Road te st
/ bmw 4 series
bmw 4 series
e c n a m r o f r e e s i P o p d n a
/ Road te st
style f o t o ou g r e nev s g n i e th m o S
1
BUSINESS CLASS • August 2013
oes d t u B . g n i nt, wait a Webb m r d o r d a s h c u i f R o assion? gal ls in all l p e t a w h d t n e s o i a Pass pe rele in Portu u s o e i c r t e s S e t 4 a B MW’s l mples the B MW sa
August 2013 • BUSINESS CLASS
2
Road te st
/ bmw 4 series
bmw 4 series making the car 60 per cent stiffer than the
car to like. It looks great, goes well, handles
and convenience, standard equipment levels
old 3-series coupé. Handling is characterized
progressively and it’s comfortable. Whilst
will be high; xenon headlamps, park radar,
by safe, gentle understeer initially, turning to
it may not feel different enough to warrant
leather heated seats, climate control are
balanced neutrality as the car settles, but rarely
an all-new name, it’s a winner, with clean
standard. Options include adaptive dampers,
feels overtly rear wheel led like its predecessor.
and tidy new styling, serving up what looks
sport steering and seats, connected services,
But it’s rock solid and displays exceptional body
like a properly proportioned 6-series.
head-up display, and various driver aids.
control and balance. Alluring as the exhaust note
B
around the front wheels and exiting through the
demanding former Formula 1 Estoril racetrack
front wheel-arch-scallops. The Chris Bangle-
in Portugal, where the car was launched. The
seat, two-door coupes arches back
inspired side surfacing is further refined and
paddles behind the steering wheel are tactile,
to 1938 and the BMW 327 Sport-Coupé, so
the bullet-nose front end, with its sloping hood
well weighted and feel directly connected to the
the brand has a long heritage to draw upon.
bulge displays a more masculine design. The
gearbox’s nerve-centre. The 435i drives like a
Coupes are all about style, and the 4 Series
front of the car has a air intake enveloping right
sports coupe, with just enough compliance to
has it in abundance, with plusher materials
around to the front flared wheel arches, but it
enhance the feedback and sufficient mechanical
and frameless doors. More recently, BMW’s
echoes much of the 3-Series with its hexagonal
grip to give some of the Audi A5 Coupe and
coupe versions of its saloon cars shared the
LED headlights and ‘optical fibre’ that fuses
Mercedes-Benz E-class pause for thought.
same nomenclature as its saloon brethren, but
the lights to the characteristic kidney grille.
BMW intends to put clear space between the
Power for the 435i is courtesy of the world-
considering that it really is more than simply a
a greater sense of sporty conviction. Near the
locally, but the key characteristics of the 4
two-door version of the 3 Series. Arguably the
straight-ahead it has the same response as the
Series Coupe are its driving dynamics and
best looking BMW on sale today, this truly is
standard system (itself an electromechanical
aesthetics and there will not be a poor model
a case where it’s not just about differentiating
design with speed-sensitive assistance), but the
amongst them. Using a combination of driver
body styles. It’s about putting the better-driving
ratio then quickens the more you turn the wheel.
assistance systems and mobility services under
cars one notch higher on the showroom floor.
the BMW ConnectedDrive banner to increase
It’s a tour de force and BMW will sell as many
safety, comfort and infotainment usage ease
cars as they can lay their hands on. BC
With a heady 400 Nm served up at 1200rpm, it wrenches out of tight corners relentlessly,
3 Series sedan and the Coupé version. Despite
class TwinPower turbocharged in-line six-
always in the best out of the gearbox’s eight
the clear DNA ancestry, only the bonnet is
cylinder engine. It’s a delight, providing
speeds. The automatic gearbox has received
shared between the two cars. The 2014 4 Series
sonorous passion and Apollo-acceleration to
new software mapping to bring about a clear
therefore takes over from the most successful
match the looks. An intrinsic smoothness
improvement in the speed and quality of shifts
two-door coupe in the premium coupe market,
to its operation tends to beguile you into its
in Sport mode too. Scampering up to its 7,000
the 3-series coupe. BMW will be anxiously
slightly Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character.
red line as my right foot plunges towards the
watching public reaction and more importantly,
Around town as it well mannered, easy to
firewall, it hunts out apexes like a Truffle Hog
how the new car will translate into sales figures.
drive and a paragon of mobility. Point it at a
on the trail of gourmand fungi. The 435i only
racetrack, stab ‘Sport mode’ and a perceptible
takes 0.3sec more to reach 100km that the
with its broad-shouldered rear wheel arches and
improvement in response emerges. It has
outgoing M3 coupe, so it’s blisteringly quick.
‘double-L’ taillights and scalloped rear end. At
a darker side, urging you to press on hard,
the front, gaping air curtain ducts direct airflow
harder, hardest. Those siren voices in my head
kept in check thanks to fettling of the settings
through the corners of the lower front bodywork,
“faster, brake later” all too evident on the
of the springs, dampers and camber angles,
Visually, the styling is undeniably handsome,
3
BUSINESS CLASS • August 2013
The added cost of the 4 Series is warranted
prices or which will trim lines will be marketed
The 4 Series Coupé is a genuinely comfortable
and performance-oriented four-
BMW South Africa have yet to announce
is, though, it could do with a little more theatre,
and very refined product, and is an easy
MW’s heritage of building luxurious
/ Road te st
The brakes are strong and body control is
What you should know -
428i Cou pe an d 435i Cou pe
There have been six generations of BMW 3-Series coupes since 1975. The coupe now wears the 4-Series designation as part of a move to sedans having odd-numbers- 3-, 5- & 7-Series and coupes even - 4, 6, 8 etc. The higher-spec 435i comes with a 3-litre engine and reaches 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds in the 6-speed manual and 5.1 seconds with the 8-speed automatic. The 428i comes with a 2-litre turbo engine and reaches 0-100 km/h in just 5.9 seconds for the manual and 5.8 seconds for the automatic 8-speed.
August 2013 • BUSINESS CLASS
4