DRIVEN + VIDEO: The Italian Has Come Out To PLAY — Has The REAL BMW M3 Challenger FINALLY Shown Up?

"Is THIS the REAL BMW M3 competitor?"

No. In the mind of THIS poster, a car is much more than its "numbers". Having owned 4 BMWs in my life, and having kept one for 18 years (e.g., long-term ownership), I never bought a BMW because of how it might perform on a track at the hands of professional racer.

Anyone who wants to challenge BMW will have to do so at much more than just the numbers! That's why so many car manufacturers claim they've made, or intend to make, an M-killer or a 3-series-killer, yet BMW remains a class leader, and in the Top 2 luxury car brands.


FWIW, I no longer own or drive any BMWs, but I readily tip my hat to BMW because they make rather special cars. Good luck to Alfa in their challenge. Time will tell how successful they are in dethroning BMW.

Alfa has a bit of a checkered history since the 60s, excepting a few very limited exotica and the GTV 6. I hope this is the car to dethrone the M3. It seems like all the years BMW spent honing the details like throttle response, suspension tuning (compliance and rebound dampening in particular), steering feel, all the small ergonomic touches around the placement of the controls, the center stack controls canted towards the driver and on and on...were forgotten a few years back. They have been focusing on electronic doodads and lost sight of the basics. Now you can have numerous choices of steering, suspension, throttle response...but none of them feel quite right. BMW needs a good thumping to jolt them out of their electronic trance and Alfa Romeo may just be the car to do it, it looks pretty slick, the engine is very cool being derived from the Ferrari V8, hopefully the rest is as good or better,

Now all we need to do is hope that the Alfa is not in the shop when that M comes along.

Sorry - maybe in Italy the Alfa will have some success - because Alfa still has a reputation - even if it is old. However - there are not a lot of people in other countries who know much about Alfa - but they DO know about FIAT - and FIAT is well known for their unreliable cars. Even if the Alfa is a better car than the BMW - I don't believe it will sell in those numbers or even close. FCA has the worst reputation -and people buying PREMIUM cars are generally smart enough to know that too. For Example - the Maserati sells in relatively small number compared to Jaguar - which is ITS closest competition.

@TomM you really need to look up numbers before speaking. This is a false statement: "For Example - the Maserati sells in relatively small number compared to Jaguar"

Maserati MY2015 12K+ units
Jaguar MY2015 15K+ units

BOTH are in the toilet for sales.

My advice would be to lease it rather than buy it if this sharpens your pencil. I've not driven one, but the styling is what makes it a "no" for me. I find the face ugly, the tail Kia inspired, and the side pure 3 Series BMW one generation back. I think this will be another parking lot weight like the Maseratis are that get sold with 30% discounts.

The only potential downfall for this car is its reliability. But the same can be said for any BMW, Mercedes, or Audi and, in my personal experience, Lexus. I'd consider this car because it ISN'T "another" M car or AMG car roaming the streets.

I was oddly obsessed with the Alfa 159 at one point and this car takes that look up a few notches. The interior leaves a bit to be desired, but it's still better than most BMW interiors.

You guys are all nuts about reliability. Modern cars are all pretty damn reliable even compared to just 10 years ago. In my personal case I had a Honda Accord when I got married, biggest POS I ever owned, one thing after another on that car. On the other hand I had a 70 Z/28 as a teenager early 20s, drove the crap out of that car and no problems… had to adjust valves on a regular basis and replace rear tires but that was about it. I have had quite a few BMWs through the years all were excellent vehicles. I just spent 3 years in Europe (now kind of 1/2 1/2 and a number of friends over there own these "unreliable" cars, but strangely enough they all seem to be quite reliable. When we came back we were looking for a smaller SUV (had previous gen X5 diesel) that had a little more off road ability (previously owned a 1992 Jeep Cherokee… pretty good off road capability… oh and was also stone dead reliable other than an oil leak on the back of the valve cover that drove me crazy trying to find it) and the wife liked a white RR Evoque Dynamic. Has been a great little SUV so far with only the sunglasses holder in the roof console being replaced. I really think you should buy an iPhone or a new Samsung, get an OLED TV, watch electric cars go by… and join the 21st century! This is not the 80s, 90s or even the 2000s anymore. The differences in reliability are becoming super compressed. Now it is about dealer experiences, how the car fits your lifestyle and needs etc… sure look at reliability but it is less and less a factor IMnsHO.

The car has gotten very good reviews by most Euro publications. It certainly sounds better then the M3 by a long shot. Further test of the "cooking" models have also scored well. The only real complaint is that it's interior quality is not quite up to the level of Mercedes and Audi. Yet it is a better driver's car then the either the C class or A4 as well as the Jaguar XE. So overall this car is in the hunt and clearly class competitive. Now it get's down to reliability and dealer servicing. If FCA can get this right they have a winner. Looks are subjective. Personally I think it's better looking then the M3.