By Staff reporter

Launched in 2013, the 4 Series has cemented its own following and asserted its individuality within the BW stable. There is no mistaking it for the 3 Series that it share a lot with. This will be particularly true with the new generation. There will be no mistaking it for the 4 Series – this is partly thanks to the new vertical kidney grille design. Looked from the side and from the back, the new 4 Series also looks more like a smaller version of the 8 Series than a coupe version of the 3 Series.

Exterior

In terms of dimensions, length, width and the wheelbase have all increased. Vehicle height is up by just 6 mm, to 1,383 millimetres, making the car 57 millimetres lower than the new BMW 3 Series Sedan. Its tracks have increased in width over the previous-generation model’s – by 28 millimetres at the front and 18 millimetres at the rear – and are also 23 millimetres wider than those of the latest BMW 3 Series Sedan.

In terms of looks, the grille stretches to the lower end of the apron, and is shared with BMW icons such as the BMW 328 and BMW 3.0 CSi. Full-LED headlights enjoy their own unique design and are offered as standard, while Adaptive LED Headlights with BMW Laserlight are available as an option.

The rear is dominated by slim and stylishly darkened full-LED rear lights.

Interior

The interior of the new BMW 4 Series follows the design of the latest BMWs. Sports seats and a newly designed sports leather steering wheel come as standard. The system gets the latest BMW Operating System 7 which enables individual and personalised screens on the Control Display and instrument cluster, plus use of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant. The new, cloud-based BMW Maps navigation system is included as standard, and so are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Safety

The new 4 Series will come with significantly more driver assistance systems than before. Front collision warning with brake input and Lane Departure Warning with lane return by means of steering assistance will now come as standard, so will Speed Limit Info. The optional Driving Assistant Professional now includes features such as Steering and Lane Control Assistant with new Active Navigation and the automatic formation of emergency lane function.

Engine

BMW says sales begin with five model variants which will all employ an eight-speed Steptronic transmission. The BMW M440i xDrive Coupe with a 275 kW/500 Nm six-cylinder in-line petrol engine will headline the range. It will be capable of achieving the 0 – 100 km/h sprint in 4.5 seconds, 0,1 seconds slower than the M340i Sedan. The range will also include two four-cylinder petrol engines and a four-cylinder diesel unit. Two six-cylinder in-line diesel engines will join the line-up in March 2021.

The six-cylinder in-line-petrol engine and all diesel engines will benefit from mild hybrid technology with a 48V starter-generator boosting the combustion engines with an extra 8 kW. All diesel engines now have two-stage turbocharging.

The rest of the range looks like this:

• four-cylinder petrol 420i and 430i Coupe with 135 kW/300 Nm and 190 kW and 400 Nm. The 420i will do 0 – 100 km/h in 7,5 seconds whereas the 430i will do the same sprint in 5,8 seconds;
• four-cylinder diesel 420d Coupe with 140 kW and 400 Nm. It will be capable of achieving the 0 – 100 km/h sprint in 7,1 seconds;
• six-cylinder 430d xDrive Coupe and 430d xDrive Coupe with 210 kW/650 Nm and 250 kW and 700 Nm. The 430d will do 0 – 100 km/h in 5,2 seconds whereas the 440d will do the same sprint in 4,7 seconds.

SA is due to get the 420i, M440i xDrive and 420d. The 4 Series is due in Mzansi in the fourth quarter of 2020.