2023 BMW 4 Series

Spun off from the 3 Series 10 years ago, the BMW 4 Series took over where the old fan-favorite two-door 3 Series coupe and convertible left off, but Munich added a four-door hatchback Gran Coupe sedan only a year later. After a brief hiatus, all three body styles returned last year, filling out the second-generation 4 Series line. The Gran Coupe shares its body with the fully electric i4, but the two-door models are gas-only. Luxurious, fast and comfy, all of the various 4 Series are great grand tourers, but it’s The Grille people talk about.

The Grille, as fans and detractors alike refer to it online as if it were King Tut’s cursed tomb, is unapologetically in your face and the size of a steam engine’s cowcatcher. Observers either love or loathe it, but that’s how BMW likes it. The rest of the 4 is handsomely chiseled, and to be honest, you get used to The Grille. Also, you can’t see it from the comfy and roomy interior, which is nearly identical to the 3 Series. The 4 Series Gran Coupe’s extra cargo room also makes it a compelling 3 Series alternative.

BMW builds 4 Series models from mild to wild, however, ranging from the relatively humble 255-horsepower 430i Gran Coupe to the lightweight, track-focused 543-hp $140,895 M4 CSL, the single major addition for 2023. Because there are so many styles and trims, Coupe, Convertible, Gran Coupe and M versions, the 4 Series competes with a wide range of rivals that include the Audi A5 (the only car which matches all of its body styles), BMW’s own 2 and 3 Series, Lexus’ IS and RC, and even the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911 and Toyota GR-Supra.

The 2023 BMW M4 CSL is the wildest member of the 4 Series family. With 543 horsepower and a wide array of lightweight components, it’s aimed at track day warriors and BMW superfans. Only 1,000 will be sold.  Alex Kwanten

With three beautifully engineered drivetrains, rear or all-wheel drive and many levels of performance customization, the 4 excels at fun and speed. The entry-level 255-horsepower 430i Gran Coupe ($46,895, including destination fees) and the much faster 382-horsepower M440i ($58,455) aren’t quite as playful as BMW coupes of a generation ago, but even the smaller engine offers an engaging drive. The 4 is a lovely choice for spending long hours carving up the Los Angeles Crest or Pacific Coast Highway, and practical too, with lots of interior room for a car of this type.

The M4 ($75,695) offers a 473-horsepower punch, a standard manual transmission, and an even lairier 503-horsepower, automatic-only M4 competition version for maximum motion. There’s no Gran Coupe M4, but this year sees the arrival of the ultimate 4 Series, the lightweight M4 CSL, which may lack a back seat but will surely make you smile at the track. The M4 is not cheap, and all of the many extras on BMW’s long options list (competition seats, carbon-ceramic brakes and lurid paint colors) can really add up, but its personality is as vivid as The Grille.

BMW will soon be delivering 2024-model-year 4s, which will add the automakers’ new curved-display dash and iDrive 8 software, but the 2023’s come with a pair of older screens and the simpler iDrive 7, which some performance fans might prefer. The automaker offers lots of safety and convenience features in addition to performance parts, but some options, like adaptive cruise control, are costly. If you can live with The Grille, though, the 4 offers much of the glamour of BMW’s more expensive 8 Series, compelling performance and plenty of practicality.

The 2023 BMW 4 Series still uses the interior and systems of the 2021 model, but the M4 CSL gets lighter interior components and what are essentially racing seats.  Alex Kwanten

Performance: 15/15

There are four basic variations of the 4 Series, two regular models and two M4 variants, although 2023 adds the CSL, which gets many mechanical upgrades not shared with the other Ms.

The entry-level 430i is powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 255 hp and 294 pound-feet of torque. M440i models use BMW’s 3.0-liter “B58” turbocharged inline-six, delivering 382 hp and 364 lb-ft, assisted by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that sharpens its responses and gives excellent fuel economy. Both use a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. For 2023, both the 430i and M440i start out with rear-wheel drive, with BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive (AWD) setup a $1,300 (Gran Coupe) or $2,000 (two-door models) extra.

Rear-drive models are slightly more reactive handlers and a little more fun to drive, but only the most discerning drivers will feel that, and those folks are probably angling for an M4. All of the non-M 4 Series models are engaging and fun even if BMW’s variable-assist steering could use more feedback. That steering follows the driver’s commands to the letter, and neither the 430i nor the M440i are unduly harsh for all their handling brio. For more on how the two Gran Coupes compare, check out our first drive story.

