BMW has always been synonymous with driving pleasure in all vehicle classes. The fact that customers and fans also agree with this summation is once again confirmed by the readers’ poll conducted by German motoring magazine “sport auto”. Cars from the BMW Group received the top scores in four classes. The BMW 335i was voted the best sedan car up to € 50,000 for the third time in three years. The BMW M3 Sedan was the favorite among readers for the second year in a row in the sedans/estates up to € 100,000 class.

Also for the second time in a row, the BMW M235i took pole position in the category for coupés up to € 50,000. In the compact cars class, the BMW M135i easily succeeded in fighting off the competition. As in the previous year, the BMW M550d xDrive took second place in the diesel class, once again underlining the leading role of the BMW Group as a supplier of vehicles that combine sporty performance with maximum efficiency.

Double victory for M Performance automobiles.
In the compact class and in the coupés up to € 50,000, the BMW M135i (26.7 percent of the votes cast) and the BMW M235i Coupé (38.3 percent of the votes cast) once again beat off the competition. Both vehicles have a six-cylinder engine with M TwinPower turbo technology, ensuring spontaneous responsiveness, an exceptional thirst for revs and outstanding refinement (fuel consumption combined BMW M235i: 8.1 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 189 g/km; BMW M135i: 8.0 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 188 g/km*).

Triple win for the BMW 335i Sedan.
For the third time in a row, the readers of “sport auto” put the BMW 335i in top place in the sedans up to € 50,000 category. The key factor for the continuing success of the sports sedan is its in-line six-cylinder engine with BMW TwinPower turbo technology. The 225 kW/306 hp in-line six-cylinder engine makes particularly impressive play with the typical BMW virtues of instantaneous responses, an exceptional thirst for revs and outstanding refinement. The combination of a turbocharger that operates according to the twin scroll principle with direct high precision injection and VALVETRONIC guarantees an unbeatably efficient balance between driving pleasure and fuel consumption (fuel consumption combined BMW 335i: 7.9 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 186 g/km*).

The defending title-holder BMW M3.

Garnering 39.4% of reader votes, the BMW M3 had no difficulty defending its title as best sedan up to € 100,000, actually managing to increase its share of the vote in its second year on the market. The fifth generation of the BMW M3 (fuel consumption combined: 8.8 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 204 g/km*) is powered by a newly developed six-cylinder in-line engine. The high-revving unit with M TwinPower Turbo technology offers maximum output of 317 kW/431 hp. Peak torque of 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) is available across a broad rev band and exceeds the maximum offered by the previous BMW M3 by almost 40 percent. A rigorously applied lightweight design concept has brought about a weight reduction of around 80 kilograms. Fuel consumption and emissions are down by 25 percent. The BMW M3 Sedan takes just 4.1 seconds to sprint from 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) – when fitted with the optional seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission – and also catches the eye as a strong performer out on the track as well as in everyday use.

The “sport auto Award” has been presented by German motoring magazine “sport auto” since 1980. It is one of the leading German awards for sporting cars and is highly coveted by manufacturers. In 2015 a total of 230 models were nominated in 30 series-production categories and a further 10 tuning classes. In this, the 23rd year of the awards, 13,601 readers took part in the poll via survey postcard, online survey or one of the “sport auto” digital channels.

Placings at a glance:

Winner – Compact Cars: BMW M135i.

Winner – Coupés up to € 50,000: BMW M235i Coupé.

Winner – Sedans/Estates up to € 50,000: BMW 335i.

Winner – Sedans/Estates up to € 100,000: BMW M3.

Second place – Diesel Cars: BMW M550d xDrive.

Second place – Convertibles up to € 50,000: BMW M235i Convertible

Second place – Convertibles up to € 100,000: BMW M4 Convertible

Second place – Coupés up to € 100,000: BMW M3 Coupé

Third place – Sedans up to € 100,000: BMW M5 30 Years

Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the following guideline: “Leitfaden über Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2 emissions und den Stromverbrauch neuer Personenkraftwagen” (Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be obtained from all dealerships, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH (DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at http://www.dat.de/en/offers/publications/guideline-for-fuel-consumption.html. LeitfadenCO2 (GuidelineCO2) (PDF ‒ 2.7 MB).

* Fuel consumption figures were calculated based on the ECE test cycle, dependent on tire format.