BMW M3 grabs third place at MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year 2022

Three pedals good? BMW’s G80 M3 offers old-school charm in a very modern way to claim the final podium step at MOTOR’s Performance car of the year 2022.

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How does a mechanical entity devoid of human emotion make us feel so deeply? By the end of PCOTY 2022, this is the kind of philosophical question the G80 BMW M3 has taxing the minds of some of our judges. In a field littered with automatic and dual-clutch gearboxes, the Bavarian stands resolutely as the only one wielding three pedals and a stick.

Yet, until day three of the event, the M3 light was hidden beneath a bushel, the mundane southward commute not bringing the best out of the Bavarian. Bernie Quinn, having driven the manual Bimmer from Melbourne to our country Victoria base was one of its harshest critics, moaning of a boomy cabin and lacklustre low-speed theatre. Given the history at play here, it’s a hard concept to fathom that the hero four-door hadn’t created much of a first impression.

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However, as is often the case at PCOTY, there’s a lightbulb moment where everything finally clicks. And in 2022, the realisation that the six-speed manual M3 is something to savour fell like a tonne of bricks. You just had to look at the beaming smiles and hear the string of shocked expletives from each judge as they exited the car after completing the road loop to know we were all starting to believe in the M3. Backflipping on his initial thoughts, Bernie confessed that the M3 had shown an “immense depth of talent”.

As a performance car for the road, there’s precious little to fault. To whit, the NVH levels could be better suppressed, the steering needs a final veneer of tactility and the six-speed manual’s shift action is a little rubbery. That’s about it.

The new 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six provides prodigious grunt that’s translated to the rear 285-section Pirelli P Zero tyres. The S58 is a powerhouse (353kW/550Nm) and provides not only top-end grunt, but a deep well of mid-range torque to tap into with the appropriately geared six-speed manual.

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There’s a slight irony in that you don’t have to row through the ratios on road, with third gear being the default. “At speed it all comes together,” says Affat. And I couldn’t agree more. On the road loop, the M3 impresses with its involving nature, with its well-placed pedals inviting sharp heel-and-toes.

The front end turns in crisply, after which you’re presented with choices on how the rear axle follows. Instances of yaw are generally controllable thanks to the limited-slip rear diff, but the fierce torque ramp of the S58 between 2250 and 3100rpm means that gearing up out of this zone makes for a more manageable transition from grip to slip. Beyond that, we all came away surprised with the added thread of predictability and nuance to the dynamic tapestry.

Then we arrived at Phillip Island. And boy did the M3 lay down an impressive lap time. We expected it to be quick, but not that quick, finishing third with a time of 1:45.04. To be within two seconds of the Huracán is a mighty achievement. The front end, with its industrial bracing and wide 275-section tyres, felt unflappable and the sound it made blasting down the front straight was intoxicating.

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However, just like on the road, don’t take too many liberties. You still need to be engaged in the process or it will bite, despite the fact the well-tuned M Dynamic Mode is there to help save the day. There are also 10 stages of traction control to work through as well as the M Drift Analyser to reward/shame your efforts.

Overall, the M3 remains a car that insidiously gets under your skin in ways that many of its counterparts simply can’t. The manual G80 is now in a class of one when it comes to the hi-po German sedans. And by the end of the PCOTY week, no one was talking about that grille.

Instead it was all about the muscular rear haunches and how the 19-inch alloys (18-inch at the front) fill the pumped guards. It oozes purpose and intent externally, and the cabin isn’t short of purpose and drama, either.

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For me, one question remained. Were we approaching this with rose-tinted glasses and praising it solely for being a manual, rather than actually deciphering whether it’s a good manual? In the final judges’ chat Andy, who loves sheer effectiveness, couldn’t help but wonder how an eight-speed ZF auto-equipped, all-wheel drive M3 Competition would have fared against the timing gear around Phillip Island.

Could it have levelled with the Lamborghini? Maybe that’s another discussion altogether. Cars in this field aren’t just here because they’re fast. They’re here because we love how they make us feel. And love the M3 manual we do.

It’s easy to wax lyrical about the days of analogue connection and be seen as a luddite when viewed against the shift to electric propulsion. Yet, when an exemplar of the old school is as exciting, as involving and as flat-out excellent as this manual BMW M3, it gives you pause to ponder. Of all the cars present at PCOTY, the M3 feels like the one we need to cherish the most because the moments created in it might not last forever.

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The judge’s comment

Alex Affat

“My initial thought was that this would be a better car with the auto. Oh, how wrong was I?”

Ranking: 4th

Andy Enright

“There are some great engines here at PCOTY, and the cheapest car has one of the very best”

Ranking: 2nd

Trent Giunco

“The most surprising thing? On road, the M3’s ride quality is good enough to almost cancel out the B3”

Ranking: 4th

Cameron Kirby

“With M Dynamic Mode on, you can take enormous liberties out of Honda and MG and you’ll feel heroic”

Ranking: 2nd

Bernie Quinn

“The platform is rock solid. The front end has seemingly endless grip. It refuses to understeer”

Ranking: 3rd

Luffy’s view

“On overall lap time, a paddle shift would have been a lot quicker. Not that there’s anything wrong with a 1:45.04”

The key figures