By Otsile Kadiege

BMW South Africa will be officially launching the second generation BMW 4 Series this week and we have the details.

Exterior design

Sporting a peculiar snout flanked by standard LED headlights or optional Adaptive LED headlights with BMW Laserlight, the new 4 Series caused an uproar when it was officially unveiled a few months ago. Yes, the kidney grille is large but looks are a subjective matter. That said, we had an up-close look at the new 4 Series and we think it is not as obtrusive as we initially thought it would look. The rest of the car is very appealing thanks to clean surfaces and standard stylish darkened LED taillights. For those looking to make their 4 Series look much sportier, M Performance parts are immediately available.

It sits 21 mm lower, it has a 23 mm wider rear-axle track than the current 3 Series, and a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Available as optional extras are the M Sport suspension, anti-roll bars, additional body struts, mounts, Adaptive M suspension with electronically controlled dampers, M Sport brakes and an M Sport differential with fully variable locking function in the rear differential will improve the new 4 Series driving experience.

A few driver assistance systems include front collision warning with brake input, lane departure warning with steering assistance, speed limit info and a head-up display with a larger projection.

Interior design

Its interior build quality and attention to detail is superb. There is a 10.23-inch touchscreen infotainment running the latest iDrive 7, which now features both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is optional.

What models are we getting?

The new BMW 4 Series coupe consists of three models, the rear-wheel drive 420i, 420d and the all-wheel drive M440i xDrive. With standard package, the 420i and 420d are priced from R755,400 and R802,900 respectively. The range-topping M440i xDrive is priced from R1,117,450.