The first day at the Portimão track was all about the Austin Yellow Metallic M4 and Yas Marina Blue Metallic M3, both with the $2,900 Getrag M-DCT paddle-flapper.

This new version of the M3 is the latest in a long line of high-performance rear-drive BMWs, but it's the first M3 with a turbocharged engine. Can it live up to the pedigree of its predecessors? Steve Sutcliffe finds out.

The historic Mid-Ohio Raceway roared to life this week with the sound of power, M Power. In an unprecedented show of force, the brand brought together every generation of M3 street and race cars and invited Justin along for the ride. Of course, he couldn't wait to get behind the wheel of the all new 2015 BMW M3 to record some of the first driving impressions on the latest evolution of a legend.

There's a turbo under the bonnet for the first time - is the magic still there? Ollie Marriage reports

This is the new M3. It’s all present, correct and as you expect apart from the arrival in the engine bay of a pair of turbos.

Turbos?

Yes, and it’s also lost a pair of cylinders. We’re back to a straight six, which enthusiasts will be happy about, but they’re not keen about the turbos. Why? Because while turbos are good for power and torque, they also suffer from lag and mute noise. And if there was one thing previous M3s have been good at, it’s noise and response.

So are you telling me the new M3 fails from the word go?

Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. But by adopting turbos the M3’s character has shifted. A good naturally aspirated engine with zingy throttle response and a screaming top end gives any car added zing and spark. Introduce turbos and you’ve got to work around them, because suddenly you’ve got a car that does its best work in the mid-ranges, and so feels lazier.

And is that the case with the M3?

Yes. BMW make much of the fact this 3.0-litre revs to 7,600rpm, but they haven’t given you enough reasons to go there. I had hoped they would save an extra surge of power for the top end, but actually it’s pretty much the same at 5,000rpm as 7,000rpm. Which is the same as at 3,000rpm, too. It’s extremely linear and pulverisingly fast: 425bhp and 405lb ft from 1850-5500rpm in a car that’s now 80kg lighter than before will have that effect. But the engine note doesn’t develop or change as the revs build. It’s kind of tuneful and there’s quite a bit of volume, but you’re aware that it’s not completely natural.

How so?

The ECU is clever. Too clever by half. It knows what revs you’re at and what the engine should sound like at those revs, then adds a bit more through the speakers. You can’t tell where the noise is coming from, but you can tell that it’s a bit artificial.

OK, so what about response?

This could be one of the best turbo engines ever. Stick it in Sport Plus mode and it has anti-lag. You know, like a rally car. Well, not actually like a rally car, but in order to make the turbos as responsive as possible when you’re driving quickly, the engine injects a bit of extra petrol into the cylinders when you lift off or brake to keep the combustion process active and the turbo spinning at over 120,000rpm. So when you get back on the throttle, the turbo is already there, delivering (almost) instant boost and response. You do notice the improvement. It’s not quite naturally aspirated, but it’s damn close. And it’s not just that that makes this engine so good.

No?

It’s how the turbos – which are tiny incidentally, about the size of pill bottle tops – never over-react to your inputs. Turbos often get carried away, and keep on blowing after you’ve lifted off, or have inconsistent response at different points in the rev range. These feel very pure – they respond precisely and are immaculately well behaved. Plus they pack a proper punch – 0-62mph takes 4.1 seconds.

And I understand it’s more economical too?

This is the real reason BMW has switched to turbocharging. Opt for the double clutch gearbox and you’ll only emit 194 carbons and travel 34 miles on a gallon. Those figures are a claimed 25 per cent better than before. And torque has climbed 40 per cent. On paper, this thing rocks.

OK, so what about in reality?

It rocks. It would be reasonable to assume that making it twin turbo would just end up with it feeling like a diddy M5, but it hasn’t. Yes, there are similarities in the power delivery, but the M3 still feels energized and exciting. Oh and by the way, all comments apply equally to both M3 saloon and M4 coupe – BMW has engineered them to drive as identically as possible. Both have the same track widths, even though the standard 4-Series track is 40mm wider than the 3-Series (the M3 is up 80mm. It has stance). BMW has even tweaked the suspension to take account of the extra 23kg the M3 weighs due to its rear doors. Not to make the cars feel different, but to make them feel more the same. Best of all, there’s not much difference in the price – the saloon is £56,175, the coupe just £460 more.