The M4 adds lots of power and more tenacious handling, as you’d expect from a proper M car. Power comes from the higher-performance “S58” 3.0-liter inline-six, making 473 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque driven through a six-speed manual. It makes wonderful noises while rocketing to 60 mph in just under 4 seconds and offers plenty of extras for track-day warriors including competition seats and lap recorders. 

The 503-hp, 479 lb-ft M4 competition is even faster. It offers many driving modes including a rear-drive biased drift mode, for folks who really want to wring out every possible ounce of performance and possible puff of smoke. The M4 Competition is, surprisingly, automatic-only, but you can get one as a Convertible, which isn’t possible with the other M4s.

2023’s brand-new M4 CSL is a limited production model (just 1,000 will be built), but it gets many mechanical upgrades from the M4 Competition including more power. It makes 543 hp, and as the “CSL” name telegraphs to Bimmerphiles, there are many weight-saving measures incorporated into it including the deletion of the back seat, a carbon-fiber trunk lid and lightweight competition front seats. It’s lots of fun, but an uncompromisingly confining daily driver.

Fuel Economy: 14/15

For a high-performance coupe that sips premium unleaded only, the 4 Series returns decent fuel efficiency. The 430i returns an EPA-rated 28 mpg combined (25 city, 34 highway, with AWD models falling 1 to 2 mpg in each measure. The M440i is only marginally less fuel efficient. Rear-wheel drive M440i Coupe and Gran Coupe earn a combined EPA rating of 27 mpg (24 city, 32 highway), with AWD and convertible models falling by only 1 to 2 mpg in most measures.

Among its four- and six-cylinder competitors the mainstream 4 Series models are well above average, and seem to only do beter in the real world than on paper. In 700 miles of real-world driving, however, we found the 430i convertible’s combined rating closer to 30 mpg, and on other occaisions and shorter runs, we also found the M440i Gran Coupe slightly beat its estimates.

The M4 models are much thirstier, gulping down 18 or 19 mpg combined depending on the model, with the M4 Competition Coupe bringing up the rear at 18 mpg combined (16 city, 22 highway). That’s hardly miserly, but by the standards of such cars that’s actually quite good. The M4s are ahead of Cadillac’s Blackwings, about even with the V8 Lexus RC-F, but not as fuel-efficient as the Audi S5. On the other hand, they’re also faster.

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 11/15

The 4 Series has not yet been rated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but because it shares its structure with the 3 Series, which earns high marks from both, we rate it higher than we might if it had no direct analogs that have been tested. The 3 also earns a five-star rating from the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP), an EU agency that performs similar tests to IIHS.

BMW offers a large array of active-safety features on the 4 Series. Forward automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warnings, forward collision warnings, a driver monitoring system and blind spot detection are standard. Adaptive cruise control with stop and go, extended traffic jam assist, lane keep assist, evasive steering and forward cross-traffic alerts are part of a $1,700 package. Most of the 4’s direct two-door competitors also don’t offer this stuff standard, but many compact luxury sedans are starting to.

The 4 Series two-door models have big back seats by the standards of such cars, but the four-door Gran Coupe is the practicality champ, with nearly 3 Series-sized legroom and far more cargo space.  Alex Kwanten

Comfort & Room: 13/15

Since there are three different 4 Series body styles, it’s important to evaluate them separately. The two-door models are exactly what you’d expect, huge in the front, confined in the rear. But by the standards of coupes and convertibles, the 4 Series two-doors are some of the roomiest such cars on the market. In back, the 4 Series coupe has 34.5 inches of legroom, less than an inch shy of the 3 Series sedan, and the convertible has 32.5. Tall people won’t want to spend time in these back seats, but they’re the most usable ones in this class.

The 4 Series Gran Coupe offers front passengers space that’s essentially identical to the 3 Series, and in back it trims only fractions of an inch from that car’s measurements. The 4 Series Gran Coupe’s 34.9 inches of rear legroom compare to 36 inches in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, 35.7 in the Audi A4, 35.1 in the Alfa Romeo Giulia and 34.4 in the Genesis G70. However, being a hatchback, the Gran Coupe offers much more cargo room than these sedan alternatives.

The regular 4 Series seats are firm like most BMWs, but supportive and comfy over long distances. Most drivers won’t have trouble getting comfortable although the side bolstering is a little aggressive. The optional sport seats in the M4 are much more about keeping you planted on a track than making day-to-day life easy. They’re not uncomfortable once you’re in them but and getting in and out can be an awkward dance. This is especially true of the two-seater M4 CSL.

