Key considerations
- Available for £52,000
- 3.0-litre straight-six petrol twin-turbo, rear- or all-wheel drive
- Bigger and heavier than the last one, but then so was the performance
- Torque converter auto only but it didn’t really matter
- Fine quality, not many problems
- A different, softer-edged M3; not a criticism
Today we’re looking at the G80 BMW M3 Competition saloon which went on sale in the UK in the first half of 2021 at a recommended retail price of £75,660. For £1,330 on top of that you could have it with two fewer doors in the G82 coupe version, launched at the same time as the saloon but built at Dingolfing rather than Munich. There was a G81 M3 Comp Touring too, which was the first M3 estate, but here we’ll be sticking with the four-door. Most of what follows will apply to all models.
Power for the G80 M3 Comp came from the S58 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six that had made its debut three years earlier in the first performance X3s, the X3 M and X3 M Competition. The S58’s 3.0-litre capacity and non-vee layout took many M3 followers right back to the 1992 E36. The S50 3.0 straight-six in that car made a little over 280hp and 236lb ft, big numbers back then and enough with a five-speed manual gearbox to take the 1,460kg E36 M3 through the 0-62mph in 6.0 seconds.
The equivalent rear-wheel drive G80 M3 Comp was 23 per cent heavier than the E36 M3, but thanks to the huge power advances made – largely by turbocharging – over the intervening three decades, the G80 Comp was nearly 80 per cent more powerful than the E36. Throw in a smooth automatic gearbox that could change gears far faster than any manual and the predictable but still impressive result was over two seconds slashed off the E36’s 0-62mph time.
What M3 fans were looking for of course when the G80 was announced was a demonstrable performance hike over the previous model, the 2014-on F80 which also ran a 3.0-litre twin-turbo six. BMW had no problem meeting their expectations. the G80’s 510hp S58 representing a 20 per cent lift over the F80’s 431hp S55. That chopped about half a second off the 0-62 time, which at the four-second end of the table was arguably even more impressive than the two-second gain over the E36.
Sorry about the avalanche of factory codes and numbers. Power figures of over 500hp have become almost humdrum these days but it would be wrong to downplay the achievement of 3-second 0-62mph times in a four-door family saloon.
Those first M3 Competitions of 2021 were rear-wheel drive but in the summer of that same year, the xDrive versions appeared, adding another milestone to the M3 story in the form of the first non-RWD M3s. The AWD car’s power and torque figures were unchanged but the efficiency was slightly improved (0.5mpg better on the combined cycle). Despite carrying an extra 50kg, the xDrive highlighted the advantages of all-wheel traction by bringing the 0-62mph time down appreciably from 3.9 seconds to 3.5 seconds.
Options for the Competition were bundled up into packs like M Carbon, M Driver, M Professional, along with Comfort, Visibility and Technology Plus if you felt there wasn’t enough comfort, visibility or technology in the basic vehicle. Top speed was limited to 155mph but the £2,095 M Driver’s pack lifted that to 180mph and put you on a list for an Advanced M Driver’s course. The M Pro Pack added carbon ceramic brakes to the above but that hoisted the bill to a fiver short of £8k. Throwing most of these packs together resulted in the Ultimate pack. The £11,250 it cost seemed high until you realised that the Carbon pack on its own was £6,750. More on that in the Interior section a bit later on.
Although the straight 480hp G80 M3 could be had with a manual gearbox, it couldn’t in the UK, where it was the ZF 8HP torque converter auto or nothing. Not too much of a hardship there as it was an excellent box. So the G80 Comp was big. It was heavy. It had an automatic gearbox and a divisive new front-end look. But it was also, by common consent, a wonderful car. Even if you never ventured into the higher reaches of the tachometer it was blindingly fast, and the high-grip, low-roll chassis was talented enough for even the most demanding driver.
The harder-accelerating xDrives outnumber the RWD cars by a factor of around four to one on the UK used market, but in terms of pricing and affordability there’s nothing much between them. The cheapest RWD on sale in the UK at the time of writing (April 2024) was this 31,000-miler in white at £52,490, with plenty of choice around that price point making it possible for you to get a lower mileage or a more fruity-looking car for a small additional amount of cash (£1,000 or less). The cheapest xDrive on the UK market was a 34,000-miler in what looked like Brooklyn Grey at £52,875. Again there are plenty of lower-mileage xDrive alternatives around from under £54k. We’ll link you to a few cars at the end of this story, but first let’s look at what made the G80 M3 Competition so special.
