BMW M3 Competition review

The £81,195 asking price of the new M3 is broadly academic. Most people will be buying it through finance. So what’s it going to cost? Well, with BMW you’ll be paying at least £1,000 a month, but shop around with other providers and you will be able to save on that. But not much. Even since its launch only two years ago the M3 has increased in price by almost £7,000, with monthly repayments up around £100 a month and far fewer tempting low interest rate offers.

The car we’d be most tempted by is the 4WD-only Touring. Yes, it’s £5,400 more than the entry car, but that, in Frozen Portimao Blue, is a long-term keeper as far as TG is concerned. It’s hard to see anyone building a better fast estate. It will depreciate of course – so maybe think about shopping for second hand versions. Two year old cars have already dipped below £60k. The CS may be able to resist that as production is believed to run to no more than 2,000 units globally.

Running costs won’t be cheap of course, but BMW offers a comprehensive servicing package, and we’d expect you to average 25mpg in mixed driving. Just remember you don’t need to tax the engine hard in order to enjoy the chassis.