BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Review

These days, you can wake up one morning and discover a new niche had been developed overnight. Many of these fresh sub-segments come from BMW, so when the Germans announced they’d be making a 3 Series Gran Turismo, we weren’t all that surprised.

What BMW basically wants is to pack the practicality of a 3 Series Tourer (Estate) inside a 3 Series Sedan. They wrapped the resulting mix in a coupe-like silhouette, albeit a five-door one.

Like we said, BMW has stretched its competence in similar fashions before. Back in 2008, the X6 showed us just how wide BMW’s acceptance of the “coupe” notion is. One year later, the automaker came up with something that really prepared us for the introduction of the 3 Series GT. We’re referring to the 5 Series Gran Turismo here.

Unfortunately, the 5 Series GT’s hunch scared buyers away. Nonetheless, the awkward styling didn’t matter too much for the Chinese market, which respects its rear passengers more than anything else.

BMW has learned its lesson meanwhile, reshaping the 5 Series GT with its facelift (LCI in BMW talk), which arrived after the introduction of the 3 Series GT. The Chinese affair wasn’t limited to the 5 Series though. You see, for the base of the 3 Series GT, BMW used the long-wheelbase platform that was developed specifically for China.

Park a Gran Turismo next to the standard 3 Series and you’ll notice it’s larger in just about every dimension. And while the width increase isn't too serious, length is a different story. The 3 GT sits at 190 inches (4,824 mm) and has a wheelbase of 115 inches (2,920 mm) - that’s a 5 Series-like wheelbase.

On the new dimensions, sits a body that definitely has its own personality. This time around, BMW got it right. We don’t know what impression the car is making on you via the adjacent images, but it looks a bit sharper in real life.

Despite the nicely flowing roofline, BMW’s 3 Series GT still doesn’t manage to pull a fully sleek look.