E46 M3 compared to other sports cars you've driven

[Phoenix///M3]

Love the E46 but having seat time in 911 turbos and a brief stint in a 991 GT3, well...

https://youtu.be/Wowyd09KSs0

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Silbergrau metallic]

Love the E46 but having seat time in 911 turbos and a brief stint in a 991 GT3, well...

https://youtu.be/Wowyd09KSs0

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I love Porsches, never had the opportunity to drive a Turbo, but those GT3's are awful cool, it's just really hard to justify that $175,000 to $250,000 price tag. I guess I'll just have to wait for my buddy to make me an offer I can't refuse when he decides to sell it.

[jet_dogg]

It must be a beater because mine was elite better and more engauging than the e46, it was raw if you know what I mean....more like a souped up E36 M with more pop...nice looking too.

Well my car wasn't stock and he agreed after having driver seat time in the m3 as well. Say what you will but compared to his near 400hp m5 mine was still better all around though it does share some of the same viscerality which I like and is lost in modern cars.

[Casa de Mesa]

Well my car wasn't stock and he agreed after having driver seat time in the m3 as well. Say what you will but compared to his near 400hp m5 mine was still better all around though it does share some of the same viscerality which I like and is lost in modern cars.

FWIW and regarding the bolded comment above. I literally just got off the phone with a buddy of mine who has a nice E36 M3. It is mildly modded and sits on coilovers. He test drove a '19 (or maybe '18?) Carrera S this morning. His comment was that it felt numb, isolating and digital compared to his M3. His thought was that the Carrera was a comfortable, grand touring car. But it's still a 911 - I would have expected him to say it was a more engaging car.

I say this not to solo out dogg with my comment, but to add a data point to the conversation. My buddy is a guy who has owned a ton of cars and has a ton of track time.

[maw1124]

Consensus in Porsche circles is beginning with the 991 chassis they had the same issue that BMW M had with the E9X chassis... that's designing an engaging driver focused car for a group of buyers who are not particularly good drivers or very focused... people who wanted more digital gizmos and luxury... "bloated" and "disconnected" are the words that end up being used, perhaps overused... so 997s are sort of the last driver focused models, unless you're in something with the letters G and T (GTS, GT2, GT3, whatever, I don't even keep up because I'm not a Porsche guy)... which is also why when comparing to E46M I disregard all turbo cars and everything after 997... but I guess given the OP's question those comparisons are fair game for others... I do know a lot of serious, experienced, track car guy types who swear by their GTwhatever Porsche 911s to be fair.

Did any Nizmo GTR make anyone's comments? That's another one people like to toss into the hat.

maw

[Casa de Mesa]

Consensus in Porsche circles is beginning with the 991 chassis they had the same issue that BMW M had with the E9X chassis... that's designing an engaging driver focused car for a group of buyers who are not particularly good drivers or very focused... people who wanted more digital gizmos and luxury...

Yeah, I've heard pretty much the same. Which is why the vantage point from my buddy was so compelling for me.

I have time behind the wheel of 996s. Jumping out of the driver seat of my car and immediately into a friend's 996 Carrera 4S, the steering definitely felt over boosted and a dead spot closer to center. I much preferred the standard-rack E46 M3 to that of the 996 Carrera 4S. I also prefer the interior in the E46 by leaps and bounds.

[maw1124]

Yeah, I've heard pretty much the same. Which is why the vantage point from my buddy was so compelling for me.

I have time behind the wheel of 996s. Jumping out of the driver seat of my car and immediately into a friend's 996 Carrera 4S, the steering definitely felt over boosted and a dead spot closer to center. I much preferred the standard-rack E46 M3 to that of the 996 Carrera 4S. I also prefer the interior in the E46 by leaps and bounds.

And this is my experience almost exactly (didn’t catch the steering, but it didn’t captivate me either), having helped a close friend shop and buy his 997 4S convertible. I’m driving it around thinking “yeah I’ll keep my M3 over this, every day of the week and twice on Sunday.” Interior felt cheapish (which is saying something because my M3 feels cheapish coming from my other cars), it didn’t feel any faster or sharper, back seat was a joke — I just didn’t get it. 997 Turbos are a completely different animal.

maw

PS… the other car I thought was a fair comparison AND an upgrade over this car was an ‘03 SL55 AMG… holy sh*t… with 500+hp still raw and on command with no lag, that thing was a HOOT to drive… I could have bought my buddy’s, sold my M and made a couple bucks… but I really want to see what this car does as a long term hold and I already have a 55 AMG Kompressor so I kept the E46M… the M is better looking car to me but that SL55 is grossly under appreciated.

[Obioban]

I've never carried more than three people and that was only a couple of times, nor have I ever seen four people let alone five people in an m3 with a trunk full of "stuff". This is one of those oft repeated knee-jerk responses to the virtues of the m3 that fail to play out in real life. I'd really like to know how often people are doing this because it's definitely not a Socal thing.

I don't even like anyone in the back so my car is basically a two seater. Golf clubs for the older guys sure but people don't buy the m3 for practicality concerns, it's just a benefit they like to bring up on discussion boards.

The M3 was my only car for almost a decade. Got LOTS of back seat and trunk use back then.

I now have a kid, that's in the back regularly. Stroller in the trunk.

Every single time I go to the track my 4 track tires are in the back seat and my tools/jack/chair/tent/spares are in the trunk.



And I have a fuel cell to put in the trunk for rallies


.... and I picked up an oven in my other M3 earlier this week



My M3 back seat and trunk has gotten a LOT of use over the years. In fact, at this moment, my back seats might have more miles with asses/tires in them than my front seats, since I replaced the front seats a couple of years ago. Being so practical means I can use the car much more often, and don't have to tow it to the track (which almost ruined tracking for me, I hate towing so much).

[jet_dogg]

Track shit excluded, so now we got three outliers now thanks for your input.

I'm not sure what posting an oven in a wagon has to do with anything though 😂

[Obioban]

I just thought the oven was funny.

[jet_dogg]

Why didn't you just pay to have it delivered bro?

I'm trying to enjoy my free time and run as little errands as humanly possible.

[Obioban]

Why didn't you just pay to have it delivered bro?

I'm trying to enjoy my free time and run as little errands as humanly possible.

$3000 cheaper this way. Seemed worth a little drive

[oceansize]

Well I appreciated that the oven is from Germany, nice touch.

[jet_dogg]

Yep, and vacuums, tools, knives.

[lastMleft]

Well my car wasn't stock and he agreed after having driver seat time in the m3 as well. Say what you will but compared to his near 400hp m5 mine was still better all around though it does share some of the same viscerality which I like and is lost in modern cars.

Well we are all different, but I see your enthusiasm for the e46 I like em too but I like the old school M5 better even the old ones like the e28 with a built suspension they are fun to drive not fast but fun....👍🏽