Car Reviews

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From the July 1994 issue of Car and Driver.
Talk about a case of delayed gratification. At first, BMW said we were not going to get the M3 version of its seductive 3-series coupe. Then it said we were, but with the less-than-tantalizing proviso that it would not have the European M3’s engine. Instead, we’d get a modified 325i’s engine. That meant no handmade throttle bodies, no continuously variable valve timing. We couldn’t help having reduced expectations.

Best Road Cars Ever Developed by BMW’s M Division

Which made our surprise even more pleasant. The U.S M3 is equipped with a bored-and-stroked version of the 325i inline six, but that engine wasn’t exactly bad from the get-go. In M3 trim, now known as the S50, it’s a 3.0-liter with 240 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque at its disposal, which it deploys in such a willing, refined, and generous fashion that to drive the car is to fall in love with this engine.

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DICK KELLEYCar and Driver

The S50 is also a performance bargain. “Our” M3 trades 42 horses for about a $14,000 slice off what the Euro car would have cost had it been brought over as is. In return, we get a fatter torque curve that climbs to 190 pound-feet at just 2400 rpm, and then flattens between 4000 and 5500 where more than 220 pound-feet is permanently on call.
Thus equipped, the U.S. M3 is better suited to the environment it will find itself in. We have no autobahns here. We have very low speed limits here. We have roads that look as if they’ve been on the receiving end of a Serbian mortar assault. And the M3 takes this stuff in stride. A touch of throttle at freeway speeds in the direct-drive fifth gear dials the speed up like a rheostat, jetting the car past slower vehicles in a manner that brings to mind an F-18 cruising through a formation of DC-3s.

HIGHS: Good looks, great torque, superb sound, the right place.

Those of us lucky enough to have driven a Euro M3 might notice that the stateside car does not have quite the same exultant rush to the redline that its European cousin has, nor exactly the same surge of acceleration at the top end that 282 horsepower provides. But the U.S. car has, along with the emphatic flow of torque from low down on the tach, a power delivery very much keeping with American driving priorities.

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DICK KELLEYCar and Driver

From as low as 2500 rpm, our vivid Dakar-yellow M3 pulled like a turbo car all the way to its engine limiter at 6800 rpm or 6500 rpm, depending on which gear it was in. The engine-management system gives you 6800 in the first two gears, then 6500 in the next two, with a 137 mph cutoff in top. Exactly why our car curtails its rush toward what is surely a 145-to-150-mph top speed is beyond our understanding, although the safety watchdogs are probably scandalized by the 137-mph figure anyway.
Wait until they hear about the way in which the car dashes off easily repeatable 0-to-60 sprints in 5.6 seconds. That’s half a second quicker than the company claims for the car. Better yet, it’s 0.4 second faster than BMW’s claim for the European car. In fact, this car feels so good that comparisons with the Euro car become odious after just a few hours behind the wheel. Not least because the U.S. car is an authentic M-division prod­uct, sharing the other M3’s unique accou­terments.

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DICK KELLEYCar and Driver

The body kit is identical, with M-style rocker panels, deep front fascia, and rear under-bumper diffuser, plus unique ten-spoke alloy wheels with ultra-low-profile 40-series Michelins. Under the skin, you’ll find careful M-division tweaks too. The suspension is a fully redeveloped version of the standard 3-series kit, with reinforced control arms, bushings, and knuckles; gas­ pressurized shocks; revised spring and bar rates; and massive brake discs.
The suspension tuning is specific to the U.S. model, giving the car a superb com­promise between body-motion control and comfort. Yet it pulls 0.86 g on the skid­pad-only 0.03 g less than a Corvette. The M3 is necessarily firm, yes, but it handles pavement breaks with amazing poise. The tire thwop over lateral bumps and cracks, but very little impact makes it through to the driver, and what does lacks the sharp edge you might expect from such a dedi­cated sportster. On really bad surfaces, the impacts come through mainly to the seats, sort of like a kid kicking the back of your seat at the movies, only less annoying.

LOWS: Only 2000 coming this year.

For such a potent machine, the con­trols are particularly genteel. The higher-torque-capacity Euro M3 five­-speed is employed, but like other 3-series manual gearboxes, it uses auto­matic-transmision fluid. So this car’s shifts are as light and silky first thing on a cold morning as they are in the mild-man­nered 325i. And if the clutch and brake­ pedal effort is a trifle heavier in the M3 than in other 3-series, a strong clutch and ferocious braking performance are ample payback. Stops from 70 mph take only 158 feet. Even the steering, which offers a fair bit of self-centering tug in fast curves and has a firm feel to it at all speeds, will yield to the modest arm strength of your aver­age couch potato.

