2015 BMW M4 vs. 2015 Lexus RC F – Head 2 Head Ep. 59 - video Dailymotion

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This week on Head 2 Head

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00:00 Two rear-drive luxury coupes turned into 400+ horsepower tire-smoking machines.

00:06 This head-to-head sets itself up pretty nicely, doesn't it?

00:10 This is the manliest thing I've ever done in my life!

00:28 The newcomer this time is the Lexus RC F, which means it's the fast version of the RC

00:34 Coupe.

00:35 It's powered by a 467-horse naturally aspirated V8 and drives its rear wheels through an 8-speed

00:41 automatic.

00:42 The simplicity ends there, though, as this model has an electronically controlled torque-vectoring

00:46 differential that employs two electric motors, two planetary gear sets, and two clutches

00:51 to help distribute power to each wheel correctly.

00:54 The design?

00:55 It's different, to put it kindly.

00:57 But looking at the dimensions, it's easy to see the car Lexus was targeting.

01:02 That would be the BMW M4.

01:04 Yeah, BMW's dropped the M3 Coupe name, but the bigger shock might be that BMW's also

01:09 dropped naturally aspirated engines.

01:12 Its twin-turbo 3-liter straight-six may be down 42 horse to the RC F, but it makes 17-pound

01:17 feet more torque.

01:20 This model also has BMW's 7-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox and carbon-ceramic brakes

01:25 as options.

01:26 Crucially, it's carrying over 400 pounds less than the Lexus.

01:48 The M4 edges out the RC F at the test track.

01:51 With a better power-to-weight ratio and a more effective launch, the M4 reaches 60 three-tenths

01:56 of a second before the RC F.

02:03 Its advantage extends to a half-second and 5.0 miles an hour at the quarter-mile, showing

02:08 that the M4 gets out of the hole slightly better and accelerates stronger as the run

02:13 continues.

02:14 Braking performance again goes to the M4.

02:17 Its best stop from 60 took just 98 feet.

02:20 The RC F required 9 feet more at 107 feet.

02:29 The M4 completes its figure-eight lap 7/10 of a second faster than the RC F. It also

02:35 generates .06 higher average lateral G.

02:52 Immediately what I like about the RC F more than the M4 is that sound.

03:01 It's coming courtesy of a V8 that's revving nice and cleanly up in slightly past 7,000

03:10 RPM.

03:11 I'm going to miss that.

03:13 I'm really going to miss that kind of thing as all these sort of performance luxury coupe

03:18 and sedans move to twin-turbo engines.

03:21 There's just something about revving out a naturally aspirated engine, that instant response

03:25 it gives you on the throttle, and that's a nice sound.

03:29 It's not a beautiful sing-song noise, but it's a nice guttural roar.

03:36 But the RC F is an interesting car.

03:38 I really like the IS F. This car is a little bit more overt.

03:43 This thing is really in your face with its design and everything that's happening in

03:48 here.

03:49 And there's parts of it that I don't like in terms of aesthetics, but I appreciate the

03:54 effort.

03:55 This car has a certain charisma just in the look of it that the M4 doesn't.

04:00 Now handling.

04:03 Dynamically, this is not on par with the M4.

04:09 We know this thing has lower performance numbers.

04:12 We know a lot of that is because it weighs so much more than the M4 and has less torque.

04:17 Yet, if you were to drive it in isolation, you wouldn't really care because it's pretty

04:23 fun.

04:24 With really accurate, precise steering, you have, again, that lovely sound.

04:29 And it's really easy to point and shoot.

04:32 You don't have to worry too much about crazy in your face oversteer.

04:35 You don't have to worry about the finer elements of control.

04:38 This is fun in a way that's not as aggressive as the M4, but still pretty enjoyable.

04:46 When you really start getting out to the dynamic edge, though, I feel this comes up a little

04:50 bit short.

04:51 It's not as nimble as the M4.

04:52 It's not as playful.

04:53 The tail is nowhere near as active or as engaging as the M4's is.

