My review of the M3 and M4 from the Montreal Auto show

[CanAutM3]

WI was at the Montreal Auto Show yesterday and wanted to share my thoughts and observations after seeing the M3 and M4 in the flesh . I am at the point of placing an order for an F8X and targeting an end-July European delivery. It was great to see the cars in real life to get my mind set on ordering options. BTW, I was not even set between the M3 and M4.

First, they both look much better in real life than in pictures. At first site, I preferred the overall appearance of the M3. Especially those rear quarter panels and their wheel arches, they give the car a menacing stance from the front three quarter view (no picture can truly translate this). But after spending two hours roaming around the cars and watching them, the M4 looks kept growing on me. The rear of the car is squarer and squatter compared to the more angled and taller look of the M3. Comparing the M4 with a full M-sport treated 435i that was also on display, the M4 is clearly much wider and more aggressive than the standard 4-series. In the end, I preferred the overall looks of the M4 from most angles. IMO, the M3 still beats the M4 from the front three quarters view though. BTW, I did not find the wheel gaps that bad. More than I like, but the suspension will definitely sag a little after some driving.

Austin Yellow looks awesome in real life. Under the projectors of the car show at least (I can't comment on how it looks in daylight). It reminds me of the Phoenix Yellow of the E46 but richer and darker. I don't like "flashy" colours for my own cars, but for anyone into this type of colour, I definitely recommend it. On the other hand, I really did not feel the Yas Marina Blue. Very much baby blue, not to my taste at all, but taste is a personal thing. I played with different exposures, and the picture of the M3 below shows pretty well how YMB looked under the car show lights.

I was quite unhappily surprised by the rear interior room of the M4, there is very little headroom back there. I am not very tall at 5'9" and my head was hitting the ceiling in the back seat, my E92 is way more roomier in the back. The M3 on the other hand has much better rear seat room and headroom. That was kind of expected, but I was still disappointed by how the rear seat room shrunk compared to my E92. Kinda takes away from the practicality aspect of the car that I much appreciate. After much debate, the wife and I decided on the M4 despite the loss of practicality. We both preferred the overall look of the two door. Our kids are still young (2 weeks and 3 years old) so they will fit plenty in the back of the coupe, might get an M3 when they are older...

The one piece seats are very nice and comfortable. Since they are not adjustable, I just hope that the incorporated headrest will not be in the way with a helmet on.

I confirmed that the Silverstone extended leather interior is the option I will pick. Both my wife and I really liked the two tone aspect and brightness it brings to the interior. The contrasting stitching looks very good. I decided to skip on the full leather as, IMO, it does not improve the looks significantly enough for the $2500 it costs. BTW, the all black interior also looks great with the contrasting stitching (a nice touch), but I am due for a change.

I also confirmed the Carbon fibber trim. I was hesitating between the aluminum and carbon. I thought the aluminum would bring some contrast to the dash (that is what I have on my E92 and like it a lot). But the carbon looks awesome. It complements the carbon roof very well. And since I am getting the Siverstone interior, the contrast is already there.

I was also set on the xenon lights and thought that $2000 CAD was futile for the LED headlights. Until I saw them in real life that is. I asked one of the BMW reps to turn them on for me and they make the car look much better from the front. The car looks much more aggressive, sort of a furrowed look. Further, they contribute to a little weight saving (just another way I try justifying the $2000 to myself ).

The black wheels also look great in real life. I really did not like their "two-tone" look in pictures and was set on the grey/silver wheels. The brighter portion of the wheel is a sort of black chrome and they look much darker in real life than on pictures. Seeing them was enough to convince me to order them.

Another happy surprise was the dash. Again here, it looks much better in real life than on pictures. Very lively with nice vivid colours and a nice contrast to standard F3Xs.

The Harman Kardon system also sounds great. I had a little time to play with it and I am happy with the sound. On my E92, I chose the premium sound because I love listening to music. But in the end, it is almost always off because I prefer listening to the S65 , ended up being a waste of money. I guess I will be using the sound system more on my F8X . I am glad it is standard in Canada, I don't need to make a choice with this one.

I did not post a ton of picture, because as I stated more than once, pictures don't translate well what the cars are like in the flesh. Further, there are plenty of professional shoots in other threads .

It was great to see the cars at the car show (thank you BMW Canbec for the tickets ), it allowed me to finalize my ordering spec:

M4
DCT (2MK)
EDC (2VF)
Silverstone metallic paint (A29)
Black wheels (437M-2VZ)
CFRP roof
Siverstone extended leather (LKA9)
Carbon fiber trim (4MC)
LED headlights (552)
Connected drive (ZTO)

[Real Deal]

Great review man, that's how it's done. Does the sliverstone look to light? I am really thinking of going with the SS but worried about the care (it's being discussed in another thread). How was the black interior with the carbon fiber trim? Did it look to dark?

