430i is a top sporting coupe
FOR ME, driving good cars is the spice of life. Even in these days of snarled up roads wherever we turn, good routes offering plenty of fun can still be found if you’re ready to look.
But even the route doesn’t matter quite so much when you’re behind the wheel of something special – a car that fills your senses and reacts to your every whim almost quicker than thought.
Such a barnstormer of a machine is the BMW 430i Coupe.
Now I know few of us can justify the serious £37,000 outlay, but if ever the lotto coughs up the folding, I’m gonna have me one of these.
Its sleek lines look stunning when it’s standing still and once in the driver’s seat, everything is just where it should be – as if it was made to measure.
Out on the road, it simply comes alive. The performance – with 248bhp on tap – is fantastic, with tremendous acceleration from any speed all the way to a limited maximum of 155mph (but only on the autobahn).
Yet this is not the silky smooth 3.0-litre straight six we know so well – it’s a sweet revving 2.0-litre turbocharged four that is just as smooth and almost as tuneful – and most owners will never know the difference.
This car had the switchable eight-speed automatic gearbox used across many of BMW’s models, and despite my love of manuals, it suits the car perfectly.
The steering is pin sharp and perfectly weighted, adding to an already heady mix of superlatives for a true sporting car.
Put all this together and you have a superb sporting coupe that is wonderful and almost perfect to drive, bringing with it a raft of sensations for the enthusiastic driver and making a delightful and very comfortable motorway cruiser.
All in all, the 430i is simply one of the best all-round sporting cars on the market.