AMS Magazine: Another Comparison, Another Victory - M3 vs. RS5, C63, B3

The German car magazine Auto Motor und Sport featured an interesting comparison test in their latest issue. Following the current trend, they pitted the E92 M3 equipped with Competition Package (ZCP) and DCT against the Audi RS5. But it doesn't stop there, and they also included the Mercedes C63 with the Performance Package Plus and the Alpina B3 S in this comparison.

As many know already, the M3's on a roll lately coming out of every comparison with the Audi RS5 on top. Fortunately, this series doesn't stop now, and the M3 won this comparison against its three contenders. Remarkable is also the AMS verdict which not only emphasizes the M3's performance, but also its driving comfort.



(Cars) BMW E92 M3,Audi RS5, Mercedes C63 AMG, Alpina B3 S
(0-100 kph) 4.5 s, 4.7s, 4.5 s, 4.8 s
(0-200 kph) 16.1 s, 16.9 s, 14.7 s, 16.6 s
(Hockenheim) 1:14.0 min, 1:15.4 min, 1:15.6 min, 1:16.5 min
(18m slalom) 69.9 kph, 66.9 kph, 63.7 kph, 65.3 kph
(Lange change (entry/exit speed)) 75/63 kph 76/54 kph 73/48 kph 72/69 kph
(Braking Distance (100 kph) 35.3 m / 34.1 m 35.5 m / 35.3 m 36.4 m / 36.1 m 35.6 m / 37.7 m
Fuel Consumption (liters per 100km) 15.6 l 14.2 l 15.8 l 13.1 l
(Curb) Weight 1617 kg 1785 kg 1742 kg 1598 kg
.
RANKING 1st 3rd 4th 2nd
. BMW, Audi,Mercedes,Alpina
Chassis 70 64 73 69
Safety 81 82 79 78
Driving comfort 88 88 79 78
Drivetrain 71 69 68 71
Performance 87 85 73 75
Total points (without costs and environment) 397 388 372 376
Environment (fuel, emission, CO2, weight) 18 20 17 24
Costs 75 72 71 87
Total Points 490 480 460 487

Read Article

America - 8/18/2010 8:30:18 PM

+3 Boost

Brilliant commentary.

Interesting how the BMW M3 and BMW Alpina B3 both beat the Audi and MB.

S1000RRman - 8/18/2010 5:01:10 PM

+5 Boost

M3 in first with the Alpina B3 in second :D Perfect :D

mmeecc - 8/18/2010 5:14:02 PM

+1 Boost

Less than 1% of people actually take these cars to the track. In normal everyday life, it's all about street cred and drag times. So I'll take the 451 ponies and 443 ft/lb torque please thank you...

America - 8/18/2010 8:33:17 PM

+3 Boost

"street cred and drag times" I love it. Hilarious!

BTW please give the reference for the statistic you offered up: "Less than 1% of people actually take these cars to the track."

Neverfollow - 8/18/2010 5:48:35 PM

-4 Boost

I'll concede that the M3 is a great car and still the best performing car in the catagory. Yeah, I said it! It's the one car that BMW seems to remain focused enough to engineer correctly to a point. In a sense, it's BMW's halo car. It's also the one car they built their reputation on and continue to. Does it work as a daily driver? Depends on how much you are prepared to pay. You can now drive a Ferrari every day if you really want to but can you afford to? Heck, you can drive a Bug Veyron for that matter. There comes a point when we must realize that very few of us live on a race track. Very few of us have winding twisting ribbons of asphault meanering through tempting mountain or canyon passes taking us to and from our places of work. Most of us sit in bumper to bumper traffic grinding away those expensive runflats in stop and go traffic. Do we sit there thinking about whether or not the unsprung weight of the Audi next to us is better or worse? Do we really care about how much weight our cars are spreading across either axle? I can't recall a single time where I wondered if the asshole in the M3 next to me had the balls to order the ZCP package or not. He/she probably only cared that it had Bluetooth and a place to plug his iPod into. He/she was probably 2000 miles late taking it in for it's FREE 15K service too.

racerf109 - 8/18/2010 6:07:45 PM

+4 Boost

The M3 got the same score as the RS5 for driver comfort. So they must be equally comfortable. But the M3 is also the ultimate four seat sports car. 3mph faster in the slalom, and 1.5sec faster around the hockenheim.