[Suave]

Thank you for the great review. You really touched on a lot of my concerns especially the black wheels and the headroom of the M4 backseat. I give a lot of weight to direct impressions shared by members here and yours was much appreciated. I have also settled on the M4 as well.

Cheers,
Suave

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Real Deal

Great review man, that's how it's done. Does the sliverstone look to light? I am really thinking of going with the SS but worried about the care (it's being discussed in another thread). How was the black interior with the carbon fiber trim? Did it look to dark?

It is rather light in colour. But it is leather and should clean much better than light coloured cloth, at least I hope .

The black interior with the carbon trim is very dark and austere. A bit too dark for my taste. If I were going with the black interior, I would pick the aluminum trim to add some life to the dash.

[Gearhead999s]

Good stuff!I changed my order from the standard black wheels as I did not like the looks of them in the photos I am now starting to get excited about getting my M4 this summer.

[Black Gold]

nice review. its encouraging to me because I know you approached this car with apprehension, so you are no f8x fanboy

I am encouraged about your comments on the following

-extended leather vs full leather (I too will choose extended)
-the stereo system (wish you would have heard the base system too)
-the CF trim (I was leaning this way also)
-the space in the m3

How was the overall quality of the leather and materials compared to the e9x? I was never fully blown away by the quality of the leather in this gen m3. The stuff in the m5/6 is amazing though.

How about the seats? Comforatble? impressive looking in person?

[BlackLight]

Great review!
Thanks.

[RMB]

This was some nice information and your evaluation is much appreciated. This is the sort of content that makes bimmerpost a great forum. I also ordered a Silverstone M4, but I went with the full black interior with carbon fiber (I just like black interiors). I am hoping the Silverstone paint will be easier to maintain than my old LMB E92 M3 (blue was beautiful but showed every scratch). I didn't go with black wheels but went with everything else except the CCB's and the rear sunshade. I hope they have an M exhaust available at launch like the one on the concept. If they do I want to order that also.

[Brosef]

great review. two SSII cars in a row

[Sir Loin]

CanAutM3, thanks for the detailed review!

[mkoesel]

Exemplary write-up. I really need to get myself over to the Detroit show so I can see these in person.

Congrats on the order.

[solstice]

Thanks, good review. I might see you at the Welt, since it seems that we are looking at similar dates. Could you elaborate a little more on the difference between the HK system and the Lear system in the E9X? I had HK logic 7 in my E60 and F10 and to me the HK had a larger warmer sound while the Lear has a tighter but also smaller and a bit more industrial sound. I'm getting HK in any case so it's just out of curiosity.

[Sedan_Clan]

Nice write-up! What color is the contrast stitching in the black interior?

[Carl L]

Great write up and pics- we need more members like you.

Two quick questions: this may seem rudimentary, but could you please explain BMW's LED lights? It's an option I did not want as I loathe Audi's permanent strip lights of disco "eyebrows". Are the BMW version simply LED halos?

Also, is white/contrast stitching standard on black leather cars? That would be great as I want black but like a little color lift too.


Any feedback would be much appreciated as these are two of the things I'm unsure of re the F80 I'm set to order.

[19x]

Wow!

Is the M3 really this wide in person?!

That's insane! So much more aggressive than the M4. I am absolutely set on buying the new M3! I can only imagine how bad ass it must look in person.

Can't wait for the comp package!

[GOLFFRR]

awesome thank you!

[Real Deal]

Originally Posted by camber

Wow!

Is the M3 really this wide in person?!

That's insane! So much more aggressive than the M4. I am absolutely set on buying the new M3! I can only imagine how bad ass it must look in person.

Can't wait for the comp package!

Imaging with a drop and more aggressive offsets

[messm6]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Nice write-up! What color is the contrast stitching in the black interior?

In the videos posted by M3addict the AY M4 had a black interior with white contrast stitching. So I would imagine it will be the same?

[signes]

Nice write-up, and interesting comments about the wheels. Wasn't expecting those to look better IRL.

[myzmak]

Nice review with great, first hand intel.

[rottjr]

CanAutM3

Did you confirm that the wheels on the show car are the actual wheels that will be offered (2vz)? My salesperson seems to think that the wheel on the show cars are concept wheels and won't be painted that way. If those are the black wheels then that's what I'll be changing my order to. I like the brushed aluminum on the outside and black on the interior. I didn't want an all aluminum look.

[Carl L]

Originally Posted by rottjr

CanAutM3

Did you confirm that the wheels on the show car are the actual wheels that will be offered (2vz)? My salesperson seems to think that the wheel on the show cars are concept wheels and won't be painted that way. If those are the black wheels then that's what I'll be changing my order to. I like the brushed aluminum on the outside and black on the interior. I didn't want an all aluminum look.

It's been confirmed that the wheels can be had in either black or regular from the factory. Amazing, more bad info from a salesman....