It's not perfect, and it's not the fastest 4 Series, but after a morning on one of Southern California's best roads, it still feels like a BMW, and that's saying something these days.

It's not perfect, and it's not the fastest or even the newest 4 Series in the world. But after a morning in the canyons, it still feels like a BMW, which these days is a bit like finding a phone booth that still takes coins.

Before we get into how it drives, we need to talk about the grill which was a global news story. When BMW revealed the second-generation 4 Series in 2019, the entire internet had the same reaction at exactly the same moment of Wtf. This included me. The massive kidney grilles looked like they'd been through a long weekend in Beverly Hills with a surgeon who'd been paid by the inch. BMW said it was a tribute to the 328 coupe from the 1930s; enthusiasts said it was s***.

I'll admit I was one of the people shouting at their screen and crying at the change, especially given how good the F82 looked. However, I've come around on the face more than I ever expected to.

The car we reviewed is a 2023 430i coupe, and to put it through its paces in the Southern California canyons. The 430i is an entry-level 4 Series coupe, and it has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 255 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. That goes through it's eight-speed automatic, and my car is rear-wheel drive, though you can have all-wheel drive if you live somewhere with weather. BMW says it'll do 0–60 mph in about 5.5 seconds, and the rear-drive coupe has a curb weight of 3,578 pounds.

None of that is going to make anyone spit out their coffee. Around town, you discover the flat hood. Which doesn't have the best line of sight for the driver to know exactly where the front is, but it's something you get used to very fast. In the driver's seat, the front of the car simply vanishes, like a magician's assistant, and parking at first can become an act of faith.

The tech, though, is great. Wireless Apple CarPlay is standard; the navigation is ok, but I find Google or Apple Maps to still be much better, and the voice controls actually understand what you say, which is more than I can say for most people I've met. There's a lot of menus, but once you learn your way around, just about everything is a couple of clicks away. It's also practical for a coupe, with 12 cubic feet of trunk space and EPA ratings of 25 mpg in the city and 34 on the highway.

Up in the canyon is where the 430i starts to make a case for itself. The chassis is composed, and when you throw it into a tight bend, it doesn't fuss or wobble. It settles and grips through the entry, apex and exit of the corner. The stability control stays out of the way until you're really going for it, so the car actually lets you work. But it has active steering to keep you from veering out of your lane, which can be irritating when it reads a patch job in the road as a line and starts to swerve.

The eight-speed automatic gearbox is flawless, even if I think it's still too many gears. It let's you rev or bog the engine; the shifts aren't race car fast, but solid for an entry-level BMW 4-series.

The steering is where the car lets you down a bit. When in eco or comfort mode, the steering is a bit muted and causes the driver to be a bit disconnected from the road. In sport mode, the suspension stiffens, steering gets heavier and you feel the road a bit more. Still not perfect, but much better than the other modes.

Now, would I rather have the M440i? Possibly. But the 430i has enough power to be fun, and it does most of what the six-cylinder car does, at about 80% of the intensity, for a lot less cash. Since it has less power, you can't bully your way out of a bad corner with the throttle. But you don't feel that it's down on power at all.

The 2023 430i coupe started just under $50,000 before all the options, and it's frighteningly easy to push that higher with packages. That's a lot for a four-cylinder, and it puts the M440i within range when you start adding luxuries and performance packages.

Is the 430i a perfect car? It isn't. But it's composed, it's quick enough to have fun on the weekends, it's packed with excellent tech, and I find it very comfortable. After a morning in the canyons, I stand by what I've said about this car from the start: this is the last BMW that still feels like a BMW. It's not the purest BMW they've ever made, unlike their peak with the E39 M5. But with the shift to an electric future, this might be one of the last ones that tries.