Could you detect a difference?

I thought I could at Portimao racetrack, which is a properly testing circuit with loads of cambered corners, blind crests and elevation changes. I thought the M3 felt a fraction more wayward and lost traction at the back a bit more easily. It could be the slightly more rearward weight distribution, or perhaps the marginally higher centre of gravity due to the higher roofline. Or it could be just me being a self-important chin-scratcher. But it doesn’t really matter because both are a hoot to drive. Let’s not get into actual steering feel as that seems to be a thing of the past now everyone is using some kind of electrical assistance on the racks. The M3 - as long as you avoid either Comfort mode (too much assistance) or Sport Plus (too little) – does a pretty good job in Sport of being accurate, well weighted and giving you confidence in the front end. Which, to be fair, sticks like glue.

So, still not a car that understeers, then?

No, but contrary to some of the pictures above, neither is it a complete sideways monster. Well, not unless you ask it nicely. Most of the time it’s just beautifully balanced, and at the track plays happily in the zone between pushing a bit wide at the front and stepping out a little at the back. It’s all very manageable – and you don’t even have to turn the traction off. MDM mode, which loosens the shackles a bit, is genius and the M3 just moves very well indeed. 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.

The brakes are the best thing about the car? Why?

Because they’re so nice to use on the road – lovely bite and progression, masses of power. Oddly, at the track they weren’t quite so stellar – the ABS chipped in a bit earlier than necessary and the pedal got a bit long even though the brakes didn’t fade. No news on how much they cost yet, but they’re worth it. That’s not the only trick stuff going on under the skin. M division has a lot of autonomy in what it’s allowed to do to the 3-Series to turn it into an M3. Here we have completely bespoke front and rear subframes that are rigid mounted to the car with no bushing in order to deliver the stiffest platform possible for the suspension and drivetrain. Open the bonnet and you’ll spot this curvaceous carbon strut brace that encircles the whole engine, linking chassis to suspension turrets to subframes, locking everything solid. And you can feel the results of that in the car’s poise and agility, it’s turn-in and crispness. Both on road and track. I have one or two issues with the ride quality, which felt rather sudden over sharp expansion joints and broken tarmac, but that’s offset by the car’s relaxed nature when you’re ambling around.

Do you mean it’s easy-going?

It is – especially if you opt for the double clutch DCT gearbox. I’m not completely convinced of its integration, as the shifts hit home a bit hard in max attack mode, but combined with the car’s hushed cabin, it does make the M3 an easy car to do distance in. And you really can get 30mpg from it. The seats are superb, and I’m not sure any company, bar perhaps Volvo, places you better in the car, sites the controls more logically or is ergonomically superior. The cabin feels good. And there’s room in the back and boot. Honestly. If you’re thinking of buying an M5, stop and have a long hard look at the new M3. Or M4 over M6, of course…

What about its more natural rivals, the Mercedes C63 AMG and Audi RS4?

The C63 is wonderful – a genuinely exuberant car, but I don’t think it’s as well rounded as the BMW. It’s a little more wayward, which can be fun, but also intimidating. It has charisma to spare, though. I love it, but I think I’d have an M3 over it. The latest RS4 isn’t as good as the previous generation – it’s a bit leaden, although it can tuck itself down a road quickly enough. I’d have that third.

So overall the M3 is still up to scratch?

It is, although it’s also a different car. It’s not as fiery now, not as raw and frantic. You’ll end up surfing the mid-range on the exits of corners because it’s more than enough. You might end up driving everywhere a gear higher, because it feels right. This is a shame – some of the naturally aspirated M3’s purity and hardness has undoubtedly been lost. You don’t have to interact with the car as closely or know it as intimately as you did with the old one. But things are going this way, and the trade off is 30mpg, cheaper tax and passengers that won’t moan about the racket. I think BMW has judged it about right. The chassis is peachy, the engine wonderfully potent – it’s a winning combination.

Score: 9/10

You’d imagine that a higher roofline and four doors would hinder the M3 saloon’s capabilities compared to the M4 coupé, but you'd be wrong

What is it like?
In practice there is precious little separating this BMW M3 and the M4 coupé. In terms of straight-line speed, sheer agility and overall spread of dynamic ability they’re virtually identical – and a look over the technical specifications of BMW’s latest M-cars reveals why.

