Facelifted BMW 4 Series/M4 Brings New Styling & Power Boost

The facelifted BMW 4 Series & M4 brought minor styling tweaks inside out and improved powertrain output.

Four years after making its global debut, the second-gen BMW 4 Series/M4 has finally been given a mid-life update. Besides the usual minor styling tweaks and equipment updates, the Bavarian marque has also bestowed on these models with new and improved powertrain setups.

G22-gen BMW 4 Series facelift

Starting with the facelifted G22-gen 4 Series, both the coupe and convertible variants get mild design tweaks in the form of new headlights and taillights, the latter featuring novel Laserlight illumination. Specifically available for the 430i variants are the new mesh intake design with matte chrome accents, while the top-spec M440i comes with a new gloss black kidney grille with M badging, plus several gloss black accents and black-finished tailpipes at the back.

Elsewhere, the updated 4 Series now rides on new 19-inch alloy wheels, while new colourways like the Cape York Green metallic and Vegas Red metallic are now available.

The mild design tweaks can also be seen on its M-badged twin, with the updated M4 getting redesigned headlights with new arrowhead DRLs that double as the turn signal plus new Laserlight LED taillights at the rear. More importantly, the facelifted M4 model is also offered with a new set of M design graphics adorning its front hood and trunk lid.

Similarly, the facelifted M4 also gets several new wheel options, including these stylish M-forged light alloy wheels finished in a bright silver hue.

The facelift treatment continues as we get inside both the new 4 Series and M4, with both models getting a new steering wheel design with paddle shifters, plus an updated BMW Curved Display featuring a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a larger 14.9-inch infotainment display—both powered by the latest BMW OS 8.5. Said new software enables BMW designers to get rid of several physical buttons for the infotainment system, but at least we won’t be getting any finicky touch-sensitive buttons for change.

While the 4 Series model now comes standard with sport seats and an ambient lighting system, the new M4 gets dark graphite matte trims as standard, while its sportier M seats and front dash are now offered with optional BMW Sensatec faux leather upholstery.

The facelifted BMW M440i now comes with a 48-volt MHEV powertrain setup

By far the most significant changes brought to the new 4 Series and M4 are on the powertrain front, as the former model is now offered with a mild-hybrid (MHEV) powertrain option. The MHEV setup integration sees the M440i’s 3.0-litre straight-six mill now delivering 386 HP and 539 NM to boot—an 11 HP and 39 NM improvement over the pre-facelift model.

Meanwhile, the updated BMW M4 gets a slightly significant power boost of 20 HP

The power change is more significant on its M-badged twin, as the souped-up M4 Competition xDrive model gets a 20 HP boost, resulting in an improved total system output of 523 HP. Said power boost, however, didn’t bring any significant change to the M4’s straight-line performance, as the updated model still finished a 0-96 KM/H sprint in 3.4 seconds, just like its predecessor, while its V-Max is still capped at 249 KM/H.

The updated BMW 4 Series and M4 are set to arrive in selected global markets later this year, with the former tagged at $50,700 (RM239,811) onwards for the US market, while the souped-up M4 starts higher at $79,100 (RM374,143). While no announcements were made regarding the availability of the updated 4 Series/M4 for our local market, we can expect them to be launched here sooner or later.

As a refresher, BMW Group Malaysia currently offers the pre-facelift G22 4 Series model at RM417,600 for the baseline 430i M Sport variant, while the M4 comes only in Competition form for our local market, tagged at RM739,990 onwards.