2002 BMW M3 Coupe, Convertible - Review / Road Test

The M3 Coupe is considered a five-seater, but don't count on it. There's a reasonable amount of room in the rear, but the middle guy needs to be a midget to have any chance at comfort, as the transmission tunnel rises nearly to the height of the seat. The rear windows in the Coupe, our test car, are power operated, but it's almost an affectation, because they only open by flaring out a few inches at the back, as if to let stale air out, not fresh air in. Practically speaking, passenger-wise, the M3 Coupe fits between a two-plus-two sports car and a sports sedan. Of course, because it performs like a Porsche or Corvette, its seating might fairly be compared to either, in which case it offers much more. (Pressing a switch in the Convertible lowers or raises all four windows at the same time, handy on hot days or when raising or lowering the top.)
The coupe also offers a nice trunk, which is pre-wired for a garage door opener, CD player, security system and cell phone, all of which are BMW features installed by your dealer. What's more, one-third of the rear seat folds forward to gain trunk access, enabling the carrying of long things such as skis or, in our case, a two-piece windsurfing mast. (The convertible offers little in the way of trunk space.)

Rearward visibility is not very good, thanks to the sloping roofline (which may be worth it because the aerodynamics are so good), and the small, oval-shaped, rearview mirror that appears to be taken from a '40 Ford. Given the fact that M3 drivers will be checking their mirrors a lot, this is a curious place to add a touch of retro style, if that's the intent.

There's a terrific dead pedal, which will be used a whole lot because of the car's cornering capability. And the lateral support in the seats is ample, although our torso still shifted during hard cornering because the back of the seat was so wide-odd, since we found the BMW Z3's seats too narrow at the back. Makes us wonder if seat width is a direct function of car width; or maybe BMW has information indicating that M3 buyers are fatter than Z3 buyers. Speaking of fat, the three-spoke steering wheel contains buttons for cruise control, the audio system and factory-installed phone, which makes it bulkier and less racy than the Audi TT steering wheel, for sure. The instrument panel is clean, with the interior trim in 2002 being changed for the better from Black High Gloss to Titanium Shadow. Also in 2002, there are new headrests to improve safety, and a new automatic climate control system.
The gauges are simple white-on-black; there's a 180-mph speedometer and 9000-rpm tachometer with a glowing red zone that lowers when the engine is cold. There are water temperature and fuel gauges, of course, but surprisingly no oil pressure gauge. The flat switchgear buttons are nice, including for the radio, which is nonetheless complicated enough to require its own manual (taking up much of the small glovebox).

The slim console doesn't hold much, but there are pockets in the doors, and two cupholders between the front seats, although the console compartment has to be raised to use the rear cupholder. We might comment more on such things, which might be considered shortcomings in a five-seat passenger car; except we'll assume that with M3 buyers, console space is not a priority. What matters is performance.

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But before we get to driving impressions, we have two observations in that area where ergonomics meet performance. The gas pedal is so close to the gearbox tunnel that our right ankle rubbed on the tunnel when we blipped the throttle during downshifts. And the gearshift knob had an impractical shape, sort of like the head of a golfer's wood, which precluded a good solid grip. These two things flawed the ergonomics of downshifting.