BMW M4 Convertible Review & Prices

The BMW M4 Competition Convertible is kind of a car without many alternative options at the moment. With Mercedes still to produce a proper AMG version of the new CLE convertible, and Audi just taking the RS5 out of production, the M4 is the only way you can take four people and luggage out for a high-speed run, and not have to buy a Porsche or Ferrari. It’s kind of like a four-wheeled Barry Manilow — big nose, big talent, and designed for the California lifestyle.

Yes, that nose is still there, although we’re kind of starting to warm to it after a few years of familiarity. The huge ‘kidney’ grilles (if those are the kidneys, what must the pancreas look like?) aren’t what you’d call elegant, but in the right colour (please, not Sao Paulo yellow…) they don’t seem to look quite so bad these days. Aside from the nose, you can tell the M4 Competition apart from a regular BMW 4 Series Convertible thanks to the extra little vents on the front wheel arches, and the big diffuser poking out from beneath the boot, with four massive exhaust pipes (which, thankfully, are real pipes and not stuck-on fakes).

As standard, the alloy wheels are ‘staggered’ meaning that they’re 19-inch rims up front, and 20-inch wheels down the back. You can choose from six different wheel designs, two of which are no-cost options.

If you’re going to buy a BMW M4 Competition Convertible, you’d better like carbon-fibre as it’s pretty much everywhere on the inside. There’s acres of the stuff on the dashboard, the centre console and the doors. Other M-specific touches are a thicker three-spoke steering wheel with a butter-soft leather rim, a bright-red starter button, and the handy little M1 and M2 driving mode memory buttons on the steering wheel. The standard sports front seats are great, and while you can spec carbon-fibre backed racing-style bucket seats, you probably shouldn’t — they’re rock hard, and come with a hard slab of carbon fibre right at the edge of the seat base which is in a very, er, delicate position.

The back seats are pretty small, and while the M4 Coupe actually has reasonably practical space in the back, the room turned over to the convertible top means that here in the Convertible, the back seats are more upright and more cramped. That roof is a proper fabric one — much nicer than the heavy folding-metal roof on the previous M4 model — and it retracts in just 18 seconds, which you can do at speeds of up to 31mph.

The dashboard of the M4 Competition Convertible is dominated by the big, sweeping digital screen — actually two screens in one mounting, a 12.3-inch instrument panel for the driver, and a 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system. That bigger screen comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but while the on-screen menus look good and are reasonably easy to find your way around, we’d love a few more physical buttons.

Boot space is only OK. Compared to the useful 440 litres offered by the M4 Coupe, the Convertible has only 300 litres when the roof is folded away, although you do get a little more when the roof is up. It’s still not what you’d call massively spacious, though.

The M4 Convertible is massively fast, though. The twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine develops a whopping 530hp, which is enough to fling it to 62mph in just 3.7 seconds. The top speed is, in theory, limited to 155mph, but if you tick the options box for the M-Driver pack (which includes a complimentary training session with BMW M-Sport) then that can be raised to 173mph. Handy if you’re popping to Germany for a holiday…

Standard four-wheel drive means that the M4 Convertible is a true all-weather device, and feels secure and planted even in the most treacherous conditions. It does mean that it feels a fraction less lively than the old rear-wheel drive model, but there is a two-wheel drive mode deep in the on-screen settings menu. BMW has stiffened up the structure a bit to cope with the loss of the steel roof, but it’s definitely not quite as sharp as the Coupe.

That said, the M4 Competition Convertible is still a smooth enough car to be able to use as a daily driver, and if you switch it all into Comfort mode, then it’s actually quite refined.

In fact, it’s so talented a car — with all that summer-time headroom and fresh air — that you might even grow to like the looks, too. If you do, check out the latest BMW M4 Convertible deals to see how much you could save. You can check out our latest deals on other BMW models here, or find a used BMW for sale here. And remember that Carwow can even help you sell your old car when the time comes.

Given that it doesn’t have any true direct alternatives right now, the M4 Competition Convertible is… just kinda priced, really. It would be more expensive than an Audi RS5 Convertible but that’s not in production anymore, while the incoming Mercedes CLE 63 AMG is likely to be a pricier car by a good margin.

