There’s just no way of going about it (especially since it’s so huge) – Yes, the all-new BMW 4 Series coupe has those large vertical grilles as previewed on the Concept 4. BMW calls it “striking”, and we think that’s pretty much spot on.
History will tell us that BMW is no stranger to unorthodox design choices (see: Chris Bangle era vehicles) that later turn in to iconic designs. Will this be another one of those? No idea, but at least some of the AutoBuzz boys are already getting used to it… We digress.
If we can all agree to look past the grille for now though, the new 4 Series is actually quite a pretty looking coupe. The coupe’s signature design elements – short overhangs, long doors with frameless windows, the slim window graphic and a flowing roofline – are all accentuated on the new 4 Series, making it look a lot more like a model of its own instead of just a “3 Series with 2 less doors”.
The new 4-er stands 57 mm lower than the four-door relative, and its tracks wider by 23 mm, to give the coupe its sportier appearance. Compared to its predecessor, the new 4 Series have been enlarged in almost all dimensions – 128 mm in length, 27 mm in width, 6 mm in height, and 41 mm in its wheelbase.
Up front, the slim LED headlights, stretched lengthwise well into the front wheel arch, further enhance the low-and-wide stance of the coupe. Moving towards the rear, the cabin glasshouse slowly tapers inwards on the flowing roofline, giving the new 4 Series a truly muscular stature.
The rear design of the new 4 Series draws a lot of parallels to the 8 Series, with the roofline flowing into an upwards curve, creating a natural integrated spoiler – though less pronounced. The brand’s new signature light-bar taillights signature makes an appearance here too, finished with darkened housings.
Inside, the cabin design of the all-new 4 Series is nothing we haven’t seen before – it is after all based on the existing G20 3 Series. As is BMW tradition, the dashboard follows the marque’s driver-centric design principles.
The central control stack, tilted slightly towards the driver, features an infotainment display up top running BMW Operating System 7.0 with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. Meanwhile, behind the steering wheel is the Live Cockpit Professional fully-digital instrument cluster.
The all-new BMW 4 Series is headlined by the M440i xDrive, featuring a 3.0-litre inline-six petrol engine with 48V mild hybrid technology for an additional 11 hp boost when needed. Output is rated at 374 hp and 500 Nm of torque, resulting in a century sprint time of 4.5 seconds, onward to a top speed of 250 km/h.
The M-tuned 4 Series also gets other M Sport specific treatments, such as the M Sport suspension with stiffer mounts and anti-roll bars, or the optional M electronically controlled dampers, M Sport brakes, and M Sport fully-variable locking rear differential.
Other variants include the 420i with a 184 hp and 300 Nm 2.0-litre inline four engine, and a 430i with the same engine but uprated to 258 hp and 400 Nm.
As for oil burners, a 190 hp and 400 Nm 2.0-litre inline-four is used for the 420d and 420d xDrive, while the 430d xDrive and M440d xDrive will use a three-litre turbocharged inline-six unit producing 286 hp/650 Nm and 340 hp/700 Nm respectively. All diesel variants will be equipped with 48V mild hybrid technology.
All powertrains are paired to a eight-speed Steptronic gearbox, though you can step it up to the Steptronic Sport transmission with a new Sprint function if you tick the M Sport Pro package during your order.
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