RE: 2021 BMW M440i xDrive | UK Review

RE: 2021 BMW M440i xDrive | UK Review

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all

2020 BMW 4 series




2012 Jaguar XK



And both cars have something of a wiff of "golf club special" about them too......

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
ae2006 said:
The hideous grill aside, can someone explain me why this comes with 4WD as standard?
Apart from 0 to 60 times, driving in heavy snow (with winter tires!) and maybe track driving (in a 1.7 tonne luxury coupe...) in 99% of situations it doesn't make any difference. You are driving around with 100kg extra (2 differentials, driveshafts) you don't need but use fuel. I am not saying there are no people who could need this, but it could be an optional extra.

I just don't understand the new car manufacturer and buyer market anymore, it seems at 29 i am already old.
I'm not getting why it is 4WD either. It just adds more weight to an already heavy car.

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
I'm not getting why it is 4WD either. It just adds more weight to an already heavy car.
Because

1) most people can't drive a greasy stick up a pigs arse

2) press reviews (and people in pubs) put far too much importance on 0-60 time

3) Audi

rjfp1962

7,611 posts

72 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Wow! That is seriously gopping, and isn't it a pity... you need to spec the right colour and fit a number plate to "hide" that hideous front?!
The back isn't much better either! Hope it drives better than it looks.....!

chelme

1,353 posts

169 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Argleton said:
sidesauce said:
Business as usual then.

I'm doubtful sales will be impacted significantly, despite all of the crowing on the forums; I think people will buy the, and drive them, just as they've done before with all the previous models. In fact, I think that in time, people will get used to the front to the point it'll simply be 'meh'.
What is that opinion based on?

You're telling me someone who would be prepared to buy this sort of car, but absolutely hates the looks, is going to say yeah okay I'll buy it then?
Nonsense is it not? As an aside, I have seen far more Mercedes A Class vehicles out on the road, compared to the new (and hideously ugly) BMW 1 series. This is despite reports of the BMW being a better drivers car than the Merc.

The reality is, aesthetic quality still goes a long way in selling cars, and in this instance too, BMW has alienated its buyers. I can't speak for the far east market, but in the west, the consensus is that having the face of a rodent with braces does not cut it, however "competent" the car may be on an A road.


Edited by chelme on Saturday 24th October 13:28

ae2006

178 posts

96 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Max_Torque said:
Because

1) most people can't drive a greasy stick up a pigs arse

2) press reviews (and people in pubs) put far too much importance on 0-60 time

3) Audi
This is correct, but then i ask, why is the lowest common denominator (people who don't like to drive and/or don't care about cars and/or don't know anything about cars) the main factor behind the design/engineering of a modern car? This is what i don't understand because it is the worst situation for manufacturer and buyer (heavy cars (CO2!), unused features by the broad public, not catering to enthusiasts/people who do care or know).

They could sell this easily with 2WD aswell, maybe BMW would need a tiny bit of marketing to tell the advantages.

Edited by ae2006 on Saturday 24th October 13:31

stuckmojo

2,955 posts

187 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
bloody hell. look at it. It's painful.

Editing to add that it's not just the hideous front end. The rear wheels are massive but appear tiny in that design. Horrid thing.

Edited by stuckmojo on Saturday 24th October 13:36

Maccmike8

1,017 posts

53 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
I dont want to like it but I actually do!

Speed_Demon

2,662 posts

187 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
What’s needed is a Lotus 340i estate. Whip out the heavy electrics, the turbos, swap in smaller brakes, narrower tyres, lighter seating and other comfort stuff.

Maybe you could get to a 1400kg estate car with great handling and a superb I6 engine that gave instant response and wholly unencumbered by all the gubbins but revved to 8 and was sublime from 1rpm to 8000. A car that you could actually drive at seven tenths on the road?
But who would buy it?

