BMW M4 Competition pack: What does £3,000 get you over a standard M3 or M4?

The upgrade adds 19bhp to make a pleasingly rounded 450bhp, as well as featuring revisions to the suspension

It’s a bit easier to drive the new Competition pack harder, and that has to be welcome

The new Competition pack is more than just a bit of extra power. There is more of that, 19bhp to be exact, taking the power to a pleasingly rounded 450bhp. But there are also revisions to the suspension as well as revised settings for the DSC and the differential.

And it would be pretty pointless if there weren’t some visual clues. In this case those are special alloy 20in wheels and some black Shadow Line trim. Oh and you need to turn heads more, so the exhaust now sounds even louder and more muscular than before.

Does all that amount to much? It knocks a tenth of a second off the 0-62mph time, but is that worth £3000? To be honest, we couldn’t give this a full workout because of inclement weather, and freezing wet roads, so we’ll have to double-check in warmer climes. But first impressions are favourable, starting with a welcome increase in feel for the steering.

The car now seems to have a better feeling of balance and harmony

BMW M4 Competition Package

• Engine: 2,979cc 6-cyl twin-turbo
• Transmission: 6spd manual/7spd dual-clutch auto (M DCT), rear-wheel drive
• Power: 450bhp @ 5,500rpm
• Torque: 406 lb ft  @ 1,850-5,500rpm
• 0-62mph: 4.2 sec/4.0 sec M DCT
• Top speed: 155mph
• Weight: 1,572kg/1,612kg M DCT (EU, with driver)
• MPG: 32.1/34.0 M DCT (NEDC combined)
• CO2: 204g/km/194g/km M DCT
• Price: £60,055/£62,550 M DCT

The suspension does tend to now let through a little more noise, vibration and harshness (the unholy trinity known as NVH), but that may be worth it. That’s because the standard car could get a little over-exciting at times since the damping, particularly in Comfort mode, felt like it struggled to keep up with the springing. Now everything is stiffer, even in Comfort mode, and there seems to be a better feeling of balance and harmony.

The car has knocked a tenth of a second off the 0-62mph time

It’s a bit easier to drive this harder, whatever the road conditions, and that has to be welcome. A bit more power, but all the power slightly better controlled and therefore easier to apply, is the sort of thing that sounds well worth a few grand.