The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is a really good looking car. Phew, it feels good to get that off my chest!
Sure, the grille is still a bit much from some angles, but BMW has the proportions of bigger Gran Coupe models sorted. With a pinched waistline, sloping tailgate, and long bonnet, it has heaps more presence than the conceptually similar 3 Series sedan.
Sure, the 3er and 4er share engines, but it’s easy to understand why you’d pay the extra money for the more style-oriented family hauler. That isn’t always a given with Gran Coupe models.
At the top of the range, the 8 Series Gran Coupe is a dramatic-looking bruiser with space for the whole family. It’s an interesting alternative to the 5 Series, and shows the formula can work.
When it doesn’t work, you end up with the 2 Series Gran Coupe. It’s an awkward, underwhelming front-drive rival to the Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan. It’s not the strongest example of the breed.
Where does the 4 Series Gran Coupe fall?
How much does the BMW 4 Series cost?
Although its base price is $83,900 before on-road costs, our tester had a sticker of $93,550 before on-roads due to the addition of the Vision Package ($5800) and its Tanzanite Blue Metallic paint ($3850).
The closest rival to the 4 Series Gran Coupe is the Audi A5 Sportback. The 45 TFSI quattro S line is the closest match for the 430i, and has a list price of $81,100 before on-road costs.
Internally, the 430i shares its engine with the 330i. You pay more in the name of fashion; the 4 Series Gran Coupe is $4000 more expensive than the equivalent sedan.
2022 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe pricing:
- 2022 BMW 420i Gran Coupe: $75,900
- 2022 BMW 430i Gran Coupe: $83,900
- 2022 BMW M440i xDrive Gran Coupe: $115,900
All prices exclude on-road costs
What do you get?
430i Gran Coupe highlights:
- Adaptive M suspension
- Keyless entry
- M Sport brakes
- Driving Assistant Professional
- Parking Assistant Plus
- Leather seat trim
That comes atop the following, which comes standard on the 420i:
- M Sport package
- M Sport suspension
- 19-inch alloy wheels
- Sport seats (front)
- Alcantara and faux leather seat trim
- Head-up display
- Parking sensors
- Reversing camera, reversing assistant
- LED headlights with high-beam assist
- Powered tailgate
- Powered front seats
- Ambient lighting
- 12.3-inch digital driver’s display
- 10.25-inch infotainment system
- Satellite navigation
- Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
- 10-speaker sound system
- Wireless phone charging
A range of options are available, starting with the Visibility Package ($5800). It brings:
- Power sunroof
- Laser headlights
- High-beam assist
The Comfort Package ($1500) brings:
- Heated steering wheel
- Keyless entry
- Lumbar support
- Heated front and rear seats
The Executive Package ($3600) brings:
- Remote engine start
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Alarm system
- Sun protection glazing
- harman/kardon sound system
- BMW Drive Recorder
- BMW Gesture Control
Is the BMW 4 Series safe?
The 4 Series hasn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP or ANCAP, but the related 3 Series scored five stars when it was tested in 2019.
It scored 97 per cent for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child occupant protection, 87 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 77 per cent for safety assist.
Standard safety equipment across the 4 Series range includes:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Forward collision warning
- Lane departure warning
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Rear collision prevention
Vehicles with the Driving Assistant Professional or Plus package gain:
- Adaptive cruise with stop/go
- Lane-keep assist
- Evasion aid
- Front cross-traffic alert
What is the BMW 4 Series like on the inside?
If you’ve sat in a modern BMW, the front of the 4 Series Gran Coupe will be familiar to you.
The dashboard is dominated by a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment screen and 12.3-inch digital instrument display, and the general style of the cabin is angular and modern. Yes, the gloss black trim on the transmission tunnel is annoying, but it’s a good looking and solidly assembled place to spend time.
BMW always gets the fundamentals right. It feels as though you don’t sit quite as low in the Gran Coupe as you do in the 3 Series sedan (although that might be down to the sunroof and pinched glasshouse), but the front seats are still some of the best in the business.
They balance bolstering with all-day comfort, and are heated for good measure. Tall or short drivers will be able to get comfortable behind the wheel, and over-the-shoulder vision is surprisingly good given the car’s profile. The blind-spot monitor is handy at awkward junctions, too.
BMW has its in-car technology mostly nailed. The iDrive 7.0 software running on the central display can be controlled using Hey BMW voice prompts, touch inputs, and a rotary controller on the transmission tunnel. It sounds confusing, but each is useful at different times.
The screen itself is crystal clear, and it responds quickly to inputs. The learning curve is shallow, and it offers all the functionality you’d expect of an $80,000 luxury car.
You also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which means you can bypass the native navigation and use Apple or Google maps, and more easily access podcasts on the move.
The digital driver’s display is less excellent. It’s visually busy, and doesn’t have the same range of layout options you get in Audi’s excellent Virtual Cockpit, although you still get all the information you need about speed, revs, and trip.
Storage space is excellent, between the wireless phone charger and cupholders beneath the dashboard, the underarm storage bin, and the deep door pockets. If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because we said the same thing about the 3er. Both cars are identical up front, save for the shape of the animated car in the infotainment system.
