Motor Trend Comparo: 2015 BMW M4 vs 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS

[Tragic Bronson]

http://www.motortrend.com/news/comparison-2015-bmw-m4-vs-2016-chevrolet-camaro-ss/

We named the sixth-gen Camaro our 2016 Car of the Year. That’s the highest praise we can give a vehicle. I remember sitting around after the vote with my fellow judges expressing the following sentiment: “Forget Mustang and Challenger. The Camaro now competes with BMW and Audi.” We proved that just days later when the new Camaro beat the Mustang GT in a Head 2 Head.

“Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write,” boss man Angus MacKenzie wrote at the time. “The Chevrolet Camaro is a better, more entertaining car to drive than a BMW 3 Series.” MacKenzie was talking about the brand-new 340i, a car that most certainly did not take home our Golden Calipers. But what if we put our new darling COTY winner up against the gold standard of Teutonic performance machines, the venerable BMW M4?

We’ve done this before. Five years ago, editor-in-chief Ed Loh pitted a 2011 Ford Mustang with the 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 up against an E92 M3. That one ended with Ford in second place, BMW winner of the chicken dinner. About that Mustang: “Never has a loss felt so much like a win. From not once considered to full-blown contender, 5.0 officially puts the world on notice.”

First Place: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS
The hits keep on coming. Chevy’s people’s sports car continues its winning streak. Who’s next? Audi? AMG? Porsche?

Second Place: 2015 BMW M4
It’s time for BMW to either rethink or reclaim ye olde Ultimate Driving Machine. Times done changed.

 

[Gecko]

Damn, they really took the M4 to church in that review. Ouch!!

 

[mikeavelli]

So the M4 lost the Mustang in EVO and Camaro here in MT. This was unthinkable in the past and shows how BMW M continues to get less sharp while the competition is getting sharper.

Obviously most looking at a M4 won't begin to consider a Mustang or Camaro but the Mustang/Camaro owner now knows they can hang/beat a M4 which again was just unthinkable before.

Mind you that is a SS, not a 1LE or the upcoming Z/28, etc.

 

[Och]

I don't give a rats ass about M4 losing to a Camaro or some other car that it will never be cross shopped with. What is alarming to me is how BMW losing to Benzes, Audis and even Caddys that it competes with directly. BMW is getting very lazy. What happened to the exclusive V10 in M5 and high revving V8 in the M3? All we get these days are the 3.0 and 4.4 with different amount of boost. The new C63 wipes the floor with the M4 in every possible way.

 

[Bulldog 1]

So the M4 lost the Mustang in EVO and Camaro here in MT. This was unthinkable in the past and shows how BMW M continues to get less sharp while the competition is getting sharper.

Obviously most looking at a M4 won't begin to consider a Mustang or Camaro but the Mustang/Camaro owner now knows they can hang/beat a M4 which again was just unthinkable before.

Mind you that is a SS, not a 1LE or the upcoming Z/28, etc.

Which will be even more devastating on BMW because the 1LE is purpose built for track and road racing, the Z-28 will have devastating HP.
Now is the time to pounce and bring back an IS-F, get Jeremy Clarkson to choke on his Bavarian Bias.

 

[mmcartalk]

If you are a handling-enthusiast, this shows what an excellent platform the Cadillac ATS is, which is what the new Camaro is basically built off of. For many years, sharp handling was neither a ponycar strength nor of great concern to the designers....the name of the game with ponycars was 0-60 and quarter-mile times. Indeed, non-Cobra Mustangs kept a 1960s-vintage live rear axle up until just a couple of years ago (though it was not just a matter of cost-cutting or simple design...Ford knew that Mustang owners often do burnouts, and the live rear axle was durable and could take punishment). Now, however, even Mustangs have IRS, and this latest Camaro has what is probably the best suspension in the ponycar world.

 

[mikeavelli]

Do you guys remember when BMW seemingly never lost a comparo..they got whooped in another one....

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...omparison-test

Offtopic I know but last place again.

 

[Bulldog 1]

Offtopic I know but last place again.

Bashing BMW is never off topic

 

[Och]

I've been checking out pictures and videos of the upcoming 1LE Camaro, and I think I might have to take back what I previously said about BMW and Camaro never being cross shopped. It looks freaking amazing! With BMW shoving AWD down our throats, I might check out a Camaro for my next car!

 

[mmcartalk]

Do you guys remember when BMW seemingly never lost a comparo..they got whooped in another one....

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...omparison-test

Offtopic I know but last place again.

IMO they did it to themselves. No one forced them to convert their (formerly) superb hydraulic steering units to electric, or to revise the suspensions and underpinnings. In fact, with their older suspensions, they already had what I thought was some of the best handling/ride-comfort combinations on the planet, even with the stiffer Sport-Packages. But I also agree that it is not just BMW, but the fact that other manufacturers have also caught up. This superb ATS-based platform itself one of the best examples.

 

[Bulldog 1]

I drove an ATS with a rattly 4-cylinder in between the 2011 CTS and the 2013 ES350. Left a very bland impression on me. Granted, they might have changed the suspension in the past three years or the base was squishy compared to some upgraded package.
At some point I need to test drive a Camaro to see for myself. The SS I drove during SEMA was a drop top and it rattled like a vert. Kinda slick on the smooth Las Vegas streets. Have to believe one with Magnetic Ride Control would be sick in comparison.