The last ten years at BMW have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. On one hand, the brand keeps losing fans left and right because it seems to have lost much of the lightweight, nimble magic that earned the "Ultimate Driving Machine" slogan. On the other, the torque-monster twin-turbo engines continue to impress—even as driver engagement and styling seem to fall off a cliff after the firm's thought leadership was clearly poached by South Korea.
Case in point is the newly revived 8 Series, which is heavy, overly complex, and strongly resembles a Ford Mustang, with sales struggling as a result. But BMW seems intent on doubling down on the strategy with the new M3 and M4, especially with their divisive grilles. But perhaps when an automotive reviewer as famous as Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire pretty much trashes the new M4, BMW executives will finally get the message.
The Opposite Of A Ringing Endorsement
At the very least, BMW managed to keep the stick shift and clutch pedal alive for the new G80-generation M4 coupe and M3 four-door. And in the Competition trim package, the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six pumps an impressive 503 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. But the manual six-speed is only available in the base M4 appearing in this video with 473 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque.
Derivative And Divisive Design On The Exterior And Interior
From the first reveal, BMW's new grilles for the M3 and M4 proved highly divisive. But from just about every other angle, the exterior design also seems fairly derivative. Where the 8 Series looks like a swoopy Mustang, the M4 above bears a stronger-than-similar resemblance to an R35 Nissan GT-R.
Farah And Kaplan's Two Takes
This video fits into The Smoking Tire's Two Takes series (doubletake, anyone?) as Farah is joined by fellow reviewer Zack Kaplan for a drive in the moist hills outside of Los Angeles (yes, it can rain in LA). Kaplan points out that plenty of the aggressive front end's copious air intakes can be attributed to BMW's multiple cooling systems for the engine coolant, turbo intercoolers, and braking system.
Both Kaplan and Farah can't believe that BMW would charge around $100,000 for a minimally optioned "base" M4. The complexity combined with an overly computerized and electrified driving experience, leave both thoroughly underwhelmed by the driving experience, as well as the questionable design.
Sources: youtube.com and bmwusa.com.