03-01-2014, 01:06 PM | #1 | ||
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A crisis of faith in the M4
The April edition of Car & Driver hardly mentions the M4 at all. It's what it says about other cars that is turning me into a doubting Thomas. The topper is the comparison between a fully tricked out 435i (M Sport package plus Dynamic Handling Pack) versus the Audi S5. It's not just that Audi's Rings roundly routed the Roundel in this comparo that has provoked a crisis of faith deep within my BMW soul, it's how the vaunted formerly styled 3er coupe went down to ignominious defeat.
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Will the M4 similarly underwhelm against its determined completion? I think BMW might soon find itself outgunned by the synergistic capabilities created by having Audi, Porsche, and VW owned by the same German uber-car conglomerate. Case in point is that in the same edition of C & D, which features 25 cars worth waiting for, we find that Walter de' Silva (the designer who inked the elegant, though aging, Audi A5 coupe designs) has lent his creative designer pen to the upcoming Audi Sport Quattro which is expected to be packing more than 400 ponies and aimed squarely at the M4. Then we have Porsche who are earnestly putting the finishing touches on a mini Panamera design (mini-Pee?) using an Audi platform code named Pajun. The sedan will be AWD, have turbo 6's on board, and packing north of 400 hp. They want a high volume seller here and are aiming this German machine gun at the M3. Oh Teutonic Gods of Autosport, will yea allow thy loyal servant's M///agical handiwork to be outdone by this VW-backed behemoth?
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03-01-2014, 01:11 PM | #2 |
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Hope you brought some kind of flame-retardant material.
Edit: But I do agree with the general sentiments that the F3x has gotten soft.
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03-01-2014, 01:16 PM | #3 |
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I don't think it's so much inability from BMWs side as it is that they build cars they think the majority wants instead of the best drivers cars. A shift in paradigm from the narrower enthusiast focus of the past to maximizing volume in the present. Sad thing for some of us is that it's working.
However the M3/M4 is a different matter. BMW should know their M3 buyers and this soft, isolated luxo cruisers cars will not satisfy the majority of these buyers, or does it? |
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03-01-2014, 01:21 PM | #4 |
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Because I couldn't get this one in the first post.
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03-01-2014, 01:34 PM | #5 | |
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And still hope the M3/M4 will be dramatically better. |
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03-01-2014, 01:44 PM | #6 | |
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M-sport packages are mainly cosmetics today. Last edited by solstice; 03-01-2014 at 02:01 PM.. |
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03-01-2014, 01:57 PM | #7 |
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I will agree that the cars are a bit softer, but that's BMW responding to statements/complaints about "harshness".
OP, I would take rag reviews with a grain of salt. This review provides a different perspective on the same cars. |
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03-01-2014, 01:58 PM | #8 | |
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03-01-2014, 02:14 PM | #9 |
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First of all, Car and Driver is too busy sucking Audi and GM's collective pahllus in their rags to really look at what's going on. While I agree that the more recent offerings from Audi are dynamically superior to non-M BMW's, I don't agree to the degree at which they wantonly heap praise on these cars. It's really nauseating. And I have no dog in the fight.
Having said that, I will also say that after driving a 535 for 30 months and also driving no less than 3 LCI 550's, the M cars are so far and above beyond the regular cars it's not even funny. The M5 doesn't even feel remotely related to the 550. I have no doubt that the M3 / M4 will be a total knockout. The cooking 3/4 series isn't THAT dynamically underwhelming. It's just that that Car and Driver misses it's beloved E9X steering...which honestly, I always found to be too heavy. Last edited by Needsdecaf; 03-01-2014 at 02:23 PM.. |
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03-01-2014, 02:16 PM | #10 |
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The significance of this review takes on extra meaning when you consider that it was the April edition of Car and Driver 46 years ago that is credited with launching the predecessor to the 3 series in North America.
"Turn Your Hymnals to 2002" was so chalked full of exuberant praise for the 2002 that BMW itself points to this definitive 1968 article as being a turning point for the brand. Automotive journalistic pieces such as this helped engrave "handles like a BMW" into the collective motoring consciousness. Car and Driver has consistently sung the praises of the BMW 3-series ever since. So it is not without some moment that the same magazine on the 46th anniversary of this famous car-piece has taken a massive dump on the current model's handling - calling it numb and uncommunicative - and thus striking at the core value of what the 3 (and now 4) series is supposed to be all about. The outgoing M3 was the undisputed champ of every comparison and test it was thrown into. Not only do the new M3/4 have big shoes to fill, now that BMW has apparently gone all Lexus and Lincoln on the 3/4 series, it must preserve the brand's image as maker of ultimate driving machines.
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03-01-2014, 02:24 PM | #11 | |
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03-01-2014, 02:26 PM | #12 | |
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It's hard to know what, or whom, to believe in when reading these reviews...
For instance here is UK magazine CAR's review of the 435i vs E400 vs S5: http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/...14-CAR-review/ Quote:
In this test by Auto Bild the 435i also comes out as the favourite... http://www.**************.com/commun...s-coupe.49445/ Here's a video of the same test (you can choose subtitles and "translate to English" to get at least a rudimentary subtitling): EVO also found it to be a fun car to drive on the twisties: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc...and_specs.html |
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03-01-2014, 02:30 PM | #13 | |
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03-01-2014, 02:39 PM | #14 |
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03-01-2014, 02:51 PM | #15 | |
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Hopefully the new M4 will be so undeniably good that even hackneyed hatchet journalism won't be able to dent it.
