforcedplastic bits, this generation M3 is about 176 pounds lighter than the previous M3, at 3,540 pounds. Extensive use of aluminum, including in the front fenders and hood, as well as carbon fiber in the trunk lid, driveshaft, and roof, help save the weight and keep what weight remains lower and more toward the center of the car for further improvements to handling and balance. The suspension was also largely new last year, with a double-joint sprung front axle using lightweight components including aluminum control arms, wheel carriers, and axle subframes for a savings of 11 pounds. At the rear, a five-link setup uses forged aluminum control arms, shaving about 6.6 pounds from the unsprung mass. An Adaptive M suspension system is also available, adding
BASE PRICE Comfort, Sport, and Sport+ modes, made possible by variable-rate dampers. The same three mode settings also control the electric power steering in all M3s, raising or lowering the steering force and feedback to suit the mission. Even the body is optimized for performance, with advanced aerodynamic work done to ensure both minimal drag and maximal cooling and lower levels of lift--hence the Gurney lip spoiler at the rear, the gills up front, and the sculpted side mirrors. All work together to balance these challenges in airflow management. So what are the key stats for the industry’s long-time benchmark sport luxury sedan? The 3.0-liter twin-turbo in-line six-cylinder, dubbed S55 internally, spins out 425 horsepower, up from the lastgeneration 4.0-liter V-8’s 414. Unlike many turbo engines, this one revs to 7,600 rpm, and carries its peak output from 5,500 rpm to 7,300 rpm. Peak torque is 406 pound-feet, which is available from 1,800 rpm to 5,500 rpm and 111 lb-ft more than that old V-8. Despite the amazing power, this engine has a droning, artificially generated noise that really underserves the classic BMW in-line six sound. Together with an electronically controlled limited-slip differential and the M-DCT seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the 2016 BMW M3 hits 60 mph in about 3.9 seconds, according to BMW. Top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph. Should you opt for the sixspeed manual transmission, the 0-60 mph time will rise to about 4.1 seconds. Either way, the M3 is a puller of the top rank. It’s really, really tough to catch it napping off-boost, and BMW’s Active M Differential system helps maximize the impact of the power by electronic oversight. It adjusts its locking percentage between the rear wheels from 0-100 within milliseconds, it is tuned to maximize grip and traction, aiding the car’s ability to rotate or accelerate in response to the driver’s inputs. The result is a car that loves quaffing long uphill runs at the horizon with gusto, shaving off a hundred miles per hour undramatically with the available carbon-ceramic brakes, and settling firmly and predictably into uphill 30-degree bends without a knee bent. It’s so close in performance delivery to the related M4 coupe, the two are
What’s the best way to clean those headlights? BY RAY MAGLIOZZI
Dear Car Talk: Please settle yet another marital dispute. When cleaning the windshield at the filling station, one of us always likes to give the headlamps a scrubbing; the other thinks that doing so puts tiny scratches on the plastic lens, and over the years this will lead to light scattering and reduced visibility. Is it OK to routinely clean the lenses in this manner, or should they be cleaned only under running water, with the scrubbing saved for emergencies? -- Ronald I’m having trouble figuring out which position each of you is taking. I’m guessing you’re the headlight scrubber, Ronald. But I know if I showed an interest in cleaning anything, my wife
$63,500
almost indistinguishable EPA est. MPG 17/26 on the track, other than the view outward and the sedan’s extra padded SPECS • KEYLESS ACCESS leather seat. BMW says • ONE YEAR OF SATELLITE RADIO there’s almost no difference • 60 MPH IN 3.9 SECONDS in the cars’ centers of gravity • ADAPTIVE M SUSPENSION AND and weight distribution. It’s tough to call this DIFFERENTIAL SYSTEMS M a sports car, but few • UPGRADED SPORT SEATS grand tourers come closer • NEW NAVIGATION UNIT to touring-car grip and HARDWARE balance. It’s not without its faults, though. The steering works so well on tracks with big, wide, sweepers that it’s hard to reconcile with the lack of communication it offers when drilled through tighter curves. The throttle response and shifting are rapid-fire-quick in Sport+ mode, but you’ll probably want to avoid this high-strung setting on the street. And while fuel economy is better than the old V-8, the M3’s highway figures still pale behind those of even true sports cars like the Corvette or Porsche 911. Prices for the M3 begin in the mid $60,000s. Some of the most comprehensive safety features ever are fitted to this variant of BMW’s core model, but a rearview camera is, unconscionably, an option inside a pricey package that bundles a head-up display with special M functions, parking sensors, heated rear seats and steering wheel, and satellite radio. Another package includes blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, and active braking, and for weekend track stars, the carbon-ceramic brakes might actually seem worth the roughly $8,000 you’ll spend on them. The dual-clutch transmission is about $3,000, and you can have the adaptive suspension for another $1,000. Both will make you go quicker, but we prefer the purity of the manual and the standard suspension settings. www.thecarconnection.com
would be thrilled. Anyway, now most headlight covers are made of polycarbonate plastic and are covered with a clear-coat sealant of some kind. And over time, that sealer wears off, and the plastic gets yellowed and dulled. The biggest culprit is ultraviolet light from the sun, but road grit and the heat from the headlamps play a role, too. Overly rough scrubbing of the plastic or using an abrasive cleanser certainly can scratch them up, too. But mostly, these lenses die of natural causes: sun and heat. When the lenses get cloudy and yellow, your best bet is to take the car to a shop, where they’ll use professional tools and special chemicals to buff out the yellowed plastic and -- in some cases -- seal it again. It won’t last as long as the original coating on the lens, but it’ll at least help for a while. There are do-it-yourself products, but those are even shorterlasting, in our experience. And in the meantime, you’re free to clean the lenses to your heart’s content. But I never would suggest scrubbing them; I’d clean them with a squeegee, like the one you use for your windshield at the gas station.
Wipe them with the wet sponge (with 50,000 windshields’ worth of dirt, since the gas station hasn’t changed that water since the Carter administration), and then gently clear them off with the rubber blade on the other side. Or wipe them with a clean, soft cloth. Or get your own squeegee and use mild soap and water -- and avoid the prehistoric mud and potentially abrasive grit in the water at the gas station. And if this interest in cleaning things persists, Ronald, your wife wrote to me and asked me to suggest some dishes. *** In the pamphlet “Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car?” Click and Clack break down the strategies for buying a car, so you can make the most of your money. Send $4.75 (check or money order) to Car Talk/Next Car, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. *** Got a question about cars? Write to Car Talk in care of this newspaper, or email by visiting the Car Talk website at www.cartalk.com. (c) 2016 by Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.