M53R - 8/18/2010 6:12:51 PM

+4 Boost

Thats the thing about the M3. Not only is it the best performing car overall, it was also one of the best when it came to comfort, and daily driving. Thats why it never lost.

KoenG - 8/18/2010 6:58:51 PM

-5 Boost

Neverfollow, fantastic summary of the reality!

I travel +40k miles a year but the stretches of road that would justify an M3 would contribute -1k miles to this amount. When I would buy an M3, it would tripple the costs (for me and the environment). I also wonder how these magazines consider the daily user and ownership experience?

S1000RRman - 8/18/2010 7:23:28 PM

+6 Boost

So what you are saying Neverfollow is that every car in this class is pointless?

JUGNU - 8/18/2010 7:50:32 PM

+6 Boost

BMW M3 is a great car and almost all magazines agree that it is still the benchmark in it's class. But i hope to see a mega comparison test with IS-F and CTS-V also included with these cars.
When IS-F came out new in 2008, EVO Magazine did a comparison test with BMW M3 and both cars got equal five out of five stars. Now the IS-F has been refreshed for 2010 with LSD and other improvements so waiting for some magazine to pit it against M3 especially EVO.

JUGNU

JustaCar - 8/18/2010 8:50:44 PM

-10 Boost

Another test that proves the M3 to be a better track car. Now on to the real world:
- Most people that buy these cars never take them to the track.
- Daily driving does include wet, sometimes snowy or icy roads. A far cry from the perfect test conditions on a dry track.
- Most people who are considering buying an RS5 are not going to change their minds because if this or other tests. There is more to a car than it's raw specs.
- The looks of the M3 with the hood bulge etc. do not necessarily appeal to every person looking for a high dollar, high performance German coupe. It looks somewhat juvenile compared to the RS5.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 8/19/2010 6:07:06 PM

-3 Boost

My thoughts exactly.

rxh8me9000 - 8/18/2010 8:59:05 PM

+2 Boost

I drive the M3 and C63 daily and I would take the C63 any day of the week. You will NEVER get to push these cars to the limit on the street.Even so,the C63 is 3.6 seconds faster from 0-150 mph,has a nicer interior,sharper crisper steering and smoother ride. Not bashing the M3 at all as I love driving it as well.It makes me just want to drive hard whereas the C63 is more tame at normal driving.

tattedtwice - 8/19/2010 4:20:20 AM

+5 Boost

So if you "drive both daily" but would rather drive the c63 monstrosity "any day of the week" then just park the M3, stupid.

That opening statement raises eyebrows, but claiming "crisper steering" and "nicer interior" is not only laughable but blows any credibility you MIGHT have had. Sorry, but you really sound both like a silly little fanboy and also full of s__t.

quizz - 8/18/2010 10:01:45 PM

-7 Boost

The difference between the RS5 and M3 are only noticeable when pushed to over 90% of its limit. Let's see, that means when we commute in every day traffic, we will NOT notice that 0.2 second differential at any point in our drive, will we? In all the above tests, the two things most noticeable as an every day car are: 1. comfort 2. fuel consumption. Everything else is for the track and bragging rights.

All 3 cars are indistinguishable if you were a passenger blindfolded as the cars are driven through city/highway at between 30MPH and 70MPH. I think to choose a car purely based on these test numbers is a to overstate the importance of these numbers. You really can't lose with any of them, but I'd choose based on the following characteristics, in order of preference:
1. Design
2. Durability
3. Comfort
4. Fuel efficiency
4. The above numbers
2.
2.

bmwcs - 8/19/2010 1:07:45 AM

+6 Boost

I don't think you or justacar understand what this segment is about. If you like the Audi fine, but its not the best car here.

In the Motor Trend review the M3 won b/c it was the best all around car, not because of performance.

dayday - 8/19/2010 3:19:52 AM

+5 Boost

I think everyone should just know that, Usually when BMW wins, it's because of it's performance and handling and you always have compromise the ride comfort.
But not the M3, It wins because it does everything well. identical performance numbers to AMG, as comfortable as RS5, better handling than every other car here.
PS: I actually have a friend who owns a 335i wants to upgrade to a M3, not because of the performance but it's much better comfort.

S1000RRman - 8/19/2010 4:02:46 AM

+6 Boost

I'm just laughing at the Audi fans now...

Though I know good reviews don't make it the best car for an individual.. it's funny to see all the Audi fanbois scrambling to explain why it doesnt actually matter how good the RS5 is.... C'MON people it's probably Audi's second most driver focused car after the R8!!! Seem like Audi fans from now on are going to discount driving dynamics from any comparo as thats were BMW keep beating them..