04:58 The chassis is, again, stable.

05:00 The steering feels good.

05:01 The throttle response is really good, too.

05:03 The braking power is strong.

05:07 And if you work it a little bit, you can just get the slightest bit of oversteer.

05:11 Of course, if you were to flick it in, you could do big drifts all day.

05:15 Yeah, there we go.

05:19 There we go.

05:22 But ultimately, you sense the weight.

05:28 In the slower corners and some of the switchbacks, when you're low in the tack and you can't

05:33 really downshift to first, you sense the weight is a problem.

05:37 And 4,000 pounds or so for a two-door sports coupe is rather shocking, just to be frank

05:43 about it.

05:44 That's a lot of car in terms of mass.

05:47 And it comes up and hurts this car dynamically pretty much throughout the board.

05:52 That said, you're not going to be disappointed with this car, I don't think at all.

05:58 In fact, if you're a fan of the styling, if you're a fan of the V8, this thing for you

06:02 will be a better choice than the M4.

06:04 But if you're searching for that extra thrilling edge, I think the M4 is the way to go.

06:10 This is a good car.

06:32 The addition of all that torque makes for a completely different driving experience.

06:37 You can be a little bit lazier with your gear selection, you can be a little bit lazier

06:41 with your throttle, but you can focus more on the steering and putting the car exactly

06:45 where you want it.

06:48 I really like the rear end of this car.

06:50 It's tailored so nicely, and you can use the throttle in conjunction with the steering

06:56 to help the car rotate through a corner.

06:58 That diff really helps the car turn.

07:01 You get legit throttle steer, and that can really help you adjust your line when you

07:05 feel brave enough to commit to it.

07:07 And when you do get a little oversteer, it's so easy to correct that the whole process

07:12 is just so much fun to drive.

07:15 Now one advantage this has over the RC F is that it's 400 pounds lighter, and that makes

07:19 for improvements everywhere in the driving experience.

07:28 The corners feel better, the acceleration feels sharper, the braking is improved.

07:33 You can't get around, wait, you can't fight that.

07:36 And although the RC F makes more horsepower, the torque in this thing makes this car feel

07:41 more powerful.

07:43 If I do have a complaint, it's the sound of the straight six.

07:47 It just isn't as sing-song as the last gen M3's V8, and it doesn't sound as good as the

07:56 RC F's V8 either.

08:01 Okay but forget all that, because the chassis in this car is so, so good.

08:08 The car is precise, it's agile, you can bend it to your whim, and you end up going really,

08:14 really fast, looking back on the things that you just did a few corners behind you going,

08:19 "I probably, hmm, I shouldn't have done that."

08:22 But you did, and you had a great time.

08:27 Little oversteer there, that's fine.

08:28 Coming up over this hill, it's a really fun one to take flat.

08:37 Then like a little bit of oversteer at 105 miles an hour to make your day.

08:43 Oh man.

08:49 This car is so powerful, but also so balanced and so controllable.

08:55 It gives you all the options with regard to handling that you want.

08:58 You can make it stable, you can upset it, slide it around like crazy.

09:05 You can control it through steering, through balancing the weight around the chassis, through

09:09 throttle application, through braking.

09:11 It makes for a simply delightful, delightful handling machine when you know what you're

09:20 doing.

09:22 It's addicting putting this car around corners, lining up apexes, knocking them down.

09:28 It can be neat and tidy when you want it to be, and then it can be an absolute drift machine

09:33 when you want it to be.

09:34 And that's what I love about a good sports car, is it gives you that kind of flexibility.

09:43 The RCF has its work cut out for them, so does the new C63, the Audi, whatever, RS4,

09:58 Cadillac CTS-V or ATS-V, whatever they end up doing.

10:02 They've got some real work cut out for them.

10:06 But how can we fully test these two without a visit to the track?

10:15 Also the Lexus changed colors.

10:18 Yeah, rev out that V8 in the Lexus RCF.

