[MBLocal017]

I was a pretty diehard bmw fan until this current generation where the software updates made a drastic difference between the various civic, comp, cs, GTS models. I was able to get my civic m4 dialed in with a tune and various oem software coding combos, but the fact the car wasn’t out of the box setup to be the best that it could be annoyed me. I understand that incremental improvements are made over time, but now bmw releases multiple setups on top of one another, so you’re not getting incremental improvements, you’re just getting artificially enhanced / downgraded versions to hit target price points. The various downgraded AMG models started this trend and it, in my opinion, really degraded the brand cachet.

Leaving aside brand dilution of the M badge, it used to be you bought an M car and you knew it was setup to be the best it could be at the time - suspension, engine tune, etc. I understand the appeal of 3 settings for everything from steering, dampers, throttle, valves open / shut, brake boost (now a thing apparently!), but to quote Jeremy Clarkson - “I don’t want to set it up, that’s what I paid you for!”. If you’ve got 3 settings for 5 systems and a separate set of software tweaks for 5 versions of the same M car, I struggle to see how you can devote adequate time to making one “the ultimate driving machine”. Oh well, guess I’m getting old...