SPECIFICATION | BMW M3 Competition G80 (2021-on)
Engine: 2,993cc 24v straight six twin-turbocharged petrol
Transmission: 8-speed Steptronic auto, rear- or all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 510@6,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@2,700-5,500rpm
0-62mph (secs): 3.9 (3.5)
Top speed (mph): 155 (limited)
Weight (kg): 1,805 (1,855)
MPG (official combined): 27.7 (28.2)
CO2 (g/km, NEDC): 234 (232)
Wheels (in): 9.5 x 19 (f), 10.5 x 20 (r)
Tyres: 275/35 and 285/30 on xDrive)
On sale: 2020 - now
Price new: £75,660
Price now: from £52,000
Data figures in brackets are for xDrive
Note for reference: car weight and power data is hard to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the same source for all our guides. We hope the data we use is right more often than it’s wrong. Our advice is to treat it as relative rather than definitive.
ENGINE & GEARBOX
The G80 M3’s S58 engine was pretty much bespoke to the car. It had a shorter stroke, bigger bores, and many new internal parts like bigger valves and pistons, rods and cranks that were all forged from aluminium. The crank pins were specially ground to ease the strain on the bearings and to build in more headroom for future tuning.
These changes plus new intakes, new exhausts, new monoscroll turbochargers, new cooling systems and software updates to both engine and ZF gearbox raised the M3 Comp’s game to giddy heights of power, refinement and engagement. Anyone expecting dull responses ‘because turbo’ would be pleasantly surprised. This motor answered your calls promptly and with serious intent. The handover from big torque to big horsepower was seamless and thrilling. Peak torque came in from 2,750rpm so it was perfectly potterable, and the rate at which speed gathered didn’t really feel like it was adversely affected by short-shifting. Combined with a fine chassis the mechanicals made it madly quick across the ground, irrespective of whether your Comp had xDrive or not.
An enhanced M-specific control-operation system included M Drive Pro, developed specifically for track driving. The engine’s two-chamber sump allowed the map-controlled oil pump to draw additional oil from the smaller of the two chambers when it was needed, eg when hooning hard. The sound of the exhaust varied not only according to whether you’d chosen the Sport or Sport+ mode, but also to when you pressed the M Sound Control button on the centre console. Regs and filters made the exhaust note relatively quiet for bystanders but it sounded OK on the inside. There was speaker augmentation if you wanted it, and if that wasn’t enough you could delete one or both of the resonators to get some popping on the overrun (one off) or proper cannon fire (two off).
A service info bulletin was put out in October 2021 telling dealers not to deliver cars to customers until concerns about the engine’s main bearing shells had been resolved, poor lubrication being caused by abnormalities in the surface coating.
BMW began phasing out its seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions – even in M division cars – in 2018 with the F90 M5, on the grounds that the eight-speed ZF 8HP Steptronic was as fast as the DCT. It also had an extra gear which allowed for closer ratios between gears, and it delivered better fuel economy. On a more practical level, the Steptronic could be used in all-wheel drive applications whereas the DCT only worked with rear-drivers, so it was Hobson’s choice really but a good one, especially as the DCT on the F80 wasn’t exactly problem-free. Manual boxes were only available on non-Comp M3s, and even then only with a 73lb ft detune to stop them blowing up under the pressure.
Both two- and all-wheel drive versions of the M3 Comp would return the official mpg figures of 27-28mph without too much bother. You’d get over 30mpg with a light foot and approaching single-figure mpgs at the track. Road tax in 2024 is £600 a year. Dealer servicing costs on launch (2021) could be on a pay monthly basis at £45 a month for 36 months, or paying separately, when the cost would be around £350 for the running-in service and £275 for the first service. An engine oil service was £175, or £275 with the microfilter. Do the air filter and spark plugs as well and you were up to £600.
