Hey there...
Yesterday I was invited by my dealer to drive every M car available right now. (M3, M4, M5, M6)
First impressions:
- M4 looks more elegant, M3 a lot more brutal. Driving felt same to me. When approaching the cars, you can tell from the first second, M3 is an M car. The M4 seems to be little bit more close to a 4 series coupe and is in need maybe of a second look to be identified as an M. But probably this is just my impression.
- M3/M4 are both super quick. Changing into an M6 (competition package) after I have driven the M3 was astonishingly disappointing. Where the hell are those 575 hp ???
- During our test drives we had several fast Autobahn - passages. At very high speeds (250 km/h), M3/M4 is the most reassuring car I have ever driven. Car felt extremely connected to the road and stable. The speedometer goes up to around 270, then you are slowed down softly.
- Interior and leather quality is actually very good. Not Audi but close. I regret ordering cloth/leather seats. The leather is very soft and far superior to that in my M135i (which felt super slow during my drive home).
- I will definitely go for an aftermarket exhaust. In the standard car you get something like an angry grunt or "roar" while accelerating, and that is pretty much all of it. You can not tell 6 or 8 cylinder, and it is not quite a sensation. (As a Ferrari customer, I must admit it is not easy to satisfy me here. M5/M6 sounded rather poor to me as well...). Fortunately there was a managing director from Manhart (German tuning company) there yesterday as well. Akrapovic already seems to be developing an M3 exhaust, as well as Manhart and other companies. Just waiting for YouTube clips to make a choice.
- In my opinion the car is in need of some small coding. Every time you turn off the car you get every setting dropped back to comfort/efficient. Auto Start/Stop felt very annoying to me as well. I will try to get that turned off after delivery.
- On the Autobahn and on Country roads, I was not able to tell any difference between the standard brakes (on M3) and the carbon ceramics (on the M4). Standard brake can take your breath away very easy and are quite strong ;-) I would go for carbon ceramic if I would track the car. Otherwise I would spend that money on other comfort / luxury options. Or just use the cash for get a nice titanium exhaust handcrafted for me ;-). This you will actually feel ;-)
- i8 is crazy good looking in real. A lot better than on pictures. I am very disappointed I have no opportunity for charging where I park my cars. I think I would prefer it to any M car right now, if only i could charge it. Just because of the looks. Please BMW, I want that kind of shape with a proper M engine and a proper chassis ;-)
Pictures:
P.S.: Please excuse my english. I tried to share my impressions as good as i can
