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Have you ever had a dream where you wanted to speak but couldn’t? What about that one where your hands seemed tied? Well, that’s what it feels like writing about this BMW 420i Gran Coupé. It isn’t writer’s block or anything like that; it’s just that I feel like having to explain something I don’t understand…
Today’s rant is being flung in your general direction from the dizzy height of my high horse where I aim to slay many motorised misconceptions thought up by automotive ignoramuses. Feel free to validate any of these claims with your local petrol head or grease monkey.
A few years ago I tested a big Korean SUV and while I couldn’t fault it in any meaningful way, I was overcome by a sense of pity. The preferred flashy 4×4 is German and great value for money even counts against its snob appeal. Does the same apply to Kia’s Optima luxury sedan?
I’m a petrol head. While most people fondly remember their first kiss, first bike or first dog, I like to think back to the first car I took sideways, the first car I managed to chirp into third gear and the first car I inevitably spun. These honours belong to just one automobile… a BMW Three Series.
Compact executive sedans enjoy great popularity in South Africa and chances are good that you’re no more than twenty paces away from a 3-Series, A4 or C-Class. And rightly so, these arch enemies have never been closer and more accomplished than today.
So the year’s almost over and you’ve been playing with the idea of a new luxury German car. The C-Class, A4 and 3-Series are just too obvious and plentiful. The A8, Seven and S-Class are too big, which just leaves you with the 5-Series, E-Class or the new Audi A6.
BMW’s and their drivers tend to have a nasty stigma attached to them and they don’t come more dubious than a bottom-drawer Three Series. Hence I was excited to test a 320d and finally research if it has any indicators or if the fog lights are permanently on.
Right in the middle of BMW’s dime-a-dozen 3-Series and stock-portfolio 7-Series you shall find the obviously named 5-Series. With many experts pinning the recession’s automotive pain threshold around N$500 000, BMW shifted the middle-child Five away from Three and in the better-heeled direction of the new Seven.
Prepare to be surprised in a pleasant way, especially if you aren’t familiar with the latest GT version of the Subaru Legacy. This mid-size sedan never really made a big impression on me right up to the minute that I set eyes on our burgundy metallic test mule with its taught body panels and where-can-I-buy-those 18-inch mag wheels.