RE: BMW M4 Convertible: Review
Discussion
Very predictable article, 'doesn't sound as good as the V8' - well obviously, 'not as sharpe to drive as the coupe' - well obviously. Then follows the equally predictable replies from Lotus owners who say it's too heavy. Then the person who compares the weight to a 10 year old 6 series Coupe and concludes the weight is "shambolic" - how about compare it to the equivalent Merc/Audi on sale today?
Personally I'm not a fan of 4 seat cabrios but the M4 Coupe both aesthetically and dynamically seems to be the best new BMW in quite some time.
Personally I'm not a fan of 4 seat cabrios but the M4 Coupe both aesthetically and dynamically seems to be the best new BMW in quite some time.
DeltonaS said:
Given BMW and BMW M(otorsport)'s history, An M3 should emphasize the performance side of the 3 series.
I think we'll have to agree to disagree there. The M brand has been about producing great allrounders rather than pure performance and/or drivers' cars for decades, to my mind, and it's something they do exceptionally well. Yes they've done the odd driver-focussed stripped out model like the CSL but it's been the exception not the norm. BMW know full well who their customers are and what they want.
Edited by kambites on Monday 1st September 19:03
Kong said:
Very predictable article, 'doesn't sound as good as the V8' - well obviously, 'not as sharpe to drive as the coupe' - well obviously. Then follows the equally predictable replies from Lotus owners who say it's too heavy. Then the person who compares the weight to a 10 year old 6 series Coupe and concludes the weight is "shambolic" - how about compare it to the equivalent Merc/Audi on sale today?
Personally I'm not a fan of 4 seat cabrios but the M4 Coupe both aesthetically and dynamically seems to be the best new BMW in quite some time.
Predictably sPersonally I'm not a fan of 4 seat cabrios but the M4 Coupe both aesthetically and dynamically seems to be the best new BMW in quite some time.
t car then? Just because we all know that it's a turbo 6 doesn't mean we can forgive it for being a dull-as-ditch-water engine. And Porsche manage to only add a few kilos to their coupe for the cab - granted with a fabric hood, but so what? Same outcome.
You can almost forgive the cab though - you first have to accept that it's now a town cruiser and leave it at that - although without a sexy engine note, why bother... f
k, I don't know. Clearly it's not for me. But I do think BMW have entirely lost the plot with the new M3/M4 coupe. Still too heavy, and now a rubbish engine. It even looks dull. Why wouldn't someone just have a 335i or whatever they're called over this? There's nothing of interest here. No hint of exotic, no exciting underskin design. It's just some numbers packaged up for boring people.
Perhaps it's regulations that have killed M, but still they have to do better than this, surely?
PunterCam said:
Predictably st car then?
Just because we all know that it's a turbo 6 doesn't mean we can forgive it for being a dull-as-ditch-water engine. And Porsche manage to only add a few kilos to their coupe for the cab - granted with a fabric hood, but so what? Same outcome.
You can almost forgive the cab though - you first have to accept that it's now a town cruiser and leave it at that - although without a sexy engine note, why bother... fk, I don't know. Clearly it's not for me.
But I do think BMW have entirely lost the plot with the new M3/M4 coupe. Still too heavy, and now a rubbish engine. It even looks dull. Why wouldn't someone just have a 335i or whatever they're called over this? There's nothing of interest here. No hint of exotic, no exciting underskin design. It's just some numbers packaged up for boring people.
Perhaps it's regulations that have killed M, but still they have to do better than this, surely?
So you've driven one to know it's too heavy and has a rubbish engine?t car then? Just because we all know that it's a turbo 6 doesn't mean we can forgive it for being a dull-as-ditch-water engine. And Porsche manage to only add a few kilos to their coupe for the cab - granted with a fabric hood, but so what? Same outcome.
You can almost forgive the cab though - you first have to accept that it's now a town cruiser and leave it at that - although without a sexy engine note, why bother... f
k, I don't know. Clearly it's not for me. But I do think BMW have entirely lost the plot with the new M3/M4 coupe. Still too heavy, and now a rubbish engine. It even looks dull. Why wouldn't someone just have a 335i or whatever they're called over this? There's nothing of interest here. No hint of exotic, no exciting underskin design. It's just some numbers packaged up for boring people.
Perhaps it's regulations that have killed M, but still they have to do better than this, surely?
Also it doesn't look dull..it looks fantastic, but that's down to opinion.
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.
You make it sound like a perfect all-rounder. Which clearly it is. Sod the rest of the PH miserable gits and thanks for your constructive and balanced contribution from an actual owner/driver of the car in question, or at least its predecessor. Refreshing.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.
Ah it does make me laugh. This is probably the most capable exciting car most of you will ever drive. ......but she is a bit too heavy.......
I really don't think bmw are going to let a car with the m3 name out unless it had some serious substance.
In 90% of situations you are gonna wish you had one. Stop hating PH and start loving.
I really don't think bmw are going to let a car with the m3 name out unless it had some serious substance.
