New BMW M4 review

In the movies, sequels are rarely better than the original – but with the BMW M4 the opposite is true.

It took a number of revisions before the previous-generation M4 really delivered the performance car enthusiasts hankered for, stretching the phrase "good things come to those who wait" to the limit. Thankfully, the current version got off to a much, much stronger start.

The M4 is based on the BMW 4 Series but with 523bhp fed to all four wheels from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre, six-cylinder petrol engine. It’s a serious piece of kit, with M performance brakes, a limited-slip differential, adaptive four-wheel drive (M xDrive) and a 10-stage traction-control system. 

But is all that power and fancy kit enough to put the BMW M4 ahead of the evocative Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, the V8-wielding Ford Mustang or the hybrid Mercedes C63 AMG S e Performance? Read on to find out...

Many performance cars give you some control over how they’re set up, whether that's the ability to change the firmness of the suspension or tinker with the weight of the steering. The BMW M4 takes that to extremes – there’s actually a button marked Setup next to the stubby gear selector.

Pushing it brings up a page on the infotainment touchscreen that lets you change everything from accelerator response and brake sensitivity to the speed of the gearshifts and the level of traction control intervention.

The sheer number of potential configurations can be a little overwhelming at first, so it’s handy that BMW also includes a number of preset modes that work pretty well straight out of the box.

Once you get more familiar with all the options, you’ll appreciate being able to set everything to suit your tastes. For example, you can leave the steering in its lighter Comfort mode while having the engine at its most responsive.

With everything in Comfort mode (the most relaxed setting) the M4 makes a remarkably comfortable and refined daily companion.

The turbocharged six-cylinder petrol engine remains hushed and flexible, and the eight-speed automatic gearbox shuffles smoothly through the gears (there's no manual gearbox option). With standard adaptive suspension, the M4 floats gently over the ups and downs of subsiding B-roads with just a little brittleness on sharply calloused sections.

Body lean is kept well in check in Comfort mode, but if you really want to push on, the mid-way Sport or firmer Sport Plus are better for making the most of country roads. Both options help to anchor the car, as well as giving the steering a little more heft, so you can gauge your inputs more accurately without it feeling unnaturally heavy.

The steering itself responds in a more natural way than the light and hyper-alert set-up of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (QV), allowing you to place the car with more accuracy. And that’s handy, because when you deploy all 523 horses, the M4 fires you up the road in an almost alarming manner.

Officially, planting your foot in the M4 will slingshot you from 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds – faster than the Giulia QV – and we don’t doubt it.

At full chat the M4 feels angry, forcing you into your seat every time you flick up into the next gear using the paddles behind the ste. The track-focused M4 CS version is a touch quicker (0-62mph in 3.4 seconds).

When it comes to handling, the M4 impresses from the get-go but takes a bit of mastering and a race track to get the very best out of it. You see, the big tires and xDrive four-wheel-drive system give you so much front and rear-end grip that you have few worries when driving at seven tenths, but if you want to start finding the M4’s limit, you’ll need to push hard.

By default, the M4 is in four-wheel-drive mode, giving you loads of reassurance as you deploy the car’s massive power, even in less favourable conditions. Thankfully, even in this mode, the rear-biased system means it hasn’t neutralised the handling balance too much.

Switching into the 4WD Sport mode makes the M4 a little more playful, allowing the rear wheels to break traction when provoked and diverting less power to the front wheels. Alternatively, you can switch to rear-wheel drive, which also turns off the stability systems.

As standard, the M4 comes with steel M Compound brakes, with carbon-ceramic brakes available as part of the M Race Track Package. The steel brakes can be a little grabby around town, but we found them to be progressive, consistent and very powerful during spirited driving.

For and idea of the levels of performance on offer, a pre-facelift M4 allowed us to lap our test track (a 0.9-mile circuit designed to simulate a fast B-road) quicker than in any other performance car we’ve tested.

Perhaps the only disappointment with the M4 is the soundtrack that accompanies its mighty engine. Sure, it’s loud and bassy (especially inside, where it’s piped through the speakers for some extra volume), but it lacks the drama of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse’s V8. 

"I found the BMW M4 very approachable when I wanted to push on, but you’ll need to head to a track if you want to get the best out of it." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Sports seats aside, the BMW M4 isn't much different to the regular BMW 4 Series inside – and that’s no bad thing.

The 4 Series features one of the highest quality interiors in the coupé car class and we reckon BMW has given the M4 enough detail tweaks to make you feel like you’re behind the wheel of something rather special.

For example, you get M Division seatbelts, a bright red starter button, carbon-fibre trim, a sports steering wheel with contrast stitching and a pair of red M mode buttons.

