Liv ing and the itdriv dre too ing am ..
It was love at first sight when I saw BMW’s sporty new coupe.. and many others will be tempted too
Maggie Barry
Ahh, temptation, temptation – and here it was sitting in my driveway, the delicious, beautiful and highly desirable BMW 420d in M Sport trim.
Few cars have ever tempted me away from my permanent set of wheels but this car did exactly that in a nanosecond. It had me at vroom, vroom.
Now, drooling over BMWs is not a new sensation to many petrolheads – and, indeed, lovers of just great design – but what is most striking in this new model is that the company has changed the grille front.
The car’s signature kidney grille remains, yes – but it’s different. On the 420d M Sport, the straight lines have been replaced by horizontal chrome chips and the gri lle is deeper and more muscular. It is complemented by headlights and fog lights embedded around the new grille.
I loved it at first sight – as did several admirers who had a good look at this restyling – but I can see purists may not. They may, indeed, be scandalised. Come up to it unexpectedly, however, and it looks far more futuristic than the traditional design. This, along with the aerodynamic lines, the M Sport design cues and the sporty twin exhausts are what make the car really stand out.
In particular, I liked the elegant taillights which finish off the sweeping coupe lines on this lovely car, all of it sitting on 19in run-flat tyres.
If smitten by the exterior, then the love only continues when you open one of only two doors on this car. (Worth remembering if you have kids and a granny to get in the back).
The M Sport trim completely changes the look of this car inside, with full leather sports seats – in my case, trimmed with blue stitching – sports pedals, design cues on the sills and the M Sport logo on the leather steering wheel.
The aluminium trim is dazzling – diamond cut and very plush – but because this is a BMW after all, the style is wrapped around the kind of substance you would expect of a car from the hands of the Bavarian manufacturer.
There is loads of tech, with the 10.25in BMW Live Cockpit Professional standing proud of the dash and giving access to all the entertainment and connectivity – DAB, Bluetooth and sat nav as well as the driver aids and settings.
It is controlled via a command dial at your fingertips and is easy to use but this car also has gesture and voice control – all aimed at making life as easy as possible for the driver.
The 12.3in digital display behind the steering wheel is clear and helpfully adds further driver information without having to take your eyes off the road.
Again, at your f ingertips are the driving mode buttons for sport , comfort, eco pro and adaptive driving modes. Certainly sport, which I really enjoyed, gives you a responsive and dynamic experience.
The 420d comes with a mild hybrid boost – but, interestingly, here’s the thing – this car will give you between 57.6 and 61.4mpg. Now that is an amazing figure for a car with this capability.
It’s an efficient motoring machine offering you the full package. And driving it? Well, it was like driving the dream.