Highlights:
MSRP: $49,000 base
Motor: 2.0 L four-cyl turbo
HP: 240 @ 5,000 to 6,500 rpm
Torque (lb-ft): 255 @ 1,250 to 4,800 rpm
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Layout: front-wheel drive
Fuel Economy: 8.7 L/100 km city, 5.4 hwy (manufacturer estimate)
BMW, as with other German car manufacturers, have been setting a precedent as of late making their vehicles feel like rolling computer stations. The new 4 series picks up the technology ball and continues to run with it, offering the ability to surf the Net while you’re on road, a larger round iDrive control knob with a built-in touchpad on top and a seamless Head-Up Display (HUD) that actually looks good.
Look And Feel
With the 3 series leaving its coupe days behind, the 4 series was introduced to take over the two-door role. The 4 — available with a 2.0-litre turbo engine in the 428i and 428i xDrive and a 3.0-litre turbo in the 435i and 435i xDrive — is bigger than the model it is replacing, if only slightly. The length has grown by 26 millimetres and the width by 43 mm, although the roofline is 16 mm lower to give it a leaner appearance. The front of the car looks like a menacing robot with the LED headlights that retain the signature dual light rings on each side serving as daytime running lights.
The bumper incorporates “Air Curtains,” a black-coloured cutout on the bottom resembling a scowl that helps smooth out the airflow while the car is moving to help with fuel economy. They work together with the “Air Breathers” behind the front wheels that perform a similar task. Continuing down the side of the vehicle to the back end the design tames down, save for the bulging rear wheel arches.
Once I boarded the bright red 428i xDrive (all-wheel drive) and shut the door, a mechanized plastic arm came to life and slowly whirred itself toward my left shoulder handing me my seatbelt. How thoughtful. Except on a few occasions it would fail to catch the belt and greet me empty handed. Brushed aluminum accents and red stitching dot the coarse leather landscape. Almost everything electronic is controlled using BMWs iDrive user interface system comprised of a controller in the shape of dial and the freestanding monitor jutting out from the top of the dashboard. You can load up Google via a 3G connection to research points of interest. Even the user manual is viewed from the screen, a brilliant idea since I found myself much more motivated to look up something than if it was a traditional four-inch thick book. If twisting a knob to input text is bothersome, drivers can try writing out letters on top of the controller that acts like the touchpad on a laptop.
The Drive
The 428i has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 240 horsepower that doesn’t sound like much on paper, but it’s enough to get the coupe from zero to 100 kilometres-per-hour in 5.7 seconds. I watched the rapidly rising speed on the high-res colour HUD that appeared to float in front of my eyes, and it even flashed a warning that the temperature fell below 3 degrees. A button near the gear lever allows the driver to scroll through several modes from Eco Pro that alters fuel mapping and other inputs to achieve better mileage to Sport+ that does the exact opposite and disables traction control for more tail-happy fun (disclaimer: recommended for professionals on a closed course).
The only annoyance is that the computer won’t remember which setting you were in last, and defaults to the standard Comfort setting each time you start the vehicle. Our 4 series had the optional eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. Gear shift points will change depending on which mode you’re in, and in the Sport or Sport+ modes the shifts are remarkably quick and vicious. The suspension feel is also variable and is quite soft and tolerable under the regular setting.
For BMW’s new sport coupe, the comfortable ride is as unexpected as the thrifty fuel economy (automatic: 8.7 L/100 km city, 5.4 highway). During our week of testing we observed a 10.6 L/100 km in mixed conditions. The 428i starts at MSRP $44,900, $49,000 if you want the xDrive variant.
