Driven: BMW 440i Coupe 2017 (4.5 stars)

New technology and engineering for the latest 440i Coupé
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Would it be a blindingly obvious thing to say that you find out what a car is like by sitting behind the wheel? Yes it would, but you could argue that it’s the changes to what goes on behind the wheel that have helped transform this coupé into an even better driving machine.

There are other changes of course, but some of them are quite mundane, line new bumpers and lights. Some of the changes, like to the cabin and dashboard, are far from mundane, but the real change is to the steering.

Let’s be honest, we weren’t terribly taken with the steering in the previous version of the Coupé. Feedback was faint, like a whisper, when you needed someone making confident statements in a clear voice. Well, the new 440i Coupé has found its voice.

Gone are those micro-corrections. Instead there is a glorious sweep of the wheel, with the weight building beautifully when needed. There’s a huge amount of feedback so you can make just the right amount of steering input and then there’s no need for any further nervy little corrections.

Given that this was on winter tyres because there was snow on the roads, you can only marvel at how they’ve done it.

The suspension upgrades have obviously played their part here. There’s all sorts of stuff – more negative camber at the front, new damper rates, bigger anti-roll bars – and it all comes together. Small increments making big changes.

On the sections of road where we could push a bit harder – the non-white bits – the car seems to really lock itself to the road. There’s very little roll in the corners at all, although it should be mentioned our test car had the optional adaptive dampers.

Even more impressive was that this handling prowess wasn’t matched by a too-firm ride. It’s actually pretty comfortable and manages to keep bangs and thumps out of the cabin.

All of which allows you to relax and enjoy that 3.0-litre straight-six engine. Working here with an eight-speed auto of some slickness, it gave nothing away to the six-speed manual box. It’s a great engine, smooth, torquey and full of verve. It was hard to exploit its considerable limits on the snowy mountain roads, but we never felt near the edges.

This is slightly odd actually. At the same time we drove the 430i Convertible which shares some of the same good stuff and it didn’t seem to come together at all. Yet in the 440i Coupé it all works tremendously well. It’s now such a great and balanced package that we can’t help but heartily recommend it. Engine, transmission, handling ride and, finally, steering – every single box ticked.

BMW 440i Coupé auto

Location Austria; On sale May; Price £45,120; Engine 6 cyls, 2998cc, turbo, petrol; Power 322bhp at 5000rpm; Torque 332lb ft at 1380-5000rpm; Gearbox 8-spd automatic; Kerb weight 1630kg; Top speed 155mph; 0-62mph 5.0sec; Economy 41.5mpg (combined); CO2/tax band 159g/km/30%; Rivals Mercedes-AMG C 43 4Matic, Audi S5

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