{"id":18820,"date":"2022-03-30T12:28:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=18820"},"modified":"2022-03-30T12:28:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:28:43","slug":"alpina-b4-alpina-b3-bmw-m3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=18820","title":{"rendered":"Which to Buy: ALPINA B4 Gran Coupe, ALPINA B3, or BMW M3 Competition?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want a compact (relatively) four-door performance car from BMW, you\u2019re sort of spoiled for choice at the moment. Well, if you live in Europe, at least. For European customers looking for such a car, you now have three options; the BMW M3 Competition, ALPINA B3, and the all-new ALPINA B4 Gran Coupe<\/a>. So which one do you get?<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a discussion about which car is better because they\u2019re all too unique to really be considered better than one another. Instead, we\u2019re going to look at what they offer, to see which car is a better fit for you. Let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n

BMW M3 Competition<\/h4>\n

This is the car that came first and it\u2019s the most famous, so we\u2019ll start here. The BMW M3 Competition<\/a> uses a 3.0 liter twin-turbocharged inline-six, with 503 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. It\u2019s BMW\u2019s S58 engine and, ironically, it\u2019s the same basic engine that\u2019s in the two ALPINAs. The difference is that the M3\u2019s S58 has been tuned by the M Division and makes more horsepower than the two ALPINA engines. It\u2019s tuned for higher revs and a more manic, motorsport-like feel.<\/p>\n

The M3 Competition is also stiffer, louder, more brash, and more dynamic than either the ALPINA B3 or B4. That\u2019s just the way M cars are, they\u2019re supposed to be razor sharp, even if that means sacrificing some comfort. It\u2019s also the only car in this three-way that offers rear-wheel drive (it\u2019s available in both rear and all-wheel drive). So if it\u2019s a pure driver\u2019s car you\u2019re after, the M3 is probably for you.<\/p>\n

ALPINA B3<\/h4>\n

If you like the idea of a BMW M3 but want to trade some of its precision for some comfort, the ALPINA B3<\/a> is your car. It uses the same S58 engine but it\u2019s been tuned by ALPINA to make less horsepower and more torque. It makes 456 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, giving it a different feel. ALPINA also tuned its exhaust note to be a bit less raucous and more sophisticated, while still sounding sporty.<\/p>\n

That same sentiment carried over to the B3\u2019s suspension as well. The ALPINA B3 is still an impressive athlete, with great steering and smooth moves, but it\u2019s more sophisticated, more comfortable, and less brash. It\u2019s a gentleman\u2019s sport sedan, if you will.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, one of the B3\u2019s more desirable traits is its design. With the B3, ALPINA kept the standard 3 Series\u2019 grille, rather than the M3\u2019s pig-like snout. Many fans feel the B3 is worth getting for that reason alone. It is, in my opinion, the best looking car of these three by far. It\u2019s also available as a B3 Touring<\/a> (wagon), which would not only be the best looking but the most practical.<\/p>\n

ALPINA B4<\/h4>\n

While ALPINA chose to use the standard 3 Series grille for the B3, it had no choice for the B4 but to adopt the new grille. That\u2019s because the standard 4 Series also uses the nostril-heavy grille, so ALPINA had nowhere to hide. Admittedly, the B4 Gran Coupe is the best looking version of the 4 Series.<\/p>\n

Under the hood, the B4 also uses an S58 engine but it\u2019s tuned a bit differently than the B3\u2019s, giving it more power. The B4 makes 495 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque. Though, it\u2019s also heavier than the B3, as the standard 4 Series Gran Coupe is heavier than the standard 3 Series. So the added power might be to counter the weight increase.<\/p>\n

What makes the B4 Gran Coupe special is its body style. Rather than the other two, with their conventional four-door sedan bodies, the B4 Gran Coupe has a hatchback tailgate, giving it more trunk space and a more practical trunk aperture. So while it might have the controversial new grille, it makes up for it with improved practicality out back over the sedan options.<\/p>\n

Which to Buy?<\/h4>\n

Chances are, if you have the money and want a performance BMW sedan, the M3 Competition is the car you\u2019re looking at. However, if that\u2019s the case, there are two other options worth your consideration. Which is the one to buy? That\u2019s tough to say, as they all have their reasons.<\/p>\n

The M3 is the sharpest and most dynamic but also the least comfortable. The B3 is more comfortable and still fast, while also looking best, but it\u2019s the least powerful. While the B4 Gran Coupe has the funky looks but it\u2019s more powerful than the B3 and more practical than both (excluding the B3 Touring).<\/p>\n

Given that each have their pros and cons, which is the car you most prefer to own?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you want a compact (relatively) four-door performance car from BMW, you\u2019re sort of spoiled for choice at the moment. Well, if you live in Europe, at least. For European customers looking for such a car, you now have three options; the BMW M3 Competition, ALPINA B3, and the all-new ALPINA B4 Gran Coupe. So […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":18821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}