[LuckyBrand]

Hello all! Seems almost surreal that I have this car now as I've been without a sports car for a year and waited damn near 11 weeks for this baby to arrive. Now onto my review.

Other Cars I Looked At - I drove the Alfa Stelvio Quad and Guilia Quad. Great cars just big let down for me in cabin quality and offerings for the price. F80 M3. Really liked but was also a little let down from driving a F30 340 that it just didn't separate itself enough from it's lower siblings. Also the prices started surging on the used stuff and for a little more you could get into the latest stuff. Plus really wanted to be back in a manual and not much out there for a family in the category. Thus puts me where I'm at today.

The Looks - I only saw IOMG in pictures so I told the salesman not to send me any picture of the car before I arrived. I wanted to be stunned by the looks and I was. It was outside and sunny when I picked it up and I was floored by the color as well was my family that went with me. The car is incredible to look at and I have had so many thumbs up and lookers. I took it to a local car show already and there were people all over it. People love it!

Tires - I received the P Zeros. I wanted the Michelin's but it is what it is. The P's seam fine although I drove it in the rain and they didn't give me the greatest of confidence as it was on the highway and they just didn't feel the greatest in wet conditions. The tires are quite loud as well and on the highway it's not the quietest cabin. Radio had to be up louder just to drone out the noise. It's a sports sedan though and I wouldn't expect it any other way.

Interior - I ordered the standard seats in Kyalami Orange and once again it's stunning with the green combo. I have received many compliments on the interior as well. I have driven 910 miles so far in 9 days and had 2 decent highway trips at 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hour drives and the seats are extremely comfortable. My passengers all feel the same. It's a huge upgrade from the previous F generation in my opinion. Build quality is also very good. It's a great place to be.

Manual Transmission - I love being in a manual again. Yes it's a BMW manual with rubbery and notchy grabs but I don't care. I love it. I installed a BMW clutch stop and it helped. People keep asking me if I'm happy I got the manual and I always smile. Everyone is impressed that it is a manual as well. You just don't see them anymore.

Brakes - There fa nominal. I keep them in comfort and don't need anything more. Everyone that sees the brakes say holy crap those are huge.

Steering - I keep it in comfort as well and to me they have really done a better job with the feedback. Plenty there for me although the wheel is a bit thick. I wish it was a little slimmer as it would help with feedback as well.

Suspension - So far just keeping it in comfort as well and it really loads up nice in the corners and rides really good for what it is on the highway. I've gotten a lot of compliments on how civil it rides and then how it carves up the corners all in the same drive. Driving especially on the highway I feel like I'm doing 20 mph slower than what I'm really going. It really is dual purpose and I think they've done a great job here.

Exhaust - Obviously we all know it's not loud enough but welcome to our new modern age and a BMW exhaust. I love the way it looks with the quad pipes and I took both servos off to keep the flaps open today and it really does help with the burbles and sound. I think it's decent for stock but one really will need to modify for the best sound.

Performance - I keep it almost exclusively in sport plus with the exception of highway driving to maximize MPG which I was getting just over 25 MPG on the highway which I didn't think was to bad. I have been good and not taking it over 5500 rpm per break in but I can tell you this car has way enough power for everyday street use. I can't wait till I can really get into it. I don't think it feels all that good in comfort. Just doesn't feel like it has the guts but like I said sport plus I think its fine. The car really wants you to go. Driving it at legal speeds and going around corners it almost seams a bit bored. It's pretty refined and wants you to push it. It's a great mix.

Tech, Infotainment Etc - This has been a little bit of a learning curve for me and I've spent a fair amount of time learning and getting all my ducks in a row as far as setting up instrument cluster, heads up display and driving parameters like M1 and M2 buttons. This is quite a step up from my F30. Love heads up display as it's much bigger than my previous car but wish like many other that I could have the RPM in HUD along with the road cluster. It has way more than needed as far as screens and all for some stuff and it's a bit overkill in my opinion. I don't like the RPM and speed gauges in the road format but having the NAV in the center and some other stuff is nice. The graphics are clear and pronounced but it's a bit busy sometimes. I'm getting used to it and I like tech so all in all I like it and just like the rest of the interior it's a great place to be. Wireless charger works okay but gets warm and doesn't charge real fast. Ambient lighting is awesome and looks great at night. I will add the laser lights are pretty good. I know we don't get the full boat with these but I think they are very bright on high and super clear.

In the end I couldn't be happier and would do it all over again. It's a fantastic car that I can enjoy for years to come. It just checks so many boxes for a fast fun car that you can use anywhere and haul the family with. BMW did a great job with it. Does it have some short comings and faults? Sure. But doesn't everything? Before you judge this car by it's looks as I first did, do yourself a favor and at least drive one for an extended drive. It does a lot of things right and maybe it will put a smile on your face the way it did mine. If you have any questions or comments I can answer please let me know. I would love to discuss.

Thanks!

