Living with an M4 Coupe...
Discussion
...all things going well, we should be getting an M4 for a few days next week to give us a better idea how well it would fit into our lives. The question is, I know they're still a fairly new model, but how are these cars to live with over a period of months/thousands of miles?? Are there any niggles/issues which are surfacing??
The car it's replacing has 4WD so feels very planted on the road and safe for anyone to drive in almost all weather. So I'm hoping for a little wet weather next week to see how the M4 deals with greasy roundabouts, standing water and everything else that a Scottish Summer can throw at it.
Cheers,
Grant
The car it's replacing has 4WD so feels very planted on the road and safe for anyone to drive in almost all weather. So I'm hoping for a little wet weather next week to see how the M4 deals with greasy roundabouts, standing water and everything else that a Scottish Summer can throw at it.
Cheers,
Grant
Wills2 said:
Yep, it will kill everything get used to vans pulling away from you off the roundabout. 
Haha, it's more for others who will use the car, honest!! ...and I'd rather they got mocked by a Kangoo off a roundabout than the car have a Herbie moment and try to mount the Kangoo. 
s2000db said:
Btw, the suspension and steering are set to sport at switch on by default, so you have to select comfort if you want it..
I didn't know that, how dare they do that in an M-car!! 
I assume it'll just require pushing one of the M-buttons on the steering wheel which will have been pre-set up with comfort selected across the board??
Cheers,
Grant
s2000db said:
Yes you can set up both M buttons to any combination of settings you require....
Btw, you can get the traction control light, coming on in 4th gear on a dry straight road!
Brilliant... to both comments!! Btw, you can get the traction control light, coming on in 4th gear on a dry straight road!
Mr Noble said:
s2000db said:
Btw, the suspension and steering are set to sport at switch on by default, so you have to select comfort if you want it..
2000 miles and 2 months into M4 ownership here, and I can say that the only niggles so far are this ^^^ and the fact there's no 'link' button for the temperature controls, so you have to twiddle both knobs every time you adjust the cabin temp. 
Other than that, it's mega. Really enjoying it, and am sure it gets more positive looks and comment than my Astons and R8 before!
Budget for many rear tyres
Glad to hear that you've come from some special machinery and are enjoying the M4... the apetite for rear tyres sounds like it may be larger than expected/planned going by what I've read so far.
Cheers,
Grant
s2000db said:
Sakhir Orange, black wheels, rear glass and interior, CF roof..
Oh Sakhir, what is it like to live with?? The only ones we've seen are under the artificial light in the showroom which makes the colour really 'pop' under it and look fantastic, but how is the colour in 'real' life?? ...since it'll spend most of it's time in a dull grey day in Scotland, or Summertime as we call it. Cheers,
Grant
pjv997 said:
Mr Noble said:
2000 miles and 2 months into M4 ownership here, and I can say that the only niggles so far are this ^^^ and the fact there's no 'link' button for the temperature controls, so you have to twiddle both knobs every time you adjust the cabin temp.
Surely the whole point of dual zone climate is that temperatures are individually adjustable?? ...so the addition of an 'all' or 'sync' button is quite useful and something which I'd miss if it was taken away and meant I had the added faff of matching the temperatures using both knobs.Cheers,
Grant
mgst170 said:
Not sure if this is RS Grant as off the MLR, but this was my summary below from general gassing when someone was looking for an EVO replacement.
Now 2.5 k in, traction less of an issue as it is just about summer.... Loving the car. A great party trick is have it in manual shift mode... Cruising in a high gear, floor it pass the kick point (nowt much will happen) then flick the down change paddle... Kaboom... DCT will shift to the lowest gear possible, and launch you like a rocket!
Front end is good as you can really lean on it.... But the rear does need some caution in the wet...
After 10 years of ownership, I have recently just moved from an EVO 8 FQ-300 to a new F80 M3.
So hopefully semi qualified to comment.
IMHO there is nothing – you are not going to find a modern replacement - perhaps loosely a GTR, unless you buy the same again (which I didn’t want to).
Appreciate the GTR nor F80 are in the ballpark of price you stated.
First things first – my EVO was immense. Living in Scotland, the ability to rapidly dispatch wet, greasy roads, with a little hint of tail out is something to behold.
I will happily say, in the wet and with not too many long straights, with my driving skills (no, the throttle is not an on/off switch for me either), my M3 would not see which way an EVO went.
So, was the f80 a waste? No, not at all, the EVO was quickly turning back into iron and had lost that feel of indestructible reliability. However as a way to go fast and take liberties – it was huge fun.
I’m secretly hoping that the M3 will make me a better driver – and we are only 4 weeks in. Will comment after 10 years once we get to know each other better.
One small point, the M3 does break traction, lights flicker a fair bit. I have thought – ah the EVO never did that… but in fact, it did break traction… it just doesn’t have a light to flash at you – hence why you would largely ignore it.
