The arrival of the Gran Coupé sees BMW expanding the 4 Series to three body styles. How does this new hatchback compare to the rival Audi A5 Sportback?
We’ve had nonsensical model names from BMW for as long as I can recall. Probably even before the 3.2-litre 745i from the late 1970s, which is the first one that comes to mind. Engine capacity isn’t often indicated by the bootlid’s badge but now even body styles are becoming perplexing.
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Earlier this year we saw the first front-wheel drive BMW, the 2 Series Active Tourer, which, like the 5 Series GT, is a five-door hatchback. Low roof saloons in the style of the Mercedes-Benz CLS looked set to all be called Gran Coupé (or Gran Coupe in North America) following the arrival of the 6 Series GC in 2012. Well, that’s what we thought. But we were wrong: the 4 Series Gran Coupé is a five-door hatchback, though it does have the same frameless doors as the ‘6 GC. Its main rival is the Audi A5/S5 Sportback, and while BMW hasn’t acknowledged that an M4 GC is under development, it’s obvious that the RS 5 Sportback won’t be allowed to rule its small market niche forever.
If you’re still with me, I do also want to mention one other curiosity about the new-to-Britain ‘4 GC: it’s smaller and also more expensive than the 3 Series Gran Turismo – 4,628mm long with a 2,810mm wheelbase, versus 4,824mm long and a 2,920mm wheelbase for the ‘3 GT.
So why the odd model name? Happily, there is one person with responsibility for all 3 Series and 4 Series vehicles in the UK. Natasha Newman, whose title is operations manager for Medium Cars, explained on the media launch earlier this week that the new Gran Coupé might well be a hatchback but some corporate buyers are not allowed to buy two-door cars. Suddenly, the naming strategy begins to make sense.
The 4 Series is now a range of three cars, the Coupé having gone on sale here last October, followed by the Convertible in March and from this month, the Gran Coupé takes up position in showrooms. Natasha Newman points out that almost 50% of all UK market 6 Series sales in 2013 were the GC but for the 4 Series, the equivalent is expected to be one in four. Nonetheless, this additional body style will help BMW go after more fleet buyers, especially as a base 418d is available in the hatchback body only. I say base, but all GCs come very well equipped, with even xenon headlights fitted as standard. Adaptive lights are an option, as are Adaptive LEDs.
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By GlobalDataDespite the low slung looks, the new GC is 12mm taller than the Coupé and is said to provide 7mm more headroom for those occupying the rear seats. All three 4 Series models are the same length but the boot is understandably larger than the fixed-roof two-door car, its capacity rated at 480 cubic litres compared to 445.
To drive, you can imagine it’s typically BMW. Open a heavy door, sink into soft leather, grip a thick-spoked steering wheel, find best-in-the-business instruments directly ahead of you, logically arranged controller to your left between the seats, perfectly weighted pedals and an optional unique in its segment head-up display. But. The first car I tried, a 428i GC, didn’t sound terribly exciting, even though there’s no way you could criticise its performance or roadholding. Maybe I will just always think the best engines in BMWs have to have six cylinders: the 428i is powered by a 242bhp/179kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo.
I also sampled a 435i Convertible and even with the roof dropped or top up and windows down, it too was surprisingly less than spine tingly. That was a shock, especially for something with a 302bhp/224kW 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo under its bonnet. The best model at the media drive was the 430d Coupé – 230kW/313bhp and an almost ridiculous amount of torque, while the eight-speed transmission is as superb as it is in every car which ZF supplies it for. The extra weight over the front wheels wasn’t obvious and compared to a Sportback, even one with quattro drive, the 430d was loads more fun.
All 4 Series models are manufactured in Germany, at either Regensburg or Munich, depending on the body style. The first car to have been launched, the Coupé, is 26mm longer, 43mm wider and 16mm lower than its 3 Series predecessor (4,638mm x 1,825mm x 1362mm). The wheelbase is 50mm longer than the former two-door ‘3, and the front and rear tracks are 45mm and 81mm wider (1,545mm and 1,593mm respectively). The Gran Coupé shares its length, width and wheelbase dimensions with the Coupé.
Unlike its rival the Audi A5 Cabriolet, the 4 Series Convertible has a metal roof. Final assembly of the retractable hard top takes place at Webasto-Edscha’s convertible roof factory in Regensburg on the BMW factory site, but pre-assembly is at Hengersberg in Lower Bavaria.
To judge by the project codes for these cars, you might imagine that there are a couple of extra derivatives to come. The two-door is F32 and the Convertible is F33 but the GC is F36. Proving how, despite the badges, the 3- and 4 Series share quite a lot, F34 is the 3 Series GT, while F35 is China’s (long wheelbase) ‘3 Li.
Mid-life facelifts for all three should begin to appear in 2016, with the replacements following from 2020. These will be G22, G23 and G26 respectively, with G24 and G25 the next ‘ 3 GT and Li (the seventh generation 3 Series sedan due in six years’ time is G20 and the Touring is G21). All will be based on the 35up architecture which will debut with next year’s G11 (standard wheelbase) and G12 (Li) 7 Series.
The current ‘3 and ‘4 use the L7 platform which was introduced by the X3 in 2010 and which is also the basis of the 1 Series and two-door versions of the 2 Series, as well as the soon to be launched X4.
With the current Audi A5 range coming to the end of its life – the two-door cars date from 2007 and the Sportback from 2009 – the 4 Series has a big advantage for the next year or so, while the Gran Coupé won’t face a challenge from Mercedes-Benz until 2015, either. Next year is predicted as the car’s high point in its production cycle, BMW’s Natasha Newman believes, with 28,000 units expected to be sold here over the next seven years.
Model variants from launch (21 June) are as follows: 420i, 428i, 435i, 418d, 420d, 420d XDrive (all-wheel drive is an additional GBP 1,500) and there will be others in the coming months. You don’t have to be a genius to notice that six-cylinder diesels are missing from that initial launch range so expect a 430d GC at least.
The new 4 Series Grand Coupé range starts at GBP 29,425 and where there is an equivalent Coupé, prices are identical.
