BMW have done it again. They’ve come up with yet another car that’s a real pleasure to drive. The BMW 428i Coupé is not too big and not to small – and it’s got the classy sporting looks of a coupé to boot. Very, very nice indeed!

Naturally, the BMW 428i Coupé is built to perform. The power inside the BMW 428i Coupé peaks at 180 kW at 5000–6500 rpm and the torque maxes out at 350 Nm throughout the 1250–4800 rpm… just think what you could do with all that twist available across all those revs, especially with the 8-speed sports automatic transmission. The BMW 428i Coupé can do the nought-to-one hundred sprint in little more than a blink of an eye: 5.8 seconds. However, this engine is surprisingly thrifty for something so powerful: it has a combined fuel economy figure of 6.4 L/100 km, which drops to 5.3 L/100 km out where the BMW 428i Coupé can strut its stuff to the max: the open road. The Adaptive M suspension keeps things very comfy but still gives you plenty of road feel.

The BMW 428i Coupé shares a lot of the design features of its fellow 4-series models, and there are three “lines” to choose from: Sport, Modern and Luxury. These lines relate to the trim and styling design, with all the driver aids and safety features, etc. being common to all three. The smooth shape found on all variants of the BMW 428i Coupé has a drag coefficient of 0.29 for superb aerodynamics but what the casual observer is likely to think is that it looks downright beautiful – just the way a BMW should be. The finer details of the design, however, vary according to the line in question. But on all lines of the BMW 428i Coupé, you’ll have the nice long wheelbase with short overhangs, the classic double round headlights separated by the iconic kidney grille and sculptured lines that run the length of the car, making it look tailored and athletic.

The BMW 428i Coupé Sport is easily recognisable, what with the sporty touches all over the place, such as the black chrome-plated tailpipe, the air intake and badging. The BMW 428i Coupé boasts 18-inch alloy wheels, which can be upgraded to 19-inchers, and you can choose between a body-coloured air intake or a stylish black one. Of course, if you select a BMW 428i Coupé with black paint, the choice of air intake styling doesn’t mean an awful lot. The basic interior styling plays around with black and red, and the “Sports” badging is continued on the inside (and even the key fob has touches of red). You can also choose a few other interior trim options, such as Dakota leather in oyster, coral red and black. Of course, the BMW 428i Coupé Sport is sporty to drive and has the Sport + driving mode available for the lucky driver.

The BMW 428i Coupé Modern uses aluminium accents on the exterior rather than the black of the Sport. The interior features Breeze cloth and leather trim in oyster with pearlescent accents here and there. The same wheel rim options are available for the BMW 428i Coupé Modern as for the Sport: 18-inch or 19-inch alloys.

The BMW 428i Coupé Luxury features high-gloss chrome highlights where the others have black (Sport) or aluminium (Modern). The interior styling features leather, of course, in black, brown or beige, and either burr walnut or ash grain wooden trim along with pearlescent aluminium highlights.

So, apart from the different trims for the different lines, what else can you expect to find inside a BMW 428i Coupé? Surprisingly, even though this is a coupé, you will still find a reasonable amount of room in the rear seats. The dashboard is positively palatial and is laid out very well indeed. The multifunction display screen is placed conveniently high so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road for long – but there’s also BMW’s Heads-up display (HUD) that projects basic vital information onto the windscreen itself so you can see it while you’re driving. No more glancing down, back or around to get some vital information; instead, the HUD will show you the current speed limit and other info from the navigation package (e.g. where to go at the next intersection) and your current speed, as well as some customisable options. (PS: the people at BMW suggest that you shouldn’t wear polarized sunglasses if you want to use the HUD, as you won’t be able to see it clearly – but the protection glazing on the windows should take care of that sort of thing for you without the need for sunglasses.) There are cameras galore in the BMW 428i Coupé as well: a rear camera, of course, and a park distance control at the front, with surround view being an option. What the camera sees will be projected onto the display screen. Other fun features for the driver to enjoy include the cruise control, automatic 2-zone air conditioning, electric lumbar support for the driver’s seat, Bluetooth connectivity, a handy 12-volt power socket, a nine-speaker sound system with auxiliary input, fuel-saving automatic Stop/Start, a navigation system with the handy iTouch input (which is controlled by touch so you don’t have to look down to press the right button) and the ability to access the internet when the car is stationary.

On the safety front, the BMW 428i Coupé is pretty well equipped. Active safety features include the Dynamic Stability Control which features ABS brakes, cornering brake control, brake assist and dynamic traction control There’s also the “Active Protection” safety package, which could have been called the “Batten down the hatches – we’re going to crash!” package. If this system detects that a crash is imminent, it whangs on the brakes, shuts the windows and pretensions the seatbelts – it’s halfway between the active and passive safety features. Passive safety features include driver and front passenger airbags, head airbags front and rear, and side airbags for the driver and front passenger.

There’s absolutely no question that the BMW 428i Coupé is a great drive. The only question is which line is the one that’s more up your alley: Sport, Modern or Luxury?

Current model series include:

• BMW 428i Coupé Sport
• BMW 428i Coupé Modern
• BMW 428i Coupé Luxury

For any more information on the BMW 428i Coupé, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of BMW dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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