BMW 4 Series

If it wasn’t for that out-of-nowhere grille, everybody would be talking about how good the new G22 4 series is to drive

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Variants tested 420i Coupe, M440i xDrive Coupe As-tested prices $81,060, $122,000 Warranty 3-year unlimited km

TRY TELLING SOMEONE how good the new BMW G22 4 Series Coupe is to drive – very much living up to old Ultimate Driving Machine tag-line – and all they will want to talk about is the bloody grille. It’s fair enough. Plastered to the front of the new Bavarian two-door, the courageous, vertiginous, Bugs Bunny intakes scream that BMW is chasing a new customer with its 4 Series, and neither of them are likely you nor me. Yet find yourself behind the wheel and you’ll discover the engineers haven’t forgotten us. Far from it.

Attempting to nab what would only be BMW’s second COTY award (after the i3’s win in 2014), the three-tiered 4 Series range fronted our testing with two variants: the entry-level turbo 2.0-litre rear-drive 420i, packing 135kW/300Nm; and the big daddy 3.0-litre turbo straight-six M440i xDrive (all-wheel drive), with a somewhat more alluring 285kW/500Nm.