Such a thing is of no interest to the majority of the market and therefore not of BMW's/Audis/Mercedes interest.

panholio

1,078 posts

147 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Some classic PH cliches in this thread. You’d all love it if you had one. And to the chap saying this isn’t an upgrade on his 440... another classic PH statement. It’s actually a different “sub M” product now and a more focussed proposition. I bet you’d find it an upgrade.

I accept the grill is not great at all, and I think the number plate placement makes it even worse. No idea what they were thinking.

Also, to those saying the styling looks top heavy, under-wheeled etc. I agree... but weirdly it doesn’t look like that in person. I could be wrong but is PH cocking up the aspect ratios on photos again and effectively “squidging” the images horizontally?

Terminator X

14,921 posts

203 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Can the writer confirm if we are on yet another iteration of nearly there near silent petrol cars? EU Regs, squashing the joy from life.

TX.

gizlaroc

17,251 posts

223 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
What’s needed is a Lotus 340i estate. Whip out the heavy electrics, the turbos, swap in smaller brakes, narrower tyres, lighter seating and other comfort stuff.

Maybe you could get to a 1400kg estate car with great handling and a superb I6 engine that gave instant response and wholly unencumbered by all the gubbins but revved to 8 and was sublime from 1rpm to 8000. A car that you could actually drive at seven tenths on the road?



I have got a 3.2 986, normally aspirated, 5.5 seconds, geared nicely so you have to swap between 2nd and 3rd a lot, and it is fun.
However.....I would argue that the 2.7 litre flat six which has 228hp and takes 6.1 seconds to 60mph is actually more fun.


The E46 M3 had to be worked, again NA engine so you had to get the gear change right otherwise you had no power coming out of a corner. That is what is meant by cars that don't reward you. The 335i touring that replaced my M3 was quicker, mapped and would do 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, but there was no real reward, because it didn't matter what gear you were in, the turbo nature of it meant power was always on tap.
I loved it, great car, but it was great at gobbling miles, not being something you would get up off the sofa for at 10pm at night and just go and drive 100 miles round the coast for the sake of it.
The Porsche gets you doing that, the M3 got me doing that, BMW et al need to start dialing it back a bit, offer another straight six NA 3.0 and put it in a 2 series touring chassis with RWD again, keep it light, keep it fun.


These new 4 series looks like a great luxury barge that you can, as someone said above, arrive at the golf club relaxed in, but we have bigger cars that do that better, so a bit pointless.

Porsche are going back to NA engines, many, my self included, are liking the last NA Caymans with hydraulic steering etc., doesn't need to be the fastest, it needs to be the one that makes you smile most.


gigglebug

2,611 posts

121 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
panholio said:
Also, to those saying the styling looks top heavy, under-wheeled etc. I agree... but weirdly it doesn’t look like that in person. I could be wrong but is PH cocking up the aspect ratios on photos again and effectively “squidging” the images horizontally?
It has been know but to be fair it didn’t look that great in the video I watched of it either - in fact I’d seen the video before this article and had already formed my opinion based on it. It does sound like it does a very decent job of being a car to be fair but it would at least be a consideration for many if it didn’t look particularly good at the same time. It’s not even the grill that makes it look a bit weird to me either, I could happily live with that.


Edited by gigglebug on Saturday 24th October 14:19

DonkeyApple

54,923 posts

168 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Speed_Demon said:
DonkeyApple said:
What’s needed is a Lotus 340i estate. Whip out the heavy electrics, the turbos, swap in smaller brakes, narrower tyres, lighter seating and other comfort stuff.

Maybe you could get to a 1400kg estate car with great handling and a superb I6 engine that gave instant response and wholly unencumbered by all the gubbins but revved to 8 and was sublime from 1rpm to 8000. A car that you could actually drive at seven tenths on the road?
But who would buy it?

Such a thing is of no interest to the majority of the market and therefore not of BMW's/Audis/Mercedes interest.
Absolutely no one. It would comprehensively fail on all modern metrics. But that’s never stopped Lotus before. wink

Berry10000

119 posts

101 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Saw it in showroom yesterday (440) when they took cover of for a sneak preview. Cover stays of from today’s unveiling. Dealer in Preston, North West if anyone is nearby.

