BMW M4 vs Lexus LM 500H

What's the difference?

We cannot think of a faster or more invigorating four-seater luxury convertible for the money than the new M4 Competition.

Finally, after years of devastatingly fast droptops with remote steering and an unforgiving ride, the G83 generation discovers refinement and sophistication to go with its supersonic speed.

There’s terrific talent on tap here that no rival can even come close to right now. BMW is on a roll and this is the first M4 convertible that can sit proudly alongside the best of its classic M3 ancestors.

The Lexus LM 500h is luxurious, comfortable, practical, easy to drive and expensive. While it may appear to be the ultimate family car, with only four seats it's limited in terms of how many kids and their friends you can carry. On top of that, the privacy screen introduces accessibility issues to the kids you wouldn't encounter on other vehicles. If you are thinking of a Lexus people mover as your next family car I'd suggest looking at the LM 350h which has seven seats and no privacy screen. If you’re looking at a business class executive van the LM 500h would be perfect. 

Hallelujah! The unloved folding hardtop is history and fabric is back in fashion in a BMW 3/4 Series-based convertible for the first time since the demise of the E46 convertible in 2006.

It improves the proportions and aesthetics out of sight while remaining superbly insulated. It’s also 40 per cent lighter to boot while liberating 80 litres of extra luggage space.

The roof requires just 18 seconds to drop away or erect again, and can be done so at speeds of up to 50km/h. And it looks great, with a taut fit that suits the BMW’s lithe lines to a tee. With all four windows dropped, it also does a fab impression of an American-style pillarless hardtop.

Roof up or down, the M4’s muscular styling has a tense sparseness to it that means business, reinforced by that oversized, M-specific kidney grille treatment that, admittedly, isn’t as divisive in real life. The smiley LED light wave out back also brings a friendlier tone, harmonising handsomely with the rest of the car.

This is probably the best-looking BMW convertible since the beautiful E46 era.

The LM 500h doesn't look real. More like a concept vehicle with its vertical face wearing that enormous grille. Feels like if you watched it for long enough you’d catch it transforming into some kind of robot. Yet, at the same time its styling is elegant and prestigious.

I have a confession to make. I used this Lexus as my office. Its interior is that comfortable and spacious. I'm also a parent and there were times where it was the quietest place to get some work done.

It also let me observe people's reactions as they walked past with their dogs not knowing what was going on inside behind those tinted windows. The people that noticed were clearly car enthusiasts as they knew what they were looking at and couldn't pass without gaping it awe.

The LM 500h’s interior is superbly plush with thick carpets, beautiful copper metallic trim and nappa leather seats.

As I’ve said, the cockpit up front is less luxurious than the extravagant first class section in the back behind that dividing wall.

And yes, I’ve seen large screens before but nothing that stretches the width of the vehicle.

The M4 Convertible is not a paragon of space efficiency, given its footprint.

At nearly 4.8 metres long and 1.9m wide, the M4 Convertible casts a sizeable shadow on the road, which only really pays dividends for front-seat occupants inside.

Ours was fitted with a very handsome pair of $7500, two-tone M Carbon bucket seats up front, a sort of futuristic tombstone design with a fixed headrest that looks like they were created by and for Stormtroopers; they do provide all the electronic adjustability one would need in terms of fore/aft, up/down and lumbar support movement.

But, unless you really need their g-force-bracing support and love their outrageous appearance, they are monumentally obstructive to effortless entry/egress and overall hip comfort if you don’t possess a gymnast’s physique. In fact, at times, they can feel downright torturous, especially in the gusset area due to the pointless (ironically) hard central bulge bit. The standard front seat set-up is perfectly fine, offering all the comfort and support expected in a luxury convertible, with the added bonus of headrest adjustability.

As with all G20/G80 generation 3/4 Series, the M4’s interior is a welcome return to form for BMW, from the excellent driving position and superb build quality, to thoughtful switchgear placement, brilliant ventilation and ample storage. And iDrive is probably the best and most intuitive multimedia system out there, too, needing no special skill or distraction once mastered.