CHASSIS
The suspension surrounding the adaptive damper units was mainly made out of forged aluminium. Camber and toe-in settings were racey, but the rates for the springs and dampers were well-matched to the newly stiffened body. Even on bumpy roads the new M3 Comp felt planted in a way that seemed alien to owners of earlier M3s that had demanded quite a lot more caution on corner exits. Obviously the xDrive versions only added to that overarching sense of peerless security. Grip was immense. The steering effort was lighter than that of previous M3s. For most, it wasn’t too light, although some did wish for more damping in the wheel’s action.
There was a new wheel-slip limitation function for better throttle control on dodgy surfaces, the M Drive Professional package allowing drivers to set intervention threshholds for that. An M Dynamic mode button on the centre console gave you a bit more slip for drifting, while M Drive Pro’s M Drift Analyser recorded your goofy lines. As mentioned earlier there was also an all-aids-off DSC Off button.
In xDrive M3 Comps, the power was distributed between the front and rear wheels via the transfer case’s electronically controlled multi-plate clutch, to be split again between the two rear wheels by the Active M Differential. Power transmission in the default 4WD setting was rear-biased in traditional BMW style and even more rear-ish in 4WD Sport mode, for better track performance. You could deactivate DSC to make your M3 entirely rear-wheel drive with no driver interventions. With the xDrive’s extra 50kg to carry you’d be ending up with a slightly slower RWD M3 Comp but it would still be a damn quick car and it was nice to know you had that option.
As in previous M3s, you could set up the G80 M3 Comp’s engine, chassis and steering independently of each other. Although electromagnetic valves constantly adjusted the damping rates in the standard adaptive M suspension you still had three overall damper settings to choose from, namely Comfort, Sport and Sport+. Two permanently storeable individual M Setups allowed you to bundle up your preferred settings for stability control, auto start-stop, trans shift characteristics and engine noise. Some reviewers (like our own Matt B) thought the ride was too firm on British roads in any mode other than Comfort. Braking was by 380mm/370mm iron discs with six-piston M-logoed calipers at the front, this time with black or red paint options as well as the usual M blue. In reality you could have any exterior body colour you liked from the Individual Paints palette.
The M Pro pack’s M Carbon ceramic brakes had 400mm discs at the front and 380mm at the rear and were picked out by metallic gold calipers. With the arrival of the M8’s Integrated Brake System, you could choose from two brake pedal feel settings, Comfort or Sport. Comp models added Auto Hold to the normal suite of M3 braking functions (ADB-X Auto Diff Brake, Brake Assist, Dry Braking and Start-Off Assistant). There was an M3 recall in 2021 to sort out a defective brake master cylinder which could decrease braking efficiency and lose the anti-lock facility altogether, and we believe there was another one to rectify some ‘improper welding’ to the rotor and shaft.
The M Forged wheels for the Competition were staggered – another M3 saloon first – with 19s at the front and 20s at the back. There were two double-spoke designs, both of them in Bicolour Black or in Jet Black or Orbit Grey Matt depending on which of the two designs you picked. Pilot 4S tyres were the default from new but you could pay more for Cup 2s. With determination you could burn through a set of rubber – and a set of brake pads – in one track day.
BODYWORK
As you’d expect, the G80 M3 Comp’s body was stiffer and stronger than that of its F80 predecessor. In saloon guise it was also 122mm longer and 26mm wider. The overall look wasn’t wholly convincing, the 3 Series doors sitting somewhat uncomfortably between the billy-big-boy wheelarches that were needed to house the G80 M3’s wider tracks. New body colours were brought in including two greys (Skyscraper and Brooklyn), Toronto Red and Isle of Man Green metallics, and Sao Paolo Yellow, a non-metallic that would greatly facilitate finding your M3 in even the busiest car park.
The finned roof on both the saloon and the coupe was made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic, but the Touring’s wasn’t as it was too expensive to design one for such a relatively low-volume vehicle. As a result, it weighed 1,940kg, a hefty 135kg more than the saloon. The M Carbon exterior pack put CFRP on the front air intake inlays, rear diffuser and spoiler and mirror caps. The Visibility pack added adaptive LED headlights with Laserlight and a non-dazzling high beam.
The BMW grille thing has been done to death so we won’t harp on about that here except to say that you might think it suits the M3 rather better than it does lesser models. There have been reports of milsaligned front bumpers and of wind noise from the driver’s door.