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03-01-2014, 02:51 PM | #16 |
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Even in this lukewarm review by Chris Harris, he sums up the 435i this way:
"...there really is a good performance car, one that keep BMW well ahead of it's German rivals in this particular sector..." |
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03-01-2014, 03:40 PM | #17 |
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As for the fear that the M3/4 will potentially need it's handling sorted after launch ( ie competition pack M5) and has gone soft- Zero chance! You cannot compare the two cars at all. The F10 M5 is a very fast luxury cruiser. BMW M can only work with the base car they are given and the 5 series is a very large heavy car. F10 M5 weighs almost 2 tonnes- there is only so much it can do with the constraints of the base car and crucially customers who buy an M5 expect it to handle well ' for such a large car'.
M3 customers demand more in this regard- the M3 must handle brilliantly, it must have excellent response from the engine and it must feel great and exciting to drive. This is the core of BMW, the essence that their brand image for great handling cars has been built on over decades. A poor M3 would be an absolute disaster for BMW- this is their sportiest model. BMW have said themselves that more effort and resources go into an M3 than any of their other cars for this reason. Last sub 1500kg car built by M was the 1 M coupe and that certainly didn't disappoint. I genuinely have no fears over this car at all- I am preparing myself to be amazed in July when I pick mine up, nothing less than this will do and BMW M know this because we are M3 drivers and expect it.
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03-01-2014, 03:52 PM | #18 | |
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Motor Trend - H2H Against S4. BMW lost for reasons similar to what C&D said. Motor Trend - H2H Against MB350 and ATS 3.6. Caddy wins due to more fun to drive, firmer ride and handling, etc.. similar to what C&D said. Road & Track - Against Lexus IS, Caddy & Infiniti. Lexus wins. Here's their comment on the Bimmer: "Sadly, it's not enough. The 335i's wants, compared with both past BMWs and the winner of this test, are stacked a little too deep. This is a hell of a car. But we had more fun with, and ultimately wanted to spend more time in, something else." Sound familiar? Historically, the 3-Series won almost all comparison tests done by the big 3 (C&D, R&T, MT). That is, until the F3x came along and started losing. It's not clear cut as every Tom, Dick and Mary are doing car review these days, but the message is pretty consistent. On the bright side, with the F8x being developed with the spirit of the E46 M3 in mind, I am hopeful that the F8x bucks recent trend of softer BMW's. If I buy BMW again, it will be the M3/4 on that hope. |
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03-01-2014, 03:59 PM | #19 | |
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Possibly US suspension setup differs from the European? |
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03-01-2014, 04:30 PM | #20 | |
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I have no doubts that M3/M4 won't disappoint. The only two things that make me wait for real world reviews by respected media and eventually by myself is: a) The new steering (I did not like the steering of the 2014 Boxster S that I had a test drive with here); b) The size (in the sense that if I would feel comfortable with a car this size; I felt my old E90 330i was bigger than I wanted it to be and I really love the size of the 1M). That's about it, the rest of everything regarding the F80 M3 is made to win. Afterall, it might be one of the last cars we can buy new with a real manual option combined with an inline six at the front and traction at the rear plus the most sophisticated diferential of its time. I really hope it will give the same visceral connection so typical of a BMW M like Z3 and Z4 Coupes, E46 M3 and lately the 1M offered. That is the real reason which makes me choose a BMW over others. Last edited by ozinaldo; 03-01-2014 at 04:52 PM.. |
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03-01-2014, 06:24 PM | #21 | |
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03-01-2014, 06:37 PM | #22 |
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Some interesting points here. Someone mentioned the elephant in the room (underwhelming BMW's). Now, I've only ever owned M cars. I've tested plenty, have known lots of friends with bimmers. I agree that BMW seems to have gotten a bit away from its roots, and is catering to a larger, much more vanilla audience. Softer, hypermiler, stylish. As an aside, if I think back to the 2002 or E30, I never thought BMW was the prettiest, most stylish car. But I liked them, a lot. They had their own distinctive look. A sort of blend of luxury and spartan usefulness, interior and exterior. Since when did the bimmers look so curvy, wooshy, and pretty (not that I'm complaining about that). But it still speaks to a car more mass marketed. Once upon a time, I test drove a non m-sport or whatever package was available at the time E90 335i (07 I think...) and thought to myself, "wow, this is terrible compared to my (E46) M3", and skipped that whole generation. Now, granted, the E9X M3, which I have driven, was completely different, but I drove it in 2011. The funny thing is, I know a guy at work, who thinks his E93 328i is "The Ultimate Driving Machine". I think if he drove an E46 M3, he'd think its terrible.
In any case, the car magazines seem to be giving BMW mixed and inconsistent reviews. Remember when Car and Driver named the E36 the best handling car, cost no object? BMW of yesteryear have never mixed or inconsistent. Words more like benchmark or standard seemed to be thrown around more. But I don't think its a lack of BMW quality or prowess. It's just that everybody else has caught up a lot, and BMW changed their marketing focus a bit. (Although you could say BMW has lessened the gap between the M3 and the 911, only to have Porsche widen it back a bit). But you can't have your cake and eat it too. Stray from your core values that made you great, and you become more ordinary. Dilution of the brand means less exclusivity. Or can you have it all? The only way I see that happening is for BMW to continue its trend toward more mainstream luxury, but DONT SCREW UP the enthusiast M cars. Hold to the principle of race car first, luxury car second. I feel BMW took a HUGE risk coming out with an M4. There's so much brand equity in the name M3. That is why I'm confident, hopeful, and praying that the M3 and M4 are very special cars. Not in the realm of mixed or inconsistent. I know the M3/M4 are nit going to be the BEST at anything. But I'm hoping it will be the second best at everything. Ok I'm gonna try not to trip as I get off my soap box here... PS I recently test drove an M235, and was pleasantly surprised. I could drive this car |
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