2021 BMW M4 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

BMW’s giant grilles are an affront to the senses, yes, but they exist for a reason. Supposedly, the trend, which started a couple of years ago with the refreshed 7 Series sedan and X7 SUV, is to satisfy the company’s customers in China, where the newly-minted wealthy want to make sure everyone knows they’ve got a BMW. Think of it as the automotive equivalent to those God-awful Gucci sneakers you see in the windows of high-end retailers.

Naturally, the automaker’s designers don’t admit that. When the latest 7 Series and X7 arrived, the story was that their big grilles denoted their position in the BMW lineup: big vehicle, big grille. Today, that argument doesn’t hold water, so now the story is that BMW cannot advance by recycling old styling cues. So look out, Hofmeister kink!

Unlike with the 7 Series, the automaker penned the latest BMW 4 Series lineup to wear the oversized kidney grilles from the outset, the same way Pontiac did with the 1968 Catalina. And, on the more-aggressive M4 models, it even looks appropriate. Plus, it grabs attention and makes the M car both distinctive and immediately recognizable. Just know that if you’re not a fan of the M4’s front end, the car drives so well that its schnoz is easy to excuse.

It helps that the rest of M4’s bodywork is downright sexy, with swells and curves and arcs in all of the right places. The driver-oriented interior contains BMW’s increasingly-familiar geometric forms, digital instrumentation, and excellent iDrive 7.0 infotainment system, all rendered in quality materials for a technical and purposeful, but upscale, look and feel.

The 2021 BMW M4 lineup includes a two-door coupe in standard and Competition specifications. The standard BMW M4 comes with a six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive (RWD), while the BMW M4 Competition adds an eight-speed automatic and extra power. In 2022, BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive (AWD) system will be available for the first time in an M4 (on Competition models), and a new M4 Competition convertible will join the lineup as well.

Pricing starts at $71,800, not including a mandatory destination charge of $995. Competition spec requires an additional outlay of $2,900. Our standard-spec test vehicle had nearly every option box checked, putting the price tag at $100,895, including the destination charge. Egad.

BMW fortifies the 2021 M4 with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine that is simply perfection. It delivers 473 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 406 pound-feet of torque from 2,650 rpm to 6,130 rpm. In M4 Competition spec, the figures are 503 hp and 479 lb-ft, but BMW spreads the torque across a smaller rev range between 2,750 and 5,500 rpm. The engine’s redline is a lofty 7,200 rpm, and it is so smooth and eager that banging into it is easy.

The M4 runs to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds with the stick shift, according to BMW, and achieves a top speed of 155 mph or 180 mph, depending on whether you’ve selected the M Driver’s Package. The M4 Competition, with its eight-speed automatic transmission, is quicker to 60, achieving that velocity in 3.8 seconds, per BMW.

Structural bracing, track-ready cooling systems, an electrically-controlled exhaust system, and forged lightweight wheels wrapped in performance tires are standard. Additionally, numerous BMW M tweaks are along for the ride, including an adaptive M suspension, M compound brakes, and M-tuned speed-sensing and variable-ratio steering. In addition, the optional M Drive Professional Package installs a Track driving mode and an M traction control system complete with an M Drift Analyzer function. A set of M Carbon Ceramic Brakes is also available, and if you need to ask what they cost, they’re probably too expensive.

Silky when revved, the twin-turbo straight-six pairs perfectly with the six-speed manual gearbox. The clutch can be a little tricky, but the shifter itself is a delight, recalling BMW manual gearboxes of old. With a bit of resistance with each gear engagement, the stick pops into place with a little bit of a push, gliding into each gear with satisfyingly positive engagement.

Running hard on one of the more challenging roads laced atop the Santa Monica Mountains, the M4’s broad and accessible torque curve meant we mainly shifted between second and third gears, the car shrieking to speed on straights and indefatigably braking hard before diving into corner after corner.

Thanks to bum shoulders, we used the Comfort steering mode instead of the heavier Sport assist level, which also increases feedback, according to BMW. Nevertheless, the electrically-assisted steering proved quick to respond and sharply accurate in its less-aggressive setting, and we didn’t find any reason to complain about how it felt in our hands when driving the M4 on public roads.

Using the car’s Individual driving mode setting, we mixed the Comfort steering and a quieter exhaust setting (no need to advertise speed, now is there?) with Sport powertrain and suspension calibration. The result was a high-performance coupe perfectly suited to rapid transit on our favorite Southern California back roads and a massive smile on your author’s face when it came time to rejoin society on the slog that is the 101 freeway.

Best of all, the BMW M4 isn’t a one-trick pony. The manual transmission is easy to manage in traffic, and the car rides softly enough that you won’t need to visit a chiropractor regularly. Its comfortable standard seats, clear outward visibility, and luxury trappings all make daily driving as enjoyable as it can be.

Overall, this car delivers a marvelous driving experience, regardless of the situation. Incredibly, we averaged 20.2 mpg on our testing loop, too, exceeding the official EPA fuel-economy estimate of 19 mpg in combined driving.

