I've driven the new BMW M3 on track as much as I have on the road, it seems. Well almost — the car's launch took us via a convoluted route to Aldo Scribante and then I spent a fair amount of time chasing 'round Kyalami for that Hot Lap. I certainly will primarily remember this car for its on-track prowess.

Which is a bit unfair — it's bloody brilliant on the road too...

The BMW M3 four-door is pretty much the same car as Coupe. It has that same 309kW 400Nm 8400rpm 4.0-litre V8 stuffed under the bonnet — complete with Brake Energy Regeneration variable double-VANOS and eight individual throttle butterflies, too.

Of course M3 boasts that impeccable torque-balancing M-differential — no, BMW doesn’t bugger around — which gives more than just an LS diff. Look further and you'll find all the tricks from EDC to DSC, not to mention that specially reworked aluminium-rich M-suspension.

But this one's got two doors extra and heaps of practicality more.

Another advantage is that M has grafted 3's coupe face to its sedan, while its M-kit further sets it apart from those common garden 3-Series models. It's also easier to access than the coupe — especially in cheated high density parking slots — and it's kind to a big guy in front, especially around the knees, with those M chairs brilliantly supportive while still allowing you to get into that ideal driving position.

M3 is quite brilliant around town — cosseting you when you need to forget you're driving and just commute — and it's torquey enough to just trundle about. That's thanks to plough-pulling grunt, which leads you on to a delicious and seemingly never ending supply of power.

And that's what this car is all about: the moment that glut frees up and there's an open road to drive. From there, M3 sedan is quite simply glorious. And there is no better test to prove that than around Kyalami...

The M3 is a track-tuned tool designed to let you to find the limit and drive there comfortably until you need to stop for fuel. It puts you at ease and lets you know where it is, where it's come from and most important, what it's going to do next and rewards the quick driver on track with an almost faultless repertoire.

To drive quickly on a racetrack is a precise art of braking and turn-in points, apexes and the need to bring on the power as early as possible to drive it out quicker, faster. Put a series of all of those together properly and you'll drive as fast as the car can go. Most often, a road car struggles on a racetrack and you need to adapt your driving to varying extents to allow some of the ill habits of that street-tuned chassis to sort themselves out. You need to concentrate on all the finer points, work on apexes and figure out what's coming next.

In a racecar tuned precisely for the track, that's different — you spend days testing to fine tune and hone the racer into that specific set of corners, straights, twists and turns So you'd never really expect a road car to feel anything like a track machine...

But the M3 is different — it hunts out those apexes, prompts you to power it earlier and demands you take it like a racer by the scruff of the neck and drive it as hard as you possibly can...

Take some time to understand M3's wants and man, it's heaven — plant it early and those 415 horses light up the back as M-differential makes it simple to play King of Drift. A few laps in and the M3 Sedan posted a 2 minute 5.8 second best time and had me rapt and wanting more.

On my way home I had to pick up my son and his two buddies who were coming around after cricket practice. M3 slipped anonymously into the school parking, swallowed all their kit and they were soon all strapped in and asking all the right questions about how the M3 had rushed about the racetrack.

It seemed as though we were riding in comfy tow car with the machine I was telling them about trailing behind, when we were actually driving that M3 I'd half an hour before been pedalling flat out...

BMW's M3 Sedan doubles up as a family supercar — its versatility being one of its strongest suites in a pedigree that really is out of the top drawer. No, the BMW M3 sedan may not be the biggest capacity or most powerful car in its class. It is quite simply the best car in its class.

WE LIKE
Awesome dynamics, superb 8400rpm V8 all in a family package
WE DON'T
Thirsty when asked. Not much else

SAFETY (Euro NCAP)
Adult Occupant (5): 5
Child Protection (5): 4
Pedestrian (4): 1
Airbags: Front and side plus window airbags front and rear
Safety Equipment: PRE-SAFE, ABS, BAS, ESP, ASR
CIA Security Rating: 4/5

WE SAY
"So you’ve fallen in love with the M3 Coupe and the missus wraps you on the knuckles for not thinking of the family. M3 Sedan is a brilliant idea, gaining practicality but still providing the same dynamic thrills and even most of the style inherent in its two-door sibling, thanks to that Coupe front and other M addenda. This is a four-door I'd happily live with." -Jason Woosey
"When the old dolphin-shaped M3 hit our shores in four-door mode, I was a little disappointed. To me the M3 said Soper and Winkelhock and that race pedigree meant two-door shell. Maybe it’s because I’m older, but an M3 four-door makes more sense now. It is practical, goes like the clappers and is one of the best-feeling drives out there." -Stuart Grant

AT A GLANCE
Engine: Brilliant 8400rpm V8 = 10
Drivetrain: The right stuff = 8
Chassis: The apex hunter = 9
Cabin: Spacious, neat but BMW = 7
Styling: M kit, nose bring best out = 7
Value: You get what you pay for = 6
Safety: All the right NCAP stars = 10
Economy: Should be better = 5
Performance: Sublime = 9
Fun Factor: Beat this... = 10
Total = 81

VERDICT
Need a practical sedan but can’t do without that M magic? There’s nothing to match the M3 four-door.