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DICK KELLEYCar and Driver

It’s this sense of refinement, of every­day versatility, that makes the M3 excep­tional. It’s as nice to drive on a leisurely Sunday morning lakeside dawdle as it is to rip through a series of mountain zigzags. But when you’re alone in the M3 and the fun police are all on doughnut patrol, something in your brain clicks over. You leave the last stoplight with a 4500-rpm clutch drop. The tires light up, spinning in unison under management of the 25-per­cent limited-slip diff. In two seconds you need second gear, and the tach calls for third barely three seconds later. All the while you hear a beautiful angry yowl from somewhere beneath the suave veneer of the BMW. You swing into the first bend and the nose swivels like the turret on an MI. The wheel could be on a precision lathe; nothing is lost to compliance. The corner tightens, you dial in more lock, and the nose responds in direct proportion. Now you’re going too fast, so you ease off the throttle. The car loses speed and kind of hunkers down, but there’s no change in heading unless the front end was already pushing, in which case the line tighten . If you are going way too fast, the car will rotate as the back eases out.

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DICK KELLEYCar and Driver

Exploring the M3’s limits takes dedi­cation; they’re disconcertingly high. So high that you’ll be pushing your luck on public roads. But as we know from riding with Joachim Winkelhock, the British Touring Car Champion, as well as from less adventurous exploits of our own, there is a whole handling spectrum available to M3 owners in which oversteer balanced with the wheel and throttle promises great entertainment.
If you’re not likely to take long trips with adults stuffed in back, then this car could be the one to buy if you want only one. Its all-around versatility goes a long way to meet the frequently conflicting need of the modern driver. Somehow it manages to blend a sense of upscale priv­ilege and refinement with flashing good looks, spellbinding performance, and refreshing integrity.

THE VERDICT: Buy one before the news gets around.

The M3, it has to be said, is a car very near the top of our wish list.
Counterpoint
One of my most vivid behind-the­-wheel memories is of the Euro M3 I sampled last winter in Germany. The route I chose ticked off more than 200 kilometers, but the 282-hp Bimmer and I made it in a little over an hour, clipping along the autobahn at triple-­digit speeds. My tape-recorded notes sounded like bulletins from the front: “Thrilling acceleration. Telegraphic steering. A near-total absence of brake dive. Delicate, but urgent.” Last night I sampled the American-spec M3. Only the saving bleeps of my radar detector hinted at any difference. —Martin Padgett Jr.
I live in Detroit, and this is a lousy car for the city. That’s the city’s fault, not the car’s. The M3’s terrific six-cylin­der begs to be wound to the redline in every gear, and the suspension seems happiest when all four wheels are drifting. Try to use such potential on crowded streets and your license will be gone before your third drive to work. So if you’re an urban dweller and you fall for an M3, prepare to buy a race­track, or five miles of curving country road, or at least a local judge. Other­wise, you’re in for unremitting, frus­trating self-restraint. —Don Schroeder
BMW drivers run the danger of being perceived as status exhibitionists. The reason? The pricey 325is is a nice coupe, but a $14,000-cheaper Eagle Talon TSi AWD can outrun it. Not so with the M3. The only car faster and less expensive (and only by a few hun­dred dollars) is the Mazda RX-7. The M3 approaches it in acceleration and handling, and you would probably want to call a twisty road duel between these two cars a draw. The M3’s the quick­est real four-seater you can get for its $36,620 price. No status hazard in that.

Specifications

SPECIFICATIONS
1995 BMW M3
VEHICLE TYPEFront-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED$38,760 (base price: $36,620)
ENGINE TYPEDOHC 24-valve inline-6, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 182 in3, 2990 cm3Power: 240 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 225 lb-ft @ 4250 rpm
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
CHASSISSuspension (F/R): struts/multilinkBrakes (F/R): 12.4-in vented disc/12.3 -in vented discTires: Michelin MXX3, 235/40ZR-17
DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 174.9 inWidth: 67.3 inHeight: 52.6 inPassenger volume: 82 ft3Trunk volume: 9 ft3Curb weight: 3180 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 5.6 sec100 mph: 14.9 sec130 mph: 29.8 secRolling start, 5–60 mph: 6.1 secTop gear, 30–50 mph: 7.4 secTop gear, 50–70 mph: 7.6 sec1/4 mile: 14.3 sec @ 98 mphTop speed (governor limited): 137 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 158 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.86 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMYObserved: 22 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCombined/city/highway: 22/19/27 mpg

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From the May 1994 issue of Car and Driver.
Have you wondered: What sports car would the road testers keep poised behind their own garage doors, on 10-second alert, gassed and gleaming, ready to light the burner and blur the pavement on those occasional sorties of the utmost therapeutic importance?
Hey, road testers have fantasy lives, too.