A quick note about the instrumentation. The 4 Series design digital readouts are prettier than the standard 3 Series' ugly standard screen that looks ex-Honda Civic. This one offers alternative views and is easy to read at a glance. But it still makes us pine for good old analogue dials. Remember when BMWs were the world leaders in dial design?

Some familiarisation is also required to figure out the M part of the M4, including the various driving and performance modes; they’re divided into Road, Sport and Track settings. Yet, thankfully, they’re all far simpler to get your head round than before, which required too much fiddly concentration, since – once quickly learnt – everything is possible with eyes-on-the-road promptness. A new M Mode button offers pre-determined shortcuts to whichever drive combinations are desired.

The roof is well insulated, meaning that previous-gen folding hardtop-owning prospective buyers shouldn’t be too sad about the fabric above their heads. On the go, front occupants can enjoy a variety of configurations, starting with snug coupe-style cosiness and security, moving to cool pillarless hardtop-style windows-only down cruising, to the full top-down convertible glory. The latter also brings minimal buffeting at speed unless you’re stuck out in the back. Roof-up vision isn't brilliant, though.

Strangely, with the M Carbon bucket seat options ticked, it’s actually easier for some people to get into the back than the front. Pulling a strap sees the front bucket seats (slowly) whir as far forward as possible to allow sufficient room for people to clamber onto the rear seats.

Once sat, it’s clear that longer-legged people will struggle. Knee room is OK (especially if the front occupants are feeling sympathetic by moving their seats forward), there’s surprisingly adequate head room for your 178cm tester when slightly slouched, big feet can be tucked beneath the front seats and scalps never have to touch the rear glass thankfully.

And at least BMW has tried to make life back there comfier for smaller people, due to rear-facing air vents with climate and directional control, two USB-C ports, a pair of cupholders, a centre armrest and some handy storage. The materials are of a high quality construction, too.

However, the fixed back rest is far too upright, the knees-up posture quickly gets tiresome, the cushion is firm and you’re sat on a slight angle pointing outwards. Claustrophobics won't be too happy either. Annoyingly there aren’t side window buttons either, meaning only the driver can lower or raise them. The two-seater back seat is best saved for short trips or kids.

Happily, once the roof is dropped, the hemmed-in feel vanishes, there’s not too much wind intrusion or buffeting with the side windows up and there’s a sense of shared freedom that only a four-seater convertible can bring. Going the full drop-top experience will ruffle more than hairdos at freeway speeds, though. An optional wind deflector can fix that issue for front-seat occupants, but it goes over the back seats, turning the M4 into a two-seater ragtop.

Further back, the 300-litre boot isn’t accessible from the cabin, meaning you can’t put much inside at all. BMW fits a hinged flap that needs to be down for the roof to work since it cordons off the roof storage part of the boot when folded in; when lifted, there’s a useful amount of space for luggage, and it’s a handy rectangular shape instead of an L-shaped slot, but obviously at the cost of convertible driving. You can’t have both.

Note that, compared to the previous folding-hardtop M4, this boot is some 80L larger. 

You might be able to take Lexus out of Toyota but it's very hard to take Toyota out of Lexus and this particularly applies to the practicality of the LM 500h.

Every day I discovered new compartments, tray tables and storage areas. There are so many cabinets, lockers and hidey holes that we almost left my belongings (an entire family of plushie toy capybaras) behind because there are so many places to check.

Of course, I'm talking about the rear compartment here because up front there's not much storage. In fact, it proved to be quite a problem in that I had nowhere to put my bag with somebody sitting next to me and no area behind the front seats to stow it, either.

Talking of seats, the LM 500h only has four of them, with two up front and two in the rear. Up front, the seats are supportive and large, but the rear seats - those are, well... have a look at the images.

We’re talking two large captain's chairs that look as though they’ve been removed from the first class section of a plane.

And while this might be suitable for businesses shuttling a couple of executives to and from meetings, for a family, even with two children, the extra couple of seats a third row offers would come in handy.

