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2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe Review

OUR TEST CAR: 2016 BMW 640d xDrive, 8AT

 
Breaking automotive taboos is never easy, and while a lot of people will tag this as disgusting at first when hearing about or seeing a model that seems out of place, others will wholeheartedly embrace it. It has been like that since forever, and it will probably keep on happening as we get older, and the industry learns more about its customers. The 2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe is one of those examples.
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However, back in the day, only some companies were renowned for experimenting on broad niches and bringing out all sorts of “crazy looking”, “illogical” creations. Believe us when we tell you that BMW wasn’t amongst them.

As a matter of fact, just ten years ago, the company had only seven models in its line-up, catering to every need a fan of the brand had. Today, that number went up by a considerable amount, with the BMW roundel being used on front-wheel drive cars, family cars, crossovers and four-door versions of two-door coupes.

So let’s say that FWD cars make sense from an accountant’s point of view. Let’s also assume that family cars and crossovers are a must. Where does that leave the four-door coupes otherwise known as Gran Coupes in Bavaria? Are they really necessary?

Of course not, but when it comes to buying a car, how many of us rely on reason alone and how many also take other, more emotional factors into account? That’s right, it’s not always logic that dictates. Therefore, the 6 Series Gran Coupe and the 4 Series Gran Coupe are cars meant for the man that wants a stylish appearance (as is the case with a classic Coupe) but more practicality and room in the back.

The 6 Series Gran Coupe has just received a facelift, but it's essentially the same as the original launched back in 2012 with some small improvements here and there.

Originally meant to be a rival for the first four-door Coupe car of modern times, the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, the 6 Series Gran Coupe is indeed a Coupe, make no mistake about it.

The designers had a precise task assigned when they were unleashed on this project, and their efforts to keep the style and feel of the Coupe intact can be noticed everywhere.
The facelift doesn’t bring forward big changes in terms of design, as it was expected.

As a matter of fact, admiring the two cars in press photos might leave you a bit stunned as to how small the differences are. However, get a look at them in the metal and you’ll immediately feel that something’s off.

Up front, the headlights are the biggest change, as the new ones are less bulky and more stylish, elongated and featuring a narrower design along with new corona rings. Their lower side now makes up a visual front together with the kidney grilles that feature a sharp design, are more prominent and have 18 sculpted bars instead of 20 simple ones like before.

All three models in the 6 Series range look the same up to the A-pillar. Past that point, each one comes with a new approach. In the case of the Gran Coupe model, you get four doors instead of two, an element that stretches the body of the car by a few inches compared to the two-door version.

As a matter of fact, in terms of size, the 6 Series Gran Coupe is closer to the 7 Series than anything else in the range. In pure numbers, it is 4 inches longer (10 cm) than the 5 Series and has 4.5 inches (11.43 cm) more in wheelbase than the sedan. That puts it at just 2.7 inches (6.9 cm) below the 7 Series in total length, and you can tell that’s true every time you park it.

That’s a good thing though if you’re one of those people that seeks attention because the design of this car will attract the look of everyone within a 1-mile radius. Yes, this Bimmer looks incredible, and it just won’t go unnoticed anywhere you go.

Our tester was wearing Frozen Brilliant White metallic paint which is BMW lingo for Matte White. It costs $3,600 in the US and €5,000 in Europe but it’s worth every penny as it looks simply breathtaking. The amount of thumbs up we got while driving it was “too damn high” and at times we were glad that the seating was extremely low in the cabin as all that attention can be too much at times.

Inside, the changes are a lot more subtle on the 2016 model. BMW still markets this car as offering a 4+1 seating arrangement but to be honest, you’d have to sit a small child in the middle seat in the back, otherwise we couldn’t imagine anyone actually wanting to travel in that small, cramped space.

The seats are exquisite, even though they might seem a bit on the firm side at first. Our tester was fitted with the Comfort seats that bring heating and ventilation to the mix, and they were, in turn, dressed in the new Exclusive Nappa leather option in the Cognac/Black bi-color setup. Yes, they looked the part, especially combined with the extended leather on the dash and the fine-wood Fineline brown trims.

They work perfectly together, but we would’ve gone for a more subtle set of trims, in brushed aluminum, for example, as it would’ve suited the car better. It’s all subjective at this point though.

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You can’t fault the interior of the 6 Series Gran Coupe for anything really but there are a couple of things that might take you by surprise, however.

For example, we were shocked of how low the driving position is. The door panels are tall and curved towards the inside of the car, giving you the feeling that you’re sitting inside a cocoon. The small windows don't help out too much either.

The rear seats are individual and perfectly sculpted, offering considerably more space than in the two-door coupe. As a matter of fact, you’ll be sitting comfortably in the back even if you’re 6-foot tall (1.84 m), but not upright. The thing is, the low-slung roof does cut into the amount of headroom you get, and you’ll have to slide forward to fit if you’re too tall. You’ll still be comfortable though, especially since the front seats are taken straight off the Coupe and Convertible models. For example, they have the seat belts integrated and can be moved from the rear using two buttons on the side.