HIGHS: The jet-fighter view, the engine’s grizzly growl, the way the controls turn small motions of your feet and hands into large g-forces.

And if the automatic teller were ever to go Robin Hood on us, the great sucking sound you’d hear would be a heartwarming number of Acura NSXs being drawn toward Editorial Headquarters. The testers of this magazine are of one mind about the NSX, so much so that we can finish each other’s sentences.

Revisit the 1991 Acura NSX

1991-2005 Acura NSX Buyer’s Guide

“The low, forward, cockpit is exhilarating . . . like riding in the head of an arrow.”
“It’s so precise in its responses . . . as if it were hard-wired into my cerebellum.”
“It’s exotic and rare . . . but it doesn’t have to prove it by beating me up.”
“A breakthrough sports car . . . now in its fourth year and still at the cutting edge.”
We C/D testers are unanimous: the NSX is our top choice for pure driving pleasure. Yet despite our enjoyment of its moves and our admiration for the all-aluminum construction that puts it on the good side of the F=ma equation, the NSX remains widely misunderstood, neither coveted nor respected in fair proportion to the joy it delivers.

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DAVID DEWHURST

Why is that?
For one thing, there’s no other high-performance car on the planet that’s so poorly described by its test-track numbers. It’s fast—zero to 60 in 5.2 seconds, quarter-mile in 13.7 seconds at 104 mph, top end of 162 mph. It stops—170 feet from 70 mph, with very good control from its four-channel anti-lock brakes. It turns—0.93 g, with a mild understeering balance.
Fast, but not a record setter. Several other exotics have more power and put more rubber on the road. But remember that these are test-track numbers, limits-of-the-envelope readings obtained with the driver at full alert and plenty of runoff room to catch the histrionics.
Track numbers say nothing about usable performance. Exotics are notoriously tricky to drive, and street-usable performance is typically well below the track numbers. Except for the NSX. This machine is so honest and predictable in its responses that most of its track performance is also useful performance. Out in the world, the NSX’s no-sweat capabilities top the charts.

LOWS: At night, the green traction control “on” idiot light reflects in the windshield.

Also against the NSX is the perception that it lacks intensity. There’s a half-truth here. “For a quick blast, the Ferrari F40 is more fun. But in a half hour I’m done with it,” says one of our crew. The NSX, on the other hand, is a splendid partner for a quickie and we’re never done with it. We would drive it every day. We’d happily commute in it. In the quest for perfection, Honda is used to playing in a tougher league. It holds itself to higher standards. One example: Despite the NSX’s speed, it’s not a gas guzzler, not even close. On one recent 713-mile trip, we logged 25.5 mpg. Another example: to reduce transmission noise, the 1994 NSX has re-contoured gear teeth.
Uh, what noise? We never heard it.
How much intensity can you stand? Recall that a little bit of Clyde Barrow was all most folks could stand. The usual exotic-car intensity comes from noise—shrieks and whines that are briefly amusing but quickly fray the nerves—or recidivist behavior that requires the driver’s full attention just to complete ordinary moves. You may have noticed that every test of the red Italian in the last 30 years complains about the shifter. And if it didn’t, it should have. True, such idiosyncrasies make vivid cars, but vivid is not the same as precise and attuned. It’s not as satisfying either.

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DAVID DEWHURST

The NSX is the most precise and attuned mid-engined machine we’ve ever driven. No big deal. Just the everyday story of the Honda Motor Company playing in the tough league. Remember, Honda satisfies millions of customers every year who expect the seats to fit them, no matter their shape, expect to see the instruments without dodging their gaze around the wheel rim, expect the lever to snick into the next gear while they pay zero attention to the process.
Imagine a mid-engined sportster with every ergonomic detail as correct as in an Accord. It’s simply never been done before. The NSX starts from that level. Then it excels. The seats have only two adjustments, fore-and-aft and seat-back angle. But they fit our long guys and our short guys, our wide guys and our lean guys, and they augment their lateral support with padding at the shoulders. So the side forces are broadly distributed.

VERDICT: The highest and best use of aluminum for civilian purposes.

The brakes are so unsquishy you’d think you stepped on a rock instead of a pedal. The clutch is Honda easy, thanks to its twin-disc design.
Like all wide-tired cars without power steering, turning effort is high. Until the tires begin to roll. Then the workout fades to amazing precision. You get feedback without kickback. Most staffers mention the steering in their first paragraph of NSX superlatives.
They exclaim over the view out the windshield too. Honda designers worked to a very specific motif when they drew up this car—the F-16 fighter jet. They imagined the panorama that opens to the pilot, out through the bubble canopy and over the drooping nose. They tried for that same sensation in the NSX. Oh, yes; oh, yes. An F-16 for the road.

