BMW M3 E46 vs E92 - Inline 6 or V8?

Today I compare the BMW M3 E46 with the S54B32 to its younger brother the BMW M3 E92 with the S65B40. Let's see whether the E46 M3 can hold its own against the newer E92 M3.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:17 Exterior
1:09 Drivetrain
3:12 Interior
4:18 E92 Driving Experience
6:47 E46 Driving Experience
Thanks for Watching!

[@snggarageeng]

M3 with I6 and V8 in New Zealand, with this optimistic host, is a great Sunday

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yesss

[@bubbles4136]

Fantastic video mate. A V8 going over 8k rpm is nuts! Truly a masterpiece.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man! Yep it's so epic

[@user-wm3fc1sk1p]

Not as nuts as my n52 going 649k miles on the original engine & transmission!

[@T_3rR4h]

Even better when it doesnt' throw rod bearings every year. Go for an ISF

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@T_3rR4h this one has gone for 160,000km and 15 years on the original bearings, owner replaced them just in case and they were perfectly fine! Lexus has valley pan gasket leaks too, so they’re not “perfect”

[@Madero775]

I like your exaggerated flappy paddle changes. Like a maestro conducting an orchestra!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Haha lol

[@Vikturus22]

Great video! I know you like BMW's Now I would highly recommend checking out M539 restorations. All he does is rebuild BMWS and he recently did his E92 M3 and rebuilt the entire engine on video ( its around a 90 min video but excellent to watch )

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man and yep seen a few of his videos he makes great content

[@spadgm]

Great vid mate, I had no idea the V8 revs over 8000rpm, that is insane! As you say two great cars!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yep it's wild aye!

[@fred3527]

I'm enjoying your videos. For me the E46 M3 was BMW at their peak (last of the inline naturally aspirated 6 cyclinders). One mod worth considering is the CSL airbox (intoxicating sound). I drove a manual 330i from 2000 - 2010 and really regret selling it. (In my market it came with the Z8 wheels). The interior looked identical to your M3. I nearly bought a like new M3 in 2002, but it didn't seem worth the very steep price at the time. As a halo car they where selling well above list price and new car where unavailable. I bought 3 new BMW's after the 330i and was very unimpressed with them (auto boxes didn't help). My last BMW was a 2013 535d with 210kw, 600Nm, 0 - 100 in 5.3s. Sounds impressive but the poor handling, brakes, turbo lag and general lack of refinement left me very disappointed. Only the interior or the car was a stand out feature (door to door leather), Recently I was severely tempted by a late model 140i, but now I get my thrills from 2 wheels. Bikes have a crazy power to weight ratio without the super car price tag.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Nice man yeah honestly a 330ci is 90% as good as an M3 I'd say. Everything else is just as good but the engine isn't quite as raucous. I drove a 335d and was impressed but yeah going from a 3 to a 5 and petrol to turbodiesel, I can see why you didn't like it so much. I think you'd love an M140i

[@GoffyTv]

Great video dude, two of my all time fav cars. And the V8 is so drool worthy!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man! Yeah it’s amazing aye

[@hellothere4342]

I was fortunate enough to have owned both the E46 and E92. Both in manual. The E46 for me was absolutely peak BMW,E92 was ok but the new kid on the block arrived. MB C63 with the thundering M156 blew me away and I have been loving AMG V8s until now. Looks like I'll be crawling back to the M camp soon.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Surprising, the E46 is an epic car but imo the E92 is a better car in every way

[@hellothere4342]

@KiwiCarLife There was something about the E46 that captivated me. The size,proportion,designs, the interior, etc. I've never stopped staring at another E46, but I've forgotten about the E92. Each to their own, the E46 was one of the car I missed dearly, and I believe the F87 M2 is the closest modern interpretation of the classic E46. Liking your videos dude.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@hellothere4342 well you’ll be interested in my M3 vs M2 video coming out in a few weeks!

[@timfitzgerald109]

That V8 is an absolute symphony to listen to. The E90 would be my pick as they are an awesome looking sedan. Bang for buck in your case though, you done well as the V8's do demand a much higher premium but if you have the money to spend, mine would go definitely on the last of the N/A V8's. Great review as always aye

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yes agree if I could buy again, I'd get a manual E90 LCI sedan. Dream car.