In 90% of situations you are gonna wish you had one. Stop hating PH and start loving.
ghibbett said:
I'll just leave this here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lWsfloXtNs
That reminds me, my neighbour's transit's exhaust is blowing again.The M3 has long since moved from its original raison d'etre (the E30 was a homologation special) to be just another luxury touring car. This is quite normal, it makes business sense to sell derivative vehicles off the back of an icon's success. BMW might very well do a CSL version but it'll be largely cosmetic. Given modern high strength alloys, high strength composites, and the weight optimisation CAD and FEA provides, a modern M3 in the vein of the original E30 would probably weigh something like the original E30's 1200-odd kg - and sell a handful of units to a few enthusiasts instead of tens of thousands.
allgonepetetong said:
Max_Torque said:
Was this "article", and i use the term loosely, written by a seven year old??
awful: 1/10 must try harder
What sort of feedback is that?awful: 1/10 must try harder
Unspecific
unconstructive
totally lacking any thought whatsoever
How would you like to receive feedback like this at your work?
0/10 must try harder. See me
Seriously though, did the author even drive the car? The article tells us precisely nothing about the car, other than the roof is possibly a bit slow, and it might be considered a bit "lardy", but there are no real driving impressions, or specific information on the car, other than that copied from the usual press pack source. Add in an almost Sniff Petrol "dab of oppo" cliched style and you have an altogether poor, imo, "review" of the M4 Convertible......
PunterCam said:
Kong said:
Very predictable article, 'doesn't sound as good as the V8' - well obviously, 'not as sharpe to drive as the coupe' - well obviously. Then follows the equally predictable replies from Lotus owners who say it's too heavy. Then the person who compares the weight to a 10 year old 6 series Coupe and concludes the weight is "shambolic" - how about compare it to the equivalent Merc/Audi on sale today?
Personally I'm not a fan of 4 seat cabrios but the M4 Coupe both aesthetically and dynamically seems to be the best new BMW in quite some time.
Predictably sPersonally I'm not a fan of 4 seat cabrios but the M4 Coupe both aesthetically and dynamically seems to be the best new BMW in quite some time.
t car then? Just because we all know that it's a turbo 6 doesn't mean we can forgive it for being a dull-as-ditch-water engine. And Porsche manage to only add a few kilos to their coupe for the cab - granted with a fabric hood, but so what? Same outcome.
You can almost forgive the cab though - you first have to accept that it's now a town cruiser and leave it at that - although without a sexy engine note, why bother... f
k, I don't know. Clearly it's not for me. But I do think BMW have entirely lost the plot with the new M3/M4 coupe. Still too heavy, and now a rubbish engine. It even looks dull. Why wouldn't someone just have a 335i or whatever they're called over this? There's nothing of interest here. No hint of exotic, no exciting underskin design. It's just some numbers packaged up for boring people.
Perhaps it's regulations that have killed M, but still they have to do better than this, surely?
Dagnut said:
When did they ever make light ones? The 80s? The new m3 is the same weight as the e46 with 2 extra doors and a lot more tech
They probably didn't....but my point was that with BMW's current line-up and todays technology they could've easliy taken 70 kg's out without making it much more expensive.And besides; do you mean the real weight, or EU weight, weight in standard form or including options.
For instance; there's been a debate going on Ferrarichat.com about the weight of the Ferrari 458 Speciale, someone put his Speciale on a scale, the result was quite a gap between the weight Ferrari says and the real weight on the road. Same implies for the regular 458.
And even if the M3 didn't gain that much, the 5, 6 and 7 series certainly did.
nickfrog said:
You make it sound like a perfect all-rounder. Which clearly it is. Sod the rest of the PH miserable gits and thanks for your constructive and balanced contribution from an actual owner/driver of the car in question, or at least its predecessor. Refreshing.
Forgot to mention that drooping the roof shifts quite a bit of weight towards the rear (and of course lowering the centre of gravity) making for some hilarious tail-out handling characteristics which nicely complement the m-differential and m-dynamic stability control setting. Could even argue that the combination of unique engine noise you get from the convertible and said handling is more fun than the coupe version, despite not matching the performance....Plainview23 said:
Confirms my suspicions that the best //M car of the 2000's remain the E46 M3 CS (not the CSL because SMG is just too mediocre) and the E92 DCT - the V8 is utterly magnificent.
Not much else left apart from a standard E46 ANC a manual E92.
I take it you've driven every M3 and variant since the E46 was launched? Also must have driven the new M4 to come to this conclusion.
Captainawesome said:
In 90% of situations you are gonna wish you had one. Stop hating PH and start loving.
Unless there is snow on the ground, which is about half the time of a year where I live. 
M3 with xDrive (that can be switched to RWD only) and fixed acoustics would be the single garage car of my dreams.
I have a feeling AMG will come to the rescue this time around, if not I’m going with a M135i xDrive + more special weekend car.
The convertible looks smashing I think. Saw it about a week ago in the same silver colour (launch colour?) and plates from a local dealer, I think it was one of the first in my country. Looks much more special than a regular 4 series.
jimbop1 said:
Spot on!
You're always going to get the BMW haters though.
I'd say I was most definitely the opposite but I still don't see why you'd buy this car. Then again, I'd say that about most convertibles that are just coupés with the roof chopped off but at least most of them won't be geared towards being a supposedly more focussed performance car.You're always going to get the BMW haters though.
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