The M3 gets the same driveline components, engine mounting architecture and chassis as the M4 coupé. The two boast the same 2812mm wheelbase, 1579mm front track and 1603mm rear track, resulting in exactly the same footprint.

The nominal 15.0:1 steering ratio as well as the spring, damper and roll bar tuning are also common to both cars, as are the elasto-kinematic properties of the bushes that locate the suspension. Yes, it’s 23kg heavier and 41mm higher than the M4 coupé, but you don’t notice it. Not on public roads.

The inherent driving traits of the M3 saloon prove every bit as compelling as those of the M4 coupé. Setting the tone is BMW M division’s new twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine. With huge low-end shove, it is incredibly easy to live with. It also serves up the sort of storming in-gear qualities that make the old naturally aspirated 4.0-litre V8 appear a little weak by comparison. Just don’t expect the blown unit to offer up same razor-like throttle response or alluring aural qualities as the engine it replaces.

Purists will go for the manual – they almost always do. But the optional dual-clutch automatic M-DCT gearbox provides the M3 with the ease of usability to match its fervent on-boost accelerative properties, leading to the very same set of official performance figures as the M4 coupé: 0-62mph in 4.1sec and the standing kilometer in 21.9sec. With the manual, it takes 0.2sec and 0.3sec longer respectively.

The perception of equal performance is backed by BMW M division's development boss, Albert Biermann, who claims the M3 its M4 coupé sibling boast the same Nürburgring lap time. “We’ve run both cars extensively, both together and in separate tests," he says. "Apart from nuances in driving style between our engineers, they are all but inseparable in lap time.”

Adding to the appeal is Drive Performance Control, which allows you to alter the character of the M3 over a wider range than before. Accessed via three buttons on the centre console, you get the choice of Efficiency, Sport and Sport+ modes for the throttle mapping together with Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes for the damping properties and electro-mechanical steering.

Should I buy one?
The BMW M3 can be fast and vivid one moment, and comfortable and relaxing the next. The inherent practicality of the four-door body and a 480-litre boot only adds to its everyday appeal.

It's also cheaper than the M4 coupé, if only just at £56,175 as opposed to £56,635. If you’re in the market for a performance car that can handle family transport obligations, it’ll be hard to ignore.

The BMW M3 is quicker and more efficient than ever, but can it live up to the iconic badge?

Verdict
Releasing a new BMW M3 always brings a huge weight of expectation with it, but this latest model more than rises to the occasion. The turbocharged engine signals a big change but it’s done nothing to dent the appeal of the M3 – it’s now blisteringly fast and more flexible than ever, with the only downside being it doesn’t quite sound as nice as the old V8. You can easily forgive it that, though, when it’s not only as comfortable and easy to drive as it is, but also when it’s this much fun.

Now BMW's only M3, the sedan does a fine job of shouldering the mantle.

Two Clutches, Three Settings, One Choice
Transmission choices are a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic or a six-speed manual, but only the DCT was available to us for this first drive. It, too, has three severity settings, but it seems like BMW might have oversimplified here. The more-relaxed settings don’t just soften shifts, they slow the response time of the shift paddles. So in the beginner modes, you pull the paddle and wait before the shift occurs. If you want shifts now, you will have to be OK with hard shifts. Even without firsthand experience, we’ll go ahead and assume that the manual is better. Figure on 0-to-60 times of roughly four seconds flat with either.

And figure on a base price of $62,925 for the manual. Then figure on a $2900 upcharge for the dual-clutch. Finally, you should figure on the only remaining M3, the one with four doors, being a satisfying torchbearer for the nameplate.

All-new performance coupé boasts incredible performance and sublime handling, although the new engine lacks the engagement found in past M-cars

What is it like?
The M4 coupé offers marvellous ease of driveability and extraordinary refinement at one end of the spectrum, along with amazing pace and tremendous dynamic proficiency at the other. It may be clichéd, but it really is a car for all occasions.

The key to its broad spread of talent is its Drive Performance Control, which allows the driver to tailor the properties of this new M-car over a significantly wider range than its predecessor. Accessed via three buttons on the centre console, you get the choice of Efficiency, Sport and Sport+ modes for the engine mapping together with Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes for the suspension damping and electro-mechanical steering.

