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Do any two characters ignite as much excitement among motoring enthusiasts as M3?
I don't think so.
But now, you've gotta say M4.
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Let's drive to 2015 and check the deck.
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Now in modern BMW [UNKNOWN] a three is a sedan and a four is a coupe more or less.
So an M four is your lightest two door M series car available today.
And it really harkens straight back to the original legendary E30.
The car that made M a household word.
And it drooled over one.
Now an M4 is about a 65 thousand dollar car.
It's nicely equipped, but it's missing some key features that take it to the next style.
That's where you want the executive package, and Harmon Kar Audio gets you a tick over 70 grand.
Let's see what it buys you.
Now inside this M4, a lot of things are familiar.
You're going to recognize the head units.
iDrive has not changed substantially for this vehicle.
You're also going to recognize the iDrive controller.
Know that the newer ones have this big knob with a touchpad on top for handwriting recognition and directional arrows.
Now M force come pretty loaded up they have navigation standard but notice they don't have a rear view camera standard you have to pay extra for that.
And BMW's generally excellent voice command is a standout on this navigation screen.
[NOISE] Navigate to 235 Second Street, San Francisco, California.
Processing your input.
Did you mean 235 2nd Street, San Francisco.
That's slick.
One button press, one phrase.
And of course you've got all the standard media sources.
I can't call that anything that's really missing.
Radio with HD.
And just every kind of brought in media player, source, or storage device you'd ever want to use.
One thing you will find on this car that not every iDrive unit has are these sport displays.
You can get a power output and a torque output virtual gauge up here to complement your largely traditional analog gauges in front of the driver.
There isn't even really much of an LCD helper screen.
A small one down there, but this car takes it old school.
Now let's look at all the drive controls that are key to an M car.
Here is your shifter.
We have a DCT, Dual Clutch Transmission, not the optional manual.
Down below it are three grades of aggression if you will, for how that transmissions responds.
Over here is your powertrain button.
That will put you in either Efficiency Mode, Sport, or Sport Plus.
And down here is your steering field.
That also has three grades to go along with it.
Now to make these more of a macro.
You have an M1 and a M2 button here, two M Sport modes that are programmable.
To whatever combination of these attributes you want to put under them.
And an adaptive suspension is available on the M4.
It's not standard though.
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And the big news under the hood is no more V8.
now it's a twin turbo, inline six.
Three liter.
And those turbos are a maxed pair.
It's not one of those twin scroll single turbos.
You're not going to miss the other two cylinders.
425 horsepower here, 406 pound feet of torque gets this rear-wheel drive car up to 60 in 3.9 seconds with the dual clutch transmission that most folks are going to get.
If you do get the rare bird manual, give up a couple tenths.
You'll be around 4.1.
Oh, and this is tasty.
A carbon fiber reinforced plastic stabilizer across the struts.
Just say carbon fiber.
The first thing I notice right off the bat, where's the turbo lag?
I think I can actually say they've zeroed it out.
I'm not detecting any.
Especially transitioning on and off throttle, which is usually where turbos get caught really flat-footed.
It ain't happening.
This is sweet.
Now that gets us into great dynamics in four directions Going this way, no lag.
Lift off the throttle.
Great deceleration.
I really like and miss that.
And of course we/ve got great laterals on this car for a variety of reasons.
But the one that's new.
As if we've got a 180 pound weight-loss over the last generation.
They've done it with carbon fiber lightweight material.
The smaller engine, as well as the lightweight clutch back.
All of this added up to 180 pounds reduced.
That's like throwing your passenger out, that makes a difference.
And I defy even a. Even the most hardcore driving enthusiasts to have a problem.
A big problem with this electric steering rack.
BMW know's they've got to get that right.
Especially on this car.
In some finesse.
Nothing comes on like a sledgehammer that's harder to do than just brut power and speed.
In conclusion the M4 is the essence of m. Nothing you don't need everything you want.
M6, seriously.
This car's gonna come in at a pretty steep price as you [INAUDIBLE].
So if you're not gonna track it, don't waste your money.
Get another four, which will be very potent but not at the razor's edge.
This here, is what it's all about.
If you know M, and love it.
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