[SteveC]

I had the pleasure of 30 minutes in a well warmed up M4 yesterday....quite a car. Here are my first impressions

Firstly both cars look great but I actually prefer the M3.....especially in the mineral white ....its halfway between frozen and normal paint and looks brilliant.

Inside the M4 is really classy, reflecting the price and status of an M car....seats are super comfortable and offer great support......steering wheel lovely, ergonomics extremely well sorted.

Start the car and every petrolhead turns and grins. What a beautiful, high performance raspy tone. Inside the exhaust note is much more subdued, until you give it some beans. Loud pedal is exactly what it is. At higher revs the cabin fills with high performance internal combustion noises, literally only a few dB under requiring earplugs. Forget what the journalists say....exhaust noise is most definitely an event in this car.

Handling is probably the high point of this car. Body remains flat and planted in bends, and the suspension demonstrates that it is possible to be firm without being harsh. I would call the suspension sophisticated in that its very smooth and comfortable yet at the same time firm and utterly confidence inspiring. The exact opposite of the choppy ride some past 'M-sport' spec. (not M car) were known for. I wasn't able to really evaluate much in half an hour but the ride really left a positive impression. Different league.

There's a substantial difference between comfort and sport....steering, suspension and especially throttle mapping all took a significant jump when the relevant buttons were depressed.

Performance in sport mode was very good, although I wouldn't call it shattering. Like other M cars, this car is set up to produce the most excitement with a few revs. From 1500 to 3000 my M135i feels substantially faster, after which the M car takes over. The M car felt fast but not wild. By contrast, jumping back into my M135i, it felt ....ummm....fast, indeed at normal driving speeds, in comfort or sport, the M135i didn't seem to lack a great deal, errr anything, performance wise. At low revs it is definitely punchier and at high revs gets on with the job without some of the M car's histrionics (exhaust noise) (of course I normally drive solo and with the M4 I had an extra 80kg of salesman with me). The biggest difference I could detect is in the handling. By comparison, the M car feels like a very luxurious DTM car. Again I didn't get much chance to explore the handling but it does feel way better than the M135i. which is no slouch. After the M4, the handling on the M135i felt a little unrefined, less planted, more body roll, less secure, less confidence inspiring. I did feel that steering was giving more feedback but 30 minutes wasn't really enough to comment.

So in summary, what do you get with an M3 or M4 vs. an M135i?

Mainly its about improved cabin, looks, handling and status. I was worried that my test drive would make the M135i feel diminished and puny by comparison but in fact it simply increased my respect for the hot 1 Series, which is neither a huge compromise nor lacking a great deal in the performance stakes.