INTERIOR
The M3 Comp benefitted from the big advances in interior space brought in by the new 3 Series from which it sprouted. Some thought the cabin was visually complicated, but few criticised the quality or the comfort, not just on urban scootabouts but also on long trips. Positive comparisons with the M5’s cabin have been made.
By this time Android Auto had been properly incorporated into BMW’s infotainment system alongside Apple CarPlay and physical buttons hadn’t become total pariahs. Heated M Sport seats in fine-grain Merino leather were standard. You could save 9.6kg of weight by optioning the carbon (or CRFP to be accurate) bucket front seats that were the main element in the M Carbon pack. Those seats were incredibly good as long as you were sufficiently snake-hipped to fit into them. Again, Carbon wasn’t a cheap box to tick at £6,750 but you could get the seats on their own for £3,400. The driving position was excellent irrespective of seat choice, assuming you didn’t mind the traditionally over-thick rim of the M3 steering wheel. Some G80 M3s appear to have come out of the factory with a small but annoying offset of the wheel to one side or the other.
Also Comp-standard were Live Cockpit Professional, head-up display, three-zone climate control, 16-speaker Harmon Kardon audio, configurable ambient lighting and cruise control with collision warning and brake intervention, along with Lane Departure Warning with assisted lane return, Speed Limit Assist (which automatically adapted set speeds in line with speed limits), and Attentiveness Assistant which poked you in the nostril with a carbon fibre stick when it looked like you might be nodding off.
Two other Assistants were included too, Parking and Driving. The Parking one gave you help reversing, as you’d expect. Parking Assistant Plus was part of the optional Tech Plus Pack or that could be added individually added Surround View and Remote 3D View. Usefully in this day and age PA Plus also provided a Drive Recorder which used the driver assistance cameras to record outside-the-car video clips of up to 40 seconds duration. There was an early recall to rectify problems with some M3 cameras.
Driving Assistant added rear cross-traffic and Rear Collision Prevention, which didn’t really stop rear collisions but warned anyone behind that they might be about to hit you by activating the hazards at twice their normal frequency. Again there was a Pro version of that in the Tech Plus Pack. This gave you Steering and Lane Control Assistant which kept you in the centre of the lane at speeds of up to 112mph. Emergency Lane Assistant automatically guided the car to the most appropriate side of the lane in motorway tailbacks.
Some rattling has been noticed from the centre of the dash, usually from the HK speaker not always being properly secured. Dealers seemed to have had difficulty in putting that one right, leading to at least one owner making their own gaskets. Other owners reported rattles from the back seat/boot area. Again owners seemed to take matters into their own hands, tracing it in some cases to faulty boot seals and coming up with their own solutions.
PH VERDICT
The BMW M3 is not so much a part of the BMW range as a brand in its own right. You could probably find quite a few M3 buyers who would only have an M3 and nothing else. So when new M3s come along they tend to be measured against the M3 that went before rather than against other cars. That makes the buying decision nice and simple. As long as the new one was better than the old one, you bought it. Easy.
Of course, not everybody agrees on the definition of ‘better’. The G80 M3 and the Competition version that we’ve looked at here amounted to a different kind of M3. Maybe the gap between the G80 and the F80 wasn’t as big as the one between the E36 and the E30, but the newer car did give dedicated M3 followers some interesting new stuff to think about, especially on the dynamic side – extra size, extra weight, non-availability of a manual gearbox, less snap from the TC trans, that kind of thing. Add in the Marmite front-end styling and you could easily forgive potential customers for drifting away from the M3 fold.
Fortunately, BMW got it pretty much exactly right with the G80. Its incredible talents put most if not all negative thoughts to bed. The size was something you quickly got used to and the towering performance reduced the extra weight to a non-issue – and that was before you even got to the xDrive which made the hard deployment of 510hp laughably simple. For many devotees there are no M3 rivals, but looked at dispassionately the main one would probably be the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, another superb machine that feels lighter on its feet than the BMW.
We linked you to the cheapest RWD car in the Overview. If you can’t be bothered to dig back, here is that 31,000-miler again. Literally as we were writing this guide another 2021 RWD came up at exactly the same money (£52,490), this time in grey and with 10,000 fewer miles covered. Just under £56k bought you this 19,000-miler in Sao Paulo Yellow. Here’s the most affordable xDrive, a 20,000-mile 2021 car in red at £54,000 on the nose.
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