blunderbus
06-26-2009, 01:37 PM
The best car in the world? What a question and seemingly impossible to answer. Best for whom? Under what conditions? By whose standard? For what uses?
Before we can define the best car, we'd have to extensively test all the cars in the world, or at least all of the top competitors. In a way, that job has been undetaken by drivers far more competent and experienced than I. Since the latest generation BMW M3 arrived on the scene a year and a half ago, Car and Driver magazine has done 4 comparison tests, pitting the M3 against such superb cars as the Porsche 911 Turbo, Porsche 911 Carrera, Nissan GT-R, Meercedes C63 AMG, Audi RS4 and Lexus IS F. Formidable competition, indeed. Any of these cars would be a very welcome addition to one's stable.
The result: the BMW M3 tops them all. In fact, in the test against the Porsche 911 Carrera, both with automatic double clutch transmissions, Car and Driver proclaimed that this M3 "may even be the second best car in the world after the M3 manual." High praise indeed.
I had a BMW 335i (twin turbo, 300 horsepower) on order for European Delivery, but my wife, bless her heart, insisted that I get my dream car, the M3. The BMW M series are very special, indeed. I've ownmed 4 prior BMWs, all with stick shifts and 2 of the M versions, an e24 M6 and an e34 M5. Great cars. She knew that my heart was set on the M3 and so, with her encouragement, I changed my order to a M3 with M DCT automatic double clutch transmission and 414 horsepower. Just second best, you say. Well, something happened to make me think otherwise.
We were in the south of France, headed to our hotel on a white sand beach on the Riviera, between Cannes and nice. The M3 was loaded with 4 adults and so much luggage, 2 backpacks couldn't fit in the trunk and had to be crammed into the passenger compartment. We were tired after a long day of driving and at 11pm just wanted to get to our hotel as quickly as possible. The quirky GPS navigation system directed us to take exit 40, which would drop us off the far side of our Cannes. Not wanting to drive through Cannes, we got off at exit 42, closer to our hotel. The navigation didn't like this and thus directed us back on to the autoroute and to exit 44. Before we knew it, we were back on the on-ramp. We quickly moved one lane to the left, because we knew the on-ramp would soon end and found ourselves right next to a huge 18-wheeler. The BMW headlights on high would light up an entire countryside, but on low had a sharp cut-off about 50 feet in front of the car so we had limited visibility for our speed. While still puzzling over the navigation instructions, we suddenly realized that our lane was ending fast and the 18-wheeler was still along side us.
On track days, we brake hard coming into a corner, shift into the right gear and nail the throttle to speed out as quickly as we can. If we brake too early, hit the apex too soon or grab the wrong gear, we can always come around again and try to get it right the next time. In the real world, our situation is quite different. We had limited visibility. Were we going at 70, 80 or 90 miles per hour? Did our ride have a 5-, 6-, or 7-speed transmission? Should we downshift to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear? There's no time to even think. What should we do?
We just mashed the throttle to rocket ahead, steer to the left after passing the truck and live! The M DCT transmission selected the right gear automatically and the engine responded immediately and did not run out of breath in spite of the weight we were carrying. If instead we braked hard, we'd be in the barrier at the end of the lane. We could have braked hard and with the anti-lock barke pulsing, steer to the left after the truck passed us. But what if there were another truck right behind the first one? No, the only option was to do exactly what we did. The M3 did the rest.
The surprising thing is that I was not behind the wheel at the time; my wife Denise was. Up to that point, she had about 1 hour total driving time behind the wheel of the BMW, any BMW. She can't drive a stick and so hadn't driven any of my other BMWs. She reacted instinctively and in complete confidence in the car and the car came through for us. I would suggest that few drivers and even fewer cars could have come close to matching what my wife and car did.
The M3 M DCT inspires so much confidence that it makes anyone a better driver. Yes, it's that good. It literally saved our lives. Is it the best car in the world? I think you know how I'd answer that question.
Blunderbus
Before we can define the best car, we'd have to extensively test all the cars in the world, or at least all of the top competitors. In a way, that job has been undetaken by drivers far more competent and experienced than I. Since the latest generation BMW M3 arrived on the scene a year and a half ago, Car and Driver magazine has done 4 comparison tests, pitting the M3 against such superb cars as the Porsche 911 Turbo, Porsche 911 Carrera, Nissan GT-R, Meercedes C63 AMG, Audi RS4 and Lexus IS F. Formidable competition, indeed. Any of these cars would be a very welcome addition to one's stable.
The result: the BMW M3 tops them all. In fact, in the test against the Porsche 911 Carrera, both with automatic double clutch transmissions, Car and Driver proclaimed that this M3 "may even be the second best car in the world after the M3 manual." High praise indeed.
I had a BMW 335i (twin turbo, 300 horsepower) on order for European Delivery, but my wife, bless her heart, insisted that I get my dream car, the M3. The BMW M series are very special, indeed. I've ownmed 4 prior BMWs, all with stick shifts and 2 of the M versions, an e24 M6 and an e34 M5. Great cars. She knew that my heart was set on the M3 and so, with her encouragement, I changed my order to a M3 with M DCT automatic double clutch transmission and 414 horsepower. Just second best, you say. Well, something happened to make me think otherwise.
We were in the south of France, headed to our hotel on a white sand beach on the Riviera, between Cannes and nice. The M3 was loaded with 4 adults and so much luggage, 2 backpacks couldn't fit in the trunk and had to be crammed into the passenger compartment. We were tired after a long day of driving and at 11pm just wanted to get to our hotel as quickly as possible. The quirky GPS navigation system directed us to take exit 40, which would drop us off the far side of our Cannes. Not wanting to drive through Cannes, we got off at exit 42, closer to our hotel. The navigation didn't like this and thus directed us back on to the autoroute and to exit 44. Before we knew it, we were back on the on-ramp. We quickly moved one lane to the left, because we knew the on-ramp would soon end and found ourselves right next to a huge 18-wheeler. The BMW headlights on high would light up an entire countryside, but on low had a sharp cut-off about 50 feet in front of the car so we had limited visibility for our speed. While still puzzling over the navigation instructions, we suddenly realized that our lane was ending fast and the 18-wheeler was still along side us.
On track days, we brake hard coming into a corner, shift into the right gear and nail the throttle to speed out as quickly as we can. If we brake too early, hit the apex too soon or grab the wrong gear, we can always come around again and try to get it right the next time. In the real world, our situation is quite different. We had limited visibility. Were we going at 70, 80 or 90 miles per hour? Did our ride have a 5-, 6-, or 7-speed transmission? Should we downshift to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear? There's no time to even think. What should we do?
We just mashed the throttle to rocket ahead, steer to the left after passing the truck and live! The M DCT transmission selected the right gear automatically and the engine responded immediately and did not run out of breath in spite of the weight we were carrying. If instead we braked hard, we'd be in the barrier at the end of the lane. We could have braked hard and with the anti-lock barke pulsing, steer to the left after the truck passed us. But what if there were another truck right behind the first one? No, the only option was to do exactly what we did. The M3 did the rest.
The surprising thing is that I was not behind the wheel at the time; my wife Denise was. Up to that point, she had about 1 hour total driving time behind the wheel of the BMW, any BMW. She can't drive a stick and so hadn't driven any of my other BMWs. She reacted instinctively and in complete confidence in the car and the car came through for us. I would suggest that few drivers and even fewer cars could have come close to matching what my wife and car did.
The M3 M DCT inspires so much confidence that it makes anyone a better driver. Yes, it's that good. It literally saved our lives. Is it the best car in the world? I think you know how I'd answer that question.
Blunderbus