Infotainment: 14/15

Last year BMW made the previously optional 10.3-inch infotainment screen and 12.3-inch digital driver’s display standard on all 4 Series models, and that arrangement continues for 2023. If you’re looking for BMW’s new curved display and iDrive 8 software, you’ll have to wait until the 2024 models arrive in quantity this summer. 

The 4 Series’ gauges and visuals look good and the center stack runs BMW’s familiar iDrive 7.0 interface. Drivers can control it via the touchscreen, steering wheel or a rotary dial on the console. The system and interior are essentially exactly that of the 2022 3 Series, which isn’t a bad thing. The system is comprehensive and user-friendly, without too much of a learning curve. For those who don’t like iDrive, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard; as is navigation. The former gesture controls for the audio system are deleted this year.

The 4 Series Gran Coupe’s hatchback body gives it cargo space well beyond most compact family sedans, and in its class, only the Audi A5 Sportback comes close.  Alex Kwanten

Cargo Space & Storage: 13/15

As most coupe and convertible buyers will expect, cargo space is limited on the two-door 4 Series models, particularly the convertible. BMW’s switch from a retractable hardtop on the previous-generation 4 Series to a conventional soft top on the current one did help, but the trunk is still tiny. The coupe offers 12 cubic-feet of storage and the convertible just 9, although that doesn’t compare too badly to other two-door models like this.

What the two-doors remove, the four-door Gran Coupe adds, offering much more cargo volume than the 3 Series sedan. The Gran Coupe packs in 16.6 cubic-feet of cargo space behind the rear seats and a crossover-like 45.6 cubic-feet with them folded. That’s 10 cubic-feet more than the Audi A5 Sportback, 5 more than the Kia Stinger and three times most sedans like the 3 Series. Like the A5, the seats fold in a flexible 40/20/40 setup.

Style & Design: 6/10

From the front wheels backward, the 4 Series is muscular, taut and sleek. It isn’t all that traditionally BMW, and there’s more than a hint of Nissan GT-R in its chiseled shape, but it looks good. The Gran Coupe looks good too, and more distinctive than the 3 Series. With its interior borrowed from the 2022 3 Series, the 4 Series’ cabin is logical and clean too, and handsome in traditional BMW ways. 

So why a six out of 10? Because of The Grille, which is still a source of controversy almost four years after it was seen at the 2019 Frankfurt show. It seems less shocking now after seeing many 4 Series models on the road, but it still really does divide opinion. Some truly hate it, some actually really like it, few seem fanatically devoted to it. It’s less overt on the 430i, but still a pretty noticeable presence. On the M4, The Grille is even larger, but somehow it fits the car’s in-your-face personality a little better than on the standard 4s.

The M4 comes as a coupe or convertible, but the M4 CSL is coupe-only, and features a variety of parts you won’t find on the regular M4s, including that bespoilered carbon-fiber deck lid. It drives as wild as it looks.  Alex Kwanten

Is the 2023 BMW 4 Series Worth it? Which 4 Series is the Best Value?

Among the two-door 4 Series models, the rear-wheel drive M440i Coupe is the one we’d choose. It starts at $59,245 including a $995 destination fee but brings the intoxicating power of the B58 inline-six. We’d probably also opt for the $1,700 driver assistance package and one of the more interesting optional $550 colors. 

In the Gran Coupe lineup, the rear-drive, $46,195 base-model 430i Gran Coupe is the top choice for value. It doesn’t have the big inline-six, but it’s still lots of fun to drive and more practical and interesting than its 3 Series sedan sibling, and we’d leave off the dynamic handling and M Sport packages for a purer driving experience, but probably spring again for the driver assistance package. This year the 3 Series does have one major advantage: the new curved display screen. If you want that more modern infotainment system, you’ll have to wait for the 2024 models.

The M4 CSL represents a sure-fire future collector’s item and the pinnacle of M4 performance, but at $140,895 and with limited availability, it isn’t easy to get into.

For coupe buyers who really don’t care much about back-seat space, the 2 Series Coupe also offers a compelling alternative. It offers less space but is built on the same basic architecture and offers the same powertrains for less outlay. 

How Much Does it Cost to Insure the BMW 4 Series?

The BMW 4 Series costs more to insure than most of its competitors. According to our data, a typical 30-year-old female driver with a clean record can expect an average annual premium of $3,870 for an M440i xDrive Coupe, though this averages all 50 states. 430i Gran Coupe buyers will pay much less ($2,980) but M4 buyers much more ($4,927), though that’s also true of most of the competition. That compares to $3,416 for the Audi S5 coupe, $4,114 for the Lexus RC-F, $4,124 for the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and $3,104 for the Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce. To get a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses, visit our car insurance calculator.