2025 BMW 430i Coupe review

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2025 BMW 430i Coupe

When the first images of the current-generation BMW 4 Series began leaking online, I was not a fan. It seemed like BMW was throwing out all its design heritage in search of a new identity.

The rear end was really nothing to write home about – like a Lexus RC copy in my opinion – and the front end was… well, I had nothing nice to say.

But, like most things, the more you're exposed to them, the more you get used to them. I can finally say that I've come around to the current-generation BMW 4 Series styling.

Even in LCI (Life Cycle Impulse) ‘facelifted’ guise, the 2025 BMW 430i is a handsome car, and I've just spent time driving one in a gorgeous colour combination. BMW is known for producing some cracking sports cars, and I was delighted to spend a week behind the wheel. Let's talk about the experience.

How much is a BMW 430i?

Along with subtle new styling and more equipment, the new BMW 4 Series range has had a bump in price – and it's a limited range in terms of the variants you can choose.

In fact, it's now more expensive than ever. And, weirdly, a convertible is the most affordable variant in the range. The line-up of available variants has been trimmed with the latest facelift, in addition to new interior screens and switchgear.

Opening the line-up is the BMW 420i Convertible, which costs $106,500 before on-roads, while the most affordable hardtop is the BMW 430i Coupe at $109,700 (plus ORCs).

Unfortunately, that latter car we're driving is now $16,000 more expensive than it was a year ago. That's a lot, even for the premium end of town.

Of course, you can spend even more on the M440i xDrive and flagship M4 versions, though they're a story for another time and a different tax bracket.

In terms of rivals, Audi is between A5 generations at the moment, so it doesn't have a direct rival (perhaps the $90,815 Audi A5 45 TFSI), while Mercedes-Benz has pushed upmarket with its $123,815 (plus ORCs) CLE 300 Coupe.

All use a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine in varying states of tune, but in the BMW's case it outputs 190kW and 400Nm. That's enough grunt to send it from zero to 100km/h in 5.8 seconds. Personally, I'd be wanting more power out of my sports coupe – especially at its lofty price point – but read on throughout the review to find out how this car drives.

How big is a BMW 4 Series?

BMWs of a decade ago drew criticism for outdated presentation and lacklustre technology, but the array you get in 2025 is very impressive.

There's a huge curved piece of glass that houses the infotainment and digital driver cluster – it dominates the entire interior experience. It's joined by red leather inserts for the centre console, door panels, and seats in our tester.

To offset that sizeable $16,000 jump in price compared to the old 4 Series, this car now gets a sunroof as standard, as well as a heated steering wheel and seats.

Being an M Sport car as standard, the 430i gets M Sport seats with adjustable bolsters and electric movement. Plus, there's memory too.

It all combines to offer a great driving position that goes as low as you want for that ultimate sports feel. The seats themselves are plenty comfortable – I spent lots of time on the freeway and didn't get a sore back or bum.

The cabin fit and finish are top-tier. There were no rattles or creaks in panels or buttons in the time I had with the car, while the finishes and materials BMW has used are brilliant. You even get a crystal gear selector down on the central tunnel – fancy.

To stow items you've got twin cupholders underneath the dash, a sizeable centre console cubby with a pair of USB-C ports, and wide door pockets for drink bottles.

There's a wireless smartphone charger in front of the cupholders, though it's not cooled so your phone can get quite hot while recharging – it's also not the most ergonomic solution to fish your device out from.

The rear seats are decently comfortable, even for my 194cm height. I was able to slide the seat forward electrically for a good-sized aperture to squeeze through into the second row.

Head room is limited, though leg space and foot room are decent. There's a fold-down armrest that houses a pair of cupholders and air vents behind the centre console.

The boot pops open electrically – also with gesture controls – to reveal a 440-litre stowage capacity. There is no spare wheel, instead the 4 Series gets run-flat tyres. European car makers love a ski chute, and the 4 Series comes with one that allows longer items to poke through into the cabin itself.

Does the BMW 4 Series have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?

The new 4 Series is now fitted with the same infotainment system that's spreading across the wider BMW range – a 14.9-inch screen running infotainment functions, plus a 12.3-inch display for the driver's cluster.

It's huge.

The array runs BMW's latest software and it's very visually appealing – however, it's not the simplest system to get your head around.

The layout arrangement of menu systems and the content-rich home page are hard to get your head around, and it often takes multiple presses to do a simple task. This will become easier over time, though it's not a simple get-in-and-go system.

There are too many icons on the applications screen and the system is needlessly confusing to do simple things like change the media player to radio or vice versa.

Though the screen is touch-capacitive, thankfully BMW has seen reason to keep the rotary controller, which gives you yet another way to control the system. That's in addition to the voice control.

There's also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that works wirelessly, which is what I tend to use in BMWs these days, and it displays in beautiful high definition on the big screen.

You can control aspects of the car using the BMW smartphone application, such as viewing its charge level, diagnostic information, or location data.

Is the BMW 4 Series a safe car?

The BMW 4 Series was awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2020 based on testing completed by Euro NCAP in 2019.

