BMW 4-series Convertible 2025 review – Munich’s alfresco four-seater still leads

You can forgive BMW for its subtlety when it comes to the raft of model updates in the immediate months and few short years before the Neue Klasse changes everything. The next BMW 3-series and 4-series are set to be some of the first in line, so it should come as no surprise that the LCI of the latest 4er range, the new 4-series Convertible included, is a minor one, at least on the outside.

That's no bad thing. The reintroduction of the fabric roof and the more sloping character of the latest 4-series give it a cleaner, more handsome, premium look than the quite literally top heavy F33 generation car it took over from. It was definitely more ‘baby 8-series’ than a simple coupe and convertible version of BMW’s stalwart saloon. Now, it gets a fresh set of front lights with new fang DRLs and at the rear, the option of the delightful laser lights first seen on the M4 CSL, also then seen on the M4 CS.

Inside the most profound changes to the new 4-series range can be observed. Gone are the separate digital displays that once occupied more traditional housings. In their place, BMW’s curved display, first introduced on the M3 Touring. We know it well by now so the main takeaways are predictable: boo to fewer physical controls, yay to the rotary dial being retained, boo to uninspiring driver’s display graphics and ‘thank god’ to nannying speed bongs and lane-keeping steering interference that can be easily disengaged. Something more noticeable when driving plenty of BMW’s back to back is how homogenous the cabins are now. Tell apart the interior of the new 2-series from the new 4-series, we dare you…

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As before, the fabric roof allows for more headroom for the front passengers, and a boot that doesn’t have to perform a double role as storage for the roof should the stars align and the clouds part to allow a bit of alfresco motoring. You can even fold the rear seat center-back for through loading. Very practical. Being fabric it also saves a good bit of weight – BMW claimed a 40 per cent drop by comparison to the metal folder when this car first debuted – though the 4 Series Convertible is hardly a flyweight as a result.

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Kerb weights for the 4-series Convertible range from 1690kg for the rear-wheel drive 420i, to a full-bodied 1890kg for the M440i xDrive. That’s thanks in part to the additional front and rear bracing to compensate for a lack of fixed roof and in xDrive models like the 440 we’re driving, the four-wheel-drive powertrain. All in, it’s 150kgs heavier than its coupe equivalent. 

Thankfully, there’s still proper BMW substance to match the soft-top style here. The M Performance-fettled M440i xDrive certainly, is much more a driving machine than a marketing department exercise in badge application, still leading its key competitor the Mercedes CLE Cabriolet as a rewarding steer.

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Saying that, convertibles are less about lap times and more about enjoying the moment and soaking it all up. For which the 4-series Convertible, especially the M440i xDrive, is a rather pleasant machine in which to find yourself.

Roof closed it’s tranquil with no distracting wind noise to disturb you and with it down the buffeting is minimal. You’ll have it down more often than you initially expect too, if you get heating for the seats and steering wheel, with the addition of neck scarf. 

With the roof open on poor surfaces you’ll detect some shuffle through the structure if you’ve loaded the chassis, but even across broken surfaces at regular speeds there’s little more disruption through the cabin than in a coupe. Your preferred driving mode or Individual settings in most other M-badged BMW’s might be on the side of Sport but even in the M440i variant of the 4-series Convertible, you end up leaving everything in Comfort for most of the time. 

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The optional adaptive suspension can tighten up, you can reduce the assists and it does retain that tail-lead dynamic character. In other words, it’s still a straight-six BMW. But, like knowing your watch will still work 500 feet under the ocean doesn’t mean you take it scuba diving every week, the knowledge it can is a comfort rather than a facet of its personality you regularly explore.

The 4-series Convertible can of course be had with somewhat less barrel-chested four-cylinder powertrains in the 420i and 430i xDrive, yes, but the B58 of the M440i xDrive remains the rippling lump of muscle that completes the equation of this car. It’s a wonderful powertrain that better suits the junior 8-series role and in our book, is worth the entry price alone.

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Price and rivals 

Cars get more expensive the more the years rumble on. The last M440i Cabriolet we drove was £58,980, with some £9000 of options. That was a lot of money then. The updated car just over three years on? Deep breath – £65,410 starting, £77,164 with options. These include the matrix LED lights and laser rears, at £1525, the Tanzanite blue paint, at £1725, extended leather at £1025. It soon adds up, with the £2100 technology pack, the £500 Harman/Kardon sound system, the £900 comfort pack and £1300’s worth of M-Sport bits and more on top. All for a car that sat in the middle of a manufacturer’s model hierarchy. That said, being near the top of the 4-series tree means you’ll want for nothing.

Rivals? Well, Audi’s A5 Cabriolet is the first of the outgoing A5 range to disappear from Audi’s configurator in the UK, meaning that on top of the 4-series Convertible losing a key rival, Audi has lost its last soft top. Mercedes’ CLE 450 Cabriolet is a closer match for the M440i on price and performance but is still more expensive, starting from £70,320. The CLE 53 that you might more closely associate with the M440, is actually almost 100bhp up and starts from £77,075. 

Of course, if it’s four-seat (at a push), open-top motoring with the security that four-wheel drive can often bring, you could look at a used 911 Carrera 4 convertible. Just saying.