BMW 435i M Sport Review by Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear reviews the new BMW 435i M Sport. There are no power upgrades are included in the package, only new front and rear aprons, large alloy wheels, sports seats and sports steering wheel. It is powered by turbocharged inline six-cylinder with 306 horsepower. The engine can be paired to a six-speed manual transmission or eight-speed automatic.Here is an excerpt from Clarkson’s review:

So I was surprised and, yes, a little bit disappointed when I put my foot down for the first time in BMW’s new 435i coupé. This is the sporty two-door version of the 3-series. In the past it would have been called the 3-series coupé but BMW has decided to give it a name of its own, which has allowed the stylists to have a freer hand. A much freer hand, as it turns out, because the only panel this car shares with its four-door stablemate is the bonnet.

 

The rest is all different and all new and nowhere near as dramatic as I’d been expecting. Yes, it’s lower and wider than the saloon — the rear wheels are about 3in further apart — but it lacks visual presence. And on the face of it, that doesn’t sound such a good idea.

 

When someone buys the two-door version of a four-door car, they are spending more money and getting less practicality. And the only reason they would want to do this is: they want more style. And with the 4-series I’m not sure they’re getting it.

 

Which brings me back to the noise. Floor the throttle and all you get is a gentle hum, the sound of an engine that is doing a spot of gardening or maybe popping down the road for a pint of milk. It doesn’t really sound as though it’s making much of an effort at all.

 

Maybe it isn’t. Because even though it’s a 3-litre turbocharged straight six, it’s producing only 302 brake horsepower. That’s 14bhp less than you get from the 3-litre turbocharged straight six in the smaller BMW M135i. What we have, then, is a car that is more expensive than the more practical 3-series and slower than the 1-series. A bad start.

Read full review here