welcome to episode 5 now of the bmw 4 series long term report and time really does fly because this
is going to be the penultimate report of the entire series because it's not long
until the 4 series goes back which is a shame because well as i'm sure you can tell over
the last few episodes i've really enjoyed it but today is an important one because i'm not
actually gonna drive the 420i because you know all about that pretty much by now and
if you don't then you're going to see the in-depth review that we've got coming for our next episode
in a couple of weeks time but today i'm going to drive the 420i's biggest rival namely the 420d
so it's the previous bestseller the 420d and the 420i has taken over that position so essentially
i'm going to find out today how the 420d fares compared with my 420i because i think for a lot
of people they'll be wondering well the 420d has got its merits but should i be looking
at it what with how diesels are perceived now or is the 420i really the best one to go for
if you want to find out then be sure to stay tuned and why not subscribe to the parker's
cars channel and turn your notifications on and also drop a comment in the box below
so this is the 420d that i'll be comparing with my 420i it's in dravid gray has the jet black
alloy wheels and a darker interior that for me looks far less sophisticated than the lighter
oyster speck leather in my long termer although maybe i'm a little biased if you disagree let
us know in the comments but now let us find out how it compares to my 420i long termer
when it comes to driving this car and the difference is from a 420d to a 420i well it's
got a little bit more power in the 420d it's 190 horsepower rather than i think 184 and 20i
and it's got more importantly than that a lot more torque and you can see the exact figures on
the screen now and you wonder how that translates into you know actually using it every day well i
think the biggest thing with diesels is that the engine refinement typically isn't as good as a
petrol and that is the case in some situations with this car and what i'm talking about is at
very low speeds when you're moving away from traffic lights driving on residential roads
you can just hear that rumbling from the diesel engine which you don't get on the petrol that said
it's very very very refined for a diesel this is one of the most refined 2d diesels i've ever
driven and bmw actually even over mercedes and audi rivals especially mercedes they have done
an incredible job at making their diesel engines nice and quiet but even so at low speeds the 420i
is still the more refined engine we also actually mustn't forget that this car has of course got
the 48 volt mild hybrid technology so it does cut the engine at lower speeds and when you're
coasting as well and that does have an impact but it's you know little flips and starts it's not
consistently quieter because of it at low speeds now if we take our attention to higher speeds
you know when you're accelerating onto a motorway the difference actually isn't that great because
in the petrol you really start to feel like you're thrashing it when you put your foot down and
it's not particularly comfortable doing that in a diesel it does make a noise it's certainly louder
but the differences i don't think are that great i mean put my foot down now
it's really not bad at all i actually think this is quieter when you're putting your foot down at
higher speeds than the petrol so yeah depending on what you're using them for whether it's mainly
slow speed driving or high speed driving the diesel could actually end up being more refined
which probably isn't what you'd expect as for outright performance well surprise surprise as you
can see from the power figures earlier and then alter 62 figures there really isn't too much to
choose between these two cards i mean yes this has got a little bit more in-gear shoved so it doesn't
well it feels more effortless when you're putting your foot down doesn't again feel like you're
thrashing it but if we're talking about sprinting from a certain speed so say 40 to 70 miles an hour
that doesn't feel in the real world like there's all that much difference the only thing that i can
really pick out is if you're going up hills where naturally a diesel is going to excel and the 420i
it does struggle but you know we're really you know splitting hairs here all in all there isn't
a huge amount of difference when it comes to outright performance you put your foot down
you get a similar result it just sometimes feels like the petrol engine is working
a little bit harder but you know what the most no no that's the gesture control but you know
what the most interesting difference that i'm finding between these two cars in how they drive
is the handling because the 420i is a little bit lighter than the 420d but crucially it's
where that weight is and of course it's over the nose it's over the front wheels because it's the
engine the diesel engine is heavier than the petrol engine and that means that this feels
noticeably more kind of relaxed at the front end it's still pointy it still handles very very
nicely it's better than an audi a5 better than a mercedes c-class coupe but there's just that
more on your toes feeling about the 420i then you get in this this is more like i expected a four
series to handle the 420i really feels sharp it feels alert it feels like it's set up to be pointy
almost like you set up a track car for example by adding lots of camber to the wheels whereas this
still got good responses but just around the straighter head position the steering the turning
it just feels a little bit lazier so if you're after the finest driving dynamics i think the 420i
is actually a bit of a sweet spot in the full series range i mean we'll take the m4 out of
course but it's got the lightest engine it's the lightest kerb weight and that counts for something
one other thing about this car and it's related to the handling is the fact that it's got
x drive all-wheel drive so bmw's equivalent to quattro or 4matic on a mercedes-benz
and if you live in an area where you've often got snow or the weather's usually atrocious such
as the uk and you might be tempted to have the x drive but in all honesty with a 420d or 420i
i just don't think it's necessary because if you're worried about snow then a decent set
of winter tires will do the job just fine and this car and the same with the 420i it hasn't
got enough power or enough torque or just general performance to really start troubling the rear
wheels and actually i'm just looking at the fuel economy here as well having picked the car up from
bmw and done some mainly slow driving but also on country roads as well faster country roads
and it's 37.7 which honestly i don't think the petrol would be that much less you know getting
into this car i was fully expecting to prefer it to the 420i because i think this is a very
relaxed cruiser it suits long distances and diesel of course traditionally suits long distances and
if you're gonna do mega miles a year then it could still bring an advantage especially because
the company car tax there goes the gesture control again the company car tax on this
420d is less than the 420 i but saying that the way that there's a difference in the handling
there's the fact that it's quieter at low speeds in the petrol
i'm still leaning towards my 420i as being the engine of choice and you do wonder and this is
sad but you do wonder how diesels are going to be seen in a few years time and whether we're
going to start seeing more of stricter bands in cities and a petrol car might be the only way
forward for you to still have a combustion engine vehicle so all in all the 420d
absolutely still has its place but if it was my money and i was buying the car yeah
the 420i still just about gets my vote i think but yeah let me know which one would you go for why
would you go for it and good question do you think there's even going to be a 420d next time round
because quite possibly this could be the last time you can buy a 420d in the uk or c hey good