Back when the BMW 4 Series was first beginning to show itself in pre-production form, there were rumors that it would be more of a small GT car, a miniature 8 Series if you will. Rather than act as the sportier alternative to the 3 Series, it was said that the 4er would be more of a competent but comfortable cruiser. After hearing the responses from pre-production drives, however, it sounds as if those rumors were without merit. According to this recent Car and Driver review, the new 4 Series feels much sportier than its three-door sibling.
BMW already released some of the 4 Series’ mechanical info, such as its increased negative camber, slightly sharper steering and lower center of gravity. According to C&D, all of those changes are felt and noticed.
If you’re hoping that the new 4er will feel sharp and sporty, you’re in luck. As per C&D’s Jens Meiners, “The steering is ultra-precise and rather direct but has a more natural feel than before. Switching the steering to Sport increases effort significantly. It’s a good setup for a sporty coupe, and it fits this car’s character.” Sounds encouraging.
One interesting point to note, the newly revised stability control will allow for surprising drift angles before kicking in and saving the day. That just shows BMW’s intent with the 4 Series. If its willing to allow for more slip-angle, the brand clearly feels the 4er is a sports car, not a sporty GT car.
You also get to hear about the BMW 430i in this review, whereas most other reviews focused on the M440i. The former of which is actually quite a surprising little car, with its 2.0 liter turbocharged four-pot providing ample power and a surprisingly good sound (however fake it may be). Obviously, the stand-out of the review was the M440i, though. Its brilliant B58 inline six — now with 48-volt mild-hybrid tech — never fails to impress and that was the case for C&D as well.
Ultimately, it’s safe to say that things are looking good for the next-gen BMW 4 Series. It seems to be sportier than the 3 Series and nicer to drive than expected. Now, we just have to wait to see what it looks like…
[Source: Car and Driver]
I place very little trust in C/D press drives. They are usually overly positive, then the moment they do their instrument testing on their own turf the true thoughts comes out. Seeing their F30 and G30 press drives compared to their reviews is almost as if they received wildly different vehicles. Also the comment about the Porsche 911 was a bit out of place too, completely different levels.
I feel like C&D has always been critical in their reviews and honest, even in the press drives? It’s Motor Trend on the other hand that I’ve noticed that uses press drive reviews to purely cite specs in the articles and not much else.
Praise it in pre-production form and be overly optimistic. When the production car comes out (which shouldn’t be that much different), harp on the numb and non-existent steering and continue to talk about how BMW lost its way in an competitive segment. Seen and read this before with the G20.
It’s quite possible the prototype car’s engines, suspension and steering are tuned wildly differently from the production cars. I’ve read the production M340 has lost quite a bit of “overtuned” power following multiple over the air updates.
There was a story here from the g20 prototypes when BMW engineers adjusted vehicle handling to please the reviewer.
ie: prototype first drives are worthless, press loaners may be in the same category and you should wait to test drive a production car before making up your mind.
Mechanically, dynamically it will likely be closed to perfect. But the new front fascia pictures released in the media show something so BugsBunny Cross-Dressed hideous, that it raises the question how on earth people will like it. More so when just about each journalistic discussion has the word “grille” in the first two sentences. way to go Josef Kaban! I am thinking this man is a secret Chinese or Volkswagen Agent aiming to destroy BMW image and sales, and then have it sold to some multinational. His Opel-esque and Skoda design cues are a terrible failure.