What They're Saying: The New BMW M3 and M4

It's always a big deal whenever BMW launches a new M model, not just because of the cars' huge following, but because of their combination of extremely high performance, luxury, and real-world practicality. They dropped the M3 sedan and M4 coupe a while back, and they've just handed the keys to some very lucky automotive journalists and set them loose in Portugal to test 'em out. Here's what they have to say.

Leading things off, Car and Driver is quick to note that the cars are fantastic overall, but that the adjustable transmission is kinda like mama bear and papa bear's porridge: "We were annoyed that the slower settings also take longer to respond to commands from the paddles. If you want your shift to occur immediately after you pull the paddle, you get harsh shifts. This is just one more reason to order the manual, in which every shift parameter is infinitely variable." [Continue Reading...]

Road & Track absolutely raves about the car, though they pine for a slightly more exciting engine: "With so much new tech, BMW had so many opportunities to drop the ball with this new M3 and M4, but it seems like they’ve nailed every aspect—well, nearly every aspect." [Continue Reading...]

On the other hand, Motor Trend finds absolutely nothing wrong with the motor, and particularly loves the exhaust. "Turbo lag is virtually nil, giving nearly immediate power delivery and very sharp throttle response in the Sport + engine management setting. It also holds its own in a shouting match, with the exhaust baffles opening under load to a full-sounding growl." [Continue reading...]

Putting it in very succinct terms, Edmunds declares that, "The M3 is back, this time as a four-door with a twin-turbo six-cylinder, fabulous poise and balance. It's everything a fast, small sport sedan ought to be." [Continue reading...]

As you might expect, the guys over at Top Gear are more concerned with how the car behaves on track, and it passes with flying colors. "It’s got great traction, but the turbos hit so hard on the way out of corners that you find yourself short shifting just the manage the power a bit better. But it does get round a difficult circuit very well indeed, aided no end by the optional carbon ceramic brakes – which might just be the single best thing about the car." [Continue reading...]

And finally, the guys over at The Auto Channel did what any self-respecting automotive journalists would do: they put their right foot down and didn't let off until they absolutely had to. "Wow, the car accelerates like a jet fighter as soon as you hit the throttle thanks to the 405 lb-ft of torque that is available from just 1,850 all the way through 5,500 rpm. We reached 150 mph and were surprised that we saw the needle of the odometer go on and hit 170 mph." [Continue reading...]

Aaron Miller is the Rides editor for Supercompressor, and he just read a bunch of reviews about his dream vacation.