... and by the way, the Alpina is far more composed, discreet and comfortable than the M3... and still beat the RS5... fine you don't want something as "Juvenile" as the M3, go for the B3!...

tattedtwice - 8/19/2010 4:26:34 AM

+6 Boost

Dear audi...

Have you had enough yet, or would you care to keep embarrassing yourself by handing over the rs to be compared against the M3? Just give it up already before you look any more foolish, and your little overweight pretend sports coupe gets owned any more.

And in the future, let this be a lesson before you take out ads poking fun because you got lucky and took first place in a few magazine comparisons. As you see, you got a cocky, and look what happened; you still have a LOT of work to do before you can create something that's truly competitive.

Your friend,
Tatted

JustaCar - 8/19/2010 9:27:25 AM

-5 Boost

"Audi has a LOT of work to do before they can create something that's truly competitive"? Listening to you one would think the RS5 was a distant last in this comparison. It's a good thing the M3 has taken first place in these comparison tests otherwise you BMW fans and Audi haters would have little to boast about, given that several other Audi models have won recent comparison tests against their BWM counterparts. Audi cars are every bit as competitive as BMWs whether you want to accept that fact or not.

mclaren428 - 8/19/2010 11:47:36 AM

+6 Boost

"It's a good thing the M3 has taken first place in these comparison tests otherwise you BMW fans and Audi haters would have little to boast about"

BMW has plenty to boast about. #1 premium automaker, Most award winning engines, their vehicles are the benchmark in a number of classes, constantly winning awards for quality, safety, design, manufacturing processes, ect.. the new 7 is selling like crazy, they invested alot in project i (while Audi and MB were developing super cars) which will give bmw a huge head start in the premium electric vehicles segment....I mean your statement is absurdly false.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 8/19/2010 6:13:15 PM

-2 Boost

The day i will begin to take these tests seriously is they day they do the track tests in the Winter or on a very wet day.

Not all of us live in Arizona or Texas where it is guaranteed to be hot and dry.

So these tests tell us the BMW is best for places like Arizona and Texas, now do a test for London, Zurich, Berlin, Moscow, Toronto type driving surface conditions and post up the Results.

bmwm6 - 8/19/2010 7:44:10 PM

+7 Boost

The M3 can drive in all of toughs places, all the same conditions the rs5 can, and driving really fast in bad weather isn't the brightest thing. If you want Awd get Awd, but the M3 is the better all around car.

NannerPus - 8/27/2010 5:13:15 AM

+1 Boost

BMW is headquartered in Munich, Germany which is snowy in the winter and surrounded by mountains. I grew up in the snow and can say with the authority of much first hand experience that BMWs are great in the snow and rain. All of that extra weight hanging off the front end of all those audis inhibits slippery weather steering and braking. Awd ONLY helps in accelerating on slippery surfaces. They are front wheel drive cars from mass production company. They put wad on them as necessary when they add power, but the truth remains that they are front heavy pigs because they are front wheel drive cars.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 8/19/2010 6:16:39 PM

-2 Boost

Example:

http://fwd.five.tv/fifth-gear/videos/shoot-outs/shoot-out-mercedes-e63-amg-vs-audi-rs6

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 8/19/2010 7:33:32 PM

-1 Boost

Hey
Why debate when you can just De-Boost ?

Cowards.

JustaCar - 8/19/2010 9:07:43 PM

-2 Boost

That's what fan boys do when they have nothing intelligent to say. Look at any post on Autospies that says anything positive about Audi or in defense of Audi, and the deboosting is literally out of control.

bmwm6 - 8/19/2010 10:24:16 PM

+3 Boost

There is nothing to be said, the M3 has come out on top in every comparison to the RS5. The Audi fanboys are floundering for excuses, or justifications. The M3's results speak for them self.

BMW4me4ever - 8/20/2010 10:38:49 AM

+3 Boost

what is Audi 0 for 4 vs the M3? lol. I am not expecting Audi to come out with any ridiculous 2nd place ads for BMW at the moment. BMW should come out and use a broom sweeping the RS5 off the floor. " Look at that, a clean sweep."

I, also love that when the RS5 was in production that every Audi fan came on here to boast how it was going to destroy the M3. Now they are all reeling trying to justify how it is not a drivers car and just a grand tourer. lmao ....