The BMW E46 M3 is fast, but can it beat the hot GR Yaris in straight-line races? The folks are Carwow brought these two together on a race track for an off-beat series of races. The GR Yaris comes from Toyota’s performance arm, whereas the E46 M3 belongs to a class that is arguably the best generation – or at least right on top there – that BMW has ever produced. Who do you have your bets on?

The Gazoo Racing Yaris Is Insane

The engine is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and an all-wheel-drive system. This particular model is equipped with a Circuit Package, which adds front and rear limited-slip differentials.

The BMW E46 M3 comes with a 3.2-liter, six-cylinder engine that makes 343 horses and 269 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. It doesn’t come with a launch control either.

The BMW is 419 pounds heavier than the 2,822 pound-Japanese, and that could play a big role in the result.

The GR Yaris Got The Drag Races, But The Bimmer Got The Rolling Races

The cars engaged in a couple of drag races where the GR Yaris won comfortably both times. The BMW was on different sets of tires at the front and back, but with the difference in the distance between them at the finish line, the best rubber wouldn’t have changed the result either. Perhaps, it was the all-wheel-drive layout versus the rear-wheel-drive setup that made the difference here, apart from the weight. And, let’s not forget the GR Yaris also features front and rear diffs for better traction.

In the first rolling race, they started at 30 mph in the second gear. The GR Yaris was quicker to pick up the pace, but by the end of the mile mark, the BMW had taken the lead. In the second rolling race, the cars started at 50 mph in third gear, but the result was the same. It must be noted that the electronic speed governor kicked in at around 143 mph in the Yaris. If not for this, it could’ve much closer.

As for the braking test, the GR Yaris stopped much shorter than the BMW E46 M3 which just seemed to keep going.

Conclusion

This was an apples-to-oranges kind of race, but both the cars had their pros and cons which showed in the final result. Anyway, if you had to pick one of these cars as your daily driver, which one would be it – the three-pot, turbocharged, peppy GR Yaris, or the classy, sexy BMW E46 M3? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.