Welcome to the next loaner car review series where we’ll take a look at BMW’s 2020 M4 Heritage Edition.
Not long ago my car’s service indicator hit “0” miles, so I set up an appointment and a reservation for a loaner vehicle. The check-in process was normal and I was expecting another 5 Series or SUV of some sort. Everything changed when I heard the dealership service advisor say, “How would you like to drive an M4 Heritage Edition….”.
I only held the keys for a few hours, but the experience was too good not to share. The pictures aren’t the greatest quality due to time constraints, but hopefully enough to highlight this unique car.
(DISCLAIMER: BMW corporate does not provide the vehicle, nor did I solicit the vehicle for a review. These are service loaners provided by the dealership while my car is in for service or repair. I’ll continue to use these opportunities and any other to review any car I can spend some quality time)
M4 Overview
Not everyone is familiar with BMW’s M3 or M4, so let’s start with a little background.
Origins
Occasionally, when talking about fast BMW’s, people will say, “I know what an M3 is, but what’s the M4?” In case you’re one of those people I’ll start with a short history lesson.
The M4 in this review traces its roots back to the E30 generation of 3 Series. BMW created the M3 version of the 3 Series in 1985 to satisfy sport car racing homologation rules. Many classes of sports car racing require a manufacturer build and sell a specific number of road legal versions of a car in order for it to be raced. M3’s continue on as two or four door cars for the next three generations.
The E30 M3; where it all began.
In 2014 BMW makes a major shift in the naming scheme of all it’s vehicles. 4-door sedans retain their odd number series designations (e.g. 3, 5, 7) and two-door coupes along with “coupe” versions of their SUVs take on even-number series designations (e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8). This splits BMW’s midsized vehicle line into the 3 Series sedans and 4 Series coupes. The first ever M4 becomes what was previously known as a two-door M3.
What is special about this one?
The “M4 M Edition M Heritage” is a 750-car limited edition to celebrate the final production year of the F82 M4. These cars start as a Competition Package M4’s and then get some very special cosmetic bits.
Design/Appearance
The 2020 M4 carries on with little change from when it first hit the road in 2016. It is a good looking car inside and out. After seeing the redesigned 2021 M4, I have a feeling this is the last good looking M4 for long time.
Exterior
Heritage Edition M4s only come in three colors which correspond to the those in the BMW Motorsports logo: Laguna Seca Blue, Velvet Blue, and Imola Red II (see the picture at the top of this post). When I first saw the car I wasn’t sure I’d like Laguna Seca Blue. However, over the course of the day, it grew on me. I could easily live with it, but I’d have to order Velvet Blue if given the choice.
The F82 M4 is a good looking car. The flared fenders, “power dome” hood, and other touches hint at the performance under the skin.
The Heritage Edition uses the same 20 inch wheels from the Competition Package. The satin gun metal color hides brake dust nicely, yet doesn’t disappear visually like black wheels do.
BMW’s “666” model designation of the wheel is rather unfortunate until you take a close look at them. They may be good looking and light, but all the small openings and spokes will make them pure evil to keep clean.
One feature I missed is a stripe of BMW Motorsports colors running down the driver’s side roof. It’s a nice touch. Unlike special edition stripes on many Mustangs, Camaros or Corvettes, this one is painted on the carbon fiber and covered with clear coat. It is not a vinyl sticker the dealership applies. I didn’t see the stripes until the dealer pointed it out and it was too late to get a picture.
Interior
M4 interiors are is simple and nearly identical to any other F32 generation 4 Series. Materials are good quality and similar to other BMW’s of the same generation.
Simple, easily read round gages adorn the dash. Everything is refreshingly simple and easy to read. Another feature lost to the new G82 generation M4.
I’m a sucker for quality, classy-looking, carbon fiber trim. For this special edition, BMW embeds the Motorsport color highlights in the weave of the material. It looks really good. In direct sunlight you get a flash of all three colors!
No review of the M4’s interior would be complete without mention of the seats. In short, they are spectacular.
I can honestly say the M4 Competition seats are the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced. The seats in my Mk6 GTI came close, but these are better. They fit my average size and shape perfectly. The cushions are firm enough to support a passenger in comfort for long periods of time. The bolsters aggressively hold a passenger in place, but are not too tight or make getting in or out difficult.
Now we have talked about all the cosmetics, lets get to what really matters: how it drives.
Driving Impressions
Any car wearing the legendary BMW Motorsports badge and “M” model designation must be a blistering performer. In many ways this car delivers, but I did find a few drawbacks. Usable time behind the wheel was very limited, but I tried to experience as many driving variables as possible. Very cold weather meant driving cautiously on a cold engine and rock hard summer tires with no grip.
Steering
The steering found in the M4 Competition Package should be in every BMW. The weight and immediate input response is nearly perfect. There is no feedback at all, but the accuracy and responsiveness make up for the lack of feel. The steering’s immediacy with no vagueness on-center is something for a while in BMW’s. I’ll go ahead and use the tired auto journalist cliché and say the steering in this car felt telepathic.
