2014 BMW 435i: Is 4 the New 3? - Ignition Ep. 79 - video Dailymotion

MotorTrend

On this episode of Ignition

Transcript

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)

2014 BMW 435i: Is 4 the New 3? - Ignition Ep. 79

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