BMW M3 Competition xDrive
REPORT 8
£78,425 OTR/£95,370 as tested/£1,640pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
The M3 has gone 4WD. Is it good enough to steal sales from the RS4?
DRIVER
Rowan Horncastle
IF YOU GO ON THE BMW CONFIGURATOR YOU’LL SEE A SMATTERING OF BMW M badges on cars that aren’t technically M cars But when you get to the dedicated M section home of ‘proper’ M cars there’s one pariah the M i xDrive Coupé This annoys me more than it should To the point I had to go and drive the M’s adopted half M brother for myself
Compared to previous ‘M Performance’ models it’s the most Mlooking nonM car ever especially when parked next to the M
It’s robbed the iconic detached aero wing mirrors has similarly taut muscular lines a protruding bonnet bulge like there’s a bigger more powerful V engine under the bonnet when there’s not it’s a litre turbocharged straightsix with V hybrid assistance and the same if not more M badging than the actual M
But where M cars really come into their own is driving them And that’s where you feel the biggest difference between the M i xDrive and M Competition xDrive Even though the latest M doesn’t have the same raucous motorsport tone as older Ms as soon as you turn the engine on it has an anger and frustration like it wants to run free The M i doesn’t It’s got a flat calm idle and creamy tone to it but annoyingly more induction noise than the synthesised rubbish that comes through the speakers of the M Same deal with the gearboxes both cars use an eightspeed automatic gearbox but the M’s baby sibling hasn’t quite hit puberty yet and isn’t confident enough to change gear when you want And when it does it does it with the path of least resistance
So what did I learn from this exercise? Well it’s made me appreciate all the extra hard work that’s gone into making the M an M car And it does feel like a proper M car Where the M i frankly doesn’t So shouldn’t be in the M section of the BMW website Rant over