2021 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe review: First and Fourmost

Singapore

THE problem with me is that I'm a selfish git, or so I've been told - not merely for a tendency to leave my trousers on the floor, but also because of my fondness for cars with only two doors.

And why not? There's a purity about cars more dedicated to fun than hauling people around, plus no one ever asks you to help them move house if you have a convertible.

But if you're less selfish than me yet still hanker for a bit of motoring glamour, BMW reckons the 4 Series Gran Coupe is up your alley. It's now on sale in Singapore, and joins the Coupe and Convertible versions of the 4 Series here, both of which have two doors.

The newcomer is a coupe by virtue of its low, sweeping roofline (the word is what the French use to describe cars with cut-down roofs), but the "Gran" part tells you it has four doors, or five if you count the tailgate. That being so, it's meant to be a marriage of fun and practicality.

It's a union that's worked well. This is only the second 4 Series Gran Coupe, but the first one was a boffo seller for BMW. 400,000 people bought them, meaning if you ascribe just S$5,000 of profit to each one, the 4 Series Gran Coupe has been a S$2 billion idea. Then there's the fact that the car did well enough to nudge BMW into making Gran Coupe versions of the 6 Series, 8 Series and 2 Series.

It's also been the most popular 4 Series variant by far. Globally, BMW sells as many of these as the Coupe and Convertible put together. Here, the Gran Coupe is even more over-represented, accounting for more than 70 per cent of 4 Series sales, which suggests that Singaporean BMW drivers are an unselfish lot after all. So much for cars with two doors, anyway.

You have three versions to choose from, with the 420i kicking things off at S$273,888 with Certificate of Entitlement, and the 430i offering more performance and equipment for S$330,888. But if you're going to spoil yourself, you might as well do it properly and plump for the M440i xDrive, which goes for S$409,888.

Granted, that's an eye-watering sum of money, but at least it buys quite a lot. The M440i has all-wheel drive, active suspension, beefed-up brakes and, to go with them all, a lovely six-cylinder engine that revs as sweetly as it sings.

In fact, the engine alone could be worth half the price. It's the kind of thing that helped to build BMW's reputation for making drivers' cars, a cultured yet hard-hitting device that seems to serve up its 374 horsepower on a silver platter.

That's enough oomph to make the M440i a speedy car that covers the sprint to 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds, but the engine also fills it with character. It's enthusiastic and smooth, plus it makes lovely noises, especially when you engage the Sport Plus driving mode and the exhaust starts to rumble and crackle like distant thunder.

It almost goes without saying that the M440i is a treat to drive, as much for the fluid way it slips through corners as for the brawny engine. It has a reinforced body to add steering precision, a high-geared steering rack to give it agility, and it has impeccable manners when you hustle it from bend to bend.

You conduct the proceedings through a needlessly thick steering wheel and surprisingly heavy steering, but it's otherwise easy to get into a groove with the M440i, everything feeling right as you dial in some steering angle or feed in some throttle.

The downside to the above is that the ride is majorly firm, so much so that the M440i never really feels settled on all but the smoothest tarmac, and good luck finding that these days.

What's unexpected about this car is how practical it is. There's room for five adults (though the middle passenger in the back has a less comfy perch than the other two), and headroom in the rear is surprisingly generous. The boot can carry 470 litres and the seats fold down to expand that to 1,290 litres, so owning a 4 Series Gran Coupe runs you the risk of having a pal call up to ask if you'll accompany him to Ikea.

In that respect, the M440i is little different from a family car, albeit a seriously rapid one. Is it worth the premium over an M340i, then? That car is a mechanical sibling that is just as fast, after all, but it's S$33,000 cheaper.

BMW would argue that both are for different audiences no matter how much they have in common under the skin. The M440i's character, and that of the other 4 Series models, supposedly speaks to outgoing people, what with the cars' striking, unmistakable vertical grille. The 4 Series Gran Coupe does come with flashy touches such as frameless doors and flush-fitted door handles, as well.

In truth, you would likely be just as happy behind the wheel of the cheaper M340i, though you would be driving something relatively nondescript. And for what it's worth, you might be in different company since the 4 Series customer has traditionally skewed younger and wealthier than the 3 Series owner.

If nothing else, the 4 Series Gran Coupe does reveal the strength and breadth of the current BMW lineup. The brand seems to have something for everyone these days, selfish gits included.

BMW M440i xDrive Gran Coupe

Engine 2,998 cc, inline 6, turbocharged Power 374 hp at 5,500-6,500rpm Torque 500 Nm at 1,900-5,000rpm Gearbox 8-speed automatic 0-100km/h 4.7 seconds Top speed 250 km/h Fuel Efficiency 8.6 L/100km Agent Performance Motors Limited Price S$409,888 with COE Available Now