BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo - A Question of Cross-Breeding

Palermo, Italy-

In North America, the GT or Gran Turismo designation very often implies a performance-oriented sports car driving experience, but the true European definition is that of a comfortable touring car, one that can carry passengers and their luggage over long distances, and that is exactly what the 3 Series GT is all about. For the Canadian market, the 3 Series Gran Turismo will be available with all-wheel-drive only and two engines will be on offer as the 328i will be powered by the turbocharged four-cylinder and the 335i will get the turbocharged inline-six. The eight-speed automatic gearbox will be standard and BMW Canada is still debating whether to offer the 3 Series GT with a no-cost optional manual gearbox. With this new variant, the focus is on roominess and practicality and, although the new model drives like a BMW, the handling is not quite as sharp as that of the sedan.

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On the roads of Sicily and at the wheel of the six-cylinder turbocharged powered 335i model, it quickly became apparent that the 3 Series GT is not as incisive as the sedan when it comes to dealing with quick transitions from one corner to the other, even if our test car was equipped with the optional M Sport Package and was riding on 19 inch wheels. As the GT is 200 millimeters longer and 81 millimeters taller than the Touring model on top of being 60 kilos heavier, it’s center of gravity and it’s front and rear roll centers are all higher than those of it’s 3 Series brethren which means that the cat-like reflexes normally associated with the sedan or Touring 3 Series models are somewhat dulled on the GT, even when the Sport mode, which firms up the steering and the dampers, is selected. The straight-six turbocharged engine sings all the way to it’s 7000 RPM redline, the car can reach 100 kilometers per hour in a scant 5.4 seconds, and the paddle shifters of the eight-speed automatic gearbox all add up to spice things up but, although the car can be driven enthusiastically, you get the sense that this was not it’s primary purpose.

Indeed, what the 3 Series Gran Turismo gives up in dynamics, it makes up for in comfort by way of it’s larger and somewhat airier cabin. As with the 5 Series GT, the new 3 Series variant features frameless windows for a cleaner look and to provide added light in the cabin. Up front, the driver and passenger will face the same dashboard and console as in the 3 Series sedan, but the rear seat passengers will be rewarded with more headroom as well as legroom that is midway between the much larger 5 and 7 Series cars. Cargo capacity is rated at 520 liters with all seats occupied but can be increased to a whopping 1600 liters when the rear seatbacks are down even if they do not fold completely flat.

From a styling standpoint, the 3 Gran Turismo is much better looking than the 5 Series GT, which has been largely criticized for it’s ungainly rear end. In order to clean things up at the back, the 3 GT’s trailing edge has been lowered and an active rear spoiler, a first for the BMW brand, has been added to negate high-speed lift. The windshield angle is more upright than that of the 3 Series sedan in order to accommodate the sloping and almost coupe-like roofline. Up front, the 3 GT features both an “air curtain” deflector as well as a new “air breather” located on the side of the fenders just before the front doors, which is to become “part of the future of the brand’s design language”, according to Page Beermann of BMW’s exterior design department. The overall look is both clean and aerodynamic as the 3 Series GT has a very low 0,28 drag coefficient, and the car looks much better “in the metal” than it does in photographs.

The all-wheel-drive 2014 BMW 3 Series GT will be on offer in Canada in the summer of 2013 with pricing to be determined closer to the market launch. Taking into consideration the fact that the 328i all-wheel-drive Touring model currently retails for 47,800 dollars and the 328i all-wheel-drive sedan is priced at 46,200 dollars, while the 335i all-wheel-drive sedan goes for 53,800 dollars, and that a premium will be expected for the new GT variants, that means prices should be in the 48 to 55 thousand dollar range, depending on the engine of choice. Whether the 3 Series Gran Turismo will be successful in Canada, or not, remains an open question as most buyers in this market will likely first consider a luxury compact SUV like BMW’s X1. However, they may be tempted to take a look at the 3 GT in light of it’s more appealing design and be pleasantly surprised by it’s practicality, and that is all that BMW is looking for.