Rear seat space has taken a hit compared to the 3 Series. Legroom is similar in the 3er and 4er – although the 4er isn’t quite as spacious back there. Adults still have space behind normal-sized adults, and kids won’t struggle to get comfortable.
With air vents, dual USB-C ports, a fold-down central armrest, and proper climate controls back there, they also have plenty of things to fiddle with.
Where the 4er Gran Coupe lags behind the 3 Series is in headroom. The sloping roofline means adults will have their heads wedged into the roof lining, while the door opening itself means you need to stoop and squeeze to actually get in.
Although it’s not quite as bad as the 8 Series Gran Coupe with its pronounced transmission tunnel, middle passengers are perched on an awkward, narrow cushion, and still need to straddle the transmission tunnel. The 3 Series is better if you want to carry three people side-by-side.
The sloping roofline and hatchback tailgate pay dividends if you want to carry golf clubs, bikes, or awkwardly-shaped items. Claimed boot space is 470 litres with the rear seats in place, expanding to 1290L with the 40/20/40 rear bench folded flat.
Although on paper that’s actually down 10 litres on what you get in the 3 Series sedan, the massive boot opening and broad, flat floor in the 4 Series Gran Coupe makes it a better vehicle for lugging a load.
What’s under the bonnet?
The BMW 430i is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, sending power to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.
It has 190kW of power and 400Nm of torque, good for a claimed 100km/h sprint time of 6.2 seconds.
Claimed fuel economy is 6.6 litres per 100km, though we saw 7.8L/100km on a week skewed towards city driving (but with holiday levels of traffic).
The fuel tank holds 59 litres, and the car drinks 95 RON premium unleaded.
How does the BMW 4 Series drive?
Driven a 3 Series? The 4 Series Gran Coupe will instantly feel familiar.
That means it’s a talented all-rounder, with power from a smooth-moving turbocharged engine.
The turbo four-cylinder is buttery smooth off the mark, and pulls strongly through the mid-range. You can lean on it in essentially any gear and it just gets up and goes, with a more muscular feeling than you’d expect from a 2.0-litre hauling 1650kg worth of German luxury four-door coupe around.
There’s fun to be had hanging onto gears as well. It doesn’t really rip through the upper reaches of the rev counter, but the engine never really runs out of puff either.
The eight-speed ZF automatic is unobtrusive, shuffling smartly through the gears. Squeeze the accelerator hard and it kicks down quickly, dropping you right into the meat of the engine’s torque – and responses to the paddles on the back of the steering wheel are snappy.
There’s no doubt the 430i is the smart pick, but it’s hard not to want the extra muscle from the M440i xDrive and its 3.0-litre inline-six. The Gran Coupe isn’t a purely rational purchase; the fact it’s essentially a style-focused 3 Series means more might really be more here.
The ride is generally good in the 4 Series, provided you keep the adaptive dampers in Comfort Mode. It keeps big bumps out of the cabin well, although sharper potholes sneak past its defences and slap into the cabin at times.
On the plus side, that occasionally sharp ride translates to impressive body control. There’s very little body roll in Comfort Mode, and flicking into Sport tightens things up further.
The Gran Coupe doesn’t feel particularly lively – it’s a big car, and there’s not much chatter from the chubby steering wheel – but it can be hustled along at pace without falling apart.
Despite the sportier 4 Series badge, the Gran Coupe actually feels more like a grown-up grand tourer than the related 3 Series sedan.
Wind and road noise are well suppressed at highway speeds, and the suite of driver assists (the 430i gets adaptive cruise as standard at the moment, unlike the chip-crunched 3 Series) make long trips a breeze. BMW’s steering assist is one of the smoother systems out there, but the fact you can easily turn it off is also a win.
Over-the-shoulder vision is surprisingly good for a sloping-backed sedan like this, although the blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert still come in handy. With a full range of cameras, parking assistants, and sensors, there’s no excuse for scraped wheels and dinged bumpers in the city.
How much does the BMW 4 Series cost to run?
The 4 Series Gran Coupe is backed by a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.
Maintenance is managed by a range of sensors in the car, which alert the driver when servicing is required. Two service packages are available.
You can purchase a five-year/80,000km service package for $1565, or pay $4110 for an expanded Plus package that covers additional consumables such as brake pads and discs, wipers, and clutch disc/plate.
CarExpert’s Take on the BMW 430i Gran Coupe
BMW might be hit and miss with the Gran Coupe formula, but the 4 Series is a winner.
It packages all that’s good about the 3 Series – its ride and handling balance, and its punchy engines – in a more dramatic body, and offers a meaningful improvement in carrying capacity thanks to its hatchback tailgate.
Yes, it’s not as spacious in the rear, but those back seats are still usable if you’re carrying kids around.
Choose your model wisely before ordering, though. The 430i is significantly cheaper than the M440i xDrive, and offers more than enough power for day-to-day driving… but the idea of the more muscular engine in the M440i is appealing.
Either way, BMW has hit the right notes with the 4 Series Gran Coupe.
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MORE: Everything BMW 4 Series
