BMW's first generation 4 Series Gran Coupe proved to be quite a hit worldwide, it was a car that we didn't realise we needed. A niche between a family sedan and a coupe, looking sleek and elegant while still being practical and comfortable for more than 3 people. Fast forward to today, where BMW has launched their second generation 4 Series Gran Coupe, much remains the same in its purposes and boy does it look good! The new four-door coupe captures the imagination with its noticeably enhanced driving dynamics, a sharper design following the BMW brand's new design language, a refined premium feel for its interior and a host of innovations in the areas of operation and connectivity.
While the BMW press release is long and filled with a lot of information, the key aspects from it are that the car basically comes with everything the current 4 Series has but with added space. The main area is the overall length which is now 4,7 meters long and the luggage space being 470 litres with the option to drop the seats which extends loading capacity to 1,290 litres. The rear seats have a 40:20:40 split, providing the user with the option of dropping just the middle or either side seats for their convenience.
Engine wise, the new 4 Series Gran Coupe will be getting the same engines as the coupe, but BMW has made mention that a performance version of the new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe courtesy of BMW M will be available from the cars market launch, my guess this will be the M440i xDrive, as I highly doubt BMW will be making an M4 Gran Coupe. What I'm keen to see is the all electric version of the car, the i4 which BMW SA still haven't confirmed if we will be receiving locally, it will be built on the same production line as the new 4 Series GC.
The new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is striking in every way you look at it, it is just as elegant as its predecessor and with the bold new lines from the new 4 Series and the large kidney grilles just enhance the esthetics of the car and its overall presence. I cannot wait to see this in the metal as the 4 Series GC is my favourite model from the German brand, pity we have to wait a bit to get details on the local availability and pricing of the car.
Yesterday at the 68th annual Frankfurt Motorshow saw BMW unveil their Concept 4 which their upcoming 4 Series model line up will be heavily based on. IAA being one of the biggest motor shows on the European continent, and with it being in Germany serves as the ideal platform for German brands to flaunt their latest ideas and models. On Monday we saw VW and Audi flaunt their showcase, with the show stopping RS7 being unveiled and VW's electric model ID.3. With BMW eager to get the crowds just excited, they could not have chose a better model to do it with, the Concept 4 is simply stunning, the design harks back to BMW racing legends in the past, molded by heritage and sculpted by the future. It's sharp angles and straight lines give it that racing stance which is required on a sports coupe but still maintains that level of elegance that BMW somehow always achieve.
The high door line gives the overall vehicle a sleek look and with the sides flaring to the wheel arches adds bulk to the waist of the car. The roof is more sloped than what we're used to with BMW Coupes and the elegant window line outlined in metal give the car added dimension. However, the major talking point about this car is the rather large vertical kidney grilles, personally I think it works well with the car. As mentioned before, the design draws lots of inspiration from BMW's of the past and if you look at the 3.0 CSL, the 2002 GT, all had vertical kidney grille's, granted not as large but vertical none the less. It's the not the first time we're seeing massive grille's from BMW and it's a sign of the direction their design language is heading. I don't see why many are making it a big issue, other manufacturers also have large grilles on their cars but don't get as much flack, in fact, the likes of Lexus are applauded for it.
Anyway, Adrian van Hooydonk, who is the senior Vice President of the BMW Group Design says "The BMW Concept 4 embodies the aesthetic essence of the BMW brand. It combines perfect proportions with clear and precise design." BMW say that up to 85% of what we see in the Concept 4 will be what the production model 4 Series will look like, and I love it, I hope they keep the flares that adorn the sides which have carbon moldings that are in a shape of a 4. No imagines of the interior has been shown as yet but it should be very similar to the 3 Series. Overall the Concept 4 is a very exciting model and hearing that significant amount will be kept for the next generation 4 Series does excite many.
From a person that never saw the point of a Gran Coupe when it was first released to someone who swears its the best possible form of car on the market now, one can only imagine how eagerly I was awaiting my chance to test the revised BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. Having attended the launch a few months back and getting the opportunity to thrash it around some of the twisty testing roads that Mpumalanga had to offer, it already showcased some great attributes but I needed to spend more time with it, figure out what makes this revised model so much more special than the original. BMW spent a lot of time expressing how with this new model, that Four Means More, and having looked at market trends from buys of the 4 Series, scrutinizing everything from what engine was more popular to what extras were most wanted in the cars, they could suit the revised model to what they think the buyer would want.