10:30 There's a little flap that opens up in the intake.

10:37 Sounds and feels like a racing engine.

10:41 The Lexus puts down power really well, very little wheel spin, as long as you're driving

10:45 with any kind of sense.

10:48 It accelerates very well off the corner.

10:51 Transmission is terrific, quick, ultra smooth upshifts and downshifts.

10:55 It's got a little beep just as we get to redline.

10:59 I like that.

11:02 The Lexus puts the power to the ground.

11:04 I give Lexus a lot of credit for that.

11:06 A couple of laps in and the brakes are still very strong.

11:10 I'm not a fan of the car being so soft in a roll.

11:14 I had a race engineer once tell me that softness is grip as long as you can stand the roll.

11:20 We got a little float here through the 100 mile an hour sweeper.

11:24 It's funny, we have the advantage that softness is compliance, soaks up the bumps.

11:29 That's good in ride and that gives good control on the big bumps.

11:32 Downside is in a transition, it just takes forever for the weight to transfer.

11:36 Seems to slow the car down a little bit.

11:42 On power, understeer, all the way around the banked bowl.

11:46 See that?

11:47 We got a little push under acceleration.

11:52 Whereas the BMW has a tendency to want to spin the rears and get the car all sideways.

11:57 Little different personality.

12:00 We can drift it if we want, but it doesn't do it unless you really make it get sideways.

12:15 You got to force it.

12:21 So it's well balanced definitely on the understeer side in terms of its chassis balance.

12:27 Whereas the BMW is on the oversteer side in its chassis balance.

12:32 The Lexus is a softer package, great brakes, wonderful engine.

12:38 I find myself missing that fat delicious torque that the BMW delivers on the low end and I

12:47 don't like the soft shocks and roll in the transitions out here on the race track.

13:07 The M4 Turbo, six cylinder, sounds like a V8 and pulls like a V8.

13:15 The power is really impressive.

13:17 Just keeps pulling as the revs rise.

13:20 Very little sensation of lag.

13:22 Feel that torque just digging from the mid-range RPM out of the corner.

13:27 It's asking a lot of those big Michelins though.

13:29 400 pound feet of torque means you roll the throttle in to keep the rear tires hooked

13:34 up on track.

13:35 But in second gear I got to be really careful with the power or I can just light it up.

13:42 A lot of torque.

13:47 See?

13:48 The steering is quick and precise.

13:53 It's a BMW.

13:55 We'd expect that.

13:56 So it makes those oversteer moments pretty easy to catch.

14:01 Transmission is a sweetheart.

14:03 You can adjust the aggressiveness and we had it right in the middle.

14:06 Quick but not harsh.

14:10 I can downshift right in the middle of the corner as I just did.

14:13 Don't even feel it.

14:14 That's how a good shift is.

14:15 You don't feel it.

14:16 Braking, as you'd expect, powerful.

14:17 I'm not getting any fade.

14:18 Only time the ABS can't keep up is if I hit a big bump in a hard braking zone.

14:27 It interferes.

14:28 But, you know, it's trying to keep that tire from locking up.

14:31 Into the fast kink.

14:35 We're bouncing, we're turning, we're braking.

14:38 And let me tell you, the shock absorbers are doing a great job.

14:41 The M4 is well damped.

14:43 Without harshness.

14:44 We have the control and we have the compliance.

14:50 This is the non-adjustable version.

14:52 And the car is extremely well damped in transitions.

14:56 I really like the combination of the compliance over the bumps.

15:02 And then the tight body control as we turn in.

15:05 See, there's not a strong sensation of roll.

15:17 This car is really working.

15:19 I like the M4.

15:29 The Lexus RCF engine is just a delicious, racy V8.

15:34 But the understeer and the soft shocks mean that if I were to pick one for the track,

15:38 I'd go with the BMW M4.

15:47 And now, a tire rack hot lap.

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2015 BMW M4 vs. 2015 Lexus RC F – Head 2 Head Ep. 59

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