Concept
The 4-Series and its derivatives do bring in some money. Reason enough for BMW to continue knitting the very first generation. Certainly as a Gran Coupé, since that sporty five-door accounted for 50 percent of the turnover. A derivative for which BMW has now opened some more registers. It no longer wants to fall into the trap where the previous Gran Coupé got stuck, namely that it was a somewhat sportier 3 Series.
The Germans circumvented that risk by assigning a specific setup to the CLAR platform, just as is the case for the 4 Series Coupé and Cabrio. A chassis that, just to be clear, is still shared with the 3 Series. However, that modular substructure comes with a lot of play, which means that Munich has different settings for steering wheel, shock absorbers, springs and differential (if that was ordered additionally) depending on the engine (with four or six cylinders) and the drive (rear or four-wheel drive). . Part of the secret is also in the chassis, where a mix of different materials helps to reduce weight while increasing rigidity.
Specifically for the Gran Coupé, this means that the balance leans significantly more towards dynamics than is the case with the tuning of the 3 Series saloon and Touring, but that the MacPhersons at the front and the multi-arm axle at the rear simultaneously provide more comfortable damping than in the 4-Series Coupé. . The Germans call it ‘long-distance sportsmanship’.
Therein lies the greatest added value of the new 4 Gran Coupé: that it, despite its more practical nature, still manages to offer the necessary driving pleasure. Because the greater deployability is of course the main reason why most of the potential is tacked on for this five-door.
At 4.78 meters in length, 1.85 meters in width and 1.44 meters in height, the Gran Coupé is 14.3 centimeters longer, 2.7 centimeters wider and 5.3 centimeters higher than its predecessor. It is also wider on its legs – 5 centimeters at the front and 2.9 centimeters at the rear respectively – which makes it not only tougher, but which suddenly partly explains why it is so much sportier than the previous Gran Coupé.
The wheelbase also grew, by 4.6 centimeters to be exact. Additional space that fully benefits the rear passengers. That is to say, their legs. Due to the diving roof style, there is still no surplus for their heads, so that everyone taller than 1.80 meters or more will have to sink or will have to move to a place in the front.
In terms of trunk volume, the Gran Coupé now comes with 370 liters behind the rear seat, which is about 39 liters more than before. Unfortunately, the same comment applies here, namely that the steeply sloping peak – due to the associated stacking difficulties – actually negates the extra stowage space.
Driving behaviour
Before we specifically highlight the capabilities of the M440i, let’s first take a look at this service announcement. We also drove a 420i with standard shock absorbers (which are stroke dependent and therefore more or less dampened depending on the degree to which they are pressed). An experience that leads to a very important remark. Namely that you should avoid the M Sport suspension like the plague, unless you combine it with the adaptive dampers.
How is that certainty so certain? Well, the 420i bounced off quite a bit on short bumps, while the M440i provided a sophisticated balance. Even in the Sport setting of the Driving Experience Control. Which, given the sturdy 19-inchers (245/40) of the M440i and also its M Sport chassis, is very neat. All so due to the steered tappets that come as standard when you order this M Performance.
The same applies to that phenomenal 3-litre six-in-line. One hell of a turbo petrol that hasn’t lost anything of its grinta and grol. We would be lying, you are no longer allowed to bark freely in 2021, even if you wear an M in your title. Although BMW has (partly) solved that by – in addition to the M Sport exhaust – also some rumble from the speakers.
The Germans also did some minor scuffing on the block itself in an effort to improve both performance and efficiency. As for the first: with 374 hp and 500 Nm, the zespitter has improved by a good 50 hp and Nm. The 0 to 100 km/h is therefore run in 4.7 seconds. So it’s a good thing that this 4 Gran Coupé is kept up to date.
His thirst then. The M440i comes as a mild hybrid, which includes as much as a 48-volt battery that provides just enough power to expand the range of tasks of the boosted starter-generator. However, do not expect miracles: the electrical assistance does not get much more than a few tenths. If you already burn candles, do it so that you can reach the WLTP average of 8 liters per 100 km. That in itself would be a serious achievement.
Not that it actually matters much, we assume that you know that an M440i is not the most economical of the family. The fact that we mention it anyway has to do with the general approach. long distance sportsmanship, remember?
Verdict
BMW sent its 4 Gran Coupé further away from the 3 Series, so that the five-door can now be seen as a range addition. The M440i xDrive therefore drives significantly sportier than its 3rd counterpart, so that functional movements suddenly get an even more pleasant undertone.
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