BMW M3 Competition review – MPG and running costs

BMW quotes 28.8mpg for the rear-drive M3, dropping that to 28 for the xDrive model. In reality, those figures are just about achievable on longer journeys and motorways, rising to over 30mpg in average-speed roadworks that seem to make up 50 per cent of the UK’s motorway network at the moment.

The numbers look different when you start making more use of the performance, easily dipping to the low 20s on faster commutes and far below when the full 503bhp is unleashed. Track useage will see this drop to single digits – not unusual, but then the track also reveals some of its other running cost considerations, which have grown alongside its weight and power figures.

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On a dry, high-grip surface an M3 on cast iron brakes seems to quite happily munch through a set of brake pads over the course of a day’s hard track use, the standard Pilot Sport 4 S tyres not being much more long standing. That’s not down to the compounds of either, it must be said, but a consequence of the M3’s kerb weight and aggressive suspension geometry.

Ceramics stand up to track use better, but their replacement value, if a disc does go (unlikely, but not unheard of)... we’re talking big numbers. So while the M3 is certainly a resilient track day weapon, the job of keeping it in tip-top shape will be an expensive one.