Gadgetory

as BMWs reworking the bottom half of their lineup there's been a lot of changes and the most interesting outcome I think is this guy the new 4 Series let's drive this 420 a tie and check the tech the 50/50 weight balance that's a wonderful thing in this car you don't need to push it really hard to feel it compared to the three coupe that it replaces this car is longer lower wider and pushes the wheels out to the end of the car the biggest difference is that wheelbase a full two-inch difference but also the height losing three quarters of an inch that's dramatic in automotive design terms in spite of that roof coming down though Headroom in the front went up almost an inch and a half spotting a four is easy just look for what you think is a three coupe driving by and realize it looks like it's been melted and pulled from end to end front to back you've also got much more of a gentle fastback than a three coupe ever had and this little filigree up here is unique to more modern BMWs threes don't have those now inside the four it looks a lot like a three no dramatic Ryoka texture going on here this is kind of the fashion these days this kind of toaster slot screen where the LCD sticks up I think they're doing it because it kind of says I'm like a tablet but it also does free up a lot of area here it would otherwise be taken up by the head unit gives you some nice vent registers and in this case we have a more basic sort of a radio audio layout right here with our optical disc right below it even though we don't have nav though this LCD is part of it it's what they call a display radio and auto jargon which gets you to most of your basic infotainment and communication functions now it's not a touchscreen of course the German car don't touch so instead they use the I drive even for this basic head unit but this is the simpler version of the iDrive controller if you were to get the nav head unit you get I Drive for point two which includes a bigger controller with a touchpad on the top of the knob four finger input now in typical BMW fashion lots of stuff is optional you do have bluetooth base thank you but enhanced Bluetooth is an extra cost option rear view cameras an extra cost option as I believe are the all-around sensors surround sound is ala carte and you can get a head-up display which BMW is just about the best at the best in terms of caller information presentation and good tight resolution now controls that relate to actual drivetrain well our cars got the 8-speed automatic top two gears are overdrive by the way this is how most of these guys are going to ship but you still can get a six-speed manual if you want to I would do so quickly I don't know how much longer they'll be offering that along ciders from drive mode profiles you had this Eco Pro and Sport and Sport Plus Sport Plus cancels the stability control you're not going to use that too often but I find sports a good mode we'll get on the road with it momentarily paddle shifters go with the automatic obviously not on the manual and over here at the start/stop button you've got the auto start/stop defeat hit that once in the car will not down itself when you come to a red light will see how smoothly it operates when we get on the road and unlike a lot of its competition BMW doesn't put any Augmented LCD screen between the gauges and unfortunately instead of that they offer what I think is kind of a dumb MPG gauge a swinging needle that kind of flies in the wind did you drive around and doesn't tell you much of anything it's a BMW thing I don't know why they still have it now because we have a 428 I that means we have the kirbo four-cylinder this is kind of a new thing for BMW they've gotten rid of the non turbo six in this class of car it's a 2 litre so it's not even a big 4 and it's very compact and almost sits entirely behind the front axle line that makes for great weight distribution in fact this car is almost exactly 50/50 weight spread and that's really quite an achievement how about some numbers 240 horsepower out of this guide 255 foot-pounds of torque 0 to 60 with is thirty four hundred and seventy pound beast comes up in 5.7 seconds your mpg will be twenty to thirty five unless you get the six-speed manual and then you give up one mpg on the highway it's basically a pic and of course rear-wheel drive is your base configuration all-wheel drive is available all the modern tech is here direct injection a two-stage twin-scroll single turbocharger there's not much missing from the sheet let's go for a ride there's one thing that remains a truism in automotive technology and that is a four with a turbo feels different than let's say a bigger six without one it has a lot of power it just doesn't come on the way a bigger engine would not in my recollection the outgoing inline non turbo six of this replaced had less power and yet somehow I recall it feeling a little more satisfying nonetheless this is the smart motor to go with its higher technology better efficiency lighter weight smaller packaging it's a very neutral handling car you never feel like you're plowing a big heavy nose around in turns it's a little doughy on the road you can you can hot up the suspension more we've noticed that in 3-series lately that they've lost a certain road going edge in favor of more ride quality some people like that some people dump I suspect the majority do that's why BMW did it they want to sell more cars not necessarily more cars to the Buffs okay let's price our 428 I starting off just a little below 41 5 2 liter turbo for rear wheel drive if you want all-wheel drive you got to add 2 grand on top of that adaptive LED front headlights with automatic high beams nearly 2 grand more tech package with apps real-time traffic navigation the touchpad and head-up display it's chunky at 30 150 if you want the park sonar and rear cam like we have 950 more adds surround cameras lane departure adaptive cruise and stop and go control and that's going to be almost 2 grand more semi self parking is a surprisingly cheap 500 bucks that's one little bone they throw us all in CNET style this car is pushing 53 thousand dollars you buy one because a 2 Series is just too little and a 6 Series is biting off too much for your paycheck it fits nicely and is very distinct in the BMW line and I bet they're going to sell as many as they can make very quickly