The LM 350h has seven seats over three rows and no privacy screen. A far better choice for families.

For device charging there are USB ports up front and in the rear. There are wireless phone chargers for those in the back seats but not up front.

The LM 500h has a cargo capacity of 752 litres with all seats in place.

The Lexus LM 500h sits at the top of its range and is without a doubt one of the most expensive people movers on Earth with its list price of $220,888.

As you would imagine the standard features list is as extensive as it is extravagant.

For starters, while the regular LM 350h has two rows of seating in the rear (seven seats all up, including the front two), the 500h has the third row removed and just two super luxurious and enormous fully reclining seats fill the entire space. It’s like a theatre back there.

That theatre theme keeps going with a media screen in the back so large it stretches the width of the vehicle. Seriously, it's a 48-inch screen to watch movies or connect to your device.

The sound system is probably the best I’ve experienced - a spine tinglingly incredible 23-speaker Mark Levinson set-up.

What else can I tell you? Those rear seats are upholstered in beautifully soft semi-aniline leather. They’re heated and ventilated with a massaging function and... ridiculously comfortable.

There’s four-zone climate control, windows which have an electronic shade that turns the glass opaque, there are wireless phone chargers in the doors and carpet throughout so thick you sink down into it as you step inside.

Our LM 500h was upholstered in the 'Solis White' leather which also brings contrasting and mesmerising copper metallic trim.

Oh, and there’s a wall with an electric glass screen that can be raised or lowered to separate the rear passengers from the driver.

I should have mentioned this earlier. The kids loved it, but these parents spent a lot of time telling the 10- and three-year old not to put the screen up again.

The rear occupants, aka the kids, can also lock the screen in place. Which they did, and so sound proof is the dividing wall that we can only just hear their uproarious laughter.

Up front, the cockpit is comfortable but it’s clear all the space and luxury is for those being driven around.

Still, the front seats are leather with heating and ventilation, there’s a 14-inch media screen and 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster, plus a head-up display. Sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard.

Here is a summary of Australian-market outputs and prices for the M3 and M4 convertible autos, with the prices in brackets being approximate inflation-adjusted figures for today.

1999 E36: 236kW/350Nm 3.2L in-line six-cylinder engine (I6), $152,000 ($266,000 in 2022); 2003 E46: 252kW/365Nm 3.2L I6, $158,000 ($240,000); 2008 E93: 309kW/400Nm 4.0L V8, $183,442 ($240,000); 2014 F83: 317kW/550Nm 3.0L twin-turbo I6, $178,430 ($202,000).  

In 2022, the G83 M4 Competition lives up to its name in more ways than one, with a 2993cc 3.0-litre double overhead cam direct-injection twin-turbo I6 known as the S58 series, which is itself derived from BMW’s B58 modular family of engines. Its 375kW is delivered at a lofty 6250rpm, while there’s a 650Nm plateau of torque between 2750rpm and 5500rpm.

A kerb weight of 1920kg means the M4’s power to weight ratio is an impressive 195.3kW/tonne, helping its published 0-100km/h time of 3.7s. For a few grand extra, the company will up the top speed by 30km/h, to 280km/h.

BMW says the engine includes cooling and oil supply systems designed for extreme lateral forces at high speeds, while the exhaust uses electrically controlled flaps for a more raucous noise.

Power is channelled to all four wheels continuously via an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with a trio of shift programs. The AWD system features an active differential to better transmit torque to all four wheels, while drivers can choose one of three, progressively more rear-wheel drive (RWD) biased modes: 4WD, 4WD Sport and 2WD – the latter being a pure RWD set-up.

Other related changes the M4 boasts over regular 4 Series models include special stability and traction control tuning, a double-joint spring strut front axle with unique axle geometry and variable-ratio steering, a five-link rear axle featuring its own kinematics and elastokinematics, M-specific adaptive dampers, a configurable braking set-up according to feel and response, and forged M light-alloy 19-inch alloys up front and 20-inch items out back.