Importantly, you can mix and match each one, so you’re able to call up differing properties for the engine, damping and steering rather than being stuck with one common mode for all, as is the case on standard BMW models. An M-mode function also allows you to save preferred combinations, which can then be easily accessed each time you enter the car via a pair of buttons on the steering wheel.

There is nothing remotely demanding about the way it drives in Comfort. You could cover loads of miles without ever feeling remotely challenged – all in a sumptuous environment offering outstanding levels of interior comfort and first-rate ergonomics. In this sense, the M4 coupé proves to be a convincing everyday proposition. It is more purposeful in feel to the 435i coupé but no more taxing to drive.

Nudge the buttons down beside your thigh to engage Sport and it instantly becomes more purposeful in nature as the properties of the driveline, chassis and electronic driving aids are altered for more engaging driving. So configured, there is a more urgent action to the steering and added aggressiveness within the throttle mapping, while satisfying damping compliance gives way to a slightly less cosseting ride and the calibration of the electronic stability control suddenly becomes a lot more liberal, allowing you to entertain the hooligan within when conditions permit.

Moving up into Sport+ further heightens the experience, although it is really only intended for track work and proves wearing for any distance on public roads.

The driving position is excellent, supported by newly designed sport seats offering a wide squab, plenty of lateral support and a good deal more adjustment than you will likely ever need. Although the cabin architecture is shared with the 4-series, the clarity of the unique instruments, superb weighting of the controls and the quality of the materials leave you in little doubt that you’re aboard something special.

Like all M-cars down through the years, it is the engine that moulds the driving experience of the M4 coupé more than anything else. And it is here where the new twin-turbocharged six-cylinder unit both impresses and disappoints. At start up, it sounds remarkably similar to the twin-turbocharged V8 from the M5, with an odd diesel-like chatter to the engine and a raspy exhaust note. Thankfully, it improves as you select first and move off.

Predictably, the single biggest change over the M3 coupé is in the delivery, which couldn’t be any more different than before. With all that torque concentrated low down, there is substantial shove from little more than idle. This results in outstanding flexibility across a much wider range of revs, making it much better suited to stop/go city driving than its predecessor.

Just don’t count on the same razor-sharp throttle response as before when the road opens up and you get to put your foot down. The inherent qualities of the forced-induction engine mean the initial pick-up is a lot less rabid than with the old naturally aspirated unit owing to a fleeting moment of lag as the two turbochargers spool up to full boost. But once they do, the in-gear shove is uncompromising.

Still, there's no need to pile on the revs in an attempt to tap into the deep seam of performance offered by the new engine. You merely flex your right foot in a suitable gear and the engine obliges with truly muscular properties. The resulting rush of acceleration is spectacular, particularly between 3500 and 5500rpm where the M4 coupé feels to be at its strongest.

Inevitably, though, it lacks the outright aural intensity of the unit it replaces, despite the inclusion of Active Sound Design, which reproduces the sound of the M4 coupé’s new six-cylinder through the audio speakers at various volumes and frequencies based on engine revs, throttle load and speed.

With two mono-scroll turbochargers, variable valve timing and continuously variable camshaft control, it revs quite freely, extending to 7600rpm before the onset of the limiter. This is quite high by turbocharged engine standards, but 600rpm less than the old naturally aspirated engine achieved.

The optional dual-clutch automatic gearbox provides the M4 coupé with the ease of usability to match its fervent on-boost accelerative ability, leading to a highly impressive set of performance figures: 0-62mph in 4.1sec and the standing kilometre, now very much accepted as the modern day acceleration yardstick, in 22.2sec. This is a respective 0.5sec and 0.7sec faster than the old M3 coupé.

As a further indicator of just how much the new engine has transformed the performance, BMW claims the M4 coupé is capable of accelerating from 50mph to 75mph in fourth gear in just 3.5sec. By comparison, the M3 coupé required 4.3sec. Top speed remains limited to 155mph, although buyers can have it raised to 174mph with an optional M Driver’s package.

It is not just the sheer potency of its straight-line acceleration and heaving in-gear qualities that makes the new BMW M4 coupé so exciting to drive hard, though. Few cars anywhere near the £56,635 starting price of the M4 provide such dynamic finesse or engaging qualities. There is a perceptible completeness to the engineering of its chassis that serves to provide the new M-car with a wonderfully fluid feel over challenging sections of blacktop.