The M4 Competition also finds itself sandwiched roughly half-way in price terms between a Porsche Boxster 4.0 GTS and a 911 Carrera Cabriolet. Neither have the power nor speed of the BMW, but both are more engaging to drive. The M4 is well-equipped, but it’s irritating to note that things like automatic high-beam headlights and keyless access are on the options list.

The BMW M4 Convertible is massively entertaining to drive, but still usable daily - the loss of the roof means it’s not as much fun as the Coupe, though

In town

The BMW M4 Competition Convertible comes as standard with adaptive suspension, and adjustable weighting for the steering. So, when you set everything to the softest mode, it’s actually a reasonably comfortable car to drive around town. OK, so there’s still an underlying sense of firmness, and those big low-profile tyres will smack hard into a speed bump if you’re not paying attention, but it’s not too trying. That’s the point of a BMW M-car — performance with usability.

Things become problematic when there’s not much room to manoeuvre. The M4 doesn’t have great steering lock, so it needs to make big, wide turns which isn’t ideal. There’s a very good surround-view camera system, which does help, but the poor rear visibility when you’ve got the convertible roof up is deeply unhelpful. Sharply angled junctions end up being pure guesswork, as it can be really hard to see over your right shoulder.

On the motorway

530hp means that the BMW M4 Competition Convertible gets up to fast-flowing motorway speeds with the merest flex of your right foot. In fact, it’s so fast through the gears that you’ll need to be wary that you don’t overstep the speeding line too much. Once you’re cruising, the standard sports front seats are very comfortable for a long journey (much more so than the optional carbon-backed bucket seats) and the radar cruise control and lane-keeping steering can help to take the strain off the driver. There’s an optional Driving Assistant option, which ramps up the abilities of those two systems if you’re a regular long-haul driver. On concrete sections of motorway, those big tyres will drum up a fair amount of roar, and of course the convertible roof means that there’s a bit more wind noise than you’d get in the Coupe — even if the soft roof is beautifully lined and drum-tight waterproof. The suspension is never anything other than firm, but it would take a really rough patch of motorway to make it uncomfortable, while the four-wheel drive keeps everything nice and stable. As long as you don’t mind the lofty fuel consumption figure, the M4 Convertible is actually quite a good long-haul companion.

On a twisty road

Are twisty roads where the M4 Competition Convertible was born to be? Maybe so, but the fact is that the loss of the roof — and the bit of body stiffness that goes with it — means that the Convertible is noticeably softer-edged and a little less precise to drive than the Coupe.

If it’s precision that you want, go for the M4 Coupe or even the smaller, slightly lighter M2 instead. The M4 Convertible is more about getting the roof down on a sunny day, and listening to the sweet sounds of that straight-six engine as it powers you from corner to corner. It’s a lovely way to get about the place, but perhaps not the best solution for the truly keen driver.

The standard xDrive four-wheel drive means that traditional British B-roads with traditional British cow pats and traditional British rain are no enemies to the M4 Convertible, and even with that 530hp on tap, you can easily put all that power to the road. Sport mode stiffens up the suspension and steering, but actually for our tight, twisty, and bumpy roads Comfort mode is better for the suspension, with Sport for the steering and gearbox. Thankfully the near-enough endless driving modes menu on that big screen means you can set things up just as you like them, and then save your favourite settings to the handy little M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel.

You can even alter how fast and sharp the gear changes in the eight-speed automatic gearbox are, which is just as well as they can feel a bit lazy at times. Actually, it’s a shame that we Brits don’t get the option of an M4 with a six-speed manual gearbox — that would be ideal.

True, a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet would be more fun on a twisty road such as this, and its engine sounds even better, but then it’s also significantly more expensive and actually slower than the BMW.

No shortage of room in the front - but the back seats are for occasional use only

Even tall drivers will get easily comfy in the front of the M4 Competition Convertible. Those big front seats are excellent, and both supportive when you’re cornering hard, yet squishy-comfy when you want to sit back and relax. The driving position has plenty of adjustment although the seat doesn’t quite feel perfectly lined up with the steering wheel. There’s decent storage space too, with good-sized cupholders in front of the gear shifter under a big carbon-fibre (of course) hinged cover. There’s a wireless mobile phone charger in there too. The door bins are fine, and there’s a storage space — a slightly shallow one — under the front seat armrest.

