Don’t Turn Your Nose Up
Welcome to one of the most polarizing vehicles out of Germany. Not quite as notorious as the Beetle, mind you, but yet another round for the flak cannon that decries BMW has lost their way. No matter how good this car may or may not be, there are some who will never see beyond its looks – and frankly, that’s their loss.
Let’s address the pig in the room. I mean the elephant. I mean…well…that grille. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay. The looks are striking, to say the least. Darker colours like the Dravit Grey of this particular unit, and the greyed out finish of the grille help subdue the shock factor of the snout. We would have liked to see a means of mounting the plate off to the side however. A big white plate smack in the middle of that grille looks a bit goofy to us. Hyuck hyuck. But I digress. The rest of the car, although a departure from many established BMW design cues, is pretty enough – especially in this lovely grey. But like that saying goes – beauty is skin deep. So let’s peel back the outer layer and step inside.
Props to BMW head office for choosing such a bold colour. In a sea of black, silver, grey and white vehicles, with equally monochromatic interiors, it’s refreshing to see the pop of colour from the Tacora Red leather upholstery. If red’s not your thing, you’ve got four other options – black, dark brown, cognac and oyster – all available at no extra cost at this trim level. Unlike the exterior, the cabin remains very traditionally BMW. You’ll get some great quality of life features like wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, and rear seats that can actually hold adults. It’s a quiet and comfortable place to be – which is good, because anyone complaining about the looks might forget that this is where drivers will spend the majority of time – and boy are they in for a treat.
Say what you will about its looks, about the company, about anything – it’s hard to deny that a BMW is virtually guaranteed to have some redeeming quality when it comes to the drive – and the M440i might as well be named Arthur Morgan, because self-redemption is exactly what it brings. The 3.0L turbocharged inline-six doles out 382 horses and almost as much torque at 368-lb-ft. Paired to an 8-speed automatic and AWD drivetrain, you get punchy, direct and exciting response. It’ll also utilize a small electric motor to help smooth out the auto start/stop system, and give you an extra 11-horsepower under hard acceleration. This little motor also helps make turbo lag nearly unnoticeable. Fuel economy isn’t great, but far from awful. We averaged between 10 and 11 L/100km over a week of mixed driving conditions
There’s also really no complaints with the way it handles either. The new 4 carves out corners like it should. You’ll feel safe, confident and in control if you want to push it. But it’s also just a comfortable and quiet place to be when you need that – which we think suits the car perfectly. Sure, you’ll see M-badges scattered on nearly every facet of the car, but that’s par for the course these days. The new 4, grille aside, looks very much like a shrunken down 8-series to us. So this miniature grand-tourer feel suits the new 4 well. If performance is what you’re after, go for the M4, or just leave it in its sportiest settings. Otherwise, with a smattering of driver aids, a comfortable cabin and a scrappy fighter of an engine up front, the M440i gives you a generous serving of driving joy as large as certain other facets of the car.
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