RE: Chris Harris video: BMW 4 Series

[Charge99]

Dissappointing... Just the usual drifting, I was hoping for a reverse entry drift in light of the red rag to a bull comments! I think that's what you call it, when the car enters the corner with the back ahead of the front!

All looks very fun on a dry track, get it on a wet B-road and see how much fun the rear end is!

[Crimefighter]

Funnily enough "boring" was an accusation levelled at the 335i when it was introduced too. They didn't sell in big numbers compared to 320d's etc, but they definitely have a following.

Maybe *I* am boring, but I have always liked sleeper road cars like the 335i and the 435i too. I don't have a problem with the looks either, I think the 435i with some M Sport bits will look cool.

[pattyg]

Looks very ordinary IMO.

Those tiny side vents with the totally naff "Sport" badge above them are so not BMW. Looks like a badge last seen on an '80s FSO Polonez.

BMW please bring back Bangle if this is the best you can do.

[DRS zone]

The 435i M package looks like an interesting options but knowing Germans and their relationship with extras and pricing it will probably be Audi S5 money which is about 45K. Whats Mercedes coughing up for this kind of money? C350?

[RichF]

Chris makes driving quickly just so smooth and easy. Might be being helped by the 'dullness' of the experience but I'm still impressed.

BMW are making cars that are too good now it seems, there's definitely something to the 'flawed genius' school of thought making something desirable.

[Matthew Clarke]

zeduffman said:

Surprised they kept the same engine as the E90 when there's that lovely lump in the M135i they could use. At least I'm guessing it's the same, power output is identical anyway...

Same N55 engine, M135i is just boosted a little. Same engine as my 2010 E92 LCI 335i and I know owners always say this but I think it actually looks better than 4 series... (and I have no real emotional attachment to it, its just a fast tool from A to B for me)

[Cyrus1971]

As my mate "Dangerous" Dave in Wells Hall used to say ; "minimalism & perfection are boring, that's why I shag lots of ugly women".

I have no idea where he is now, with that logic (and keeping it car-centric) probably trying to start a riot while driving Fiat Multipla.

I digress.

[ucb]

What is BMW doing with the DCT box then?
Is it purely for the M1/2/3/4/5/6?
Wonder why it bothered with a DCT when the ZF8 appears to have all bases covered.

[BBS-LM]

hahahaha

[Wills2]

ucb said:

Wonder why it bothered with a DCT when the ZF8 appears to have all bases covered.

Had a ZF8 and DCT different beasts in my opinion.

My ZF8 had zero engine breaking for a start and souless gear changes, press seem to love them though.

As for the 435i it followes the same recipe as the e92 coupe not sure what CH/people expect?

[kingmalik786]

is it more exciting than a m3 e36 no ? is it faster no

and at the fraction of the price

[cerb4.5lee]

ucb said:

What is BMW doing with the DCT box then?
Is it purely for the M1/2/3/4/5/6?
Wonder why it bothered with a DCT when the ZF8 appears to have all bases covered.

I have always wondered why bmw bothered with an auto at all when a manual does everything but with more added involvement & enjoyment, if its got an auto/twin clutch it isn't a drivers car it's just a fantastic marketing tool to make plenty more money, bmw are the daddy's at squeezing money out of new technology.

[cerb4.5lee]

Matthew Clarke said:

(and I have no real emotional attachment to it, its just a fast tool from A to B for me)

That will always be the issue with a BMW, I am a big fan but I buy them because they do a job very well but they will never touch you emotionally because they aren't really designed to do so, they are designed to make money & for that they hit the spot everytime.

Competent yes...exciting no.

[161BMW]

Mr Whippy said:

But for me it's just too big/expensive/compromised now really. The M235i is what I'm really looking forward to now. A small ish 300bhp rwd car. Can't go wrong with that as a starting point
Dave

And then the 1M Coupe prices will come crashing down with the release of the M235i and M2 ....

[anonymous-user]

kingmalik786 said:

is it more exciting than a m3 e36 no ? is it faster no

and at the fraction of the price

Tell you what, how about in future you just make a post with a few full stops in it and we'll assume you're explaining why the car that's being discussed isn't as good as the E36 M3.

Saves you having to type out the same post in different threads all the time, and saves us from reading it. Now that's a win-win.

[Digger]

Who was that Chav at the end!?

Serious questions for you Chris and as alluded to above, do you think the ZF8 should allow more engine braking? To be fair it is virtually non-existent in the m135i!

[foxhounduk]

Superb design.

Good powerplant.

Well priced.

This will sell like Krisy Kremes.

[foxhounduk]

Also, its very clever that BMW have used the 4 series moniker.

What this means is that they can still sell the 3 series coupe as a stand alone product (even if they decide to stop producing more). Two outcomes arise from this:

1) people won't feel like they're getting last year's product (i.e. the "previous" 3 series)

2) there is no "forced depreciation" of the old model; so it therefore keeps the market value high.

The result is that current 3 series owners don't get upset (good for fan-base morale if anything?) whilst BMW and car dealers across the world can sell a current 3 series coupe as a stand-alone niche car (not last year's model) without too much depreciation.

[Repent]

I'm an unapologetic BMW fan boy, but those wing badges!? The 'Sport' one looks like something from eBay and the 'M' has no place there for several reasons. The stickers elsewhere were tacky as hell too. I'm sure they're optional and certain they'll go down brilliantly in many markets but whilst actual M's are less edgy with each iteration the branding is further saturated.

Overall looks wise, I'm already bored of it. If they've hit the same spot the golf has balancing performance and refinement, I'll only loose faith when they stop turning the profits towards making proper cars with some form of character elsewhere. Hopefully the M235i will be one, maybe an M2 down the line.

Edited by Repent on Thursday 25th July 02:14

[Wadeski]

Crimefighter said:

Funnily enough "boring" was an accusation levelled at the 335i when it was introduced too. They didn't sell in big numbers compared to 320d's etc, but they definitely have a following.

Thats probably the reason for the move from 3er coupe to 4er coupe. The 3 series is now so much the diesel repwagon in Europe that the 3 coupe lost its sparkle. A little bit of distance makes it clearer to the buyer (and their friends at cocktail parties) they have bought the "sporty" option.