BMW 4 Series coupe - Reliability & safety

BMW has a great reputation among motoring enthusiasts, yet the brand has failed to impress owners responding to our Driver Power survey in recent years. Safety is beyond refute, with plentiful active and passive kit to help protect occupants and pedestrians.

BMW 4 Series reliability

While the 4 Series coupe was introduced in 2020, its engines and gearboxes have been in use throughout the BMW range for a while, meaning they should be reliable. The same applies to the car’s technology, with the infotainment system already in use in the latest 3 Series. 

The BMW brand could only manage 21st out of 29 manufacturers in our 2021 Driver Power brand survey, beating German rivals Audi in 23rd place. However, this result placed the BMW behind a number of premium rivals such as Mercedes (13th), Lexus (10th), Jaguar (7th) and our overall survey winner, Porsche. 

Running costs were deemed too expensive and owners weren't impressed with interior or exterior design - issues the contentiously styled 4 Series may only exacerbate. More pressingly, around 19% of BMW owners reported at least one fault within the first 12 months of ownership.

Safety

It's not yet known if the 4 Series will get its own Euro NCAP crash-test rating, but the virtually identical 3 Series has already scored the full five stars, with an impressive 97% score for adult occupants. BMW includes autonomous emergency braking and lane departure warning as standard. An optional Driving Assistant Professional pack can steer the car and keep pace with traffic on multi-lane stretches of road.