[@craigauty6756]

Eventuri intake and an exhaust on these things is ❤

[@rbproductions78]

Awesome man. I love how when you had your 130i it didn't seem to matter which car you drive in comparison, you (pretty much) ALWAYS favoured the 130 yet first comparison since the upgrade and you're gunning for the competitor.🤣🤣🤣

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah well the 130i is probably one of the best driving cars in its class, the E46 is amazing but the newer model you'd generally expect to be better

[@Aussiebuck]

Love your videos !! you had any vw r32's on the channel? Sending love from Chch

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man, yep had one I compared with my 130i, and I've got an R32 vs R36 video coming

[@The_Noticer.]

Yeah Sreten from M539 recently fully rebuilt one of these, but upgraded the cams and intake plenum. The intake noise it makes is ridiculous.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah saw that! Epic build

[@javierxcod]

This made my next car decision, looks like someones buying an E92 M3 next year

[@KiwiCarLife]

Do it! You won’t regret it

[@javierxcod]

@@KiwiCarLife love your channel btw, not many kiwis out here making videos

[@Effect187]

E90/E92 m3 is one of the top 20 cars made in history. You can’t change my mind! Also that e90 in the video is my old car ;)

[@rayrom8219]

lol.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah they're certainly up there! It's too bad they didn't put that engine in something else like the Z4

[@thatguyben3128]

_while the V8 sounded insane the straight 6 was still beautiful 🔊_ … _cool vid 👏🏼👏🏼_

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah man both sound awesome

[@syygnis]

4:42 Yeah man I agree here. I've ridden in a few E90 M3's they are PLENTY scary fast for Brisbane roads.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yep for sure

[@craigauty6756]

Abother great review, i reckon if the e92 m3 had totota reliability it could go down as one of the best cars ever made. So well balanced

[@KiwiCarLife]

Agree, that’s the one thing that holds me back from buying one. But it does mean if you get one that’s had work done it’s a bang for buck car

[@RotrexfezST]

I’ve had mine 7 years and it’s supercharged and all I’ve ever had to fix is the real diff seal. There reliable it’s just people don’t warm them up and take short cuts which makes them unreliable

[@craigauty6756]

@RotrexfezST plastic throttle actuator gears lasted 7 years? And dident spin any rod bearings. Lucky man. Maybe the soultion is a supercharger 🤣

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@RotrexfezST yes agree, nothing about them is inherently unreliable, people just service them like a $3k Honda and expect it to never break

[@RotrexfezST]

@@craigauty6756 still in stock actuators,bearings I changed when I got the car and 7 years it’s been good as gold. These ain’t unreliable lol,people in America do 2-300k regular and charged. The bearings are down to people not warming them up right. 10-60 oil and a heavy foot from cold. In fact any car you rag from cold will break.

[@vporta3151]

Owned my e92 M3 five years now and love it!! Driven the e46 and newer m3, for me the e92 is the best of them all. Had opportunities to trade it in for any of the m3s. Just couldn’t compare what that v8 does and the styling is perfect without too much technology to breakdown in years to come

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah having driven the E46, E92 and F87 I would definitely agree

[@sassall4284]

Hell yeah

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yessss

[@fastcrazy2555]

Bro, u have an interest to test drive my 981 cayman ? It’s in pretty decent situation

[@KiwiCarLife]

Ooh yes absolutely, hit me up on insta @kiwicarlife.yt

[@skux93]

👏

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks

[@kierenalvarez]

160,000km is a trip to the shops here in Australia. Not exactly an argument for reliability. Even a Holden 202 could do 160,000 km and it was a horribly unreliable engine. 300,000km is where the numbers start to get respectable for reliability. My 2 cents on that! Really like your videos mate... Cool cars and fantastic video and audio quality! Can see how much effort you are putting in!!!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Thanks man, I’d be confident there’d be nothing stopping one of these running to 300,000km.

[@kierenalvarez]

@@KiwiCarLife You're very welcome! KZbin needs more quality automotive creators in the southern hemisphere! Yeah I could see the i6 doing that ... the v8 though? If not the sound definitely makes up for it! 😅 I think the only better sounding BMW is the M5 v10...

[@RotrexfezST]

Plenty of these in the USA have done 300,000 miles on the original motor. They also don’t lose horse power with age. The s65 is a fab motor

[@sonof69star]

s54 in Z4M is the best pairing in BMW's history.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah would agree, that's the dream combo for me

[@jackosmeister]

Did you take Hells S65 130 for a blat?

