BMW’s current M3 and M4 models are remarkable driver’s cars, but can the same be said when you remove the roof?
. Number one: it’s only available as a Competition xDrive four-wheel-drive model in the UK. Number two: the metal folding roof that has been playing havoc with the centre of gravity since the E93’s V8 screamed its way to our hearts in 2008 is replaced with a more traditional fabric affair. And number three? Whisper it… it’s not our favourite convertible.
Push up to its limits and the extra weight removes some of the sweetness of the hard-top cars, the neat balance not quite so noticeable and willing to be leant against, and when pushed the M4 cab feels to be cornering on its nose rather than around its midpoint. With the roof down you won’t notice any distracting shake, but when you start to exploit the M4’s performance the loss of the rigidity a fixed roof offers manifests itself through a steering wheel that becomes very busy between your fingers very quickly and your backside reacts to every shimmy beneath you. Anything above 70 per cent of its performance capability and the M4 cab begins to struggle.
Which is where the conundrum comes in, because below it in the range sits the M440i xDrive Convertible that will save you over £23,000, yet won’t leave you feeling short-changed. If anything, you’ll probably feel you’ve come away up on the deal. Because at the speeds that the M4 cab excels, so too does the M440i.
Yet here’s the paradox. The M4 xDrive Convertible is objectively the best M3/4 of its type that has been produced, performing on such a higher level than any of its predecessors that it’s almost beyond compare. But subjectively it’s not the best six-cylinder, four-wheel-drive 4-series convertible BMW produces.
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