DESIGN
If one has to take a quick glance at the car, not much has really changed in the design of the Gran Coupe, the car has grown by millimeters here and there thanks to a redesigned chassis but it isn't easily seen with the naked eye but can be experience when inside the car. The most striking features of the revised design is the lights, both the front and back lights have seen a make-up artist and had some details and eyeliner added to them, the results are outstanding. The cars now have ditched Xenon technology and have opted for LED, with the new 4 Series coming with Bi-LED lights as standard with the option to upgrade to the Adaptive LED lights which is more evident with it's hexagonal design, which is quite prominent and give the car so much character. The 420i GC which I had on test had the standard Bi-LED head lamps which also look great. On the inside, some nice touches were added, with extra chrome detailing, give the car a more premium feel.
PERFORMANCE
The original 420i engine didn't leave much to the driver in terms of excitement or performance, the new engines that come from the 3 Series have been introduced into the 4 Series range and has made a load of difference. The engine packs quite a punch and pushes out 135kW with 290Nm of torque to get it going. The car was extremely responsive in all driving modes, Sport + is the most fun mode to drive it in but it has that usual problem of making the car extremely thirsty. Driving around in Eco Pro mode isn't as bad as it seems and I had it in this setting for most of my time. Don't expect a fast response to the throttle though as it tries to minimize high revving and long accelerations for obvious reasons, it even warns you when you're over doing it.
COMFORT
When having a look at the 4 Series, there is one thing you have to remember the car is a Coupe, the Gran Coupe is still essentially a coupe but with 4 doors. So the ride and stance of the car still remains true to its Coupe heritage. The car sits much lower than your regular sedans and this just makes thins so much more better for the driver. The passenger also gets a good kick from this as well being at this low seating position, almost makes it feel race car-ish. Seating configuration is suited for 4 people as the car does have bucket seats both in the front and back but you can seat 5. As mentioned before, BMW have given the entire line up new chassis which have been redesigned to give the driver a better driving experience, with stiffer suspension, modified dampers, updated ABS which is very evident with the shortened breaking distance. The cars boot is quite big and with the ease of the automatic tailgate makes it very easy to pack an unpack the car.
TECH
Normally when getting a test car from BMW, we used to getting a press car with loads of extras, unfortunately this time around, we were given the bare essentials if you would like. How I said earlier about BMW noticing trends in their customers? Well they chose to equip the car with the extras that were most chosen when buyers purchased their cars. So nothing fancy but still enough to get excited about. Most essentially is the professional Sat-Nav which comes with the large infotainment screen. The layout of the menu has changed and is taken from the new 5 Series with tile formats. Not entirely sure if the hand gestures package is offered in the 4 Series though. Bluetooth telephone and Audio streaming should be a norm now but BMW still has the audio streaming as an optional extra but I think that might change soon with Apple Car Play connectivity and Android Mirror screening.
VERDICT
As I said from the beginning, this derivative of the 4 Series is my favourite and there's nothing that can change my mind about it. Yes the price of the 4 Series has gone up from the last but that is why BMW was drumming in the 4 Means More tag line, essentially saying that the 4 Series has become more of a premium luxury sports coupe with it offering the customer more as standard and actually works out to their benefit. This car will definitely make my 10 car garage, simply because how it fuses practicality and sportiness in a car. There's not many sportbacks out there that can do this with so much ease and fun.
