RE: BMW M4 Convertible: Review

RE: BMW M4 Convertible: Review

Author
Discussion

Atmospheric

5,305 posts

207 months

Tuesday 2nd September 2014
quotequote all
Considering there's no natural aspiration any longer, the massive advantage of the E46 and E92 noise factor has gone. So I don't see the point.

The M4 Coupe is a nice car. The M3 saloon is a nice car. Not this for me.

moffat

1,020 posts

224 months

Wednesday 3rd September 2014
quotequote all
The JM said:
Before buying the new M3 I drove a Merc 507 edition C63 AMG. I had my heart set on it before I drove it as I love V8's and having read all the reviews I thought it would be amazing. I was so disappointed. The big attraction of the noise was the biggest let down. Inside with the windows up you can barely hear the exhaust and there was hardly any induction noise. The car felt so heavy and the ride was harsh no matter what setting the car was in. To me the new M3 sounds much better and is in another league in terms of handling and ride.
Each to their own, but i think you might be on your own with that view.

1. The new M3/M4 does sound dull compared to all other M3's and like a diesel compared to the M156 in the C63.

2. How can the C63 sound dull? I am completely lost on that one. Windows up or down it is in a completely different league of good sound and only a V10 R8 or, Lambo or Ferrari engine sounds better.

And yes I drove the M3 as I am looking to replace my C63. I thought it was completely lacking in sense of occasion but an all round good car - very fast too.

The JM

133 posts

224 months

Wednesday 3rd September 2014
quotequote all
moffat said:
The JM said:
Before buying the new M3 I drove a Merc 507 edition C63 AMG. I had my heart set on it before I drove it as I love V8's and having read all the reviews I thought it would be amazing. I was so disappointed. The big attraction of the noise was the biggest let down. Inside with the windows up you can barely hear the exhaust and there was hardly any induction noise. The car felt so heavy and the ride was harsh no matter what setting the car was in. To me the new M3 sounds much better and is in another league in terms of handling and ride.
Each to their own, but i think you might be on your own with that view.

1. The new M3/M4 does sound dull compared to all other M3's and like a diesel compared to the M156 in the C63.

2. How can the C63 sound dull? I am completely lost on that one. Windows up or down it is in a completely different league of good sound and only a V10 R8 or, Lambo or Ferrari engine sounds better.

And yes I drove the M3 as I am looking to replace my C63. I thought it was completely lacking in sense of occasion but an all round good car - very fast too.
I did not say the C63 sounds "dull". Its just very quiet inside as I guess all the noise is being left behind outside at the rear of the car (That is a good noise). Unfortunately most the time I am driving at speeds where it is uncomfortable to have the windows down to be able to enjoy it.

I really want a go in a Diesel that sounds like the new M3. I honestly think people are swapping "noise" for "torque" in these comparisons!




drpep

1,758 posts

167 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
dlockhart said:
According to the stats here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/roadtests/doc.asp?c=100...

There is a 200kilo weight disadvantage to the coupe. If I was in the market for an M4 it would not be this model.
Yeah, but I suspect the cabriolet will be largely bought by those who want to be seen rather than those who want to drive. FWIW, I'd take an e92 coupe any day of the week over this thing. I'd hang onto the brakes though; a good set of ceramics is exactly what the e92 needed.

Jellymonster

303 posts

193 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
ghibbett said:
I'll just leave this here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lWsfloXtNs
Is that real? It sounds appalling!!!

Jellymonster

303 posts

193 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
ghibbett said:
I'll just leave this here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lWsfloXtNs
Is that real? It sounds appalling!!!

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
Jellymonster said:
ghibbett said:
I'll just leave this here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lWsfloXtNs
Is that real? It sounds appalling!!!
I think someone has superimposed the sound of a strimmer over a picture of an M4. hehe

Clivey

5,108 posts

203 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
It sounds broken. frown

fatboy b

9,492 posts

215 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
I saw a 4-series convertible today. Seems they've moved on fron the Bangled styling days, and they are now positively comical.

Leins

9,422 posts

147 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
Clivey said:
It sounds broken. frown
It sounds like a broken lawnmower! frown

disco666

232 posts

145 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
GT119 said:
Thought that the perspective from a current owner of the V8 convertible might be useful. I've had the car for 3 years, and for the money there is nothing that strikes the best compromise for a fast enjoyable daily drive convertible. Yes it weighs more and yes you can feel it, but when you have 2 kids and all the journeys associated with family life, ultimate performance/handling is only relevant a small percentage of the time. Interior space/quality, boot space, rear legroom, ease of parking, ground clearance, etc, are all just right and with the roof up it sounds and feels pretty much as solid/refined as the coupe, if not as agile of course. Roof down the V8 sounds absolutely fantastic (admittedly better with M performance exhausts which my car has). It draws just enough positive attention in most situations but without overtly looking like a yob in the school car park.
Running costs have also been very reasonable, although depreciation is a slightly different matter.
Performance for the UK roads is more than enough and whilst the new turbo six might be faster, if it sounds average, I just wouldn't be interested as for me that is a huge part of the appeal and thus a deal-breaker. On top of that I don't think that the new m3 front end appearance has nailed it like the last either.
For the one-car-for-all-occasions approach you are inherently going to be making a compromise, if someone can point me to a better alternative than the V8 convertible, I'm all ears. Save yourself the trouble if your response to that is buy two separate cars.....not an option for me.
911.
I'm not really a fan of either, but always admired the M3 for it all-round appeal.
Then my friend bought a 911 and having driven it I cannot see why anybody would buy the M3. (Unless you simply have to have a V8).

