BMW M4 Competition Convertible 2022 Review

In terms of price, the 2022 BMW M4 Competition Convertible is the flagship of the range.

At $176,900 plus on-road costs, the M4 drop-top is $11,000 more expensive than its coupe cousin, though our test car increased that to $197,900 plus ORCs thanks to the frozen Portimao Blue paint ($5000), M carbon bucket seats ($7500) and M carbon exterior package ($8500).

There’s a surprisingly broad cross-section of competitors at this price point. The Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Cabriolet (from $194,000) is an obvious rival, but is also nearing the end of its lifecycle, but the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Cabriolet (from $170,090) certainly swims in the same pool.

If you’re content with only two seats, then the Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible (from $164,900), Lexus LC 500 Convertible (from $214,000) and even the Porsche Boxster GTS 4.0 (from $178,000) might even be on your shopping list.

As you’d hope for this outlay, the 2022 BMW M4 Competition Convertible includes basically everything but the kitchen sink.

As well as the impressively potent mechanical package that we’ll cover in a moment, it’s stuffed with technology including a 10.25-inch infotainment screen running the iDrive 7 operating system.

This features BMW ConnectedDrive, which includes wireless smartphone mirroring and three-year subscriptions to vehicle apps, BMW personal assistant, concierge services and real-time traffic information.

It’s a hugely configurable system and includes an enormous amount of functionality and information.

This is especially the case with the M4; as a full-fat M car it scores M Drive Professional with a lap timer, multi-stage M traction control and M drift analyser that rates your power slides. Yes, really.

More useful features for everyday use include the 16-speaker Harman Kardon stereo, triple-zone climate control, heated front seats, head-up display, 360-degree camera with front and rear parking sensors and 3D view, and a keyless entry system that has the ability to turn your iPhone into a car key.

Despite its performance focus, BMW hasn’t ignored active safety with the M4 Convertible, standard features including active cruise control with stop-and-go function, parking assistant, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring and autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

The lane keep assist is a bit overzealous, frequently adding seemingly unnecessary steering inputs, but holding the button in the middle of the dash turns all the active safety systems off with one press if you’re happy to fly solo.

Conversely, turning them all back on allows for semi-autonomous driving, which can be handy on long highway trips.

Other goodies include an air collar to keep your neck cool or warm with the roof down, fancy laser headlights with automatic high beam, and a complimentary advanced driving course.

Its flagship status endows the 2022 BMW M4 Competition Convertible with the most potent 375kW/650Nm tune for the 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six engine, as well as being the first G8X variant to arrive in Australia with all-wheel drive.

Combine lots of power with lots of traction and a slick-shifting eight-speed automatic gearbox and the 0-100km/h sprint is claimed to take just 3.7sec. Top speed is 250km/h, though BMW will raise it to 280km/h for around $3500 if you regularly find yourself on racetracks with long straights.

The rest of the mechanical specification is equally impressive, with giant brakes (380mm discs and six-piston callipers up front; 370mm discs with single-piston callipers at the rear) and staggered rolling stock, 19x9.5-inch wheels and 275/35 tyres up front, 20x10.5-inch wheels and 285/30 tyres at the back end.

Now for the bad news. BMW might have reverted to a lighter soft-top roof for the G83 M4 Convertible – for the first time since the E36 of 1996 – but it still weighs a whopping 1920kg before you add a driver. In the real world, it’s effectively a two-tonne car.

Not that you’d guess from its crazy level of performance. Heavy it may be, but the M4 Convertible is also absurdly, head-spinningly fast. The twin-turbo engine is mighty; there’s a small amount of lag to deal with but also an extraordinary amount of power that continues all the way to 7500rpm.

It sounds wild, too. Select Sport Plus mode for the engine and there are booms and backfires from the exhaust that are all the more audible thanks to the soft-top roof.

This power and performance comes at a literal cost, though, as a hard-driven M4 Convertible will easily double its 10.4L/100km claimed combined-cycle fuel consumption. When you’re pinned into your seat under acceleration, it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that it’s worth it.

As with the engine and transmission, a number of different modes are available for the all-wheel drive system, steering, suspension and stability control, and two favourite combinations can be saved to the bright red M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel for quick access.

It’s a great system that’s been adopted by quite a few other manufacturers, allowing a quick switch from mild to wild should the mood take you.

And the mood will take you. The folding roof may make the convertible heavier and less rigid than the hard-top M3/M4, but by any reasonable standard it’s still a staggeringly capable performance car.

It devours corners while also managing a neat trick – in all-wheel drive mode it remains extremely entertaining thanks to its (very) rearward bias, even though the car has fundamentally better traction than its predecessor when switched to two-wheel drive.

The 2022 BMW M4 Competition Convertible also delivers as a top-down cruiser.

It’s easy to drive, the ride is very comfortable and fuel economy improves markedly once you’re no longer pretending to be Daniel Ricciardo.

It takes 18 seconds to raise or lower the roof, a process that can be completed at up to 50km/h, and even at highway speeds the air inside the cabin remains relatively unperturbed.

There were a number of squeaks and buzzes in our test car, but it’s unclear whether that’s a one-off or a sign of the convertible’s reduced rigidity – test drive to make sure.

It’s surprisingly practical, too. The rear seats happily accepted my 180cm frame and the front seats slide forward electrically in order to aid access.

The short, flat bench means it’s not a place you’d want to spend a long road trip, but with dedicated temperature and fan controls, two air vents and a pair of USB-C ports, rear seat passengers certainly aren’t ignored. There’s even a pair of ISOFIX attachments in the outer seats for child restraints.

Boot space is heavily compromised by the folding roof, resulting in a space that’s quite long but not very tall at all. Remote rear seat releases are handy, though, as are four tie-down points and a 12V outlet.

Up front there’s leather and carbon galore, especially with the optional seats that look like pieces of modern art but are actually quite comfortable, even with the carbon codpiece.

The iDrive 7 infotainment is relatively intuitive, though its depth and complexity means you’ll get a lot more out of it with a lesson from someone knowledgeable.

The iDrive 7 infotainment is relatively intuitive, though its depth and complexity means you’ll get a lot more out of it with a lesson from someone knowledgeable.

It’s easy to look down on sporting convertibles as more fashion week than Fast and the Furious, but it’s difficult to pick holes in the 2022 BMW M4 Convertible.

If you’re a hard-core driving enthusiast, absolutely you should buy the M4 Coupe and spend the rest on track days.

But if you’re looking at the M4 Convertible you probably want something to cruise in on a nice day that also has plenty of performance.

On that basis it absolutely delivers, with sufficient space and comfort to carry four passengers to the beach, while being fast enough to render those occupants breathless at full noise.

How much does the 2022 BMW M4 Competition Convertible cost?
Price: $176,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 375kW/650Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 237g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested