What's the difference?
Without a whole lot of fanfare BMW has slipped yet another model into its Australian line-up.
Sitting alongside existing coupe and convertible variants, the new 4 Series Gran Coupe follows the template established by the previous gen version.
A sports luxury four-door with a sleek, fastback twist, it provides a more adventurous alternative to its close 3 Series cousin.
Offered in three grades, this is the M440i xDrive, the 3.0-litre, six-cylinder, all-wheel drive 4 Series Gran Coupe flagship.
It competes with premium all-wheel drive four-doors like Audi’s S5 Sportback, the Jaguar XF P300 R-Dynamic HSE, and the Mercedes-AMG C 43.
The Audi A4 allroad is the off-roader of the A4 line-up. I’m using the term ‘off-roader’ loosely here because this wagon is obviously best suited to daily duties in a city and suburbs, with perhaps an occasional foray into very light off-roading, i.e. driving on a well-maintained gravel or dirt road with few, if any, corrugations, and in dry weather only.
But that’s not a negative factor because the great thing about adventures is that they can be scaled to suit you, your lifestyle and your vehicle of choice.
However, is this allroad your best option for a comfortable, nice-driving all-rounder? Read on.
The BMW M440i xDrive Gran Coupe manages to combine sleek design with a fun-to-drive personality and surprising practicality. It’s a rapid premium, four-door, five-seater offering extra flair, and in this part of the market, good value. But more than anything else it’s got a cracking in-line six under the bonnet.
The Audi A4 allroad 40 TDI quattro S Tronic is a nice-looking wagon that’s fun to drive.
It’s packed with tech, adequately functional for daily life and it’s also capable enough off-road as long as the driving surface is nothing more challenging than well-maintained gravel or dirt tracks in dry weather, and you’re not planning a rough-and-tumble expedition into remote bushland.
As I mentioned earlier, the great thing about adventures is that you can scale them to suit you and your vehicle and the allroad offers a nice stepping-stone for people who’d like to experience the outdoorsy lifestyle, before perhaps diving deeper into it.