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Dec 13, 2023

A Guide To Buying A 2023 BMW 4

The BMW 4 Series family keeps the luxury coupe and convertible flame alive, and despite the styling, it's a true BMW in just about every way. While BMW has produced a multitude of iconic cars in the

The BMW 4 Series family keeps the luxury coupe and convertible flame alive, and despite the styling, it's a true BMW in just about every way.

While BMW has produced a multitude of iconic cars in the past century, none are quite as iconic as the 3 Series. The 3-Series first debuted in 1975, and it went on to become one of the brand's most preferred models, with iconic generations like the E46. Compact size, great luxury, and a fantastic driving experience. Even with the advent of SUVs, the 3-Series continued to top sales charts the world over.

In 2013, BMW spun off the 3 Series-Coupe body style into its own model, the 4-Series. Again, this car came along during a pivotal time in the auto industry, but being a BMW and carrying all the values of the brand, it's still a strong contender. Nowadays, the 4-Series continues to offer three body styles, and it's still a solid choice.

Тhe 2023 BMW 4-Series continues the lineage of the second generation of BMW's compact premium coupe. The second generation car debuted for 2021, and it immediately caused reactions all over the internet, mostly to do with the front end styling. BMW seems to be on a roll to make their designs as controversial as possible, and the 4-Series was among many who got the same treatment. The 4-Series concept car previewed this design a couple of years prior, but it still came as a pretty major shock.

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Although the front end styling is quite controversial, the rest of the 4-Series is very sorted. It takes on a more evolutionary styling approach, with a very similar profile, and smoother lines. The rear end also gets a new set of taillights, and a newer lower fascia design. As before, the 4-Series is available in three different body styles: a two-door Coupe, a two-door Convertible, and the excellent four-door Gran Coupe.

Two exterior styling packages are available, Sport and the requisite M Sport, as well as two different powertrains. The 4-Series is definitely a unicorn in today's automotive world, as there aren't that many cars quite like it anymore. It does have a few competitors left, like the Audi A5, the leaps-and-bounds improved Ford Mustang, and Mercedes-Benz's CLE will soon be joining the same market segment that the 4-Series occupies.

The 2023 4-Series family offers the same two powertrains as before. The 430i gets a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which puts out 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 takes 5.5 seconds on the RWD version, and 5.3 seconds on the AWD version. While the other powertrain gets more people's attention, we think every gearhead should give the 430i a try.

The other, arguably more interesting powertrain is a 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder in the M440i. This engine puts out 382 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. The RWD version takes 4.6 seconds to sprint to 60, and the AWD model does it in 4.3 seconds. That's almost on the same level as the awesome V10-powered E60 M5, which is now going up in value despite being unreliable.

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Once again, BMW offers both powertrains with RWD or AWD, and all of them send power to the wheels through the customary eight-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy isn't too bad either. The 430i with RWD can do up to 34 MPG, and opting for the M440i with AWD will only cost you 3 MPG.

On the inside, the 4-Series is like most, if not all of BMW's current lineup. If you've spent a discernible amount of time in the latest BMW models, everything should feel familiar. Unfortunately, the regular 4-Series will miss out on iDrive 8 and the BMW Curved Screen that a lot of the other models are getting for 2023, although that's not to say that the tech features and infotainment in this car are bad.

You can also spec your 4-Series with a variety of option packages, including the Parking Assistance Package, and the all-important Driving Assistance Professional Package, which improves on the already excellent list of standard safety aids. Speaking of, the 4-Series features most of the ones you might expect, including lane departure warning with lane keep asisst, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and a lot more. Adaptive cruise control is optional, however.

The Coupe and Convertible versions of the 4-Series seat four passengers, whereas the Gran Coupe seats five. They're not the biggest rear seats, but they're there in case you need them in a pinch. Trunk space is different on each of the three. The Coupe offers 12 cubic feet of space, the Gran Coupe offers 16.6 cubic feet, and the Convertible offers a modest 9 cubic feet.

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The 2023 BMW 4-Series family starts at $45,900 for a base 430i Gran Coupe with RWD. Interestingly, the Gran Coupe is the cheapest car in this lineup, by a considerable margin. The 430i Coupe with RWD starts at $47,400, and the 430i Convertible with RWD starts at a heftier $55,500. Even though the coupe segment is slowly dying out, BMW still wants to keep the spark alive, and the 4-Series is definitely proof.

Marko has been part of the HotCars team since July 2020. He started out writing for various sites on a variety of topics. He prefers weird, unusual cars to luxobarges and sports cars.