2018 BMW M4 Review: The Gold Standard Holds Its Luster...for Now (2024)

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Base Price (Price as Tested): $69,150 ($86,945)

Powertrain: Twin-turbo DOHC inline-six cylinder engine; 425 horsepower (444 hp with optional Competition Package), 406 pound-feet of torque; six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic; rear-wheel drive

0-60 MPH: 4.0 seconds (manual), 3.6 seconds (automatic)

Top Speed: 174 mph

EPA Fuel Economy: 17 mpg city, 24 mpg highway

Curb Weight: 3,625 pounds

Quick Take: Alwaysa class darling, the BMW M4 is incredibly capable, sharply refined, and just angry enough. But its competitors are catching up.

• Second to the death of the manual transmission, BMW's overall design evolution is perhaps the biggest point of contention for lovers of kidney grilles and quad round lights. No such complaints here: the M4 is perhaps the best-proportioned Bimmer on sale today in our opinion, thanks to its sweeping roofline and low, wide stance. Even with the 20-inch aluminum wheels and blacked-out exterior trim that are part of the optioned $4,750 Competition Package (more on that below), it strikes a perfect balance between showing off its sporting bonafides and playing it stylishly cool. The $550 Austin Yellow Metallic paint job is polarizing; I like it, especially with the blacked-out carbon fiber roof, while my editor referred to it as "baby sh*t."
• The Competition Package also bumps the twin-turbo straight-six engine up 444 horsepower, which is just a few shy of the more-expensive CS version. It proves to be just about the perfect amount of grunt for the chassis and stock tires. Purists moaned and groaned when BMW brought forced induction to its M cars—and while there are reasons to mourn natural aspiration here, the turbocharged M4 feels (and is) far faster than the free-breathing M3 coupe that preceded it.

• The BMW M4 is still about the drive, and there are few places where that modus operandi is on fuller display than Angeles Crest Highway. There's something intrinsically captivating about the way the M4 bombs through a curve with high-strung composure; the way the engine loves to hang around 5,500 rpm; the way the car grabs at the physical world in a straight line. It's not the fastest car for $87,000, but damn, is it a good time—even without the much-vaunted manual transmission.
• The car's multitude of driving modes can seem intimidating at first, but mixing and matching the various independent settings for the steering, throttle, suspension, and transmission (when equipped with the dual-clutch automatic) to find your ideal setup is worth the process. Around town, that ended up being Sport steering, Comfort suspension, Sport throttle, and the default transmission setup, which I usually overrode with the paddles anyway. You can also save different combinations of everything to one of two M Driver profiles, which can be activated by a handy pair of steering wheel switches. Dialing everything up to the max on Angeles Crest really showcased the car's twin personalities in a notable way.
• Inside, the M4 still carries some of that old-school, stripped-down essence of M cars past. I was especially happy to see my tester arrived with black cloth seats; they may not be ventilated, but they do a better job holding you in place when things go sideways. The thin center console with a manual parking brake is also a throwback, as is the analog instrument panel. Character still counts, and the M4 still delivers.

• The dual-clutch automatic transmission's shutdown procedure is an abomination. The DSG's gear selector is a little, shift-by-wire black appendagem which has options for Drive, Reverse, and Neutral. There's no button for Park; turns out you're supposed to leave it in gear and press the Start/Stop button to turn off the car, at which point. the transmission locks in place. But it won't if the transmission is in Neutral when you press the off switch; the engine shuts down, but accessory power remains active, and the car warns you that it's still in Neutral and might roll away (even if the parking brake is set). Giving the button a second press finally activates Park—but make sure your foot is off the brake, or you'll accidentally start the engine again. So just leave it in gear, right? Well, it automatically shifts to Neutral if you unbuckle your seatbelt or open the door at a stop with the engine running. If that all sounds needlessly complicated...it is.
• Regret is arriving at the mouth of a tunnel on Angeles Crest Highway, slowing up and rolling down the windows for a second gear jam session, and hearing the flat noise coming out of those blackened quad pipes out back. There's a guttural edge thanks to the sport exhaust in the Competition Package, but there's no body to the sound, nothing to hit your sternum like a cinderblock. Even when that 3.0-liter inline-six is singing near its 8,500 rpm redline, the aural experience is one of work, not joy.

• The extensive feature set that BMW packs into M cars these days is designed to convince people these mythical beasts can be driven daily. That's true for the M4, usable backseat and all, but its edges are just hard enough to intrude on that fantasy—without being hard enough to make it worth the sacrifice. It's just not very comfortable, even though your mind knows it's supposed to be a hard-nosed rocket. The Adaptive M Suspension doesn't adjust to different conditions as well as other systems, leaving every drive mode feeling harsh. And the steering feel is artificially heavy, to please enthusiasts, yet simultaneously uncommunicative, to avoid spooking more casual drivers.
• The iDrive infotainment system is fine. Paying $300 for Apple CarPlay, even if it is wireless, is not.