There Will Be Blood: 2008 BMW M3 vs. Lexus IS F vs. Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

Motor Trend

a day ago

Life was Hard. Money was scarce. Competition was fierce, if not ruthless. Figure in a pinch of greed and an ounce of scandal. We're talking about the birth of the oil business in California, circa 1920. And, strangely enough, the car business, circa 2008.
The BMW M3, Lexus IS F, and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG are compared as high-performance sport sedans. The M3 scores with balance and agility, C63 excels in speed and emotion, and the IS F is praised for its performance but lacks detail refinement.
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Although the film that gave this story its name was nominated for Best Picture at the 80th Academy Awards, its literary inspiration was penned more than 90 years prior. Author (and later, California gubernatorial candidate) Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore in 1878 and, at age 15, began writing dime novels to pay for his education. His breakthrough effort came in 1906, with the publication of "The Jungle," which portrayed the miserable health and working conditions in the meat-packing industry. But it was Sinclair's "Oil!" published in 1926 that paved the road for last year's smash flick, "There Will Be Blood."
In the spirit of Sinclair's seminal novel, we gathered three fast, new-to-market, bloodthirsty sport sedans and set out for CenCal's oil country-although nobody died, was scammed out of his land, or amassed vast fortunes in the making of this road test. We also traveled east of the oil patch for a few laps around Reno-Fernley Raceway
The members of our wildcatting trio are remarkably alike. Each wears its maker's performance brand: BMW's M, Mercedes-Benz's AMG, and the new F label from Lexus. All are four-doors with hopped-up V-8 engines. All have aggressive front and rear fascias, unique hood stampings, big cross-drilled disc brakes, flared fenders, aggressive rolling stock, lowered ride heights, HID lighting, and stiffer springs and shocks than their standard counterparts. Their racier cabins contain leather sport seats, power nearly everything, and buttons that give you varying levels of control over shock damping, throttle tip-in, automatic trans shift points (where applicable), and how much-or little-traction or stability management you wish. In the name of exclusivity, they're built in limited quantity, and all test out at around $63,000.
BMW launched its M3 last fall in two-door form and unveiled the four-door variant shortly thereafter. It packs the same M-spec, 4.0-liter, 414-horsepower V-8 as the coupe. The sedan is about three inches shorter overall than the coupe but weighs about the same. A six-speed manual is the only transmission offered so far, but a dual-clutch automated manual joins the lineup later this year. The M3 has the least horsepower of the group, but carries the least weight per horsepower and the only one available with an honest-to-clutch stickshift.
For some time, Lexus has threatened to launch a performance sub-brand, and it's signified by the letter F. Beneath the IS F's bulbous hood panel is a 5.0-liter V-8 rated at 416 horsepower. This engine-the largest offered in a Lexus passenger car-is backed by the same eight-speed automatic transmission as in the LS 460, but it's reworked for high-power duty, including a manual mode and paddle shifters on the steering wheel. All four fenders are flared, although the side vents in the front appear to be only for style. The IS F is this fight's middleweight contender in power and poundage.
Mercedes-Benz has built several generations of super C, but none has put the right body together with the right engine at thesame time. Until now. The new-for-2008 C-Class is larger, wider, and more aggressive looking than before. And no more smallish V-8s or supercharged sixes for the AMG version; it gets the same purpose-built, 6.2-liter V-8 you'll find in an E, S, or R-Class AMG model, although detuned to "just" 451 horsepower. Behind it sits a seven-speed automatic trans-SpeedShift in AMG speak-which offers Comfort, Sport, and Manual modes. The C63 has a 1.4-inch-wider track than standard C-Classes and an exhaust note that'll vibrate your sternum in a good way. At 4004 pounds (with a full tank), the Mercedes is the heaviest, but most powerful, gas-burner here.
Hurtling the C63 down the quarter mile is like firing a Government Model Colt 45. The result is rewarding in an explosive sense. Mercedes-Benz quotes 0-to-60 in 4.3, but just the right launch technique yielded a best time of 4.1 seconds. That's on par with 8.0-liter Dodge Vipers of just a decade ago. Set in Sport mode, the transmission shifts quickly, right at redline, with no slop between gears. The four oval exhaust outlets bellow like a polished Pro Stocker. There's torque all over the C63's tach, and although there are seven ideally spaced ratios from which to choose, the AMG V-8 could get by with two.
The Lexus V-8 also sounds and feels like a thoroughbred. It's the lowest revver of the bunch, with a 6800-rpm redline versus the Mercedes' 7200 and the BMW's sonorous 8300-rpm rev limit. It's quiet at part throttle, but sharpens and deepens as your foot flattens, especially above 3800 revs. The eight-speeder makes more gear changes than do the others, but seldom feels like it's hunting. Put this one in Sport mode and the shifts come with a firm wallop. Downshifts include an electronic rev blip to avoid shocking the chassis. With displacement and horsepower in between those of the Germans, the IS F's midrange punch feels about midway as powerful, too.
With less torque, a wider rpm band, and a manual tranny, you'd expect the M3's driving experience to be somewhat distinct from the others. And it is. You don't have to rev it like you stole it, but that's where the joy is found. The engine, derived from the M5's V-10, still has enough grunt for low-speed, around-town work. The intake and exhaust noises are as much V-12 as V-8 and blend at higher rpm to make one beautiful noise. The clutch is light, and take-up is linear. Today's BMW shifters are what they are: not mushy, but with a disconnected feel about them, as if the stick were the size of a straw. We'd wish for something more like what you'd find in a Porsche Carrera, Mitsu Evo, or MX-5. But you always hit the right gear, the ratio spacing is spot on, and there is a certain portion of the enthusiast driving public that still prefers stirring their own transmission. It's just as quick to 60 as the larger-displacement IS F.