All of these elements show just how much the designers and engineers worked to make this car a four-door alternative to the original Coupe. The low seating position, the seats and the overall sensation you get inside are oozing the feeling of a proper coupe that simply has more room in the back and is easier to get into.

At 197.1 inches (5,006 mm), the car is long by any scale you want to use and it’s also wide enough to make you sweat on narrow city streets. It’s not that 74.6 inches (1,895 mm) makes it abnormally wide in the hips but you certainly feel it that way while driving around town.

The visibility isn’t brilliant, and you can’t raise your seat too much as you’ll hit the low-slung roof (if you're tall, that is). However, the 6 Series Gran Coupe comes as standard with Park Distance Control that will be extremely helpful in tight situations. Of course, we’d recommend getting the Surround View Camera system that will make your life a lot easier over time.

The claustrophobic feeling you get around town evaporates the moment you hit the highway.
Outside of towns is where the 6 Series Gran Coupe likes to spend most of its time and show you why it’s a true Grand Tourer in essence.

The engine range begins with the 640i model, powered by a 3-liter twin-scroll turbo inline 6-cylinder petrol engine making 320 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque. It’s the slowest model in the range, but it’s still lively enough to keep you out of trouble, despite the car’s 1.8 ton weight.

Up next you have the 640d model with a twin-turbo 3-liter inline 6-cylinder diesel under the bonnet making 313 HP and 630 Nm (465 lb-ft) of torque that, coincidentally, is the one we had for testing purposes. It’s more than enough as well, especially thanks to its wide torque band.

However, it gets upstaged by the top of the line 650i version that uses a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 making 450 HP and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) of torque and is blazing fast doing 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.6 or 4.4 seconds depending on whether you went for xDrive or not.

Out of this line-up, we’d go for the 640d not only for its frugal character but also because of its refinement and abundance of torque. Since BMW set up this car to be a Gran Tourer, this is the one engine you should get on your 6 Series Gran Coupe if you plan to actually enjoy your car.

Sprints are done seamlessly and thanks to its Adaptive Drive optional feature, the Gran Coupe we tested felt planted at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h), more than enough for any enthusiast that doesn’t plan on breaking the law too often.

The driving modes included thanks to Adaptive Drive go from ECO Pro to Comfort, Comfort Plus, Sport and Sport Plus. The inclusion of Comfort Plus is a dead giveaway of the character BMW wanted to infuse in this car. And that’s the mode we found ourselves using most of the time, with the suspension tuned in such a way as to absorb the bumps and cracks in the road with the utmost grace.

In Sport mode, the transmission wakes up, and the dampers turn extra hard while the steering becomes artificially hard. Even in the 640d the Gran Coupe is a sporty beast that will have no problem accelerating hard to 124 mph (200 km/h) even with four people inside. Yes, overtaking won’t be an issue in all the other modes either, as pressing the pedal to the proverbial metal promptly turns the chilled tourer into a mad beast.

A special mention goes to the LED Adaptive lights that are now standard and do an excellent job at night outside the city. Provided you get the Selective Beam option, they create a cone of shadow around the car in front of you, offering the best visibility possible without dazzling anyone. While they were known to be faulty at times, BMW has worked them over, and they are now flawless.

Oh, and did we mention the 8-speed automatic gearbox? It’s brilliant as always, and it’s also the only choice you get, unfortunately for “enthusiasts”. However, you wouldn’t want it any other way, to be honest, as this might be a capable car in terms of dynamics but a stick shift simply wouldn’t be befitting. To top everything off, every model is available with xDrive as an optional extra.

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BMW had a lot of work to do on its iDrive system over the years, as the early versions were deemed as useless, stupid and other awful things by reviewers and customers alike over time. However, they stuck to their guns and now have one of the best infotainment systems on the market.

As standard, the facelifted BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe comes equipped with automated climate control, new surrounds for the iDrive display, brake energy regeneration, alarm system, anti-dazzle mirrors, seat heating, multifunctional digital display and the Professional Navigation system.

Thanks to the navigation system, you’ll not only be able to see buildings near you projected in 3D, but you’ll also be able to get traffic info if you purchase Internet connectivity.

Our tester was also fitted with the Harman Kardon sound system that is worth the €1,358 extra along with the M Sport exterior package, soft-close automatic doors, comfort access and high-beam assist for the headlights amongst others.

That’s all impressive, but what’s most noteworthy lies under the bonnet. BMW’s TwinPower technology is truly remarkable, and that’s shown by the mpg numbers our tester returned. Around town, the 640d managed an average of 10.5 l/100 km (22.4 mpg) in Comfort Plus mode with both acceleration squirts and chilled down sessions. For a car with a 3-liter bi-turbo engine under the bonnet, weighing over 1.8 tons, it’s more than respectable.

At the same time, outside the city, in highway cruising mode, the fuel consumption varied. When the car was kept at around 75 mph continuously (120 km/h) it drank around 9 l/100 km (26 mpg). Toning it down a little for various backroads, the average for outside the city cruising went down to 8.1 l/100 km (29 mpg) which is reasonable.