What makes the BMW M4 coupe even more appealing is that aside from giving up the rear doors of the otherwise-identical BMW M3 sedan, it remains a remarkably practical car for everyday living.

As we reported in our M3 review, unless you have concrete plans to track your new BMW, skip the M carbon bucket seats and stick with the standard heated front sport seats. They’re mighty comfortable, save you a few grand, and make it easier to enter and exit the M4. They’re also wrapped in premium Merino leather and feature an adjustable thigh support bolster. Ventilation is an affordable upgrade, and a heated steering wheel is available as part of the optional Executive Package.

The driver and passenger face a dashboard with dual digital display screens and a smattering of climate controls. Physical controls for the iDrive infotainment system reside on the center console, but you’ll rarely need to use them because the technology also offers a touchscreen, natural voice recognition, steering-wheel controls, and even gesture controls. A row of stereo controls remains on the dashboard, though, for old-schoolers who also have a deep appreciation for manual transmissions.

Aside from some awkwardness when climbing into or out of them, the M4’s back seats are unexpectedly hospitable to adults. People taller than six feet need not apply, but everyone else will be happy enough with this seating assignment, which offers decent legroom in addition to a comfortable cushion.

Interior storage is suitable for a car like this one, and there is a rear-seat center pass-through to the trunk, allowing you to carry four people and long items simultaneously. Cargo volume is adequate, measuring 12 cubic feet.

It’s been a long time coming, but BMW has got iDrive all figured out. It remains a complex technology, equipped with deep menu structures that can make it hard to find more-obscure features and functions. However, once you take the time to go through everything and calibrate the car to your liking, chances are that you won’t ever need to adjust many of the settings ever again.

Besides, the M4 has a volume knob and tuning buttons on the dashboard, with redundant controls on the steering wheel. Primary climate controls are separate from iDrive, too. When you need to use other functions, such as the navigation system, the touchscreen display is within easy reach, and the “Hey BMW” voice assistant works as well as your smartphone’s “Hey Google” and “Hey Siri” systems.

Standard equipment includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, satellite radio, navigation, connected services, and a Harman Kardon premium surround-sound audio system. Unlike in the recently tested BMW M3, the M4’s Harman Kardon speakers proved enjoyable, perhaps due to different cabin acoustics.

Choose the Executive Package if you want a WiFi hotspot, wireless smartphone charging, and gesture control. The latter allows you to spin a finger in the air in front of the infotainment system to adjust the volume or hook a thumb to change radio stations. It occasionally works as intended, but is mostly a curiosity rather than actually useful.

The Executive Package also contains a head-up display that is nearly invisible when the driver is wearing polarized sunglasses. BMW needs to take a different approach here.

When equipped with the manual transmission, the BMW M4 lacks several driver-assist features that require the M4 Competition’s automatic transmission. That’s just fine by us.

For the M4 Competition, BMW offers the Driving Assistance Professional Package. It includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, lane-centering assistance, evasive-steering assistance, and active blind-spot protection that can prevent a driver from making the wrong move at the wrong time. In addition, this package also includes an extended traffic-jam assistant technology for lower speeds on limited-access highways, perfect for commutes in heavy traffic.

Our standard M4 test car lacked these safety features, but it did include blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, and a speed-limit recognition system. You can set a speed warning to let you know when you’re going too fast, and it is almost a necessity, given how easy it is to drive the M4 at extra-legal speeds.

Front and rear collision-preparation systems are also standard for the new M4, along with a post-collision braking system. This brings the M4 to a stop as soon as possible following an impact, thereby limiting the potential for secondary collisions and further injury to passengers after the initial airbag deployment.

Crash-test ratings are unavailable for the latest 4 Series lineup, including the M4. However, if you wish to look at the similar 3 Series for guidance, the sedan earns high marks from both the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Keep in mind, though, that the 3 Series ratings do not apply to the 4 Series. Instead, they suggest how BMW has approached the underlying engineering to protect occupants of the car.

To put the 2021 BMW M4’s price into context, a Ford Mustang Mach 1 with a manual transmission and every upgrade will run you just over $65,000. That’s more than $7,000 less than a base M4.

Now, you should expect that a Ford will cost less than a BMW. And the Mustang comes nowhere near the M4 when it comes to quality of materials or overall refinement and sophistication. But both cars are high-performance coupes built for maximum driving pleasure, packing similar levels of heat and, when properly equipped, ready for track work right out of the box.

If we were buying a new BMW M4, we’d stick to the basics to keep the price tag well below the six-figure threshold. Metallic paint, 19-inch wheels, and a price of $73,650 make all kinds of sense to us, even if it’s still 20 grand more than a base Mustang Mach 1. And, this amount is right in line with the M4’s primary rivals, the Audi RS 5 Coupe and Mercedes-AMG 63 Coupe, neither of which lets you shift gears manually.

Sign us up for the big grille, please.