A Unique Comparison Test

It’s not often we take the time to compare two vehicles that come from completely different worlds. It’s as if we took a car from the wrong side of the tracks and decided it needed to play against the prep school team all by itself. What I am talking about is a comparison of the BMW M4 from 2015 and the new Chevrolet Camaro SS. This doesn’t seem like it would be a fair fight and certainly these two cars are built for different purposes since one is a great luxury car and the other is a truly iconic sports car; but are they really that different?

When you put the M badge on any BMW you know the idea is to have a sports luxury machine with plenty of performance. Not to mention the fact that BMW has been touted as having some of the most impressive driving machines to every make their way to our roads. As for the Camaro SS, this is a car that has always been a stout performance leader but it hasn’t always been one of the most comfortable cars to drive. This new model is supposed to be the most driver-friendly Camaro we have ever seen, making it a car that provides comfort and performance. Let’s see how these two compare.

The Camaro SS offers up a 6.2-liter LT1 V8 engine that produces 455 horsepower and 455 lb.-ft. of torque while being connected to a six-speed manual transmission that pushes all the power to the rear wheels. This car is built on the Alpha platform of GM which is the same one used for the Cadillac ATS. The M4 has a completely different chassis than the rest of the lineup which has been designated as the F82. This car uses a 3.0-liter twin turbocharged inline six-cylinder that produces 425 horsepower and 406 lb.-ft. of torque. This engine is mated to a six-speed manual in RWD set up as well. The BMW weighs in at 3,512 pounds and the Camaro is the heavyweight at 3,696 pounds.

When this pair was taken to the track the M4 ran to sixty mph in only 4.2 seconds but the Camaro bested it at 4.1 seconds for the same run. The quarter mile told a similar story with the M4 making the run in 12.5 seconds at 116.5 mph and the Camaro reached the same distance in 12.4 seconds at a speed of 115.8 mph. Even a turn around the track was impossible to really offer a difference as both cars made a figure eight run in 24.1 seconds. The two cars even have the same wheelbase size at 110.7 inches so it appears we are going to have to look elsewhere for some serious differences even though the Camaro would have won the track but only by a miniscule margin.

While digging for differences the braking distance did come up which was 102 feet for the Camaro and 108 for the M4. That is a pretty significant distance considering the M4 has brakes that cost $9,350 on it. Speaking of money, there is a huge disparity in the price of these two cars. The Camaro is the wrong side of the tracks affordable at $46,095 and the M4 is silver spoon expensive at $77,495 giving us a difference that is more than $31,000 to make for a significant lead for the Camaro at this point.

The drive on regular roads shows the Camaro able to tear up the blacktop in a fashion we can all love and admire. The chassis and suspension gives a magnificent ride as is what has become the norm on any car that uses the Alpha platform. This car is just a lot of fun to drive and seems to offer much more for the money than you would expect. The problem the M4 faces is the massive price difference. What about the M4 makes it worth the amount of money that is being asked when it comes time to ring it up; nothing, and that is the problem. The thing that used to make any BMW special seems to be gone as other manufacturers have caught up with BMW. The clear winner in this comparison test is the Chevrolet Camaro SS, which as it happens to be is also the Motor Trend Car of the Year; go figure.