[Foggins]

Great write up and congrats on the amazing car!!

[bri1042]

Congrats! Glad to hear you're enjoying the car.

[Zirenz2006]

Congrats, looks incredible. Picking up my IOMG Friday.

[jimbethesda]

Looks great! What size wheels did you get? 18/19 or 19/20?

[amzbimmer]

Great review.

Do you think you would pay the $1k for Laser lights, as it is now a separate an option for MY 22. Is it that much better?

[LuckyBrand]

Originally Posted by jimbethesda

Looks great! What size wheels did you get? 18/19 or 19/20?

I have the 19/20

Originally Posted by amzbimmer

Great review.

Do you think you would pay the $1k for Laser lights, as it is now a separate an option for MY 22. Is it that much better?

I probably would but all I can go on is my previous BMW's which had LED's which I thought were great and our X5 which has the Xenon's which I also think are pretty good. I do think the lasers are much brighter on high than either of those and the blue part in the headlight is cool to look at lol. I know we don't get the full usage do to regulations but maybe they will eventually allow it and it could be updated via BMW service or over the air? I have heard that you can code the brightness up but I haven't done it. I know it's a $1,000 and every penny counts but they are an option that most look for and order and like I said they seem to me to be much brighter even though there not the full boat. The good thing is that you don't have to bundle anymore so if you don't want the executive package you can still get the lights and not have to spend $2800 to get em. Hope that helps!

[BimmerFix]

What a beauty. Enjoy in good health !

[amzbimmer]

Originally Posted by LuckyBrand

I probably would but all I can go on is my previous BMW's which had LED's which I thought were great and our X5 which has the Xenon's which I also think are pretty good. I do think the lasers are much brighter on high than either of those and the blue part in the headlight is cool to look at lol. I know we don't get the full usage do to regulations but maybe they will eventually allow it and it could be updated via BMW service or over the air? I have heard that you can code the brightness up but I haven't done it. I know it's a $1,000 and every penny counts but they are an option that most look for and order and like I said they seem to me to be much brighter even though there not the full boat. The good thing is that you don't have to bundle anymore so if you don't want the executive package you can still get the lights and not have to spend $2800 to get em. Hope that helps!

That helps a lot, I'm going to stick with getting the laser lights. Everytime I see that cool blue in the lights, I think to myself, I need that! That way I won't have any regrets.

[LuckyBrand]

Originally Posted by amzbimmer

That helps a lot, I'm going to stick with getting the laser lights. Everytime I see that cool blue in the lights, I think to myself, I need that! That way I won't have any regrets.

Just to help you a little more. A friend and I were at lunch today and he wanted to check out my car. He was amazed at the blue in the laser lights and that it actually said laser on them. He said it's like a damn Transformer lol. He was like wow those are cool, never seen anything like that.

[DRC]

I just picked up a 2024 M3 Competition XDrive. This is my seventh M3 (E36, E46, E90, E90 Comp, F80, F80 Comp). It seems much more refined than my F80 and more comfortable. Also, even in break-in mode, it clearly has more power. The ride seems much less harsh. I’m starting to get used to the screen-driven everything. I do miss having some buttons. However, I have to say that I am not liking the steering much at all. It seems over-assisted and I have the failure-to-center issue. Driving on the freeway isn’t much fun, with all the micro-correcting to keep the car in the lane. It don’t feel as secure and planted as my old car. I hope it improves with miles or I get used to it.

[cozye]

Originally Posted by DRC

I just picked up a 2024 M3 Competition XDrive. This is my seventh M3 (E36, E46, E90, E90 Comp, F80, F80 Comp). It seems much more refined than my F80 and more comfortable. Also, even in break-in mode, it clearly has more power. The ride seems much less harsh. I’m starting to get used to the screen-driven everything. I do miss having some buttons. However, I have to say that I am not liking the steering much at all. It seems over-assisted and I have the failure-to-center issue. Driving on the freeway isn’t much fun, with all the micro-correcting to keep the car in the lane. It don’t feel as secure and planted as my old car. I hope it improves with miles or I get used to it.

Sounds like an alignment issue. I’m sure a suspension shop can sort that if you tell them it’s not tracking well. I did get the M perf suspension upgrade on mine, so it’s lower, but it tracks just fine and I do not have any issues with micro steering.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by DRC

I just picked up a 2024 M3 Competition XDrive. This is my seventh M3 (E36, E46, E90, E90 Comp, F80, F80 Comp). It seems much more refined than my F80 and more comfortable. Also, even in break-in mode, it clearly has more power. The ride seems much less harsh. I’m starting to get used to the screen-driven everything. I do miss having some buttons. However, I have to say that I am not liking the steering much at all. It seems over-assisted and I have the failure-to-center issue. Driving on the freeway isn’t much fun, with all the micro-correcting to keep the car in the lane. It don’t feel as secure and planted as my old car. I hope it improves with miles or I get used to it.

get the CS coding done, it will solve the failure to center issue.