We recently rented a BMW M440i xDrive, and this week we give our first impressions of how this sporty coupe performed on the highway and at our track. We also offer advice on whether you should skip test drives due to COVID-19, if an Audi Q3 or Volvo XC40 is better for a city-dweller, the performance of winter run-flat tires, why some cars in Canada and Europe never make it to the US, and why importing a foreign car might be prohibitively expensive.
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SHOW NOTES
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00:00 – Introduction
00:22 – 2021 BMW 4 Series First Impressions
11:06 – Question #1: Is it a good idea to skip the test drive when purchasing a car during the pandemic?
15:19 – Question #2: Do regular winter tires perform better than run-flat winter tires?
17:11 – Question #3: Why some cars in Canada and Europe never make it to the US?
20:35 – Question #4: Does Gabe ever open his college textbooks in his background?
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First Drive: 2021 BMW 4 Series Doubles As Sporty Coupe and Highway Cruiser
2017 BMW 330i Quick Drive
2019 BMW Z4 Quick Drive
Getting your tires ready for winter: Advice from Consumer Reports
Winter Driving Tips
Coronavirus Resource Hub
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Never heard you guys praise any other car like the 4 series!!
Must be nice for sure then..
Peter from Albuquerque, How would you like a Toyota Corolla L sedan with a manual? I think that is actually made in the USA but only sold in Canada.
I like the grill on the 4 series, but how does it work with a front license plate?
I think the new grill is too large.
I love this car! It’s what the M850 x-drive wishes it was! I particularly like that exterior color btw….
BMW is back!
RYAN SHAVED 🤔
So on one hand Consumer Reports is begging 4 it’s subscribers to send them money but they’ll blow $71,000 on a BMW During a pandemic and an economic collapse? Great job Consumer Reports!
They specifically mentioned that thry won’t be buying the 4-series. They rented this one for first impressions
they rented it I believe but that price is head scratching I agree
09:19
Judging by this initial review, I’ll need to look for one of these gently used at 3 years old.
Gabe, We Canadians actually like wagons but we rarely get them anymore due to market overlap with the wagon-loathing USA. Fun fact: Sienna outsold Highlander in Canada last year.
Was Ryan remanded to a half-way house for wayward car pundits?
What CR has discovered about the M440i is that the “middle children” in the BMW Performance branding are, typically, the best compromise between the increasingly hard-edged “pure” M cars and the much less interesting series cars. I once saw a BMW product manager’s presentation that made this explicit. For about $15-25K more, on average, than a series car but about the same less than a pure M model, one can expect the M Performance model to be what CR found in the M440i: a daily driver that won’t embarrass one in an autocross.
I own a X3 30i and an X3 M40i. I can confirm the formula works. IIRC, Mike Q once said the latter car “spoke to him” in a previous episode of “Talking Cars.” BMW gets a lot of bad ink for the way the current series cars and the pure M cars perform these days. The former are too appliance- like; the latter overpriced and purely for the track. Meanwhile, BMW has found a profitable new niche for the M brand the press generally sneers at: truly fun daily drivers that your non-car-loving spouse likes, too.
Coupes are not practical? Hmmm. Does CR have data about how many cars are exclusively used to move one or two people? Some vehicles see heavy use of the second and third row of seats, but many cars are almost entirely used with a single occupant.
Love the content but wish you reviewed the manual.
Yes. You are insane not to test drive the car.
Ordered my M440i last month, currently on a cargo ship off Africa on it’s way to the US. Very excited!
Impressive powertrain and interior, but the exterior profile reminds me of mashup of a Ford Mustang and Infinity G35 coupe with the front grill of a Pontiac Aztek, so more ugly than stylish.
Does the 4 -series have a case of grill-envy? Are we regressing to the 1920’s where all cars had giant grills? Seriously, I would buy a BMW if reliability became a reality for that manufacturer.