Choosing the AWD-only convertible over the equivalent AWD coupe adds 145kg (and 195kg compared to the RWD coupe), though this is partly offset in two ways over the preceding, folding-hardtop M4 Convertible: firstly, using the soft top drops weight by 80kg; and secondly, while the AWD system does add 50kg, it’s at a lower centre of gravity, thus naturally improving vehicle dynamics.

Which are electrifying, by the way.

The LM 500h is a petrol-electric hybrid with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which makes 202kW/460Nm and works in concert with two electric motors.

The front motor makes 64kW/292Nm and the rear makes 76kW/169Nm. The combined maximum power output of the two motors and the petrol engine is 273kW.

The LM 500h is all wheel-drive and has a six-speed automatic transmission.

We managed 12.1 litres per 100km in a mixture of urban, freeway and rural-road driving, including plenty of performance testing. This is a two-tonne M4 convertible capable of supercar speeds, after all. In that context, the economy is more than acceptable. No doubt the stop/start engine function (at idle) helps here.

For the record, the official combined-average claim for this Euro 6-rated BMW is 10.4L/100km, for a carbon dioxide emissions average of 237 grams/km. Thanks to a fuel tank that holds 59 litres of 98 RON premium unleaded petrol, it can manage an average of almost 570km between refills.

Lexus says after a combination of urban and open roads the LM 500h should use 6.6L/100km. In our own testing we found consumption was higher at 9.4L/100km.

Worth noting my driving environment was mainly a hilly suburban one filled with school drop offs. Achieved some personal bests this week, with one long run to Sydney’s outskirts, only to return in nightmarish peak hour traffic.

Premium (95 RON) fuel is required and the tank size is 60 litres. In theory the driving range is a smidge more than 900km, which drops to around 640km using our real-world average.

Marvellously.

Earlier, we said that the previous M4 (and some earlier M3 generations) never hit the dizzy heights the best like the E46 managed.

The reason why is bandwidth. Not WiFi bandwidth, but rather the newfound breadth of capability that the G83 model has acquired.

Yes, while even the slowest examples of previous M3s and M4s remained thrilling, with blisteringly potent acceleration accompanied by a soaring exhaust soundtrack, the post-E46 models seemed to become almost too obsessed with the pursuit of performance. Thunderous V8s and twin-turbo V6s are all good and well, especially when they provide explosive responses, but there’s more to sports cars than sheer bloody-minded speed.

More specifically, though the handling and roadholding were outstanding, the previous M4’s steering didn’t feel as connected or one with the driver, instead seeming a little remote and detached. Conversely, even with adaptive dampers on offer, the suspension (on Australian roads) lacked sufficient isolation from bumps and thumps, and so was never settled or calm. It was all too nervous and edgy, like a drug-addled athlete who’s indulged in too much partying.

Thankfully, the curse is broken with the latest iteration, even in the heaviest and slowest version like our M4 Convertible as tested, pushing out boundaries to thrilling effect once more.

With the newly-simplified and logically presented M performance modes only a push of a button away, the driver now no-longer has to concentrate on what setting they’re in, and instead just immerse themselves in the experience of accelerating, steering, cornering, braking and controlling this incredible sports convertible.

Tremendously strong in regular Road mode, the M4’s performance certainly lives up to the legend, stepping up into the supercar realm when Sport or Track are chosen, hunkering down as it thrusts towards the horizon with relentless speed and determination, accompanied by the gorgeous twin-turbo six’s revs as they soar towards the red line. The ultra-alert eight-speed auto’s operation is equally seamless, displaying uncanny intuition in its selection of the right ratio at exactly the right time.

These are all incremental improvements over what has come before. But what’s really changed is how rock-solid the BMW feels as it belts along at speed, magnetised to the motorway regardless of weather, its new AWD engineering keeping everything steady and planted. No more tetchiness to unnerve the driver.

Which makes the feel and fluency of the chassis even more remarkable, given that now all four wheels are driven. The very opposite of leaden or inert, the superbly weighted steering is instead light and alive in your palms, as you carve through corners with pin-point precision. Some might find it a bit too eager to change direction at first, but we reckon BMW has judged the balance just right. Its sheer agility is as life-affirming for driving enthusiasts as it is immersive. Bravo, BMW.

