£20k off a BMW M4 Competition – save a fifth on the best current M car
The BMW M2 is the M car of choice, at least at full price. When new M4s can be had with a 20 per cent discount, that complicates things
There’s not been a huge amount of consistency of late when it comes to what BMW M car is the best M car. When the first M2 CS arrived it was very clearly the very best M car on sale and the best for many years at that. It eventually handed the baton to the legendary M5 CS, but the M3 CS, M4 CS and even the all-out M4 CSL that followed didn’t challenge to be the pick of the M range. In fact they served to highlight just how well-rounded the standard BMW M3 and BMW M4 models were.
The M3 and M4 have been facelifted now (a ‘life cycle impulse’ in BMW parlance) which means the standard cars are better than ever, incorporating detail changes with all the learnings from the models’ first five years on sale. The result is that the standard M4 is resolved to a Porsche 911-rivalling standard. But still, you do wonder whether it’s worth the extra cash over the M2, which shares the same engine in a lower state of tune, has a smaller body and is rear-drive exclusively.
That question becomes a lot easier to answer when M4s can be had for closer to M2 money. The numbers do vary wildly in fairness, with the discounts we’ve found ranging from just under £8k to over £21k. But there are plenty of cars with big discounts to choose from.
> The new BMW M2 CS could be another all-time great M car
That’s right, a car with an RRP of £101,150 is available brand new from BMW Berry Thames Ditton, for £79,995 – a £21,155 saving. That’s the price of all the options – just under £10k’s worth – off the top, then another £10.5k off the price of a standard zero-option model.
Some of the options fitted include the distinctive Isle of Man Green colourway and striking Kyalami Orange interior with carbon trim, though this example doesn’t feature BMW’s infamous carbonfibre bucket seats. This car also has the Harman/Kardon stereo and matrix LED lights.
Available for similar M2-rivalling money is this example at Listers BMW Kings Lynn. It’s a seemingly fairly basic spec but with a £15k discount, it’s priced right down at £76,905. Portimao Blue with a black interior is a little easier on the eyes too.
‘The M4 with everything set to Comfort feels like the 911 dialled up to Sport or Sport Plus, it’s that alert, that responsive. You have to work at it a bit, figure it out, find out how to drive to its strengths.
'You’ll find a chassis that allows you to explore the limits of grip, exploit its four-wheel-drive traction and feel rewarded, without leaving it all to you. And, of course, it’s got an epic engine with bags of character and a phenomenal mid-range.’ – John Barker, evo editor-at-large and co-founder, who tested the new M4 against the new Porsche 911 on the road in the UK.
