There are quite a few things that Chris Harris doesn’t like about the new BMW 4-Series Coupe, beginning with the name. In his view, renaming the 3-Series Coupe is a big mistake, much like Coca-Cola trying to dump the well-established name for something like a “Vegetable Bum Water”- his words, not ours.
Besides that, the BMW 435i Coupe Harris drove is described as ordinary looking and too accomplished for its own good, with the word “boring” coming up once.
Mind you, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the car: Harris says the steering is quick, the engine pulls beautifully (despite being a little low on torque compared to the M135i), the chassis is better balanced than the 3 Series sedan’s due to the larger wheelbase and the (optional) 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox is perfect.
Still, Harris felt something was missing and that’s the tingle one should feel down the spine while driving a 306hp BMW coupe. However, he reckoned the upcoming M4 should solve that problem.
Harris was also pissed at BMW for not letting him – or any other journalist for that matter – drift the car while driving on the Estoril track in Portugal. Do you think he resisted the temptation to drift a rear-wheel-drive 306-hp 435i? You’ll have to hit play in the video below to find out.
By Dan Mihalascu
VIDEO