2014 BMW 435i: Is 4 the New 3? - Ignition Ep. 79
On this episode of Ignition
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:04 Welcome to Portugal, where BMW has invited us to drive this.
00:08 It may look like a 3 Series coupe, but it's not.
00:10 It's the 4 Series, which, of course, means it's one better.
00:14 Now, it's still based on a 3 Series,
00:16 so you get the same engine and transmission options
00:18 and a very similar looking interior.
00:20 But they've changed the exterior by widening it and lowering it
00:23 quite a bit.
00:24 Now, we can debate the merits of the name change, and we will.
00:27 But first, let's find out how it drives.
00:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:34 Welcome to Portugal, in a city called, we think,
00:45 Cascade or Cascai.
00:48 This is the 435i, which, like the 335i,
00:52 has a single turbo straight six.
00:54 Makes a little bit above 300 horsepower.
00:56 We have an eight-speed automatic,
00:58 setting the power to the rear wheels, of course.
01:00 We have an open differential, and we have run flats.
01:04 I don't know if enough good things have
01:06 been said about this powertrain combination, this engine
01:09 and this transmission.
01:10 This single turbo six cylinder that's
01:13 been in the 335 for a while now, it's a wonderful engine.
01:16 And the eight-speed automatic we have here is very nice, too.
01:20 Very fast shifts.
01:21 Gives you very good control of the engine.
01:23 You have a lot of power everywhere.
01:25 And you never really get the sensation of turbo lag.
01:28 It just feels like as soon as you get into the throttle,
01:30 you have pretty much all the torque you could want.
01:32 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:35 Yep, 4 Series still has it.
01:38 There's good control through the steering, good clarity
01:40 through the inputs and the responses they provide you.
01:44 There's actually more mechanical connections
01:46 between the subframe and the rest of the car
01:48 to improve the steering feel.
01:50 They've actually recalibrated, too, quite a bit.
01:53 Of course, the steering changes between the different modes,
01:56 Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus.
01:59 And I prefer the steering the most in Sport Plus.
02:02 The downside of that is when you put it in Sport Plus,
02:05 then you have the super sharp throttle.
02:07 And because we have adjustable dampers on this car,
02:09 you have the stiff ride.
02:10 I'm not a fan of those things when I'm just cruising.
02:13 But I do like the steering.
02:14 I wish there was a way to custom tailor that mode
02:18 in the Comfort setting.
02:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:22 [CAR ENGINE]
02:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:29 According to BMW, there are some changes to this car
02:33 that they've made to try to differentiate it
02:35 more from the 3 Series.
02:37 For example, the gap between Comfort and Sport settings
02:41 is bigger in this car than it is in the 3 Series.
02:44 They want this car to be sportier and more aggressive.
02:47 It does feel slightly lower and slightly wider.
02:51 There is definitely a sense of width
02:53 as you push this thing along a road.
02:55 It looks pretty cool because of it, especially
02:58 from the rear 3/4.
03:00 Those fender flares look very, very big.
03:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:06 This car is fortunately lighter than the outgoing 3 Series
03:10 coupe.
03:10 And it's about the same weight as the comparable 3 Series
03:14 sedan.
03:15 Ahead of the front wheels is the air current system
03:17 we first saw on the 1M.
03:19 And that's attempting to draw air over the wheels in a way
03:21 that also reduces drag.
03:23 The result is a shape and a car that has a coefficient
03:27 of drag of 0.28.
03:28 It's pretty low.
03:31 So now the interior.
03:33 It looks pretty much like a 3 Series.
03:36 And that's kind of disappointing.
03:38 Not because I don't like the 3 Series interior.
03:40 I do.
03:41 And it works really well.
03:42 It's very ergonomic and easy to use.
03:44 But if you're going to change the personality of the car
03:46 and change the name because you've
03:48 changed the personality of the car,
03:50 you should probably change the interior too, I think.
03:52 How do I feel about the styling?
03:57 I like it in parts.
03:58 But I don't like it in other parts.
04:00 So the fascia, the lower front end,
04:03 kind of looks weird with the air intakes pushed out
04:05 to the very edge and the black trim around the side.
04:09 We're in the sport trim, of course.
04:11 And it has black moldings and whatnot all around the car.
04:14 That gives it a little bit of an edge.
04:16 I think the best angle of this car
04:17 is definitely the rear 3/4.
04:19 That way you see the width.
04:20 You see the taillights.
04:22 There's a part of it that feels kind of generic to me.
04:24 But then there's a part that also looks very 3 Series coupe
04:29 or 4 Series coupe.
04:30 But now let's get to the more philosophical side
04:43 of the question.
