As previously announced, the BMW M3 and BMW M4 Competition will soon also be available with ‘M xDrive’ all-wheel drive. With a driven front axle, the two M models are perhaps slightly less pure, but also even faster.
The BMW’s M3 and M4 follow the M5 with M xDrive, although the big difference is that the feature is optional on the M3 and M4 and comes standard with the M5. Four-wheel drive is only available on the Competition versions of the M3 and M4, which means that there is always 510 hp instead of 480.
The integral drive naturally means extra grip, which is reflected in the sprint figures. Both the M3 Competition and M4 Competition sprint with M xDrive from 0 to 100 km / h in 3.5 seconds, 0.4 counts faster than the rear-wheel drive versions.
Cloud of smoke
That is an advantage, but four-wheel drive naturally produces a less pure and playful car. However, with the M5 (and earlier with SUVs), BMW has already proven that this can be overcome quite well. The ‘M’ in ‘M xDrive’ therefore stands for a four-wheel drive system with a strong emphasis on the rear axle, while the 2WD mode makes it possible to send all the power to the rear axle if desired. Then choose the optional M Traction Control and it is possible to manually adjust the permitted traction in ten levels. In short: even with these versions of the M3 and M4 it should be perfectly possible to go completely crazy in a thick cloud of smoke.
BMW is not talking about weights yet, but of course the xDrive versions will be slightly heavier than their rear-wheel drive brothers.
To defend
Buyers of the xDrive version do not have to defend themselves against ‘hardcore’ enthusiasts, because we do not see an xDrive nameplate anywhere in the attached photos. The only external ‘difference’ is that the xDrive version is standard on 19-inch at the front and 20-inch at the rear, where a regular M3 or M4 Competition does the standard all around with a size smaller.
Convertible and Touring
The M xDrive option will hit the market in July, bringing the total number of variants on the M3 and M4 theme (basically two body styles of the same car) to six. The ‘normal’ M3 and M4 have 480 hp, a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive, followed by the Competition with M Steptronic automatic transmission and the new xDrive variant of both models. In the future, two more body styles will be added, because we are still waiting for an M4 convertible and (for the first time in history) an M3 Touring.