sports car review

the bmw 3 series coupe is no more and it'sbeen replaced by this - the new 4 series. now coupes are all about two things, the wayit drives - which we'll get to later - and the way that they look. now, i don't knowabout you, but i think that this 4 series is one of the best looking modern bmws. that'shelped by this nice narrow kidney grille which is angled slightly forward to make the carlook more sporty. and this bar at the bottom looks just like the concept car that theyshowed at detroit. plus, it has these very feline-looking lights that are very technicaland modern looking. the only body panel that's shared with the 3 series is the bonnet, allthe rest of the body panels are bespoke. at the side, all 4 series' come with at least18inch alloys, this test car's got 19inch

ones. bmw's plundered some of its motorsportheritage to make the 4 series more efficient - at the front there's an air curtain thatblows air through this whole in the bumper and around the wheel, and then air goes throughthis whole and out of this gill here down the side of the car. this makes it more efficient,and cuts a couple of grams per kilometre of co2. if you exclude the door mirror, the widestpart of the bmw is normally the door handle, but on this car it's actually the rear wheelarch. bmw makes a huge effort to draw your eye to it, creasing the body side in and givingthe arch a big flare - i reckon it makes the car look really powerful. finally, round atthe back, is a built in boot-lid spoiler and the likes have little led bars in them tomake the car look nice and wide. despite all

this sporty stuff, the 4 series is actuallysurprisingly practical. you can wave your foot under the bumper if you've got your handsfull, you've just got to have the key in your pocket. the boot's actually pretty big, onlyabout 45-litres less than the 3 series saloon. let's go and see how this thing drives. interiorwill be very familiar to anyone who knows the current 3 series, in fact, the only thingthat's different - apart from this fairly horrible red trim - is that a little robothands you your seatbelt. thanks robot. so what's the 4 series like? to be honest, ina straight line, it's actually quite a lot like a 3 series, very comfortable and compliant- however, on these larger wheels you do get some bumps and thumps through the cabin asyou'd kind of expect. when you come to a corner,

things change a little bit - this car runs10 millimetres lower than the saloon does, also feels a lot more planted especially whenyou turn in. the steering isn't super feel some, it's got really nice sort of agilenessto it that will translate nicely when the m4 comes out next year. in sport plus youreally notice that this car has changed quite differently. in comfort mode it's all softand wallowy, in sport plus it's very sharp and agile. still perhaps not the nth degreeof drivers' cars. but i think in this class it's probably the best - better than the e-classalthough that car has a nice turn in. and the body feels a lot stiffer than the audi'sdoes, but the gearbox when you're in sport plus is really responsive as well. and thecar's fitted with these nice paddles on the

steering wheel - it responds almost as quicklyas a dual-clutch it's really impressive. one thing i would say is that the brakes on thiscar, if you use them quite aggressively over a long period of time, tend to shudder a littlebit at the car's weight. this car actually doesn't weight much differently to the saloon.so, while you could argue that it's a bit too similar to the 3 series in terms of theway that it looks, i still think that the 4 series hits the spot with its styling. todrive, it's pretty comfortable most of the time, and there are elements that will reallyreward keen drivers. but it's not the super-sharp drive that the good looks would lead you tobelieve, so some people may be a little disappointed, especially if they're expecting a big stepup from the 3 series. you'll just have to

wait for the m4 to arrive for that.