[@KiwiCarLife]

I did not but I have another guy with an S65 135i coupe I'm going to do when it's finished

[@jackosmeister]

@@KiwiCarLife Its hilarious fun to drive.

[@RotrexfezST]

Both awesome Machines,e92 is leaps ahead though. Engine is a master piece and it’s a smidge heavier then the e46. The v8 sounds rampant compared to the s54. E92 is still such a popular car,many guys coming back to the platform after moving on to the f series. I prefer the z4 and s54 over the e46 but they’re all great drivers cars as they were made when bmw cared about the ultimate driving machine. Now they do competition SUV’s and convertibles lol. It’s shocking. These are all regardless which people think are better glorious cars of an era when cars were just 👌🏻

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yep definitely agree 2000’s cars were the best in the business. E92 was the peak, E46 a close 2nd. But agree a Z4M is more suitable to the angry S54

[@OscarPrice007]

So my quesrion is, am I replacing my M5 with a an ISF or a E92 m3?

[@KiwiCarLife]

If you’re used to BMW, I’d say M3, if you had major issues with your M5 and are sick of fixing it, then maybe ISF coz it’ll probably be more reliable? Although if you find an M3 with the rod bearings and throttle actuators done then it would probably be good

[@OscarPrice007]

@KiwiCarLife I've been leaning towards the m3 as I really want a manual, the m3 is very iconic and I do love BMW, however rhe reliability and astonishingly good handling of the IS-F is very compelling. Thanks for your input!

[@emiliomelian685]

M3 E46 legend best M3 ever

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yesssss I love mine

[@TheUncleGoat]

I used to hate the E9x generation of cars when they first came out, they just looked fat and bland compared to the sleekness and beauty of the E46, but honestly I don't think they've aged that bad.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah as with a lot of BMW’s (like for instance the E60 M5) people thought they were the ugliest things ever when they came out, but they’ve aged well 20 years on

[@mattnightingale1712]

Need a purple tag rack in that e46!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yes for sure!

[@matthewnicholas6365]

Just sold my e46. Plenty goes wrong. Rod bearings Head gasket Vanos Subframe SMG (not my manual) Rust Cooling systems Fan damage General age related problems The manual is crap as well. Wish I'd got an SMG. People moan the shifts are slow but ignore the fact the e46 manual is so notching and wobbly you struggle to go between 1st 2nd and 3rd which are the only gears you need to go fast. In the end, i spent more time during my 4 years trying to make it feel good all round than actually driving it. So i sold it and got an F83

[@KiwiCarLife]

You wish you’d got an SMG??? Good lord. My M3 has a lovely manual gearbox, easy to find all the gears. Notchy is good, shows it’s actually doing something not like a crappy FWD cable gearbox

[@matthewnicholas6365]

@KiwiCarLife I replaced all the bushes and fitted a 545i shorter shifter. It still wouldn't go into first gear until the gearbox oil was hot. Which was annoying as the only way to get it hot was to drive it and the only way to drive it was to put it in 1st. (OK, it wasn't impossible to put it in 1st, but hard is an understatement) It was and is a shit box. I've had loads of manuals, including a 5sp 330ci and every last one of them was better than that crap.

[@matthewnicholas6365]

I daily drive a rubbish Renault Megane with a 6sp manual. It's everything the M3 wasn't. Clean, precise, easy to find the gear, quick to change and genuinely enjoyable to change.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@matthewnicholas6365 sounds like you had a rough time with your one. Mine is faultless

[@matthewnicholas6365]

@KiwiCarLife to be fair, I've never driven another e46 manual. But was told by numerous people it was fairly normal behaviour. The fact the shifter is connected to the box by foot long linkages is the first sign it ain't great. Look at an S2000 box, the shifter goes directly into it.

[@bksniperguy]

Man, that's an absurd sense of acceleration in the E92.

[@KiwiCarLife]

It’s quick!

[@Technickcall]

If only you still had the isf it would have been good comparing it with the e92

[@KiwiCarLife]

Already done it, apart from reliability, the M3 is much better.

[@Technickcall]

@@KiwiCarLife sorry about that must have missed that video

[@SuzukiGil10]

Time to put a CS steering rack in your e46 and find some heated seats 👍

[@KiwiCarLife]

Sounds expensive!

