Bmw 435i on Road And Track - /chris harris on cars

[CAR ENGINE] [MUSIC] The 435i is lower, stiffer, and generally sportier than the 3 Series. But the biggest news is probably the name, which to me is plain wrong. It's like renaming Coca Cola, Vegetable Bum Water. Actually, it's not quite that bad, as you know. But you get the gist. The 3 Series coupe was a motoring staple. It didn't need renaming. After several aborted attempts to record a [INAUDIBLE] camera on the roads around Lisbon, I'm resorting to voice-over. It just wasn't happening. It's a man thing. --434-- Please turn left in 100 metres. I need to be rid of you. This is a curious car, because at first it seems ridiculous that a 306-horsepower BMW coupe that will smash up to 62 miles an hour in 5.1 seconds, could come across as a bit uninteresting. This one is at least fitted with the optional 8-speed auto which is, as I have to keep saying, is plain brilliant. Optional electric dampers ride well in comfort, a little bit spiky in spots. The 435i is so fast and discreet, you wonder if BMW could have made it any more ordinary looking-- except for those weird arrow bits on the front wings, which look like seals' ears. The problem here is a familiar one-- the 435i is so accomplished, you wonder if it borders on the boring. So I wandered into the faded glory of Estoril. And couldn't really hide my disappointment at the normalness of it all. I know the M4-- now that sounds completely wrong to my ears-- will be the hot shoe, but a 300-horsepower, rear-drive BMW should make you tingle just a bit. Shouldn't it? The steering is quick, the car changes direction beautifully, the motor does that BMW growly thing. But it's just not that enlivening. Nor was the message from BMW. The pre-track briefing stipulated, no drifting. Talk about red rag to a bull. So here we are at Estoril. Four laps. And, curiously, in the briefing at the end, no drifting. I'm a bit like a 14-year-old being told not to smoke, when someone says, no drifting. It's a bit, red rag to a bull. So I'm going to try and resist drifting, cause it's not big, and it's not clever. But this is a rear-wheel drive BMW. And what are rear-wheel drive BMWs for, if not to kind of play with the back of the car? Isn't that the whole point? Otherwise you just buy an Audi, don't you? I don't know. We'll discuss that later on. What have we got here then? We have a strange car, because this is 10,000 pounds more than an M135i, and yet, it has less torque. So I'm not quite sure what they're trying to do in performance terms. The chassis immediately feels better balanced. Longer wheelbase, everything about it just feels a little bit more grown up. And I really like the rear axle location. The rear axle is far better located in this car than it is in the 1 Series. It deals with this torque without thinking about it. Steering-- really nice and quick, actually. Very impressed by that. Brake pedal-- firm. Why am I doing this on the track? Who's going to come and do a track in their 435i? Not many people. We're just on a normal street tire. But even so, the performance of the car. A few years ago, this would have been just about bordering on supercar performance. It's incredible. Transmission-- love this 8-speed ZF. I know I crap on about it, but it's just so good. Matched with this turbo-charged straight-six, it works brilliantly, really brilliantly. Remember, no drifting please, no drifting. and I mean, no drifting. [CAR ENGINE] Okay, no drifting. BMW, I mean, it's a bit like leaving plates of cake out at tea-time, and saying, don't eat it. Your cars are brilliant at going sideways, so I'm going to do it. Morally wrong not to. Really nice chassis. I get the hint of what an M3 might be like now, it's pretty exciting. Because this structure is stiff. Everything about it is high quality. Can a BMW be called a 4 Series? That's a philosophical question. That's a deeply philosophical question, isn't it? I'm not sure it can, actually. I struggle with the group four. It doesn't sound quite right to me. [CAR ENGINE] This guy has more performance than most of the people that buy it will ever need, OK? It really does. But-- and there is a "but" here, as I cruise into the pit lane. The "but," for me, is that despite driving so well, and being so fast, this is quite an ordinary-feeling car. You know? It doesn't feel that special to me at all. Well over 40 grand in the UK. Cabin is quite ordinary 3 Series. The whole thing is quite ordinary. Leaves a lot of space for the M3. A lot of space for the M3. And so, underneath all that gloss and perfection, there really is a very good performance car. One that keeps BMW well ahead of its German rivals in this particular sector. And, as if to acknowledge the fact that it might need some added spice, BMW will be offering a load M Performance modifications as aftermarket parts-- suspension, brakes, a locking differential, and a power kit that adds 34 horsepower, and 37 foot pounds of torque, taking it back up to kind of M135i levels of poke. The only problem is, they didn't let us drive one. Just remember-- no drifting. [CAR ENGINE] [LAUGHTER] [BEEP] you. Of course we're going to do some drifting, you know? I mean, it's a BMW, isn't it?