2022 BMW M4 Six

Dec 14, 2023

The BMW M4 is an utter riot, with a high-power turbocharged inline-six, six-speed manual transmission, rear-wheel-drive, and great handling.

A little over a year after driving the latest base G80 BMW M3, I’ve finally had a go in its two-door sibling, the hardtop 2022 G82 BMW M4. They share the same engine, drivetrain, and platform, though the coupe fetches a tad more coin than the sedan and the dimensions are only mildly different—so why bother trying out the 4?

Well, because, why not?

I also jumped at the opportunity to review this mighty coupe as I wanted to see if this latest iteration of the G8X BMW is worth taking another look at. I wasn't immensely impressed by the M3 when I drove it, but was I perhaps a little too harsh? I've driven a lot of fun cars over the past year, so it's worth approaching this athletic M with a fresh perspective.

I was also excited to simply just cruise around in an example with such a neat color—this one's BMW Individual Fire Orange (a $4,500 option) is a bit wild, but just as appreciated as the M3's Isle of Man Green—it's refreshing that BMW and other automakers offer fun, wild colors in 2022.

To hop in the driver's seat and rage down the road to the soundtrack of inline-six brutality, this 2022 BMW M4 with its base six-speed manual transmission costs $71,800, plus a $995 destination charge. Then, after $23,550 in options, comes out to $96,345. These options include its Black Full Merino Leather Interior ($2,550), Parking Assistance Package ($800), Executive Package ($1,550), M Drive Professional ($900), Carbon Fiber Trim ($950), M Driver's Package ($2,500), M Carbon Exterior Package ($4,700), and more.

The G82 BMW M4's handling is nothing short of excellent. With strut-type semi-independent equipment up front and fully independent multi-link fare out back, which is all tied together with BMW's Adaptive M electronically controlled dampers, it's at home on both my favorite mountain-top roads as well as traveling up and down everyday city streets. No matter the amount of G it pulls, the ride is incredibly solid, devoid of roll, and provides excellent chassis feedback. This makes up for its lackluster steering (more on that later), and portlier 3,709-pound curb weight. As wild as the speedometer reads at times on the right road with the right amount of fun corners, it rides incredibly undramatic and confident—this big coupe is the most at home at track-level speeds right off the assembly line.

RELATED: BMW M Motorsport Presents New 550 HP BMW M4 GT4 With New LiveryThis excellent chassis feel comes from an immense amount of bracing that M Division gave this latest G82 chassis over the previous 2015-2020 F82. Under the hood lives a massive brace that connects the firewall with the shock towers, which is a unit so beefy that the engine's plastic covering slots in perfectly underneath it. There's more throughout the rest of the 4's 189-inch length that stiffens the connections between the front and rear subframe as well, which is definitely the source of the M's informative seat-of-your-pants feel. You feel every miniscule change in grip across each of the four tires’ contact patch, which not only boosts driver confidence, but also allows for maximum control. Speaking of which, the M4 is thoroughly hilarious with traction control turned completely off.

The M4 comes standard with 10-stage traction control; however, I didn't bother trying to figure out the subtle differences between each of them—fully off (or, at least as off as you’re allowed) isn't scary in a coupe that allows you to be so in-tune with the road, or enough control to easily power out of any rascality. You feel the M Sport limited-slip differential put in a lot of work here, too, which enables spectacular tail-out fun.

Adding to the G82's overall confidence are its massive brakes. Pedal feel comes in either Comfort or Sport, the latter was too unnecessarily grabby on fun roads, whereas comfort was plenty solid-feeling and easy to modulate. The physical units themselves hiding behind the 4's 19-inch front and 20-inch rear 825M wheels ($1,300) are massive—380 mm discs with fixed six-piston calipers up front, and 370mm units with floating single-piston calipers out back. The pad compound is universally excellent, and when beckoned to arrest serious speed, the whole package never falters.

RELATED: The 2023 BMW M4 CSL Is The Greatest Homage To The M's Glory DaysAs much of a contender as the M4 is when it comes to handling and braking, unfortunately its steering doesn't quite match. Its directness is excellent, and even has a surprising amount of feel, though I suspect the latter comes from the chassis’ brilliance rather than the rack itself. The wheel's action is just too over boosted and light, and takes some getting used to at speed. Once you’re in the zone and deep into a corner-after-corner rhythm, it's just ok, but more weight, especially while loaded up in both high and low-speed corners, would be so much better. As I wrote about when I drove the M4's open-top sibling last Winter, the 2022 BMW M4 Competition xDrive Convertible resolves this due to its Competition package. But it's a bummer that you can't have the Competition's steering with the base's clutch pedal, six-speed manual transmission, and excellent brakes. Especially considering what sits in front of you is one of the most exciting engines on sale today.

The 2022 BMW M4's engine is the stuff of dreams. It's the M-tuned version of the Bavarian Mark's 3.0-liter B58 inline-six (found under the hood of the 2022 BMW M340i and 2022 BMW M240i xDrive), dubbed the S58, which features twin single-scroll turbochargers, electronically controlled wastegates, double VANOS variable valve timing, and the brand's throttle-body-less Valvetronic technology. Inside, it features a forged lightweight crankshaft and some intuitive design changes for increased oil and coolant flow. This is all good for 473 horsepower at 6,250 RPM and 406 pound-feet of torque. The latter is fully available between 2,650 and 6,130 RPM and makes the powerband an absolute riot.