Directional stability is exceptional, even at very high speeds. The electro-mechanical steering system also delivers excellent response, impressive directness and more constant weighting through its entire range than the old hydraulic arrangement it replaces. It could do with a little more feedback, but with Sport or Sport+ modes engaged, it delivers suitably urgent turn-in traits.

The front end offers exceptional grip without any premature breakaway provided the surface is relatively smooth. With stability clutch control, which opens the clutches when sensors detect the loss of imminent traction and briefly reduces power to bring the car back on line, it resists understeer in a masterful manner, resulting in wonderfully neutral properties even in tight second-gear corners.

Body control is also superb, providing the new M-car with a reassuringly flat cornering nature even when you begin to nibble at the very last remnants of available purchase. There is a wonderfully composed feel to the handling all the way up to the point where the dynamic stability control (DSC) intervenes.

This is partly down to it boasting a lower centre of gravity than the car it replaces, but, I suspect, more because of the work that has gone into providing its largely bespoke suspension with ultra-stiff anchoring points.

BMW M division’s decision to provide it with a new steel rear suspension sub-frame that bolts directly to the body structure without any rubber bushings gives the M4 tremendous on-the-limit clarity. The lines of communication are amplified to a whole new level, revealing its willingness to oblige beyond the dynamic boundaries of the M3 coupé.

The adoption of a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic driveshaft has also added greater overall progressiveness to the handling thanks to lower reciprocating masses and the scope for a whole new approach to the settings of the electronically control active differential, allowing you to send it sideways at will with the DSC disabled.

Should I buy one?
BMW M chiefs say the M4 coupé is 15sec faster than the old M3 coupé around the Nürburgring, where much of its chassis development was carried out. Part of the gain is down to the added performance delivered by the new turbocharged engine. However, it is clear the handling has also risen to a lofty new level as well.

An even bigger achievement in my eyes is the new car’s broad spread of ability. You can cruise along the motorway in admirable comfort with the steering in a relatively relaxed state, the suspension offering excellent compliance, the engine in its most efficient state and the DSC at the ready.

Then you can head out on to the track with the steering feel heightened, the chassis primed for ultimate body control, the throttle mapping set for maximum attack and the electronic safety net disengaged in a bid to better your lap time.

However, there are apparent shortfalls. While it is spectacularly powerful and endows the M4 coupé to previously unattained levels of acceleration, the new engine lacks engagement and sounds disappointingly flat at certain points in the rev range. It also fails to match the sheer response of the engine it succeeds.

For many potential buyers who might consider the BMW M4 coupé when it goes on sale in the UK later this month this will blunt its charm, but only until they discover the gains in driveability and stunning in-gear qualities. What it lacks in overall excitement, it more than makes up for in everyday driving appeal.

The BMW M4 Coupe's pin-sharp handling, huge performance and stylish looks mean it's set to outsell the M3 Saloon

Verdict
Despite promising to be lighter and lower, the BMW M4 feels nearly identical to the M3 on which it’s based. It really didn’t need to improve on that formula anyway, though, since that car’s pin-sharp handling, monstrous engine and excellent everyday usability are second-to-none. But BMW expects to shift 1000 M4s a year and only 180 M3s and that’s got to be down to the M4’s gorgeous looks. It’s clearly not as practical but when it looks and feels as good as this, that doesn’t seem to matter.

Okay, so how does this thing actually drive?
It’s very competent and enjoyable. The body control is excellent, the bite from the front end stubbornly unstickable, the performance outstanding and the chassis predictably well balanced. And, yes, it still does all the trademark M3 stuff: drive into a corner hard, brake hard, then pin the throttle and the rear end will arc out in a beautiful drift. And although that happens easier because of all the torque – we haven’t driven it in the wet yet… – the sticky 19-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres actually give you an awful lot of traction to work against, bringing a high level of control and more progression than you’d experience in the snappy 1-series M, M Division’s first forced-induction coupe (yes, if you ignore the pre-M Division, but actually really M Division 2002 Turbo…).

I always prefer natural aspiration, especially with rear-wheel-drive cars because it gives you such intimate control over the rear end once it starts sliding, and although the M4 is very biddable, you notice that the kick of the turbos does turn second-gear drifts where you’re backing in and out of the throttle into a slightly more frantic affair.

