Well after 4 months waiting and a bit of a saga, I finally got my M4. The announcement of the facelift in Jan delayed production, and although BMW said it would still be here by the end of March, it turns out they were wrong.. and I didn't want the car to go into the new tax laws on 1st April. So, with the threat of cancelling my order, I was offered a 2 month old car of almost identical spec to the one I had on order by BMW.. but for £10k less. Couldn't really argue with that.
Anyway, I took delivery of the car yesterday and have done about 100 miles in it, so I thought I'd post up some first impressions.
So the competition package adds a tiny bit more power over the standard car (+19 horsepower, taking the total up to 450.. though BMW are well known for under-stating HP figures and most independent tests have rated the M4 at closer to 500). Makes very little difference really. More importantly though, it adds a whole revised suspension and diff (plus bigger 20in lightweight wheels) making the car much more grippy and stable than previously. I've certainly noticed a difference with this one compared with the two 'normal' ones I test drove. Best of all though it adds a new exhaust system which transforms what was originally a frankly terrible droning din into a properly loud and bombastic pop and bang fest. It really does sound great in real life. I know the latest M cars get some serious stick for the 'enhanced' engine note piped in through the speakers, but trust me it's nowhere near as bad as the press and youtube make out. In fact, I've never known any car done such an injustice on youtube videos for the way it sounds than the M4 - in real life it's nothing like on the videos you see.
The M4 is the perfect car for me right now. I missed the fun and sportiness of my 350z, which was what I replaced with the V10 M5. Yes the M5 had better kit, was more practical, and faster.. but it became an utter pain in the ass and was spending more time in the garage for niggly warranty work than it was out on the road. What I needed was a cross between the two - enough practicality, with the performance of the M5, but the fun and sportiness (and reliability) of the 350z, and I think I've got that now.
I wasn't really expecting it to feel any quicker than the M5, as the quoted 0-60 times are all about launch control and let's face it, very little real world accelerating happens off the line. The M5 was a quick car, albeit the size of the thing dampened the sensations a little, but the M4 feels notable quicker through the earlier gears. This is helped by the speed of the DCT gearbox - the M5 was a single clutch system and felt very agricultural in the way it shifted gears. You either got a delay in swapping cogs in the lower settings, or on full S6 mode (which you could only put on with traction control off) it felt like a sledgehammer cracking against the car as it shifted gears - not an overly pleasant sensation, to be honest. The M4 on the other hand just changes gears lightning quick, and the throttle response is instant, so it definitely feels quicker than my old car, and the rate it can get up to the national speed limit when you're blasting down a slip road is pretty insane. You'd be forgiven for thinking it was a naturally aspirated engine - hard to believe there are two turbochargers in there, as there's no hint of lag at all. Just a surge of torque right from the moment you prod the throttle.
I'm also impressed with the way technology has moved on and can't believe some of the kit it's got with it. The sat nav is a vast improvement over my old one, and I know none of these things are unique to an M4, tons of modern cars have the same or similar, but the surround-view camera is particularly amazing. You really do have absolutely no excuses for not parking perfectly
I also love some of the borderline-tacky things they've included too, like the light-up ///M badges on the front seats which glow in the dark.
Obviously I've only had it less than 24 hours and I'm frustratingly stuck in the office now when all I want to do is burn huge amounts of VPower, but to say I'm impressed so far is an understatement. If anyone's interested I'll post a proper review up in a couple of weeks time