[@louvendran7273]

Without watching, why! I told you many times when I bought my e90 built to spec for me, it was leaps ahead than the e46. I could have bought a new e46 clearance stock brand new for a few more thousand. I hope you had fun nonetheless. Lastly, I forgot this I did order the e92 prelaunch. The 2008 meltdown made sure I couldn't take delivery 😂

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah the E92 is definitely a big step up and they're cheaper too. Find one with the rod bearings done and it's a better car in every way imo

[@rayrom8219]

The e92 is better is some ways. The e46 wil always be the rawer more connected drivers car. The e92 feels like a bloated e46. It feels so much heavier from the drivers perspective. And ofcourse I don’t many people would disagree in the looks department, the e46 wins hands down.

[@louvendran7273]

@@rayrom8219 I will put this way. In 2006/7 cops used to stop me just to check out my e90 MSport 325 with 18s. I hear you. Every BMW has its place in history. If you talk about a mechanical driving experience I suggest you drive an e12 or the best is an e9.

[@rayrom8219]

I don’t think many people agree that a e9x is better looking. I have both. E92 is Santorini blue and e46 is white. The e46 still gets much more attention.

[@RotrexfezST]

@@rayrom8219e46 is like 50kg heavier and then the e92. The e46 is just old so feels ‘raw’ e92 is better in every way. The engine alone blows the s65 out the water

[@erictong4013]

if you are in Auckland you can review my 1M and another special unicorn.

[@KiwiCarLife]

I would be very very keen! Hit me up on insta @kiwicarlife.yt

[@Birmingham_racing]

Really hard to pick against the e46 so I won't

[@KiwiCarLife]

Haha fair enough

[@NZ_Lexus_IS-F]

Be honest, how does the E92 compare to the IS-F, they're technically competitors.

[@NZ_Lexus_IS-F]

Also, going to need an F80 M3 comparison :P

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@NZ_Lexus_IS-F the ISF is more reliable which is its major selling point over one of these (and why I bought one), but in every other regard the E92 M3 is better. I’d have one over an E46 though

[@AllDayBlazer89]

Those bearings of the e92 😮😅😂

[@KiwiCarLife]

They've just been replaced! Doing just fine

[@RotrexfezST]

Same as the e46,with the Vanos,subframe and what ever else they have that goes wrong. E92 has no where near the issues the e46 has

[@jonashedman131]

Except for main bearings.. 😅

[@RotrexfezST]

@@jonashedman131 except they’re fine,they go after a cars been ragged from cold and the bearings have worn really bad. Plus 99.9% of cars that do a main are Lci cars. Same old shit people spout when they don’t know shit. I’ve been supercharged for 4 years tracked the car loads and drive it hard and it’s been great. Only replaced the rear seal in 7 years it’s been the most reliable car I’ve ever had.

[@jonashedman131]

@@RotrexfezST Sreten att M539 explained it really well. I do not share your opinion. But that is okay. Fun cars anyways

[@Will0w_Th3rianPawzz]

The 130i with a v8 would be epic lol.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Some exist! The swap has been done, I'd love to see the V8 in an E89 Z4

[@Inspherespace]

Yes the e8x chassis with the S65 is the engine the 1M should of had, but they wouldn't have sold any M3s there's quite a few swaps that have been done out there

[@Will0w_Th3rianPawzz]

Put one in you 130i G.

[@OrangeChicken417]

Always v8

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yessss

[@puristM]

E92 M3 is unfortunately too refined. I would take the E46, E36 and E30 M3.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah see I just couldn’t own something that old, I like something that’s at least a little refined but still connected. Something like a new M2 is too refined for me but an E92 still has enough rawness

[@kierenalvarez]

Hard choice.... The engine alone tho... V8 all day long!

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yep agree!

[@rayrom8219]

E46 m3 is soo much better looking. I have both but the 46 is the keeper just based on aesthetics alone.

[@KiwiCarLife]

Yeah it is a great looking car

[@gabrieleromiti8598]

V6 if you got limited Money bit still you Need heaps,V8 if you re Jeff Bezos

[@KiwiCarLife]

V6? Really? And both cost basically the same

[@gabrieleromiti8598]

Oh no no,Is a huge differenz..,E92cost 10 times more then E46.

[@KiwiCarLife]

@@gabrieleromiti8598 not here! Both 30-50k

[@T_3rR4h]

You buy a M2 ;)

[@KiwiCarLife]

Absolutely not I reviewed one and didn’t like it at all