Drove a friend's E46 M3 converible with SMG yesterday

[torbach1]

A co-worker friend of mine bought a 2nd hand E46 M3 convertible with SMG, and he let me take it out for a spin yesterday. I had read a lot of negative press about the SMG being jerky, etc., but I must say that it is fairly adjustable in terms of smoothness and speed of shifts, and it can be driven more than smoothly enough.

Overall, this car feels a little quicker than the '07 G35X, but not as much as I expected. It has fantastic road holding and great steering, but it is fairly hard on bumps. Best thing about the M3 is the sound of that engine. You feel like you're in a race car when you rev that thing to 6500 or so. Anyway, I still prefer the G35 as a daily driver, but I'd love to have an M3 for Sunday afternoon drives. Anyone care to give me $40k or so that they don't need?

[zozoka1212]

Anyone care to give me $40k or so that they don't need?

suuurreeee

zozoka

[SVTCOBRA]

I've driven several M3's. The most current one that I drove was jerky and hard to drive----maybe an 05 ??

My secret decoder ring is in the shop, so what is an E46 ??

[torbach1]

:-) - E46 is the designation for the 1999 to 2005 BMW 3 series. My friend's one is a 2004. I drove a 2001 back in 2001 when the M3 just came out and sold it a few months later. It was a stick shift, and while it was incredibly quick, it was too hard on my back on DC roads full of potholes. I also found the steering to be too light. My friend's one had better steering, so I think they improved on that part. It is jerky though unless you change the SMG settings to 'softer'. There is a dial next to the gearbox that lets you select how quick (and jerky) you want the shifts to be. Also, if you lift off the gas when you shift, just like you would in a stick shift, it shifts a lot more smoothly.

CheersTamir

[SVTCOBRA]

Thanks!!!I do like the M3's.

[infinititech1]

well i have a 02 3 series convertible...but its not an m3 and i love it