In terms of safety, you should also know that the 6 Series Gran Coupe comes as standard fitted with eight airbags for the front occupants, their knees and even curtain-style ones for the rear occupants. Since the EuroNCAP or IIHS haven’t tested this particular car yet, we can’t say how it would fare in one of their test courses.

However, if we’re to use the results for the 5 Series that uses the same chassis, the 6er is extremely safe. The 5er received a five-star rating overall while the adult occupant protection went as far up as 95 percent.

There’s also an 83 percent for child occupant protection, 78 percent for pedestrian protection and a score of 100 for safety assist features (such as lane departing warnings and auto breaking inside city traffic). So what’s the problem with it?
As stylish and good looking as the 6 Series Gran Coupe is, its main problem lives right under the same blue and white umbrella, and its name is the 5 Series.

The two are virtually identical underneath, and the 5 Series can be fitted with all the options you get on the 6 Series Gran Coupe. However, the classic sedan offers more practicality, a bigger boot (459 liters vs. 518 liters) and better visibility all around. It’s also a lot cheaper and makes a lot more sense.

However, remember what we told you in the intro? We don’t always buy the car that makes the most sense and for some people, the sloping roofline of the 6 Series Gran Coupe and its looks might overcome the flaws it has. Of course, we’re not talking average Joes here.

The 6 Series Gran Coupe has a starting price of $76,600 in the US for the 640i model and €81,500 in Germany. Our tester, as you can see it in the photo gallery below, had a sticker of €118,579 including 19% VAT, and that’s clearly not cheap.

Unfortunately for BMW, its model is the most expensive in its class, the Audi A7 starting at $68,300 for example and the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class at $65,990. However, out of the two, only the Audi could match the Bimmer as the older CLS-Class falls behind on almost all chapters, from the dated interior to the performance and optional features.

Even so, when dealing with such high prices and such a lack of practicality against cheaper alternatives, it’s pretty obvious that whoever is looking to buy a 6 Series Gran Coupe isn’t doing it for anything else but its style and design. In that regard, the 2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe is definitely top of its class if not in the niche then in the BMW world at the very least, a feature that makes it both desirable and a rare gem on the road.
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autoevolution May 2015
74
Value for money: 5/10
History
6
Exterior
8
Interior
8
In the city
7
Open road
7
Comfort
7
Tech facts
8
Gadgets
9
Safety
9
Conclusion
7
86user rating 54 votes
Rate this car!
 
Key Specs
USEU
Engine
2993 cm3 I6
Fuel
diesel
Power kw
230
Power hp
308
Power rpm
4400
Torque val
465
Torque rpm
1500-2500
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Traction
AWD
Acceleration
5
Top speed
155 mph
Length
197.1 in
Width
74.6 in
Height
54.8 in
Wheelbase
116.9 in
Ground clearance
5 in
Cargo volume
16.2 CuFT
Weight
4123 lbs
Seating
4+1
Power
230 KW/308 BHP @ 4400 RPM
Torque
465 Lb-Ft @ 1500-2500 RPM
Engine
2993 cm3 I6
Fuel
diesel
Power kw
230
Power hp
313
Power rpm
4400
Torque val
630
Torque rpm
1500-2500
Transmission
8-speed automatic
Traction
AWD
Acceleration
5.2
Top speed
250 km/h
Length
5006 mm
Width
1895 mm
Height
1392 mm
Wheelbase
2969 mm
Ground clearance
127 mm
Cargo volume
458.7 L
Weight
1870 Kg
Seating
4+1
Power
230 KW/313 HP @ 4400 RPM
Torque
630 Nm @ 1500-2500 RPM
fuel efficiency
mpgOfficialOurs
City36.222.4
Highway46.127.6
Combined4224.7
fuel efficiency
l/100kmOfficialOurs
City6.510.5
Highway5.18.5
Combined5.69.5
base price
$
78800
base price
81500
Photo gallery (52)
2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe driving position2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe iDrive screen2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe harman/kardon speaker2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe key fob2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe start button2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe M Sport pedal covers2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe digital instrument cluster in sport mode2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe head up display2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe N57 engine2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe side view2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe against green background2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe side view2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe faclift2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe in Frozen Brilliant White metallic2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe dynamic shot2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe On the road2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe in Frozen Brilliant White metallic2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe rear three quarters in traffic2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe in traffic2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe facelift front fascia2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe next to F10 5 Series2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe in Frozen Brilliant White metallic2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe facelift headlight2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe roundel2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe side mirror2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe M badge2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe in Frozen Brilliant White2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe side view2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe front quarter2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe rear quarter2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe headlight turn signal2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe rear2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe rear fascia2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe rearview camera2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe open boot lid2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe boot2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe driver's seat2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe gearshift knob2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe driving position2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe rear bench2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe seat adjusting buttons for rear passengers2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe ventilated seats2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe rear individual seats in Cognac Brown Nappa leather2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe front door panel with Nappa Cognac Brown leather2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe iDrive touch controller2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe front comfort seats in Cognac Brown2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe dash with Nappa extended leather2016 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe M Sport Steering wheel