The new Focus RS is worth a shout, but depends on when it break cover… and it too will be min 30K+ before any ford fan boys get onto them with their re-sale value. What about an E9x M3 (i.e. the 4.0 V8)…
Yep, this is the very same RS Grant from the MLR/Scoobynet/etc... Now 2.5 k in, traction less of an issue as it is just about summer.... Loving the car. A great party trick is have it in manual shift mode... Cruising in a high gear, floor it pass the kick point (nowt much will happen) then flick the down change paddle... Kaboom... DCT will shift to the lowest gear possible, and launch you like a rocket!
Front end is good as you can really lean on it.... But the rear does need some caution in the wet...
After 10 years of ownership, I have recently just moved from an EVO 8 FQ-300 to a new F80 M3.
So hopefully semi qualified to comment.
IMHO there is nothing – you are not going to find a modern replacement - perhaps loosely a GTR, unless you buy the same again (which I didn’t want to).
Appreciate the GTR nor F80 are in the ballpark of price you stated.
First things first – my EVO was immense. Living in Scotland, the ability to rapidly dispatch wet, greasy roads, with a little hint of tail out is something to behold.
I will happily say, in the wet and with not too many long straights, with my driving skills (no, the throttle is not an on/off switch for me either), my M3 would not see which way an EVO went.
So, was the f80 a waste? No, not at all, the EVO was quickly turning back into iron and had lost that feel of indestructible reliability. However as a way to go fast and take liberties – it was huge fun.
I’m secretly hoping that the M3 will make me a better driver – and we are only 4 weeks in. Will comment after 10 years once we get to know each other better.
One small point, the M3 does break traction, lights flicker a fair bit. I have thought – ah the EVO never did that… but in fact, it did break traction… it just doesn’t have a light to flash at you – hence why you would largely ignore it.
The new Focus RS is worth a shout, but depends on when it break cover… and it too will be min 30K+ before any ford fan boys get onto them with their re-sale value. What about an E9x M3 (i.e. the 4.0 V8)…
Thanks for the write up, sounds like it's a fantastic fun when you need it to be. Funny you should mention the party trick, I just watched a Kiwi bloke review his Sakhir M4 on YouTube there and he was showing his car doing that exact thing.
Interesting comparison with the Evo, since there have been a few 4WD cars through the doors here, it will mainly be driven in comfort mode and tootle around the place in traffic; but glad to hear that in the correct conditions, it can still be rewarding to drive and have decent cross country pace.
Cheers,
Grant
s2000db said:
It's pretty good tbh, even takes a fair bit of dirt before it needs a clean, however you only get the is it orange or red questions, in good light when sparkling..
If we were buying and cruising around in Dubai or California, then I think Sakhir might get the nod.. but since we're in Scotland, I think it'll be Alpine White. Cheers,
Grant
Rude said:
I'm just over three months in and 2.5k miles. To be honest, I'm loving it. I think I may be a bit of a Miss Daisy most of the time and just Poole around, but my weekly commute allows for a few miles of fast driving, it is immense. The way it piles on speed is hilarious, I personally love the noise at full chat, the grip and balance are great and it is a lovely place to see the world go by from. Mine is black and the only thing I wish I'd specc'd was the carbon brakes, only because I saw an identical one to mine and had caliper envy...
Awesome, glad you're enjoying it... we're really looking forward to an extended drive of one so we can really get a feel for it, rather than having a 20-30 minute drive with a salesman talking to you and hanging onto the Jesus handle in the back. LOL @ caliper envy!!
Cheers,
Grant
Bit of an update on this too, the car which we were going to be supplied by BMW UK for an extended test drive this week (to try a manual gearbox as well as see how well an M4 would suit our needs) was involved in a bit of a bump before we got it... and once fixed, it's mileage was deemed too high to go out for another extended test and so removed from the available fleet. 
So, looks like we'll have to accept that trying an M3/M4 with a manual gearbox is unlikely but still going to be getting a DCT car on test at some point. Pretty frustrating really, however, the dealership have been really good and any displeasure felt is with BMW UK rather than them.
Cheers,
Grant
So, looks like we'll have to accept that trying an M3/M4 with a manual gearbox is unlikely but still going to be getting a DCT car on test at some point. Pretty frustrating really, however, the dealership have been really good and any displeasure felt is with BMW UK rather than them.
Cheers,
Grant
Pip1968 said:
It was not the Pistonheads one was it - ?
Pip
No idea what car it was, we never even got a sniff of it. Pip
I think I'm comfortable with what is being said about the wet weather handling; if you're careful, drive within your limits and respect the car/conditions then you shouldn't have an issue... but turn the TC off and things will get very fruity, very quickly regardless of the conditions!!
Another update on our situation... order has still not been placed as we have still been unable to drive an M4 Coupe for an extended 48hr test drive despite being told it'll be no problem to organise. Have even given the dealership the option of sourcing a DCT-equipped car so that we can at least have a good chance to see if the cars road manners, visibility, etc are acceptable/suitable for us and just throw the semi-loaded dice that the manual gearbox will be fine.
Seriously considering finding a more helpful dealership and after reading the 'M3/M4 Discount' thread, doing so might actually yield a better deal anyway.
Cheers,
Grant
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