BMW and M Power Owners

Caporegime
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26 Aug 2003
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Leafy Cheshire
Have you driven the M4 cab? It is quite a lot less good than the coupe...
Depends on what you mean by “good”. IMO any journey is more of an occasion and far more special by having the roof off. Unless you are taking the car out on a track (or shouldn’t have a driving license) then you can still drive an M4 cab far FAR too quickly for the road, sure it won’t be as sharp, but how many times do you actually need to be able to kiss that apex, or would “within 5%” do? I certainly don’t require that level of precision for a road vehicle.

This then leaves you with the question of which (coupe or cab) would offer more enjoyment, and it’s likely the cab, assuming you like top-down motoring.
 

DRZ

DRZ

Soldato
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Depends on what you mean by “good”. IMO any journey is more of an occasion and far more special by having the roof off. Unless you are taking the car out on a track (or shouldn’t have a driving license) then you can still drive an M4 cab far FAR too quickly for the road, sure it won’t be as sharp, but how many times do you actually need to be able to kiss that apex, or would “within 5%” do? I certainly don’t require that level of precision for a road vehicle.

This then leaves you with the question of which (coupe or cab) would offer more enjoyment, and it’s likely the cab, assuming you like top-down motoring.

I'm absolutely not anti-convertible - I've owned a few over the years. However, you can definitely tell when a car hasn't been designed from the ground up as a cab and the M4 is one such car. It is 100Kg heaver for a start and the steering is definitely affected by the weight and the loss of chassis rigidity. Notice I said "less good" not "terrible". For me, the difference would completely put me off the cab no matter how much I loved roof-down driving. Nobody is buying an M4 to join the pipe and slippers brigade, you buy an M4 for the outright performance it offers over the cooking models. Perhaps if you're coming from something that drives like a blancmange then you won't notice - right up until you drive the coupe. Then that "last 5%" (it is more than that IMO, but whatever) might grate - might as well buy the regular 4 series and be done with it. Or buy something designed from the ground up to be a convertible. Boxster S perhaps.
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2013
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9,150
I suppose if you've only driven a cab and your happy with it, that's your datum. Let's face facts, it's not going to be as stiff as the coupe but I bet unless back to back not many people would know. Its not the coupe is an ariel atom rival:cry:.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Dec 2009
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10,255
Have you driven the M4 cab? It is quite a lot less good than the coupe...

Ill drive the cab first sure, the coupe was astoundingly good.

You are the first person who has said it’s a “lot less good”, that surprises me. Whilst people mention it’s not as good for obvious reasons, no one seems to agree it’s a lot less good. I’ll find out shortly.

I suppose if you've only driven a cab and your happy with it, that's your datum. Let's face facts, it's not going to be as stiff as the coupe but I bet unless back to back not many people would know. Its not the coupe is an ariel atom rival:cry:.

That’s my logic.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2009
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2,578
Location
Edinburgh
Most here haven't driven an M4 or an M4 convertible on a track to make these determinations, both are very capable, obviously the lighter coupe is that bit better in the corners.
Neither are as competent as an M2 competition on the corners.
Neither are as good as an Atom.

Depends what you want from it, will it spend 99% of it's life on track, and just driven to the MOT station once a year, or will it spend 99% of it's life on the road and maybe a couple of track days a year? In which case you won't find the handling differences in the real world unless your driving on the public roads like a maniac.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
20 Sep 2006
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34,046
How long are dealers likely to hold onto cars for given a decent deposit, of say, up to £10k on a £45k car? Or is it very dealer dependant?
 
Caporegime
Joined
17 Jul 2010
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25,741
For a £10k deposit I’d be expecting a month at minimum, but with the market being what it is at the moment they may think they could sell the car anyway within that time. See if you can get finance and take the car early then pay it off?
 

DRZ

DRZ

Soldato
Joined
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In the top 1%
Most here haven't driven an M4 or an M4 convertible on a track to make these determinations, both are very capable, obviously the lighter coupe is that bit better in the corners.
Neither are as competent as an M2 competition on the corners.
Neither are as good as an Atom.

Depends what you want from it, will it spend 99% of it's life on track, and just driven to the MOT station once a year, or will it spend 99% of it's life on the road and maybe a couple of track days a year? In which case you won't find the handling differences in the real world unless your driving on the public roads like a maniac.

Have you ever had two adult passengers in your car? Can you feel the difference the weight makes long before you're driving like a maniac? QED.
 
Soldato
Joined
26 Jul 2004
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3,268
Location
Thunderdome
My issue with the M4 convertible wasn’t its handling, it was the scuttle shake. I could feel it through the steering column and the rear-view mirror would vibrate constantly. I tested it on my daily commute where some of the roads were poor but aren’t they everywhere? The AMG C63s was the same. The Boxster was excellent in this respect, but too small for my needs. In the end I decided 4 seater convertibles weren’t for me.
 
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