Steering feedback and response are everything in a car like this. Mercedes steering used to feel as if it were plugged into curing cement, but no more. The C63's turn-in is crisp, with plenty of honest feedback and a meaty feel. Lexus equips the IS F with electric power steering, which isn't as organic as a good hydraulic system. It's fine for normal to moderate driving, but loses sensitivity when you're really honking it. The IS F's cornering abilities are impressive, but the car understeers heavily at the limit, and the wheel feels disconnected at that point. The BMW's tiller is about as quick as the others but a bit lighter. Its communication is even clearer than the C63's, with plenty of true road feel.
Constant grip levels range between 0.95 g (Lexus and Mercedes) to 0.97 for the BMW, so call this area a tie. Braking is much the same, with just a five-foot spread covering the three cars. Real-world driving reveals the differences.
The C63 is a good overall handler, with a stiffish, performance-oriented ride. It corners well, lets you know where it's going, and will happily stick its tail out if provoked. It's well pinned down during mid-corner bumps and, as is typical of AMG-spec Mercedes-Benzes, its high-speed stability is faultless. This model is speed limited to 155 mph, but next year's will get an option that banishes the electro-speed nanny: 185 should be easy.
The IS F feels aggressive yet poised unless you're pushing it. It stays neutral right until its cornering limits and then plows hard. High-speed mid-corner bumps will unsettle it a bit, but again only when really on it. As you'd expect of any Lexus, it has a polished ride, but it's not dumbed down or mushy, either. Wind noise is minimal, and it's the quietest of the pack.
Balance is again the word that describes the M3. It was the quickest through our figure-eight test, which combines acceleration, braking, transition cornering, and grip. The BMW is the most agile and athletic of the bunch. It tells you everything you want to know and has high limits. It's the most fun on a road course, yet is never rough-edged or jarring. The M3 shucks off mid-corner bumps, has great stability at speed, and is the most neutral handler among this group.
While this is no cupholder comparo, it's worth talking about a few important driver touch points. Two areas stand out here: seats and steering wheels. In keeping with its ballsy nature, the C63 has firm, thickly bolstered front buckets. A few said they're too hard, too aggressive for the street, yet they were everyone's favorite when on the racetrack. The BMW's seating is comfy for street work, but doesn't have enough support to keep you planted during really hard cornering. Rookie Lexus's chairs are a reasonable compromise between the two.
Everyone loves the Mercedes' steering wheel. It's squared off at the bottom, like a DTM racer's, is thickly padded with dimpled leather at the handgrip areas, and has easy-to-reach shifter paddles. The IS F's isn't as thick or stylish, but works well. The M3's wheel looks good, too, but is wrapped in smoothly finished leather that lacks grip.
The BMW's cabin is somber, or businesslike, depending on how you view it, but we liked the carbon-fiber patterned leather that adorned the I.P. and armrests. Lexus fell a few steps short inside. The console and other areas are splashed with an aluminized carbon-fiber-looking stuff that won't be to everyone's taste. And the nav screen and buttons come right out of the Prius, although the setup works well enough. The Mercedes features a foldaway screen that's out there when you want it, hidden when you don't. Its all-business cabin is splashed up by racy-looking pedal trim.
Besides the track testing and numbers grinding, it's comments made by two staffers that rendered the ranking. Kim Reynolds says, "The Lexus and the Mercedes feel like performance versions created out of something else. The M3 feels like it was born this way." Ed Loh's summary is even more succinct: "The Lexus and Mercedes are great hot-rod sedans. The M3 is a race car with four doors."
Lexus is new to this game, yet has delivered a fast, edgy, credible piece from a company most known for quiet and beautifully crafted, if uninvolving, luxury sedans. A couple of clunky design elements let it down, and its steering and suspension calibrations aren't as well synthesized at the limit as the others. As the IS F costs no less than the German duo, there's no value card to be thrown. But we're picking nits, and we know the brand's next effort will be fully class-competitive.
The Bad Benz won a lot of hearts. It's the quickest in a straight line, second fastest in road-course work, and stops the shortest, too. The C63's fierce accel and Howitzer exhaust note are reason enough to own it. This sophisticated, four-wheeled pit-bull spews emotion, knows what it is, and won't care if everyone likes its edgy nature or not.
BMW's magnificent M3 is the newest in a 20-plus-year line and is the best one yet. A performer by any measure, and its best-in-test times on the racetrack and through our figure-eight test demonstrate that its various aspects work together better than the others. The BMW is lithe and athletic yet never punishing, and it comes in a package you can use and enjoy every day. The fact that it's also offered in a coupe and upcoming convertible, and soon with a choice of two enthusiast-minded transmissions, means "M3" is a driving philosophy, not just a single model. Good enough to draw first blood. 1st Place: BMW M3
Speed, balance, and athleticism converge in today's best compact, high-performance sport sedan. 2nd Place: MERCEDES-BENZ C63 AMG
A solid, emotive machine that works as everyday transport-and accelerates like a first-gen Viper. 3rd Place: LEXUS IS F
Lexus's first effort in this category is a good one, lacking in only the finest of details.