CAR and Driver - March 2017

40. COMPARO. CAR AND DRIVER. MAR/2017

they are in a $78,930 sedan. Note to Cadil-
lac: Pick an interior designer who loves
watches and you might get better gauges.
It’s also harder to see out of the ATS-V
than the other cars. Small rear windows and
a high tail might look good to some, but the
drawbacks are obvious when you’re trying
to determine if that’s a soccer mom or a
California Highway Patrol Explorer coming
up on your six. There’s less space inside the
Cadillac, too. The rear seats are tight
enough to trigger a claustrophobic episode.
In a game of inches, every fraction counts.

3. BMW M3
   The last time around, the M3 eked out a
   slight two-point victory over a C63, but now
   it’s swapped its gold medal for a bronze. The
   C63 hasn’t changed—so what happened?
   This would be a good time for the Competi-
   tion package’s performance review.
   Even on the base 18-inch wheels, a reg-
   ular M3 is firm. In our last go-round, the M3
   had optional 19 -inch wheels, shrinking the
   sidewalls and hardening the blows to the
   suspension. Adding the Competition pack-
   age’s 20 -inch wheels with hockey-puck
   sidewalls, stiffer springs and dampers, and
   thicker anti-roll bars degrades the ride even
   further, increases road noise, and effec-
   tively removes the veneer of refinement
   that makes an M3 tolerable on a daily basis.
   Part of the M3’s appeal is its ability to fill
   every need, from track-day toy to romantic-
   dinner shuttle. The Competition package
   removes civility, and it even rejiggers the
   electronic modes, which means that com-
   fort mode isn’t very comfortable anymore.
   After a stint in the M3, every driver stepped
   out and commented on the noise. At 70
   mph there are 70 decibels of tire and engine
   racket, the loudest in the group.
   Adding the Competition package does
   make this the best-steering M3 of its generation. The forces
   through the thick-rimmed wheel build naturally in every mode—
   we liked the lighter efforts of comfort mode the most—and the
   0.98 g of skidpad grip improves upon the last M3’s 0.97. Through
   the slalom, the nimble and reactive M3 tied the Giulia for the
   fastest speed. The M division exorcised every bit of flab from the
   chassis; it’s good for track use but annoying in the real world. This
   is an overstimulated M3, meaning jumpy, amped-up, and even-

tually tiresome. W here’s the “Settle Down” button?

There’s no faulting the engine’s power, even if we wish BMW

would get rid of the silly sound amplification that booms at up to

88 decibels at full throttle. The engine revs hard and fast to 7000

rpm. Throttle response is nearly instantaneous, and there are few

signs that this is a turbocharged inline-six. Equipping the M3 with

the $2900 dual-clutch seven-speed auto brings launch control.

Unfortunately, BMW’s launch control doesn’t get the M3 off the

2017 BMW M3 The best-steering M3, spacious and practical.

Loud, rough, and a bit spastic. Always a contender, but the M3’s

Competition package moves it too far away from civilization.

The M3 is the loudest, most hard-core of the bunch. Yet it also has this group’s most spacious interior, the best outward visibility, and the greatest fuel efficiency.