BMW 420/430i Gran Coupe - Experiences?

[marcosgt]

My VW Golf R lease ends in June 2020 and I'm thinking about buying (probably and probably a 2 or 3 year old model) a BMW 420i or 430i to replace it.

I'd be interested in the experiences of owners of either of these models or generally about the 4 series GC.

I'm not interested, personally, in a more powerful model or a diesel, but any quibble or praise about the car in general from owners of those would be interesting too.

Cheers.

M

[AlasdairMc]

No experience of the i, as I have a 430d. Great car, lovely to drive and comfortable inside. The dash feels slightly dated, as I had a G30 520d as a hire and the new dash is much nicer. However, it’s perfectly good for what it is.

Big enough for 4 adults, 5 at a push. Headroom in the rear is a bit cramped if tall due to the sloping roofline. Good boot space though.

[marcosgt]

Thanks - That's the sort of stuff I was interested in.

Cheers.

M

[bodhi]

Keeping an interest in this thread as a 440i GC is top of my list for next car. A good friend had a 430d and loved it, even as far as slightly missing it when his M3 turned up (mostly for practicality) and ran it for 3 years trouble free.

One thing I have noticed though, is there is not so much point to the 430i - 440i's are available for very similar prices, and 6 cylinders wins every time

[marcosgt]

Are the 430i and 440i only available with slush boxes?

I don't want another automatic and I'm not worried about high performance I can't ever use, either, would rather have something that needs a bit of peddling to make progress.

If the bigger cars are auto only, I'd rather get a 420i.

M

[bodhi]

440i is Auto Only, pretty sure you could get the 430i with a proper box - only issue might be finding one second hand as I think most people went with the slusher.

Other possibility is the 435i, as I have definitely seen a couple out there with manuals. Also like hen's teeth, but they do exist.

[marcosgt]

bodhi said:

440i is Auto Only, pretty sure you could get the 430i with a proper box - only issue might be finding one second hand as I think most people went with the slusher.

Other possibility is the 435i, as I have definitely seen a couple out there with manuals. Also like hen's teeth, but they do exist.

Thanks - Seems there was a 428i manual too.

As you say, the bigger engined manuals are rare, but they are out there.

Guess I'll need to keep an eye out.

Thanks again.

M