Having driven the brand new Lexus RC F this month, Kenny wonders if he made the right choice opting for the BMW M4 convertible.
| Driver's Log | |
|---|---|
| Date acquired: | September 2014 |
| Total kilometres: | 3,800 |
| Kilometres this month: | 1,800 |
| Costs this month: | $0 |
| L/100km this month: | 10.5 |
So another month of ownership has passed for the M4 and I am still as happy as I hoped I would be with the car, thankfully. The BMW has run without fault, and done everything I have asked of it. From taking my daughter to nursery, to blasting through deserted mountain passes it hasn’t missed a beat.
When the car was in for its 2,000km service, they put it up on the lift to check the underneath so I managed to get a peek at the bits normal people don’t see. Being an engineer myself all I can say is that there are ways and means of making what should be boring mechanical bits-n-bobs look good, and BMW have achieved this very well indeed with the underside of the M4. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know what 90% of these bits-n-bobs are, other than the exhaust system and differential really, but the way the car is laid out is an automotive work of art.
There is a video on the internet of Chris Harris, through his ‘Drive’ channel, having a walk around under an M4 with one of the lead technical designers of the car. Having watched this I couldn’t miss the opportunity to have a peek myself and I am glad I did. It made me realize how much lurks under there that although never sees the light of day, contributes to the overall experience of an M car.
I was lucky enough recently to be invited to the Dubai Autodrome to attend the launch of the new Lexus RC F, the M4’s direct competitor. I was slightly apprehensive, having just purchased a new M4, what if I jumped in the Lexus and loved it more than I love my M4.?
The morning consisted of a few laps in a standard RC350 and a few laps in the RC F. Thankfully (said with a hint of relief in my voice), having driven the RC F all it has done is reinforce in my mind how good my M4 is. The RC F looks amazing from outside, especially in the ‘shout-at-me’ orange, or the more subdued blue. But once inside things start to change. This is a personal opinion, but for me the interior of what is a brand new car to market already looked outdated. Things didn’t fare much better with a drive. Yes, it sounds good, that V8 up front, but no better than the M4 of full chatter with the roof down.
The Lexus is carrying almost 40bhp more than the M4, but you would never know it. The stats speak for themselves; it is slower in every way. Out of the turns it simply felt sluggish and not particularly willing to gather speed. It also felt very nose heavy (the big V8?) into and through the turns and just didn’t want to go where I wanted to place it. I may be being harsh here, having had only four laps in it and being tied to whatever settings the Lexus team had chosen for the car, but I would have expected those settings to have been the best to show off what the car can do, and if they were, then I will sleep comfy in my bed tonight knowing I have an M4 tucked away in the garage and not an RC F.
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