RELATED: Here's How The 2022 BMW M4 Stacks Up Against Its RivalsThe noise that the S58 produces is heavenly, angry-straight-six music that quickly gains aggression as the tach needle races to its limit. I never spent any time outside of Sport or Sport+ modes, as it was a sense of occasion in itself to fire up the M4 and cruise around just to listen to the S58 rev up and down at full volume. It does so quite quickly, too—even when sitting in neutral at a stop light, it gains and loses revs so incredibly quickly, as if it's worked over for motorsports duty. Like in Fanatec GT World Challenge America where its GT3-prepped siblings flourish.

This car truly is a rocket, and between its 3.9-second 0-60 run and brilliant chassis, feels like it weighs a solid 300 pounds less than it actually does. The way it launches is unique in the way it builds up like one of its naturally aspirated counterparts of yore—rather than the common wall-of-torque shove of a V8 or other modern turbo engine, this instead is more progressive. Though, a very rapid and violent progression at that.

Ensuring all these theatrics happen within the right temperature range is a sea of components and cooling lines. Whether you love, hate, or are ok with it, the face is there for a reason. There are two cooling circuits: the low-temperature circuit solely supplies cool water to the intercooler. The high-temp one is a bit more extensive: it supplies coolant to the engine and turbochargers via mechanical water pump, as well as the main and two supporting radiators in the M4's forward wheel wells. Then, an additional electric water pump assists the turbochargers in cooling down, even after the engine's cut. Finally, there's a massive oil cooler in the lower portion of the massive dual-kidney grille for good measure.

All of this keeps the glorious S58 as cool as possible at peak-performance while experiencing sustained track-level temperatures. During my afternoon with it in 95+ degree heat on a twisty, winding road, the temperature needle never went past the middle.

I dig that BMW disallows base-level buyers from having eight gears and a torque converter, which is the only drivetrain available with the Competition trim. In a way, it's a tribute to M cars of yore that had a healthy helping of manual transmissions, and also helps make up for the base model's leaves-more-to-be-desired steering.

Yet, it pains me to report that it isn't a very good gearshift. The shifter's throw is long and feels quite vague. Then, the clutch pedal is just a tad too vague, which makes smooth shifting in any scenario mildly hard to perfect. You eventually do, but for a focused, high-performance coupe that starts above $70,000, you’d think these crucial inputs would match its excellent brake pedal and communicative chassis.

RELATED: Sports Car Dilemma: Porsche 911 GT3 Vs BMW M4 CSLTo top it all off, the whole pedal assembly flexes during enthusiasm-filled driving, which chips away at all that aforementioned confidence until you figure out how to smooth out your footwork. It's not a terrible shifting experience, and I’m certainly glad the stick is still available in 2022, but you’d think BMW would otherwise up its game tremendously with this latest, fastest-ever generation.

This wasn't surprising since I’d already driven the M3, but it was such a relief nonetheless: the G82 M4's interior is incredibly comfortable. One of the biggest benefits to it being dimensionally massive is that it's also quite spacious, allowing for my tall self to fit perfectly in the driver's seat. Having a stiff, lightweight carbon roof instead of a heavy sunroof not only ensures having plenty of headroom, but a lower overall center of gravity to boot. The optional M Carbon Bucket Seat pushes back and tilts to enable a comfortable and cradling performance driving position with no real pressure points. I even brought the telescoping wheel in nice and close—the whole setup mimicked a GT3 race car's, except with airbags, climate control, and so on. Finally, while you sit deep in the 4 like any good sports car ought to allow, it still has excellent overall visibility, especially with a big panoramic view of what's ahead.

RELATED: How The 2023 Audi RS5 Competition Looks To Take On The BMW M4 CompetitionThe only downsides to the M4's interior is the fact that the M Carbon Bucket Seats take some getting used to for ingress and egress, it's a little easy to hit the wrong button on the center console while cruising along, and the aforementioned seats don't come as standard—$3,800 is no small piece of coin. Otherwise, it's an overall excellent package filled with substantial-feeling materials, nicely adorned leather surfaces (as part of this tester's optioned Full Merino Leather), Alcantara throughout, and some gorgeous carbon fiber accents. It also features BMW's latest iDrive 7.0 system with a big, crystal clear screen that's quite nice to operate via the center console controller. I dislike touchscreens’ ability to show a bunch of fingerprints when the light is just right, and iDrive prevents this. Though, it's also a touchscreen if that's your preference of configuration. The M4's interior is a great place to be, and accommodates any height or body type quite well with its massive range of seat and steering wheel adjustability.

The 2022 BMW M4 is a solid choice in modern, European high-performance motoring. I was a bit harsh on its four-door sibling last Summer, but after some of the equipment I’ve had the honor of reviewing this year, including the Lotus Evora GT, it deserves one's attention for sure if you’re in the market for something of its price range and caliber. It's heavy, as well as possesses a lackluster gear change and severely lacking steering, but the brilliant handling, grip, braking, chassis feel, and immense power make up for these.

When driven correctly, I have no doubt that lap times will reflect that BMW has clearly moved the ball forward, I just wish they went just a few extra centimeters for the base, non-Competition trim. Having a brilliant mix of all inputs would knock it out of the park and secure the G82 as not only the peak of its class, but also one the top-five M cars ever produced.

Peter Nelson is an automotive journalist based in Southern California. His bylines can be found on TheDrive.com, WindingRoad.com, WhichCar.com.au, and the Donut Media YouTube Channel. His personal ride is a 2011 BMW 128i and when he's not writing, he's trying to figure out how to drive faster on track.