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BMW M3 vs. Subaru WRX STi? Stop The Madness - EuroSport Tuning | Performance parts and accessories for Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Mini, Mercedes Benz, Porsche and Volvo

BMW M3 vs. Subaru WRX STi? Stop The Madness

Posted by Eurosport Tuning on 2021 Sep 27th

BMW M3 vs. Subaru WRX STi? Stop The Madness

Some Subaru fans have no shame. What other explanation can there be? Comparing a WRX STi to an M3 is like comparing an eagle to a bucket of ice cream - one is a beautiful, amazing, powerful creature, and the other is a guilty pleasure that you eventually throw away.

Sure, we're biased. We love the BMWs no doubt. But here’s a fact-based comparison showing exactly why the words "M3" and "STi" shouldn't be in the same sentence.

Let's Start With Some Track Testing

One of the most well known tracks in the world is the Top Gear test track, and here's how each vehicle did:

- A 2009 a Subaru Impreza WRX STi posted a time of 1:28.2 seconds in 2008

- A 2008 E90 BMW M3 turned in a time of 1:25.3 seconds a year earlier.

That's a "small" difference, right? Wrong. A 3 second lap difference is huge in an actual race - after 30 laps of racing on this course (just about 50 miles of racing), the M3 would pass the STI.

What about a drag race? Car and Driver tested a 2012 M3 and found it had a 12.7 second quarter mile time. According to C&D, the very latest WRX STi runs the quarter in 13.3 seconds. Step up to a 2015 M3, and you find it runs the quarter in 12 seconds now.

Can some kid tune his WRX STi up to run faster? Sure. But an M3 can be tuned as well...suffice to say, the M3 is a faster car than the WRX STi "out of the box," and it's really not close.

But The WRX STi Is AWD!

Subaru fans love to talk about how fast their car is in bad weather because of their amazing AWD systems. It's true - AWD is great when it's raining or snowing - but it's a cop out for an STi owner to say "wait till it snows" when they get beat.

More to the point, the STi's AWD system is part of what makes the M3 comparison so inappropriate. It might be more appropriate to compare the STi to BMW's X5 M. Unfortunately, the X5 M also beat the WRX STi's power lap time on the top gear test track (1:28.2), and a 2012 X5 M beat the newest STi's quarter mile time too (12.5 seconds). The newest 2015 X5 M hasn't been track tested by Car and Driver yet, but you can assume it will be even faster than it's predecessor.

But the WRX STi is Cheaper!

Another great point. A new M3 is a $65k luxury sports sedan. A new STi? $35k. "$30,000 is a lot of money," STi fans say, and they're right. For only $30k more, an STi buyer could have:

- An iconic vehicle that's been called "world class", "the world standard", "the perfect balance of performance and luxury", "the finest sports sedan in the world," etc. by professional auto reviewers

- Beautiful yet understated styling (no cartoonish wings, no parts that look like they were glued on)

- Exquisite luxury features, from premium leather seating to automatic wipers to a button that will parallel park your car for you

- A slew of safety technologies that aren't available on the WRX STi, like blind spot monitoring, cross traffic alerts, automatic braking, lane departure, etc.

If you're looking for a powerful car at the lowest possible price, than by all means check out an STi. But if you're looking for a world class performance sedan that will keep you safe and comfy, you probably wouldn't give the STi a second look...which is why comparing the two cars is just so damn silly.

But Comparing Two Obviously Different Cars Is Fun!

Comparing the STi to an M3 is harmless enough, but the comparison says as much about the person making the assessment as it does the cars being compared.If, for example, you say "Obviously, a 65k luxury performance sedan isn't really comparable to a $35k cheap performance sedan," you're probably a reasonable, logical person. But if you say "I wouldn't take an M3 over an STi even if they were the same price," you're probably either very young or very biased. The M3 is obviously superior to the STi. Only a fool would say they were similar. Finally, if you've read our article and still think that the STi is better than an M3, we've got some suggestions for you:

- See if you can find a bigger rear wing for your STi - the factory wing is big, but you can go bigger

- See if you can put a giant muffler on your STi that sticks 3" out further than the rear bumper

- See if you can get about 25 stickers to put on your car so that it looks "race ready"

- See if you can put some lights that shine on the ground underneath the car, preferably synced up to your big giant subwoofer so that they turn on and off with the music everyone can hear blaring out your window

-See if you can stick on some fake hood pins, some vinyl that makes your hood look like it's carbon fiber, and some various aerodynamic 'accessories' that have no functional purpose

After you've done all of the above, find any M3 owner, show them your car, and exclaim "I did it! I made my Subaru better than your BMW." It will sound like the M3 owner is laughing at you, but really he (or she) will be too embarrassed to acknowledge your awesomeness.

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