Finally, the brakes are fantastic, but that’s because our test car was fitted with the optional carbon ceramics, the first on an M3 (M4!). They require almost comedic levels of recalibration to your approach: brake far too late and you basically use a couple of centimetres of pedal travel to bring everything back under control with an almost eerie detachment. They’re as good as anything I’ve ever tried in a supercar.

Verdict
A turbocharged M3/M4 does take some getting your head round, so if you know your M cars intimately, let me try to explain: on one side of the M3/M4 you’ve got the raucous 1-series M, which was a very old school kind of M car in the mould of the Z3M and Z4M; at the other end of the spectrum you’ve got the new twin-turbocharged V8 M5, a very new school kind of M car. The M3/M4 is most definitely a small M5, not a big 1-series M.

The new M4 is a great car, but it feels more competent than its predecessor rather than any more enjoyable to drive, and I desperately miss the sound, the delivery and the response of the V8. More than anything, I want a little more feel and interaction from my M3/M4, something approaching the hardwired M3 GTS. Who knows, maybe a drive of manual car on a favourite UK road will warm me to it. But first impressions leave me highly impressed but just a little cold.

The BMW M3 Coupe is dead; long live the new BMW M4, with a 425bhp turbocharged straight-six engine. How good is it?

What’s it like to drive?

Mooching along with its twin-clutch gearbox in auto and the dampers and steering in either of their first two modes (Comfort or Sport), the ride is good and you only really notice the suspension’s underlying firmness over bigger hits like speed bumps. In its efficiency setting the engine is just a distant murmur at lowish revs so the cabin has a refined air about it that would undoubtedly make the M4 a fine long journey or everyday companion.

The first slide is a little tentative because it seems to initiate so easily that I’m worried it might get quite big quite quickly, but not so. And once you know how easy it is, literally every corner on our Portuguese test route seems to become an opportunity to get the rear wheels over-rotating. Load up the outside-front, then with the revs somewhere in the monstrous mid-range torque plateau (1850-5500rpm), simply press the throttle. There’s no need to stamp or mash the pedal deep into its travel because the M4 is already balanced in such a way that it’s just waiting for a nod of approval from the 406lb ft to tip itself into a slide. You’ll feel the rear go light and hear the revs rise as the tail steps out of line, but catching it is easy and the brilliant Active M Differential means your right foot is then the master in deciding how long the black lines behind you are going to be.

The M4’s engine is curious. The torque and mid-range punch are not in doubt. However, BMW’s claims that it still revs like a naturally aspirated engine are open to a bit more debate. If you accelerate hard down a long straight from the mid-range and hold on until the floating rev counter in the head-up display is glowing yellow and red before flicking the right-hand paddle, then acceleration seems unabated and the noise improves. However, there is certainly no final rush to the red line and the actual substance behind the last 1500rpm feels a bit thin. Instinctively you feel like you want to change up before you even start tickling the top end, and coming out of a corner you know that you want to be in the meat of the torque rather than at the peak of the power.

It’s certainly a very different experience to the E92, where the best drives I had were when the needle seemed to be living permanently above about 6000rpm. The engine’s performance is, however, more accessible in the M4 and the throttle response is phenomenal for a car with forced induction – helped perhaps by the reductions in rotating mass thanks to a forged crank and a carbon propshaft. But there is just a tingle of disappointment that there’s not much reward for hanging on to the gears.

How does it compare?

You can read a full comparison between the two in the next issue of evo, but perhaps the BMW M4’s toughest rival to beat will be the Jaguar F-type S Coupe, a car both brilliant to drive and oozing class and desirability. Another rival with a very similar price tag is the new Porsche Cayman GTS – possibly the best sports car Porsche makes.

Anything else I need to know?

The BMW M3 saloon is mechanically identical, weighs 23kg more than the M4 and costs around £500 less. For many, its subtler looks and practicality will make it a little cooler, too.

The M3 two-door has evolved, and we like it. Mostly.

What's it like to drive?

On one hand, drivability and refinement are terrific. On the other, speed and dynamic proficiency are just as good. The key to its many talents is Drive Performance Control, allowing you to tailor the car's properties over a significantly wider range than its predecessor. Three buttons access it on the center console. Mode choices are Efficiency, Sport and Sport+ for engine mapping and Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes for damping and electromechanical steering.