04:44 That is, why the 4 Series?
04:46 Why not just keep it a 3 Series coupe?
04:49 And I'll give you BMW's explanation,
04:51 or at least my understanding of BMW's explanation.
04:54 That is, the 3 Series, while it has a lot of brand equity
04:59 associated with it, it now has a lot of models
05:02 associated with it too.
05:03 There's the 3 Series.
05:04 There's the sedan.
05:05 There's a 3 Series wagon.
05:06 There will be the 3 Series Grand Touring or GT.
05:10 For some reason, BMW thinks that having a coupe
05:14 might be too many variants under the 3 Series tent post,
05:19 which, OK, that's fine.
05:21 And if I don't sound convinced it's because I'm not,
05:23 I think you could keep the 3 Series coupe name
05:26 and it would be fine.
05:27 I think people would understand that.
05:29 And you have a lot of brand equity associated with that.
05:31 But then again, a name's a name.
05:33 And as weird as saying M4 or 435 may be,
05:38 I think you can get over it pretty quickly.
05:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:43 While these roads in Portugal are very, very scenic,
05:48 they are also highly trafficked.
05:50 So later we're going to have to go to a racetrack
05:52 and see how this thing performs at its limit.
05:55 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:58 So now we take the first few laps on Estoril in the 435i
06:06 coupe.
06:07 This definitely isn't a car you would take to a racetrack.
06:10 But this should give us the opportunity to experience
06:12 this car at its limit.
06:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:17 This turbo six cylinder remains a very strong engine,
06:24 broad power band.
06:26 And it seems to pull to redline a little bit more strongly
06:31 than I remember it doing in previous 335s.
06:34 There is a fair amount of understeer,
06:38 especially if you go into a corner a little bit faster
06:41 than the car wants you to.
06:44 We're in sport plus mode with traction stability control off.
06:47 And there is a lot of traction.
06:51 On throttle corner exit, you can ask a lot from these rear tires.
06:55 And they don't seem to want to spin or push.
06:59 The open diff will let one wheel go
07:00 if you get too aggressive with it.
07:02 That might be what's adding to the stability.
07:05 The more I drive this eight speed, the more I like it.
07:08 It shifts very fast, very responsive.
07:11 Now we're getting just the slightest, slightest amount
07:13 of oversteer.
07:14 I'm really impressed by the amount of forward traction
07:16 this car has.
07:17 The confidence it gives you on corner exit is pretty massive.
07:21 It's fairly easy to reach this car's potential.
07:25 Hear those front tires howl.
07:27 Woo!
07:32 BMW is pretty proud of the fact that this
07:34 has the lowest center of gravity of its lineup.
07:37 They've also made quite a few changes in terms of size,
07:40 especially the rear track being so wide.
07:42 But versus the 3 Series, you'd probably
07:45 have to drive the two back to back to notice the difference.
07:48 So now we begin our cool down lap.
07:56 Let's talk about what we've learned
07:57 about the 4 Series on the track at the limit.
08:00 It isn't the most exciting car at the limit,
08:03 but it is composed and it doesn't feel limiting.
08:06 For a luxury coupe, though, for a car that, let's face it,
08:08 will seldom see a racetrack, actually
08:11 arrive at a racetrack, it is very well sorted.
08:13 It feels nicely weighted in this Sport Plus mode.
08:15 I feel like I have a lot of control through it.
08:18 It communicates clearly when it starts understeering.
08:21 You know that for certain.
08:22 There's no guesswork involved.
08:24 The powertrain is very, very nice.
08:27 It feels very flexible.
08:28 Gear changes happen very quickly,
08:30 seemingly at the level of a twin-clutch transmission.
08:32 Downshifts are very accurate, very responsive, very quick.
08:36 The torque from this turbo straight six is very nice.
08:41 The power seems to last throughout the rev band.
08:43 Braking power felt fine.
08:44 Felt basically like what you would
08:47 expect from this type of car.
08:49 For a luxury-oriented coupe that has sporting pretensions,
08:53 it seems to be just right.
08:54 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:58 Controversial name change aside, the 4 Series
09:01 isn't too surprising.
09:03 It manages to deliver on the strengths of the 3 Series,
09:06 offering refinement in the kind of speed
09:07 that makes for a gratifying experience around town,
09:10 while it allows BMW to make the car appear
09:12 more special to its buyers.
09:15 It also opens the door to new variants as well.
09:17 A four-door grand coupe is certainly in the future.
09:20 And yet, saying M4 does and will sound weird for some time,
09:25 though it makes you wonder, what's in a name anyway?
09:29 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:48 (dramatic music)