Space in the back seats

Space in the back of the M4 Competition Convertible is not very good. The backrest of the rear seats is more upright — damn near vertical — than it is in the Coupe, to make space for the roof folding mechanism, so that means anyone sitting in the back is going to be sitting bolt-upright. There are only two seats in the back, separated by a leather hump with an inset storage tray. Legroom isn’t terrible, especially if those in the front are prepared to budge up a bit, but the rear seats feel claustrophobic when the roof is up.

Boot space

The M4 Coupe’s boot is really quite big — 440 litres, even if it is a bit shallow — but the Convertible loses quite a bit of space to the roof and its folding mechanism. With the roof up, there’s 385 litres of space to play with, or about as much as you’d find in a VW Golf hatchback. With the roof down, though, there’s less space as there’s a moving panel into which the fabric of the roof rests when it’s tucked away. That cuts your boots space to a mere 300 litres. There is at least a load-through hatch for long, slim items.

The M4 Convertible’s cabin looks expensive but the touchscreen can be fiddly

The M4 Competition Convertible uses — as is M-car tradition — basically the same cabin as the regular 4 Series. That’s good, because the 4 Series’ cabin is a nice thing, but BMW goes to some lengths to make sure you never forget that you are in the full-on M-car. There are M logos almost everywhere you care to look, and multi-coloured stitching — in the classic red, purple, and blue of BMW M — on the seatbelts. Even the front seats get a light-up M-logo on the backrest, while the bright red engine start button hammers home the M-ness of it all.

The standard high-backed bucket front seats are something close to glorious in how comfortable they are, even on a very long journey. They’re the perfect halfway house between a tightly-embracing racing seat and your sofa at home. There are more hip-hugging carbon-backed bucket seats available, but these are tighter, harder, and make it tricky to get in and out so deep are their side bolsters. They also have a massive chunk of carbon trim in a delicate spot between your legs. Ouch.

The digital dashboard works mostly well, although the on-screen menus in the big screen can be fiddly at times, and some more physical buttons wouldn’t go astray. It’s annoying that BMW binned the physical air conditioning controls in favour of on-screen buttons, but left the space in the dash where the old buttons used to be… There’s a myriad of M-specific graphics and screens, and some shortcut buttons on the centre console that allow you to quickly access things like Sport mode and switch the exhaust loudness on and off.

The M4 Competition Convertible goes one mile less on a gallon of fuel than the Coupe — 27mpg versus 28 mpg. That’s according to the official WLTP economy and emissions test, but of course that’s going to vary quite a bit according to how you drive. It’s far from impossible to tickle 30mpg or even slightly better out of an M4 Convertible on a gently-driven cross-country run. Drive it as an M-car is meant to be driven however, and you’ll quickly be doing worse than 20mpg. Single-digit fuel consumption is possible if you’re on a track day…

CO2 emissions of 231g/km put the M4 Competition into the second-highest road tax bracket of £2,340 plus the £410 levy for having a price above £40,000. BIK costs for business users start at £549 per month.

The BMW M4 Competition Convertible hasn’t been tested on its own by Euro NCAP, but the regular 4 Series Coupe gets a maximum five-out-of-five stars, with a very impressive 97 per cent rating for adult occupant protection, 83 per cent for child occupant protection, 93 per cent for vulnerable road users (an exceptional score), and 72 per cent for its electronic safety systems. Annoyingly, if you want your M4 Convertible to be as safe as possible, you’ll have to spend considerably more than standard, as the likes of the uprated Driving Assistant safety pack, and adaptive LED headlights are only available as part of a £2,675 option pack.

The M4 Competition comes with an alarm and an immobiliser, but fitting a tracking device to a car as desirable as this would definitely be advisable.

There just aren’t enough M4s on the road — Coupes or Convertibles — to get a good feel for how reliable this specific model is. In general, BMW has a good reputation for quality and reliability, and there’s the fact that M-models get a little more specialist attention as they come down the production line, as befits a flagship model. That said, the M4 Competition Convertible is a high-end, high-performance machine, so it will need suitable, regular maintenance and will get through expensive items such as its sporty tyres and brake pads pretty quickly.

BMW finished a reasonable 14th — just above mid-table — in the most recent Auto Express Driver Power survey, which is a good result, but which does put it one place behind Alfa Romeo(!) two places behind Lexus, and four behind Jaguar. Reliability was OK, according to owners (better than Mercedes’ anyway) although some 21 per cent of owners reported problems with their cars.