David DewhurstCar and Driver

The black roof is part of the theme. All NSXs, except for some of the dark green ones starting this model year, have black roofs. Most mid-engined coupes have the roof integrated into the basic architecture: they look like coupes. But F-16s show you a fuselage trailing into an empennage. The canopy is transparent and not obvious at first glance. The NSX has a short roof far forward, with narrow, sloping pillars. And it’s painted black. It hides from your eyes. The canopy look. Inside, you get the canopy feeling too, with an unmatched view in all directions. It’s uplifting, exhilarating, liberating.
Liberating. Uh, not a term we’d use for other exotics, yet it applies perfectly to the NSX. Most exotics are blind toward the rear quarters, a source of unease in traffic. And most force the driver into an uneasy position, with awkward reaches and disadvantageous leverages on the controls. Not so the NSX. It simply fits, snugly, intimately, appropriately, from the hips on down, yet it seems to widen above the tunnel, above the armrests, to give plenty of elbowroom, a sense of spaciousness, room to work.

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DAVID DEWHURSTCar and Driver

And it gives you the tools to work, to perform surgery on the road. The steering cuts so accurately. The torque comes in so broadly, accompanied by the sound of precision sewing machinery, turning to a growl in the midrange, revealing itself to be a grizzly as the VTEC switches to the high-speed cam profiles at full-throttle 5800 rpm. Talk about liberation. Allowed is 8000; enjoyed is 8000. Those titanium connecting rods aren’t back there for the weight distribution.
Still, power is not the centerpiece of this car. We’re back to liberation again. This car is about motion, about translating driver talent directly into g-forces. You guide the steering. You caress the pedals. You do the right things. And it does the right things. Yes, you can throw it around and end up throwing it away. But it’s more tolerant of uneducated inputs—of abrupt lifts off the power or stab of the brakes—than any other exotic we’ve met.
How, exactly, does it handle? Great. Braking into turns very late, and very deep, is a move for the postgraduate. It puts the nose down, loads the outside front, and makes the tail light. Do it wrong and you’ll spin bigger than the Supercollider. The NSX will go deeper than we will.

DAVID DEWHURSTCar and Driver

Early NSXs earned a reputation for rapid tire wear, particularly at the rear. Honda specified lots of rear-wheel toe-in to keep the tail from stepping out, 6mm total. That was reduced to 4mm starting with the 1993 models. Stability is still fine, we think. But tire wear is probably a trade-off in the design of this car. The Treadwear Grade number on the sidewall is 120, the lowest we’ve seen on an original-equipment tire, and suggests a tire life two-thirds that of a Corvette tire labeled 180.
The only significant visual change for 1994 is wheels one inch taller and a half-inch wider at all corners—7.0 by 16 inches in front, 8.5 by 17 in back, with 215/45 and 245/40 Z-rated tires. Red, black, and white exterior colors are continued, a new dark green replaces silver.
Price is up, to $77 ,265 for the base car, including destination charge and luxury tax. An awkward place—too expensive for most buyers, too cheap to be regarded as truly precious. On the usual exotic-car scale that equates preciousness with rarity, the NSX is a terrible misfit. Honda built a special factory for this car. It wants to push out 25 a day to recoup its investment. What the NSX offers, instead of rarity, is the detail refinement in both engineering and manufacturing that only a large, top-line carmaker can bring. Consider: In the Initial Quality Survey from J.D. Power & Associates, the NSX was found to have 71 defects per 100 cars in 1991 ,57 in 1992 (although the sample size was too small this year to be statistically certain). For the same years, Lexus scored 55 and 73, Mercedes scored 91 and 127. Industry average in 1992 was 125. Clearly the NSX is well built in a way that expensive sports cars usually aren’t.
The NSX will never be rare. But it works beautifully, which is more precious to us.

Specifications

Specifications
1994 Acura NSX
VEHICLE TYPE mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE AS TESTED $77,355
ENGINE TYPE DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement 182 in3, 2977 cm3Power 270 hp @ 7100 rpmTorque 210 lb-ft @ 5300 rpm
TRANSMISSION 5-speed
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 99.6 inLength: 174.2 inWidth: 71.3 inHeight: 46.1 inCurb weight: 3030 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 5.2 sec100 mph: 12.7 sec130 mph: 23.2 secRolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.6 secTop gear, 30–50 mph: 7.1 secTop gear, 50–70 mph: 7.2 sec¼-mile: 13.7 sec @ 104 mphTop speed (drag limited): 162 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 170 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.93 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY Observed: 25 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY City/highway: 19/24 mpg

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