In tanzanite blue I thought it looked stunning at all angles, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess!

Pommy

14,229 posts

215 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
Carwow video on YT has it at 3.82 0-60. That fking quick.

MitchT

15,788 posts

208 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
I quite like it. Unfortunately the configurator doesn't offer an opportunity to delete the tinted rear windows. Also, for some bizarre reason, if you spec the interior in Tacora Red the lower portion of the dashboard is black so there's no continuity between the dashboard and the door cards, yet if you spec the Oyster or Cognac interior the lower portion of the dashboard is coloured accordingly, so the continuity is maintained and looks miles better. I wonder how the reviewer would find the steering on the 420i. The smaller engined car (with its lighter nose) seems to benefit from better steering feel, according to other reviews I've read.

Does anyone know when these will be available in the UK?

Sunder81

15 posts

59 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
gizlaroc said:



I have got a 3.2 986, normally aspirated, 5.5 seconds, geared nicely so you have to swap between 2nd and 3rd a lot, and it is fun.
However.....I would argue that the 2.7 litre flat six which has 228hp and takes 6.1 seconds to 60mph is actually more fun.


The E46 M3 had to be worked, again NA engine so you had to get the gear change right otherwise you had no power coming out of a corner. That is what is meant by cars that don't reward you. The 335i touring that replaced my M3 was quicker, mapped and would do 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, but there was no real reward, because it didn't matter what gear you were in, the turbo nature of it meant power was always on tap.
I loved it, great car, but it was great at gobbling miles, not being something you would get up off the sofa for at 10pm at night and just go and drive 100 miles round the coast for the sake of it.
The Porsche gets you doing that, the M3 got me doing that, BMW et al need to start dialing it back a bit, offer another straight six NA 3.0 and put it in a 2 series touring chassis with RWD again, keep it light, keep it fun.


These new 4 series looks like a great luxury barge that you can, as someone said above, arrive at the golf club relaxed in, but we have bigger cars that do that better, so a bit pointless.

Porsche are going back to NA engines, many, my self included, are liking the last NA Caymans with hydraulic steering etc., doesn't need to be the fastest, it needs to be the one that makes you smile most.
Agree. I have a 2.7 Cayman 981 , remapped to 295 from 275 hp, manual. Weighed my cayman - 1330kg with fuel. All the fun you can have within legal limits ( ahem) on the road, never driven it on track but bet it'll be a blast too. I do understand the hate for the M440i's looks but it is a ' better' car than its a predecessor , looks aside. I wouldnt mind having one as a daily, if there are good deals to be had.



Edited by Sunder81 on Saturday 24th October 14:56


Edited by Sunder81 on Saturday 24th October 16:17

carparkno1

1,432 posts

157 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
panholio said:
Some classic PH cliches in this thread. You’d all love it if you had one. And to the chap saying this isn’t an upgrade on his 440... another classic PH statement. It’s actually a different “sub M” product now and a more focussed proposition. I bet you’d find it an upgrade.

I accept the grill is not great at all, and I think the number plate placement makes it even worse. No idea what they were thinking.

Also, to those saying the styling looks top heavy, under-wheeled etc. I agree... but weirdly it doesn’t look like that in person. I could be wrong but is PH cocking up the aspect ratios on photos again and effectively “squidging” the images horizontally?
Aside from the previous 440i not having an M in front of it what exactly has changed? Same engine with a bit more grunt, identical gearbox, same suspension setup and choices, but with a price tag that has lept by about ten grand once you chuck a couple of options packs in?
What's more focused about it? 4wd over Rwd?!?
You do realise this is the exact same engine and gearbox combo as the m140i and m240i?

blasos

341 posts

161 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:
Rear 3/4 just looks wrong to me.
Yes, slab sided and ungainly. BMW used to produce beauties like the E36 coupe, now it has 1,740 kg munter.