Importantly, you can mix and match each one. So, for example, you can call up differing properties for the engine, damping and steering rather than being stuck with one common mode for all like on standard BMWs. An M-mode also allows you to save preferred combinations, and they can then be easily accessed each time you enter the car via a pair of steering-wheel buttons.

In Comfort, there is nothing remotely demanding about the way it drives. You could cover loads of miles without ever feeling remotely challenged, all in a sumptuous environment offering outstanding levels of interior comfort and first rate ergonomics. In this sense, the M4 Coupe proves a convincing everyday car. It is more purposeful in feel compared to the 435i Coupe but no more taxing to drive.

Choose Sport and the car instantly becomes more purposeful in nature as driveline, chassis and electronic driving aids are altered for more engaging driving. The steering is more urgent, the throttle more aggressive, the ride stiffer and the electronic stability control more liberal, allowing you to be a hooligan when the conditions permit.

Moving to Sport+ further heightens the experience, although it is really only intended for the track work and ultimately proves wearing for any distance on the road.

The driving position is excellent; the new sport seats offer good lateral support and more adjustment than you will likely ever need. The M4 shares the 4-series cabin architecture, but the clarity of the unique instruments and superb control weighting material quality leave you in little doubt that you're aboard something special.

Like all M-cars throughout the years, the engine moulds the M4's driving experience more than anything else. This is where the twin-turbo six both impresses and disappoints. At start-up, it sounds remarkably similar to the M5's twin-turbo V8, with an odd diesel-like chatter. It improves as you select first and move off.

Predictably, the biggest change over the M3 Coupe is power delivery; it couldn't be more different than before. With all the torque concentrated low, you get substantial shove from little more than idle. This results in outstanding flexibility across a much wider rev range, making it much better suited to stop/go city driving than its predecessor.

Don't count on the same razor-sharp throttle response as before when the road opens up and you put your foot down for the first time. The initial pick-up is a lot less rabid than with the old naturally aspirated engine – there's a fleeting moment of lag as the two turbos spool up to full boost. But once they do, the in-gear shove is uncompromising. There's no need to pile on the revs; just flex your right foot in a suitable gear and the engine obliges with truly muscular properties. The acceleration is spectacular, particularly between 3500 and 5500 rpm.

It lacks the aural intensity of the engine it replaces, though, despite Active Sound Design. It reproduces the six cylinder's sound through the audio speakers at various volumes and frequencies based on engine revs, throttle load and speed.

With two mono-scroll turbochargers, variable valve timing and continuously variable camshaft control, the engine revs freely, extending to 7600 rpm before the limiter. This is high for a turbo engine but 600 rpm less than the old naturally aspirated engine.

The optional dual clutch offers ease of use to match its fervent on-boost acceleration, leading to an impressive 4.1-second 0-62 time. The standing kilometer, now much accepted as the modern day acceleration yardstick for European car makers, happens in 21.9 seconds. This is 0.5 and 1 second faster than the M3 Coupe. BMW claims the M4 can accelerate from 50 mph to 75 mph in fourth gear in just 3.5 seconds. The M3 Coupe required 4.3 seconds. Top speed remains limited to 155 mph, though you can raise it to 174 mph with an optional M Driver's package.

Few cars anywhere near the M4's $65,125 starting price provide such dynamic finesse or engaging qualities. There is a perceptible completeness to the chassis, serving to provide the new car with a wonderfully fluid feel over challenging blacktop.

Directional stability is exceptional, there's a ton of grip and body control is superb.

Do you want it?

Well, there are a couple of shortfalls. It might be spectacularly powerful, but the new engine lacks engagement and sounds disappointingly flat at certain points in the rev range. For owners of the fourth-generation M3 Coupe, this will blunt its charm, but only until they discover the gains in driveability and stunning in-gear qualities brought on by its strapping torque. What it lacks in overall excitement, it more than makes up for in everyday driving appeal. Darn right, you want it . . .

Is it still heresy if the car's excellent?

