E36 M3 Sedan vs Coupe

[GravelBen]

This is more out of interest than looking at buying one (can't afford one for a start...) but I was wondering how much difference there is in handling/performance etc between the coupe and 4-door sedan versions of the E36 M3? Saw a 4-door at a dealer the other and it looked rather nice, would make a pretty good all-rounder if I was spending that sort of money.

[steil]

I think the weight of the two is fairly similar - I have a 4-dr M3 - and couldn't compalian about it's performance for a family car! Maybe it loses a touch of rigidity by having a bigger hole in the side compared to a 2-door - but unless you're racing it I doubt there's much in it in real terms for road use. The 4-dr was a stopgap model as at the time there was no M5 & it was there to appeal to those owners.

[kawasicki]

chances are the saloon body is stiffer than the coupe.

shane

[rassi]

And the sedan was supposed to have a softer suspension (and had a wood interior that not everybody liked as well as less contoured front seats)

[steil]

Is 2dr/4dr suspension interchangeable?

[m3pilot]

I've got a coupe. I heard that the 4 door handled slightly better but i prefered the look of the coupe.

I think the convertible had softer suspension and was told by the speciliest i use for the E30 M3 that i would like it as much as the coupe.

[nos4a2]

rassi said:

And the sedan was supposed to have a softer suspension (and had a wood interior that not everybody liked as well as less contoured front seats)

Yes, as far as I know the saloon has (very slightly) softer suspension than the coupe - I didn't really notice the difference in mine - I had both one after the other. The saloon does have much more comfortable seats and a certain Q-car appeal though. The wood trim is horrid.

[turbo tim]

EVO Magazine said:

The vast majority of E36 M3s were coupes but saloons have a slight handling edge and cost no more.
(issue 72, page131)

clicky

[GravelBen]

Cheers, they sound like a pretty good car

M3's in general are pretty rare down here, but I'd like to own one at some stage. Will have to wait at least until I finish uni though