Friday Fleet Notes: 5.16.08
In today's fleet notes, we take a look at the 2008 BMW M3, the 2009 Acura TSX and the 2009 Honda Pilot. Our staff offers a number of different takes on the vehicles, from their styling to the way they stack up to competition in their respective segments. After you get done reading our thoughts, check out a longer impression in an expert review for each car.
2008 BMW M3
- BMW's latest iteration of its legendary M3 arrived at the Cars.com garage recently, and I had a chance to drive it where many owners might find themselves when not at a weekend track event: commuting to and from the office during rush hour. Even in this rather mundane situation, the M3 showed how versatile a machine it is. The M3 is one of BMW's track-ready production cars, but it's also rather civilized in stop-and-go driving. The clutch won't wear out your left leg, and even on very poor post-winter roads the M3's suspension displays an admirable degree of suppleness, which makes for a ride that's more tolerable than what you'd get from an Audi RS 4. The M3's sport seats also fit me much better than the bucket seats in regular 3 Series models. If you need to scoot around slower-moving traffic, a surge of power is only a jab of the gas pedal away. There is one thing I could do without on the M3: While most of the car is accented with typically subtle M cues, I'm no fan of the car's domed hood — it's too noticeable from the driver's seat. It looks like there's an alien tumor pushing up from below. —Mike Hanley, senior editor




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