Unlucky Number Seven

As did the outgoing M3, the M4 will offer a choice of a six-speed manual transmission and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. This is perfectly acceptable, as it gives us an excuse to test more derivatives of the car. Like seemingly every other one of the car’s systems, the dual-clutch box has three settings. The most aggressive slams into the next gear too hard for street use, but we were annoyed that the slower settings 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.

Another reason is pricing. With the manual, an M4 starts at $65,125. The automatic is another $2900, so when you spend money on one of these this summer, we recommend reserving that sum for tires.

And you should spend money on one. We’ve questioned a lot of the changes BMW has made to its vehicles lately, wondering whether the company is building on its successes or changing its cars and making them more complicated simply because it could. The F32 4-series might not be exactly the 3-series we want it to be, but the M4 is unquestionably an M3.

Restoring the Faith

Full throttle acceleration gives a sharp-edged growl worthy of a BMW straight-six and shifts from the M DCT (no manual transmissions were made available) were seamless and somewhat violent with the adjustable shift speed at maximum. Adjust the shift response to be slower and they become softer as well, which is fine for around town. Driven into a sharp bend too quickly, there’s a hint of understeer that is easily reversed with some unwinding of the wheel and a throttle lift, then a stab of the throttle after the car settles to bring the tail around. At nearly 3600 pounds, both sedan and coupe always make you aware of their mass, but they don’t feel bloated. Both cars respond well to trail braking, rotating slowly or very quickly depending on how sharply you turn in. The new twin-turbo six pulls strongly until peak horsepower at 7000 rpm (redline is 7600 rpm), and I’m happy to report that the electronically limited top speed of 155 mph is within reach fairly quickly on deregulated stretches of autobahn. (I saw an indicated 240 kph, or 149 mph, and the car was still pulling well.) Cars equipped with the optional M Driver’s package get a limit of 174 mph.

At the fast, hilly race track that is Portugal’s Algarve Autodromo, both M3 and M4 held their own. The Michelin Pilot Sports remain sticky after multiple laps and the carbon-ceramic brakes gave no fade, but there was plenty of noise (an odd rubbing sound) and odor after a few hot laps that included several hard stops from triple digits. Steel brakes were unavailable to try. A ride-along with BMW DTM driver Glock showed that the M4 is quite a driftmeister. With enough skill, lurid, smoky drifts at massive slip angles are entirely possible, and in fact, the M Dynamic Mode is designed to allow that kind of behavior to a certain degree, before intervening.

The M3 and M4 hits showrooms this June, while convertible lovers will have to wait until September for the drop-top M4. Which to buy? If it were my money, the M3, with identical performance and feel to the coupe and the added practicality of four doors, gets the vote.

M twins.

On every other level, though, this M4 is more than fit to carry the M3 mantle forward, and at almost $40K cheaper than a Nissan GT-R, it’s even pretty good value. Whether you’re in the market now or planning a used buy five years ahead when prices have tumbled, you won’t be disappointed.

The current crop of available exterior colors for the newly launched F80 BMW M3 sedan that consists of seven metallic and one regular (Alpine White) shade is rather underwhelming for those who seek more individuality, but the Bavarians will soon address this issue with the release of the Individual palette as well as a selection of "Frozen" hues.

For the M3/M4 M Power Experience 2014 that takes place in Istanbul, Turkey, beginning from May 18, BMW has brought along the very first "Frozen" M3 samples in red, white and silver shades. Think of the "Frozen" colors as a cross between a metallic and a matte shade.

The crew over at Bimmerpost, who shared these pictures, had spoken to M3/M4 project manager, Michael Wimbeck and M3/M4 product manager for BMW North America, Victor LeLeu, at last month's New York Auto Show, with the two men stating that the Frozen paints would be offered as factory options starting from early next year. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

"When should we expect BMW Individual options for the M3/M4?"

"There will be 4 Individual colors available beginning this Autumn - Pyrite Brown, Citrin Black, Azurite Blue, Moonstone Metallic. There will be Individual Frozen colors as factory options from early 2015.

Individual Leather upholstery options will be available for order (as a tick-the-box factory upgrade option) and show up in order guides beginning Spring 2015. Meanwhile, from Autumn 2014 until Spring 2015, Individual interiors will be available for order upon special request (but won't appear in order guides) on the M3 sedan and M4 convertible only.

M4 coupe's factory (Munich) must first be prepared for the Individual upholstery process, which is expected to be ready sometime Spring 2015."