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The new M era

The new BMW M era: big grilles, heavy hybrids and an electric M3

Since 2020 BMW M has built some of the most argued-about cars in its history, and sold more cars than ever. Here is why they split people, what our scores say once the looks are set aside, and what is coming next.

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The looks split people. The scores do not.

Our Guide Score has no line for looks. It weighs how much a car is wanted, how it drives and how sound it is to own, read from sources. Score the cars people argue about that way and most of the argument falls away: the new car beats the one fans say they miss in 3 of the 4 pairings below.

Guide Score, best yearThe one it replacedThe new one
M2: F87 against G879197
M4: F82 against G828495
M3: F80 against G808391
M5: F90 against G907371

The XM has no older car to stand against, so set it beside the X5 M, its nearest sibling: the XM scores 57 and the X5 M 59. Where the critics and our numbers agree, on the XM and the hybrid M5, both trail on how much they are wanted and how they drive, not on looks.

Why each one divides

Every one of these cars has a case against and a case for, and both are worth hearing. The quotes are each writer's view, with the source at the foot of the page.

The M3 and M4: the grille

Against

Goodwood's Dan Trent found the front end "absolutely minging" next to the regular 3 Series.

For

"Sure, it's no beauty, but neither was the E30," wrote Motoring Research's Tim Pitt, who called it the best to drive of its rivals. It scores 91 as an M3 and 95 as an M4 with us.

The M2: bigger and boxier

Against

The Drive said it "looks super and shoddy simultaneously". At 3,814 lb it weighs about 200 lb more than the F87 M2 Competition, per BMWBlog.

For

MotorTrend made it its 2024 Performance Vehicle of the Year, ahead of a 911 GT3 RS. It is number 1 of the 69 cars we score, at 97.

The XM: the face and the weight

Against

The Autopian called it a "6,000-pound oaf of a vehicle", and it was the slowest-selling BMW in the US in 2024, per BMWBlog.

For

Jalopnik's headline: "So good to drive, you won't care how it looks."

The M5: the weight

Against

Car and Driver weighed its test car at 5,251 lb and did not make it the winner; in BMWBlog's summary, it "simply wasn't small or light enough to be crowned king."

For

The Drive: "you'd never win a 'guess my weight' game from behind the wheel."

Did the arguments cost BMW buyers?

Not that the numbers show. BMW M delivered more cars every year from 2021, when the new M3 and M4 arrived, to 2025. BMW named those two the biggest drivers of its 2021 growth among its high-performance cars, and called the M3 sedan the world's best-selling high-performance sports car in 2023.

BMW M deliveries worldwide, a year
2021163,542
2022177,257
2023202,530
2024206,582
2025213,457

BMW's own figures. They include M Performance models such as the M340i, so they do not isolate the M3 and M4.

That does not prove people liked the look. The first years came during the industry's chip shortage, and we found no published US sales figure for the M3 and M4 on their own. What it shows is that the grille did not stop buyers. Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW's design chief, put it this way in 2025: "There was no backlash from customers."

What is coming, and why it has no score yet

We score a car once it is on sale here and the first road tests are in. Until then it carries no number. After that its score keeps moving as the evidence arrives: recalls, known faults, owner reports and what owners say about living with it. Each card shows which of the five kinds of evidence exist so far.

  • BMW confirmedFrom 2027

    The electric M3

    BMW M's first Neue Klasse car, which the press calls the electric M3. BMW has not named it.

    Score coming
    • What BMW has said: Four motors, one per wheel, and over 100 kWh of battery
    • US price and date: Not announced for the US
    • Road tests: Prototypes only so far
    • Recalls and known faults: None until it is on sale
    • Owner reports: None until owners have the car
    The G80 M3 on sale now

  • On recordReported for 2028

    The next gas M3

    A six-cylinder M3 to follow the G80. The head of BMW M says it will not be a plug-in hybrid.

    Score coming
    • What BMW has said: BMW M's head says a gas M3 is coming
    • US price and date: Not announced
    • Road tests: Not driven yet
    • Recalls and known faults: None until it is on sale
    • Owner reports: None until owners have the car
    The G80 M3 it replaces

  • BMW confirmedUS launch early 2027

    BMW M350 xDrive

    The new 3 Series' six-cylinder flagship. The name replaces the M340i.

    Score coming
    • What BMW has said: 437 hp mild-hybrid six, 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds
    • US price and date: $65,900 plus $1,350 destination
    • Road tests: Waiting for US road tests
    • Recalls and known faults: None until it is on sale
    • Owner reports: None until owners have the car
    The M340i it replaces

  • BMW confirmedBuilt from spring 2027

    BMW iX3 M60 xDrive

    An M Performance version of the iX3, the first Neue Klasse car: electric, with two motors.

