The all-new BMW 4 Series will land in showrooms this year, complete with one of the most striking grilles on any car on sale right now. Here’s everything you need to know about BMW’s new coupe.
This new 4 Series looks a lot different from the 3 Series. The most obvious design feature is that massive grille. You’ll either love it or hate it, but you can’t ignore it. To be fair, the number plate on the production car manages to break up the grille – in a good way – so it doesn’t quite have the Bugs Bunny front teeth the concept car had.
The standard LED headlights look cool but you can also upgrade them to have laser high beam lights. And the sloping coupe roofline is far sleeker than the boxy 3 Series saloon – in fact, in profile the 4 Series looks more like a mini 8 Series now.
The inside of the BMW 4 Series is far less controversial than the outside. Here, the 4 Series is just the same as the 3 Series. So while it may look a little on the conservative side, it feels well put together and made with quality materials.
You do get some extra standard equipment in the 4 Series to make up for the higher asking price over the saloon, including tri-zone climate control and an acoustic windscreen.
You also get an ambient lighting system with an extra feature – one of the strips on the door panels will flash red if the door isn’t closed properly.
The BMW 4 Series coupe isn’t all show and no go – tt has been set up differently than the saloon. The rear track is 23mm wider than on the 3 Series, the car sits 57mm lower and has a 21mm lower centre of gravity. The body is stiffer than a 3 Series too, so combine all these with the specifically tuned suspension and the 4 Series should feel more sporty to drive than the 3.
Having two fewer doors, the BMW 4 Series is obviously less practical than the 3 Series. Climbing into the back is a palaver, and once you’re there you’ll find headroom is a bit tight. And there are only two rear seats in the coupe, whereas the saloon has three.
The boot is the same size as the previous version, but it is a more square shape, so should be easier to load. There’s a ski hatch to load long, thin items – such as, erm, skis – and the rear seats can fold down to create a larger cargo area.
The BMW 4 Series range kicks off with a pair of 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engines with 184hp in the 420i and 258hp in the 430i.
The M440i has a 374hp 3.0-litre straight six turbocharged engine and comes with all-wheel drive. The M440i also gets more aggressive styling, uprated brakes and a limited-slip rear differential which helps accelerate out of corners quicker.
If you drive lots of miles you’ll want one of the diesels. The range comprises the 420d, 430d and M440d. All diesels, and six-cylinder petrol models, get a 48-volt mild hybrid system that will help save a bit of fuel and provide a bit more power for overtaking.
Every model comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox – there are no manual versions. You’ll find fuel economy and performance stats in the table at the bottom of the page.
The new 4 Series has the same infotainment system as the one in the 3 Series. It is one of the best systems around, but Mercedes’ latest infotainment is a smidge easier to use. Still, you can operate the system with a scroll wheel, a touch pad on the centre console, by touching the screen, by gesturing in front of the screen or speaking some commands. You also get a 6-inch digital driver’s display (rather than analogue dials) but you can upgrade that to a 9-inch display.
The big news is that the 4 Series now gets Android Auto as well as Apple CarPlay as standard.
The BMW 4 Series will cost from just under £40,000 for the 420i M Sport model, which is a bit more than the starting price of an Audi A5 or Mercedes C-Class Coupe. The M440i will cost around £54,000. The release date is October 2020 for the 420 and 430 models; the M440 cars will be available from March 2021.
BMW 420i Coupe
▪ 2.0in-line 4 turbo petrol
▪ 184 hp / 300 Nm
▪ 8-speed automatic, RWD
▪ 0-100 km/h – 7.5 seconds
▪ Top speed – 240 km/h
▪ From £39,870
#BMW #2021_4_Series #420i_Coupe
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