It applies to four-cylinder, coupe variants only. The rating expires at the end of 2025.

Individual scores of 97 per cent for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child occupant protection, 93 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 73 per cent for safety assistance systems were given.

What safety technology does the BMW 4 Series have?

BMW's Driving Assistant Professional kit of active safety measures is included with the 430i Coupe. This means it gets autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with lane-centring, lane-keep assist, and parking sensors all-round.

It also comes with front and rear cross-traffic alert.

In my time with the car, I was impressed with how these technologies worked. The lane-centring kept the car squarely within the lane, the adaptive cruise control kept an appropriate distance behind the car ahead, and there were no false detections for the rear cross-traffic alert system.

A full list of safety measures can be seen in the table below.

How much does the BMW 430i cost to run?

BMWs come with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia. The 4 Series gets three years of roadside assistance from the date of first delivery.

This is par for the prestige vehicle segment. Few other manufacturers are doing better in the warranty stakes when it comes to luxury nameplates.

The 4 Series falls under BMW's condition-based servicing, which means the car should tell you when it requires maintenance. However, BMW offers upfront packages for five years/80,000km, which costs $2225 for the 4 Series Coupe.

As for insurance, you’re looking at $2952 per year. This is a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

Is the BMW 430i fuel-efficient?

Sports cars aren't known for being frugal on fuel, but BMW suggests the 430i returns combined fuel consumption of 6.6 litres per 100 kilometres. That's impressive for a car that can carve up a back road, but the negative is the fact that the engine requires 95-octane premium unleaded petrol as a minimum.

My week with the car returned a 6.7L/100km rating, which is mighty impressive that (a) it's so close to the manufacturer's claim, and (b) it's about as efficient as a medium SUV.

What is the BMW 430i like to drive?

Under the bonnet, the 430i is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. I've been a big fan of this engine for a long time now, but it definitely has been around for quite a while.

The same-capacity engine was used in the BMW 428i a decade ago, and outputs have only jumped by 10kW and 50Nm in the last 10 years. In fact, it runs from zero to 100km/h in an identical 5.8sec timeframe.

It's not that it's not a good engine, but by today's standards, the 430i is slow – especially with respect to its whopping $110,000+ price tag.

The engine is smooth, responsive, and sonorous when you lean into the throttle, but the performance is essentially matched by the Ford Ranger Raptor – a dual-cab ute that weighs almost 2500kg. We’ve tested it before – that great big lump of car can do the same stretch in six seconds flat.

By comparison, the BMW M4 has embraced all-wheel drive and has shaved about a second off its acceleration time that was boasted 10 years ago.

It’s not solely an indictment on the 4 Series – the Mercedes-Benz CLE ‘boasts’ the same power outputs. But, it doesn’t mean that BMW doesn’t have work to do.

In any case, while the powertrain has fallen behind the times, the experience is still good. The eight-speed transmission is buttery smooth at exacting gear shifts and it's quick to respond to kick-down throttle inputs.

The handling is sublime. The 430i tracks wherever you point the steering wheel and matches the rate-of-turn the whole way around the bend, while dispatching mid-corner bumps and imperfections as if they're just a blip on the radar.

It's a thick, grippy steering wheel that might not be to every driver's taste, but there's no denying the steering sensation and its awesome feel. This is a lovely car to deploy on a back road and relishes you to go faster.

Even on freeways and around town, the ride comfort is absorbent and compliant over disturbances in the road. It's a great all-rounder, but I still wish for a bit more oomph from what's under the bonnet.

Should I buy a BMW 430i?

The BMW 4 Series is still such a polished car, whether you're looking at it from an everyday driver perspective or as an open-road tourer.

The extensive technology aspect will have buyers confused at first, but it's easy enough to get your head around, and there's lots to play with. The cabin comfort and quality remain as impressive as ever – plus its included features will have buyers wanting for none.

I do wish that it had more to boast about stats-wise. While it remains a fast car, it's certainly eclipsed by other (often cheaper) cars, which takes some of the shine away.

It's also really expensive compared to the 4 Series of a few years ago, without significant added improvements.

In the end, while it's such a talented all-rounder, if you're going to blow more than $100,000 on a sports car, you may as well step up into a more powerful M440i xDrive.

How do I buy a BMW 430i? The next steps.

In my mind, the best BMWs are those with a six-cylinder engine under the bonnet. I'd be stretching to the M440i xDrive, which might cost a bit more but unlocks a load more performance out of its 3.0-litre inline-six-cylinder engine.

Do consider its in-market rivals, such as the ageing Audi A5, or the brand-new Mercedes-Benz CLE. I'd be haggling for a runout price on the former too.

The next step on the purchase journey is to check the BMW website, where you can build your own 430i Coupe. You can also find BMW vehicles for sale on Drive Marketplace.

We strongly recommend taking a test drive at a dealership before committing because personal needs and tastes can differ. Find your nearest BMW dealer here.

If you want to stay updated with everything that’s happened to this car since our review, you’ll find all the latest news here.

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