Plus, there’s a multitude of leather and interior trim finishes to choose from. And we mean a multitude. Colour schemes range from black on cream to bright blue on day-glow yellow. We quite like the bolder colours, but we’ll leave it to you to decide if Yas Marina Blue has any place in your performance car. 

As you’d expect, the driving position is tuneable to the nth degree. Our test car came with stunning optional M carbon bucket seats. In their lowest setting, they basically place your bum on the floor of the car. That's handy for taller drivers who plan to wear a helmet for track driving.

The M4 comes with a head-up display is standard, placing plenty of information in your line of sight, and the 12.3in digital driver's display behind the steering wheel can be set up in all manner of configurations.

The 10.3in infotainment touchscreen can be operated by twisting and pressing a rotary controller between the front seats, which is much less distracting while you’re driving than prodding the screen. With its super-intuitive lay-out and responsive operating system, we much prefer it to the touchscreen-only systems in the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and Mercedes AMG C63.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, wireless phone-charging, DAB radio, sat-nav, a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and a wifi hotspot all come as standard.

It’s also handy that front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera and a parking assistant function come as standard too, because the M4’s front and rear pillars are rather chunky and can obscure your vision a little when parking.

"I’d absolutely recommend adding the optional M carbon bucket seats. Yes, they’re quite expensive, but they’re really comfortable and super supportive when driving more exuberantly." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

As well as having the performance to show purebred sports cars such as the Alpine A110 and Porsche 718 Cayman a clean pair of heels, the BMW M4 is in another league when it comes to practicality.

Compared with the standard BMW 4 Series the only difference is its wider sports front seats. The optional M carbon bucket seats we tested give the driver and passenger more lateral support, yet still offer ample head and leg room for six-footers.

Getting into the rear seats involves squeezing through a relatively narrow gap, which is similar to the Ford Mustang but more of a scramble than in the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and Mercedes C63 AMG (which have four doors). If that's an issue you could consider the BMW M3.

Once you’re in, you’ll find there’s actually a decent amount of space in the back. There's enough leg room for most passengers, but those over 6ft will need to cower slightly or put up with their head resting on the ceiling.

Like the 4 Series, the M4 has 440 litres of boot space. That's less than the Giulia QV and Mustang but more than the C63. If you want M performance with estate car practicality, take a look at the M3 Touring or M5 Touring.

"While the M4's boot offers a decent amount of space, the letterbox opening is a little annoying, limiting the height of items that you can load in. In fairness, that's true of performance saloons too." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

As a cash purchase, the BMW M4 Competition looks rather expensive when compared with the Ford Mustang Dark Horse but will cost you similar to the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and less than the Mercedes AMG C63 S. 

Helping to ease the impact of the price tag, the M4 is predicted to depreciate at about the same rate as all of those rivals except the Mustang, which will potentially hold on to its value far better than all of them.

As with all performance cars, it'll be expensive to run. Official figures promise around 28mpg, and if you use the full might of the engine, you can expect it to plunge into the low teens. Thanks to its plug-in hybrid system, the C63 will officially manage up to 31.4mpg and around six miles on electricity alone, but you'll have to charge it up a lot and drive conservatively to achieve close to that. 

You’ll also need deep pockets to run an M4 as a company car. The high list price and hefty CO2 emissions places it in the top BIK tax band. In fairness, its main rivals – including the C63 – are in the same tax bracket.

On the plus side, the M4 is marvellously well equipped. It has 19in alloy wheels up front and 20in ones on the back (what BMW calls a staggered set-up), automatic air-conditioning, cruise control, heated leather seats, a Harman Kardon stereo, parking aids and plenty more.

Despite the eye-watering list price, you might still want to delve into the long list of option packs. For example, the Ultimate Pack gives you carbon-fibre exterior highlights, Laser matrix LED headlights, keyless entry and a heated steering wheel.

The M4 hasn’t been crash-tested by Euro NCAP but the standard BMW 4 Series score the full five stars in 2019. You get lots of standard safety equipment, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), a lane-departure warning system, a lane-keeping assist function, an attentiveness assistant and a warning for traffic crossing behind you.

The M4 didn't feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but the 4 Series did badly, finishing last in both the sports car and the overall petrol car categories. BMW as a while did much better, finishing eighth out of the 31 manufacturers – above Alfa Romeo, Ford and Mercedes.

Every BMW comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty, matching the offerings from its main rivals.

"If you plan to take your M4 on a track, I think it's worth considering the M Race Track package. It's expensive, but adds M carbon bucket seats, carbon ceramic brakes and increases the limited top speed to 180mph." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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