The saying goes "time flys when you're having fun" and if you're an owner of a BMW 4 Series, that's just what you would be doing every time you drive yours. It's hard to believe the range has been in assistance for 4 years now, with the Coupe being launched in mid 2013 and the Convertible and Gran Coupe joining the ranks later in 2014. Since then BMW have sold over 400,000 units worldwide with a vast majority of sales coming from the USA with Europe in second place and 5,500 coming from South Africa. From those stats, BMW were able to establish that buyers of the 4 Series bought the cars because of the aesthetics and elegance the model offered. The 4 Series was brought in by BMW to differentiate the model from the popular 3 Series, while the car did borrow many attributes from the popular sedan, it was designed to give the driver a more dynamic and sporty experience. Being at the end of it's cycle, I flew up last week to sample the updated 4 Series range which saw all three variants launch at one time. I spent the day driving the 4 Series Coupe and Gran Coupe while exploring the magnificent roads and sights of the Mpumalanga province.
So whats new? That's the question I got throughout the day on my social media accounts. Well not much has been changed in the overall look of the car but there are many subtle changes that make sense and add appeal to this already popular model. The tag line for the launch was "4 Means More" and the end user of the 4 Series is definitely getting more than before. The most striking change is the new hexagonal headlights, BMW has phased out the Xenon technology and opted for Bi-LED lights in the entire range with an option of having the Adaptive LED lights as an added extra. These lights don't just look pretty but work wonders on the road, giving the driver a further depth of sight at night and also is a much softer light for on coming drivers. The rear lights also received the LED treatment with progressive LED tech being used for them. The lights look great and add to the flow of the design and but are functional as well.
Along with these, the new 4 Series also has a sense of exclusivity to it now with two new colours that are only available for this model range, that being Snapper Rocks Blue and Sunset Orange. Both extremely striking colours and certainly bring out the sporty and aggressive nature of the car. There is also some new rims that are available only for the 4 Series, again adding that element of individuality and ensuring that every 4 Series can be custom made for each prospective buyer. Moving into the car, much has remained the same with a few extra chrome touches around the dash, giving the car a more premium feel. The 4 Series also comes standard with BMW's business Satnav screen with the option to upgrade to the bigger professional Satnav screen which features BMW's new tile menu system which was launched in the new 7 Series.
As far as cosmetics go, that is a bout it. The 4 Series range does come with the new engine variants which was phased into previous spec when the engines were introduced in 3 Series. That being the 420i, 430i, 440i and 420d and of course the much famed M4. Other performance enhancements of the 4 Series see's the car come in with a redesigned chassis, stiffer suspension, modified dampers, update ABS which gives the car a shorter breaking distance and better stability, all of which were put to the rest on my drive in both the 420d Coupe and the 420i Gran Coupe. It was had to differentiate the drives both cars gave you, as with the Gran Coupe, you not only have the extra doors but also a slight change in shape but the designers have done a brilliant job in give the driver the center of gravity, the seating position is lower, with the body being wider all adding up to more of an athletic performance and agile handling. I did feel over high speeds that the steering still remained rather loose on the Gran Coupe which is unbecoming a bit but the car proved to be stable and still jetted off in the intended direction.
Pricing on the updated 4 Series is a lot compared to the 3 Series but one has to understand that this range is vastly different and offers the end user a lot more, not just in appearance but in as a total driving package. Also whats interesting to note is that the Coupe and the Gran Coupe are priced the same, so if you're looking a for a family car but still want it to be a fun and invigorating drive, the Gran Coupe would be ideal for you. For me that is my pick out of the bunch, it's practical, stylish and offers the exact same driving dynamics as its two door brother the Coupe so in essence you're getting more from the car than what you're paying. Overall the enhancements made to the updated 4 Series should prove to be a major selling point for the model in SA and I can see this one doing very well across the variants that is offered.
The BMW 3 Series face-lift has been on the roads for little over a year now and it was only time it's two door variant received the subtle cosmetic changes as well. Yesterday BMW SA released images showing these changes to the 4 Series line up which includes the Coupe, Cabriolet and Gran Coupe. Like the 3 Series, the major changes see's a revised LED headlamp configuration as well has new design to the tail light LED's.
Engines on the 4 Series were changed with the 3 Series face-lift seeing that the models all use the same engines, it wouldn't have made sense for BMW to still continue making the older ones just for the 4 Series, so nothing has changed under the hood. As I said for the 3 Series, while these changes are subtle, they add a bit more character to the car and style. All these upgrades also transfer over to the M4 Coupe and M4 Cabriolet. I look forward to testing the new variants soon.