With so much grip and control, this is not to say that the driver can’t hang the M4’s tail out every-which-way, since the chassis set-up allows for progressive oversteer, even in Road mode, along with as much drifting as your courage allows where safe. As with the best sports cars, the M4 is as steerable from the seat of your pants as it is using the throttle.

Finally, there’s the M Adaptive chassis tune, that at long last broadens the M4’s repertoire from motorway grand tourer and rural-road blaster to city slicker and urban warrior, thanks to the suspension’s ability to better-absorb a much wider array of terrible road surfaces. Comfort now lives up to its name, with the ride – though still firm – no longer hard or crashy around town, ushering in a new level of civility that won’t fatigue or aggravate you or your occupants. We're so happy to report this progress.

One area where BMW might want to keep improving, though, is the abundance of road noise intrusion over certain coarse chip bitumen. While easily muffled by the sweet sounds of the twin-turbo six, banging audio system or dropping the roof, it now seems more obvious that the rest of the car has smartened up so much.

A small fly in an otherwise hugely satisfying ointment.

Quite simply, driving the LM 500h is like piloting a limousine on stilts. Superbly comfortable, but with an elevated driving position that offers outstanding forward and side visibility, the LM 500h is an easy vehicle to drive for long periods of time.

A digital rear vision mirror means visibility behind is good and unobstructed by the privacy screen or the seats.

The drawbacks are down to the lack of space up front, with the driver’s chair limited in its ability to recline or slide back due to the bulkhead behind it.

And that's compounded by the lack of cabin storage for bags if the front passenger seat is taken.

As for the rear passengers there aren't many people movers offering this level of comfort, except perhaps the Zeekr 009.

Variable suspension that adjusts continuously keeps the vehicle composed and provides a high level of comfort for those in the rear. At the same time, the LM stays nice and flat through roundabouts while remaining civilised over speed bumps.

And then there's the acceleration, which, while not supercar-like is incredibly brisk for a van. The all-wheel drive system provides outstanding traction in wet and slippery conditions, too. 

Our family used the LM daily for everything from school runs to shopping trips and weekends away and not only was it fun to drive, our lucky rear passengers enjoyed sitting high and being able to see clearly out their windows along with the luxury of a giant movie screen.

The Lexus  LM 500h is yet to be tested by ANCAP so it doesn't have a safety assessment score. There is, however, a high level of safety tech onboard including AEB which can detect pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and other vehicles, emergency steering assist, lane keeping assistance, road sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors as well as six airbags.

For child seats there are ISOFIX points and top tether anchor mounts on the two rear seats. We have a forward facing child seat and found it easy to install.

A space-saver spare wheel is located under the boot floor.

We feel here is where the company drops the ball.

Trailing all of its main luxury car rivals (except Porsche) by two years, BMW only offers a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, as well as three years of roadside assistance.

BMW says its vehicles’ servicing is condition-based, depending on how they’re driven and other factors, with a dash warning appearing to let the driver/owner know when it’s time. We advise servicing your M4 annually or at every 10,000km, just to be sure.

No capped-price servicing system is offered. However, as long as the first one is paid for before the first service on a new vehicle, the ‘BMW Service Inclusive Basic packages’ is available at extra cost, covering scheduled servicing for three years/40,000km or five years/80,000km.

No prices are published for M models like the M4, but a normal 4 Series costs from $1800 for the five-year/80.000km package. You can bet an M4’s will cost more.

Lexus covers the LM 500h with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. 

The Lexus Encore Platinum program is complimentary for LM owners for three years, providing 24-hour roadside assist, a loan vehicle or pick-up/return service at service time, 'On Demand' vehicle evaluation options, valet and airport parking benefits as well as exclusive offers and event opportunities.

Servicing is recommended annually or every 15,000 kilometres, and impressively, pricing is capped at $695 per service over five years.