    Score coming
    • What BMW has said: 603 hp, 0 to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds
    • US price and date: No US price or date yet
    • Road tests: Not driven yet
    • Recalls and known faults: None until it is on sale
    • Owner reports: None until owners have the car
    Our electric M Performance cars

  • BMW confirmedLater in 2027

    The new X5's V8 M Performance model

    A V8 version of the fifth-generation X5, built in South Carolina, to follow the X5 M60i.

    Score coming
    • What BMW has said: BMW confirms a V8 M Performance X5 is coming
    • US price and date: Not announced
    • Road tests: Not driven yet
    • Recalls and known faults: None until it is on sale
    • Owner reports: None until owners have the car
    The X5 M60i it follows

  • ReportedReported for after 2028

    The next M4

    The press reports the next M4 will be electric only, sharing the electric M3's parts. BMW has said nothing.

    Score coming
    • What BMW has said: Nothing from BMW yet
    • US price and date: Not announced
    • Road tests: Not driven yet
    • Recalls and known faults: None until it is on sale
    • Owner reports: None until owners have the car
    The G82 M4 on sale now

Confirmed or reported?

"BMW confirmed" means a BMW release says it. "On record" means a BMW executive said it to a named outlet. "Reported" means the press says it and BMW has not. Model codes such as ZA0 and G84 are press reports.

When each car is on sale

On sale here, and coming
M3 G802021 to now
M4 G822021 to now
M2 G872023 to now
XM2023 to now
M5 G902025 to now
Electric M3From 2027, no US date
Next gas M32028, reported

The 2027 M3 CS Handschalter, a six-speed manual, is BMW's own send-off for the G80. Bars for cars on sale are US model years; dates for the cars still coming are calendar years, and BMW has given neither a US date.

The new look: a reset, or the next argument?

In October 2024 BMW reorganized its design team. Domagoj Dukec, who led BMW design through the big-grille years, moved to Rolls-Royce, and Oliver Heilmer took the smaller BMWs and BMW M. The Neue Klasse, which began with the electric iX3 in 2025, has upright kidneys set into the surface of the nose, a design in which, in van Hooydonk's words, "we replace chrome with light".

Reaction is split again, just differently. Hagerty UK called the 2023 concept "another divisive design from BMW". TimesLIVE headlined the production cars a "return to form". The iX3 was named 2026 World Car of the Year. For BMW M, the M Concept Neue Klasse shown at Le Mans in June 2026 puts the lights and kidneys in one unit under a forward-facing shark nose.

If you love the old look

The cars before these are older, usually cheaper to buy and, for many, better looking. Here is how each scores against the car that replaced it.

  • M2 F87: 91 against the G87's 97.
  • M4 F82: 84 against the G82's 95.
  • M3 F80: 83 against the G80's 91.
  • M5 F90: 73 against the G90's 71.

The M5 runs the other way: the older car scores higher. Where the new car leads, the gap is mostly soundness: the S55 in the F80, F82 and later F87 carries the crank hub question, which the S58 in the new cars does not. Read the S55 crank hub guide before you buy one.

Read next

Questions and answers

Is the next BMW M3 electric?

One of them is. BMW confirms its first electric M car on the Neue Klasse arrives from 2027 with four motors, one per wheel; the press calls it the electric M3, and BMW has not named it. The head of BMW M, Frank van Meel, has said on record that a gas M3 follows and that it will not be a plug-in hybrid. BMWBlog reports the gas car for 2028; BMW has not given a date.

Why are the new BMW M grilles so big?

BMW meant it to stand out. Domagoj Dukec, then head of BMW design, said in 2020 of the 4 Series grille the M3 and M4 share in spirit that 50 per cent of people might love it and 50 per cent hate it, and called it a future brand-shaper. In 2025 Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW's design chief, said there was no backlash from customers, and that in markets like China people are still asking for big grilles.

Did the big grille hurt BMW M sales?

Not that the numbers show. BMW M delivered more cars every year from 2021 to 2025, and BMW named the M3 and M4 the biggest drivers of its 2021 growth among its high-performance cars. Two caveats: BMW's totals include M Performance models, and the early years fell in the industry's chip shortage, so strong sales show the grille did not stop buyers, not that they liked it.

Is the M340i being replaced?

In the new 3 Series, yes. BMW's US lineup for the new car names its six-cylinder flagship the M350 xDrive: 437 hp, $65,900 plus destination, on sale here early in 2027. The M340i name does not appear in it.

Will you score the electric M3 and the other Neue Klasse cars?

Yes, once they are on sale here and road tests are in. Until then they carry no score at all. Once scored, each car's score keeps moving as recalls, known faults, owner reports and owner sentiment come in, with a dated note on our method page whenever it does.

Sources

Scores are this site's own, read live. Facts about cars still coming are from BMW unless marked as reported. Sources checked October 13, 2026.