Handling
Keeping a car this large and heavy under control is no easy task. BMW has done a great job with the suspension in this car. Combined with the amazing steering, this car responds immediately to any situation, at any speed, with absolutely no drama. Body roll is non-existent and car shows no signs of understeer like many lesser BMW’s. The weight balance isn’t perfect 50/50, but it feels like car rotates around the driver’s hip point. High speed lane changes on the interstate and sweeping turns on backroads will bring a huge smile to your face.
There is one flaw when the adaptive suspension is on it’s softest setting. On a particularly rough stretch of highway, I selected the softer, comfort-based setting. Sharp impacts faded away, but a floaty, front end bobbing behavior appeared. This annoying characteristic is found at varying levels on 3 Series or 4 Series cars and I wasn’t impressed. BMW should do better in an M car.
Perfect body control, tons of grip, and great balance, can’t hide the fact this car weighs over 3600 lbs. Weight keeps the car from being truly agile. BMW’s recent trend of cars getting larger and significantly heavier unfortunately dulls the responsiveness of a great suspension setup.
Engine and Transmission
A 3.0 liter turbocharged inline six cylinder engine pushing out 444 horsepower and 406 foot-pounds of torque makes the car properly quick. If nothing else, BMW’s engines excel in smooth, linear power delivery regardless of whether they are turbo charged or not. Heavy throttle inputs give a steady rush of acceleration as the engine pulls enthusiastically all the way to redline.
Many of you noticed the DCT shift lever in the pictures above. Overall, it delivers fast, smooth shifts when running both up and down the gears. However, it isn’t any faster or more crisp than the 8-speed ZF transmission found across the BMW lineup. Not quite what I was expecting. An M2 Competition with the DCT shifts noticeably better than any automatic transmission or the DCT in this M4. The difference makes the car seem less responsive and isn’t quite what you’d expect from an M4.
Ride and Comfort
No one buys an M4 expecting a soft, quiet luxo-barge. It is unapologetically a performance car. The ride is stiff and everyone inside will feel every pavement imperfection. The engine will be louder and the exhaust will let everyone know, there is something special lurking under the hood. Even with those expectations, the interior noise level of the car is suprising.
20 inch wheels and a suspension sub-frame bolted directly to the car’s unibody make for great handling. The problem is it also transmits every impact from the road into the cabin. Road patches or pavement seam impacts are quite loud in the cabin. The exhaust is also loud. On initial start when the engine and exhaust are cold, the noise drowns out conversations and the radio. Noise levels get higher as you select a more aggressive engine settings and the harder you work the engine. Fortunately, at a steady state, the engine noise dies away and only returns when you get heavy on the throttle. Most modern BMW’s pump fake engine noise into the cabin via the stereo speakers and I couldn’t help but wonder how much nicer the car would be if the system is disabled.
The ride isn’t as harsh as I expected. Credit here goes to BMW’s adaptive suspension. You will feel every impact and bump, but the suspension takes off the edges. This isn’t a car with a “knock your fillings lose” ride. On really bad roads, using the most comfortable setting is helpful, but sacrifices handling.
Final Thoughts
The M4 Competition is an amazing car and a ton of fun to drive. It’s fast, has perfect steering, and amazing handling. Driving it allowed me to experience the perfect level of many attributes I’ve always sought in a car .
I’ve longed to get quality time behind the wheel of an M3 or M4 for decades and diving this M4 is a “meet your hero” moment. All hero moments end in either a great impression or disappointment. In this case I walked away impressed, but realizing my hero isn’t perfect. Like meeting your favorite Marvel Avenger and realizing they have chronic bad breath…or, in this case, become a little over weight.
Looking back, I see the M4 isn’t quite all I want, or hope it would be. The E36 or E46 M3’s were quick, comfortable, agile cars begging for a twisty backroad. The current M4 is now a big, heavy, loud, fast, brute of a car better suited for open roads. I’m not convinced BMW knows what to do with it. The role of role of fast, small and agile performer belongs to the M2. The wicked fast luxury sedan and coupe roles belong to the M5 and the M8. The M4 is too heavy to big and heavy to be an agile performance car, and not refined enough to be a super-fast luxury car.
I am very grateful for the time spent in this amazing car and will enjoy any opportunity to drive one again. It is very fun, despite any flaws found by this overly picky driver.
Good review. It does not have 479lb ft torque however. The M4 / M4 competition has 406 lb ft torque.
Glad you enjoyed the the review. Thanks for letting me know about the error. I’ll update the post. At the time of the writing, I may have accidentally stumbled across the engine specs for the G82 and not the F82 by accident. After doing a little digging I see the torque for the car in the review is indeed 406 lb/ft, and the G82 is actually 479 lb/ft.
that color is Laguna Sega Blue
You are correct! Not sure how I got that wrong. I even looked up the press materials to verify the color name and still got it wrong. Thanks for pointing it out. I’ll make the correction.