BMW’s M3 grows to M4 - so does it add up?

BMW promises four different iterations under its new 4-Series moniker. First up is the renamed three-door coupe, which in turn leads to the high-powered M4. Then comes the truly new arrivals: the four-door gran coupe and the crossover X4. There's a convertible version of the 4-Series as well but we're not going to count that as a different iteration, more an exercise in metal origami that's gone awry.

All derivatives boast BMW’s latest cabin styling and attributes, the M4 by far the most dramatic and clear-cut star of the show. And yet when price comes into play there is actually one standout car not only in the 4-Series range but at the pinnacle of BMW’s model line-up. That’s the 4-Series Gran Coupe, boasting the added practicality of a four-door format but with the sleek head-turning appeal of a proper premium coupe.

Now before you go apoplectic with rage over the mere mention of a “regular” BMW in the same sentence as the glorious M division car, I’m not suggesting for a minute that the 4 series gran coupe holds a candle to the M4 in terms of performance or motoring ability. It’s like comparing a Formula One to a night-time navigation rally outside Navan just because they both fall under the category of motorsport.

And yet the looks and awe of the M4 are as much a result of its looks as its potency.

Now to the innards of the beast. This generation of M3/M4 coupe drops from eight cylinders down to six but the loss leaves no disadvantage to the power.

And it’s hardly a downgrade given that the original 1980s version (the E30) was a four-pot after all. The new version also boasts two turbochargers. Turbos have vastly improved from the days of lag between throttle and forward thrust. And if it’s good enough to pass muster with the engineers of M Division

– who have a long track record of turning down requests from BMW top brass if they don’t think it’s good enough for an M car – then it should be fine.

Weight distribution has clearly been an issue when keeping the car within the 50/50 front and rear ratios of the best M cars but the engineers have coped well with the issues that arose, partly by using features like a composite tailgate and a carbon fibre driveshaft.

Carbon fibre also features on the roof, while aluminium is used on the bonnet and wing mirror. All this is done to lower overall weight and also the car’s centre of gravity.

As is now standard on M Division cars, two buttons on the steering wheel – M1 and M2 – let you assign specific settings from the car’s menu of adaptive options. And it’s a monumental list. Clearly the M Division engineers like to offer owners the full array of options. Thankfully at the end of the day it’s all mental behind the wheel in an M4, so M1 and M2 can simply signal the degree of craziness you desire from the car.

There are also pre-set options for ride quality, ranging from Comfort to Sport + with the latter being firm enough to rattle your fillings, but the comfort is surprisingly pliant even with Irish rural roads. The M4 is a car you can live with, on the road or on the track.

This is a work of engineering artistry, a car of beguiling poise and charm that will turn into a supercar beast at the slightest tickle of the throttle. There are very few cars that can make gruff, cynical Irish males slack jawed, but this is one. The sound is natural and hypnotic, the power is immediate and the overall feel is solid and assuring. It’s an intoxicating mix.

And it’s

€106,000 – with room to add more weight to that number with a raid of the options list. That would have frightened off any sane Irish buyers in recent years but there are clear signs that the cash is back in the market and buyers are ready to splash out on such cars – even on the back of yesterday’s budget.

Yet for all that there is no doubting, however, that the M4 is a sizeable package, akin to a shrunken 6-Series than an easily identifiable descendant of the E30.

If it’s looks and image you are after then you could simply save yourself €50,000 or more and opt for a 4-Series Gran Coupe.

Alternatively, if you are after some real M Division appeal, purity and sporting pleasure then for me the car that epitomises the engineering pinnacle of the BMW brand and a natural successor to the legendary E30 M3 of the 1980s then it’s a no-brainer: the new M235i. Starting at €56,810 it may be smaller than the 4-Series and nearly a second slower from 0 to 100km/h, but it’s the most natural star in the BMW firmament. And while asking little or no sacrifice in terms of fun, it also demonstrates a level of financial prudence that ECB and particularly German financiers should approve. For all the 4 Series iterations then, we’d still opt for the 2-Series coupe.