AURORA | BMW is the type of automaker that doesn’t like to be outdone.
That much is evident by the automaker’s past efforts. Beginning with the 3-series, a car that first defined then dominated the entry-level luxury market, the Munich-based company has made an effort to be one better than their rivals. Insert your own Spinal Tap joke wherever you like.
Therefore, the new 2014 BMW 4-series would follow the same idea. Split off from the 3-series a year ago, the 4-series carries the banner of being the nameplate to festoon its small coupes. (Although the lines are a little blurrier now after the 4-series Gran Coupe was announced last month, a four-door variant of its coupe.) It’s roughly the same length, the same width and only 2 inches shorter. The two engine options are the same, and so is the powertrain.
The split, on paper, is somewhat of a head-scratcher then. Before 2012, the 3-series coupe was an attractive pick for well-healed buyers willing to shed two doors for a sleeker body. The name had international recognition as being among the best and, as near as I could tell, no one complained about the coupe having the same name as one of the world-beaters of compact cars. Call it Anderson Cooper syndrome.
I suspect then it was a money decision, like most car decisions are these days. The base 4-series starts at $5,600 more than a base 3-series, up $2,650 from only 3 years ago. Starting at more than $40,000, the 2014 4-series isn’t entry luxury any longer — it’s just luxury, period.
Messing with success only works if it makes sense and that’s awfully hard to quantify.
First, indulge me with details. Like the 3-series, the 4-series comes in two distinct, fully different flavors. The 428i is equipped with BMW’s relatively new four-cylinder turbo engine. Under the hood, that engine produces 241 horsepower and is plenty adequate. The 435i, like our tester, is the model to covet, even though it comes at a $5,500 premium over the smaller motor. That mill, which BMW has used for years, is a twin-scroll turbo inline six-cylinder that produces 302 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. How do you like hyperbole? That turbo six is the ninth wonder of the world.
The eighth wonder may as well be that BMW is still willing to match coupes with proper 6-speed manual transmissions with 50 percent more pedals and 100 percent more fun. An 8-speed automatic is available for both if you’re the type of person who prefers their fun crushed. All-wheel drive is available in all configurations and will add $2,000 to the bottom line.
If you’re following me here, you’re noticing a trend already. Almost alarmingly, the 4-series will blow the doors off of $50,000 like it will other cars off the line. A well-equipped coupe will run the median household income without batting much of an eye. Don’t shoot the messenger please.
But the bigger question here is whether the 2014 BMW 4-series is worth it. It becomes even bigger when one considers that the 3-series it is based on isn’t my favorite either.
First, it’s in the details. The 4-series maintains the nearly perfect 50/50 weight distribution that the 3-series has, despite having two fewer doors. The chassis in the 4-series is just as rigid and the lower height gives the 4-series the lowest center of gravity of any BMW in the lineup. That translates into lower body roll in cornering and a planted feel on the road. Sharper tuning and anti-roll bars are just stupid fun.
Inside the 4-series is just better. The cabin is more spacious, the navigation and electronics are more refined and the air is cleaner and my teeth are whiter. I’m sorry, it’s just better. Despite it’s longer length over other generations, the current 3-series/4-series platform is perfect for just two people. Have passengers? Can you afford this? I bet you can spring for cab fare.
The 4-series behaves like BMWs should: sharp and tight. Turn in is quick, and when shod with summer tires like our test car was, grip lasts for days. It is worth noting that you might not feel it completely, however. Like most newer cars, and almost every other BMW nowadays, the 2014 4-series has electronic power-assisted steering, which replaces hydraulically assisted steering.
The net effect of removing steering from the accessory belt is a small bump in fuel economy and a big drop in steering feel. Admittedly, automakers are getting better in formulating better electronics to return some of the road back to the wheel, but BMW and others just aren’t there yet. Call me a codger, but there’s a satisfaction of feeling the road beneath your mitts on a steering wheel. Would you complain if the steak you ordered was pre-cut?
The sum effect is that the separation of the 3- and 4-series may not have been a money decision alone. Despite a heftier price tag, the interior and looks of the 4-series makes the coupe a runaway winner this year, when before it only edged the 3-series by a nose.
BMW has outdone themselves this time, because the 4-series is one better than the 3-series now.
Aaron Cole is managing editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at acole@aurorasentinel.com