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
Usable rear seats. You can fit adults in the back of a 3-series.

AlphaCentauri

3 posts

111 months

Monday 29th December 2014
quotequote all
I honestly don't understand all the fuss about the weight.

It's the LIGHEST in its class.
It's even LIGHTER then Audi RS5 Coupe.

I also don't understand why people say "Oh M cars are getting too heavy"
All cars are getting heavy.
M4 was the first mid-size or large-size sport saloon car EVER to get lighter than its previous version.
So to me, it seems like M division really cares about the weight, and it's MORE SUCCESSFUL than its rivals, when it comes to weight savings.
Why am I always hearing "M is too heavy" rant all around the place?

AlphaCentauri

3 posts

111 months

Monday 29th December 2014
quotequote all
I honestly don't understand all the fuss about the weight.

It's the LIGHEST in its class.
It's even LIGHTER then Audi RS5 Coupe.

I also don't understand why people say "Oh M cars are getting too heavy"
All cars are getting heavy.
M4 was the first mid-size or large-size sport saloon car EVER to get lighter than its previous version.
So to me, it seems like M division really cares about the weight, and it's MORE SUCCESSFUL than its rivals, when it comes to weight savings.
Why am I always hearing "M is too heavy" rant all around the place?

cerb4.5lee

30,197 posts

179 months

Monday 29th December 2014
quotequote all
AlphaCentauri said:
I honestly don't understand all the fuss about the weight.

It's the LIGHEST in its class.
It's even LIGHTER then Audi RS5 Coupe.

I also don't understand why people say "Oh M cars are getting too heavy"
All cars are getting heavy.
M4 was the first mid-size or large-size sport saloon car EVER to get lighter than its previous version.
So to me, it seems like M division really cares about the weight, and it's MORE SUCCESSFUL than its rivals, when it comes to weight savings.
Why am I always hearing "M is too heavy" rant all around the place?
I would have to disagree on the weight front to be fair because its still a relatively heavy car and weight ruins the driving experience in pretty much every way and BMW have struggled at producing cars with effective brakes that deal with the weight...from my experience anyway.

At last BMW have offered the M4 with decent brakes which I think is to be celebrated and whenever I drove my E92 M3 I was disappointed not only by its brakes but by its weight under braking too...so things are moving in the right direction for sure in some ways.

Clivey

5,108 posts

203 months

Tuesday 30th December 2014
quotequote all
AlphaCentauri said:
I honestly don't understand all the fuss about the weight.

It's the LIGHEST in its class.
It's even LIGHTER then Audi RS5 Coupe.

I also don't understand why people say "Oh M cars are getting too heavy"
All cars are getting heavy.
M4 was the first mid-size or large-size sport saloon car EVER to get lighter than its previous version.
So to me, it seems like M division really cares about the weight, and it's MORE SUCCESSFUL than its rivals, when it comes to weight savings.
Why am I always hearing "M is too heavy" rant all around the place?
Does that excuse it then? This convertible weighs as much as a basic Land Rover Defender 110, which is clearly silly. When you find that some of that lard is made up of such nonsense as a "sound symposer", it's all the more ridiculous. Rather than the pointless gimmicks, I'd like to see the advances in technology used to make the cars much lighter; then they'd see the seemingly all-important economy & emissions (as well as pretty much everything else) improve too. Credit to them for making it lighter than the previous model but they should go a lot further.

ZX10R NIN

27,495 posts

124 months

Tuesday 30th December 2014
quotequote all
Clivey said:
AlphaCentauri said:
I honestly don't understand all the fuss about the weight.

It's the LIGHEST in its class.
It's even LIGHTER then Audi RS5 Coupe.

I also don't understand why people say "Oh M cars are getting too heavy"
All cars are getting heavy.
M4 was the first mid-size or large-size sport saloon car EVER to get lighter than its previous version.
So to me, it seems like M division really cares about the weight, and it's MORE SUCCESSFUL than its rivals, when it comes to weight savings.
Why am I always hearing "M is too heavy" rant all around the place?
Does that excuse it then? This convertible weighs as much as a basic Land Rover Defender 110, which is clearly silly. When you find that some of that lard is made up of such nonsense as a "sound symposer", it's all the more ridiculous. Rather than the pointless gimmicks, I'd like to see the advances in technology used to make the cars much lighter; then they'd see the seemingly all-important economy & emissions (as well as pretty much everything else) improve too. Credit to them for making it lighter than the previous model but they should go a lot further.
Having had the New M3 for the past week courtesy of a mate going away for Xmas & New Year & being lucky enough to have a C63 to compare it to here's what I found.

The 63 is more enjoyable even when cruising at low speed the V8 burble(a Bespokehp exhaust system fitted) coming into the cabin puts a smile on your face it's more playful & the steering feels better.

The M3 is more serious not as enjoyable as his previous E92 M3 the engine note is nothing to write home about & I'm pretty sure there's an artificial enhancement somewhere because when you have the windows open it doesn't sound like what's coming out of the exhaust pipes.

I'd say it's a good car but not a great one then we come to the price this one was supposed to be £71000 with the BMW discount he got it for 64K but I look at it & don't see £64000 of, I'd take the C63 over the new M3(out of the C63 & the E92 M3 That's a lot closer) & a Granturismo over the pair of them.