Can one car be a sedan, a coupe, and a hatchback all at the same time?
What is it?
The BMW 428i Gran Coupe is a new addition to the BMW lineup for 2015 -- one of many in recent years. Some exposition is required, because BMW's models have become a little difficult to picture just by name alone: The 4-series lineup was carved out for coupes based on the BMW 3-series, though this one has four pillarless doors and a large hatch that opens along with the rear window. The easiest way to explain the 428i Gran Coupe is as a 3-series liftback, except there is also such a thing as a BMW 3-series Gran Turismo. That car happens to be a much more bulbous four-door 3-series that also boasts a liftback hatch, and basically looks like a smaller 5-series GT. But the one we have here is the slim four-door liftback badged as a 4-series, even if it too has four doors and it doesn't pull off the coupe look all that convincingly. The relationship, therefore, is closer to that of the 6-series coupe and its svelte 6-series Gran Coupe sibling. Got all that?
The 428i Gran Coupe is powered by a TwinPower turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four cylinder with direct injection and Double-VANOS variable valve control. This is the same 240-hp and 255 lb-ft engine found in the 428i Coupe, which really is a coupe with coupe-like things such as two doors and a slanted roof. The 4-series Gran Coupe is also offered in 435i flavor, receiving the turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six producing 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. The larger engine can send the Gran Coupe to 60 mph in a blistering 4.9 seconds, while the 428i can do it in 5.7 seconds.
Both versions of the 4-series Gran Coupe use an eight-speed automatic transmission that nicely mimics the sounds made by manual transmissions; the 428i returns fuel economy figures of 23 mpg city/34 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 27 mpg. Its more powerful twin returns 22 city and 32 highway, for a combined 25 mpg.
The 428i Coupe's most impressive party trick is a nicely hidden liftback that does not make its rear half seem bulbous, combined with 40/20/40 rear seats which fold nearly flat, all while maintaining the same wheelbase as a 3-series sedan. That turns the Gran Coupe into a very useful hatchback with plenty of room for cargo, along with a flat removable panel that pretends to be a rear shelf, like on a sedan. The price to pay, if any, is slightly tighter rear accomodations.
The interior is lifted straight out of the 3/4-series design book: That means there's an infotainment screen that looks like a design afterthought sticking out of the dash, and a mix of metallic accents and leather that give the interior an expensive look; it also caters to basic needs in a way that some previous 3-series cars have neglected, such as offering two real cupholders just ahead of the transmission joystick. Also here is iDrive in its latest form, but there are also plenty of buttons that have been kept around to keep the interior functional, including temperature knobs for the driver and passenger, and a volume knob for the stereo system.
How does it drive?
We had the 428i Gran Coupe for a week, and its versatility and fun factor had us wondering why the 3-series sedan exists at all. The 428i Gran Coupe, name notwithstanding, offers everything the 3-series does but with the extra convenience of a very deep hatchback (if not an outright station wagon). With the back seats folded down, the 428i swallowed up large items: a freshly-cut 7-foot non-denominational coniferous tree, seven suitcases, and even an antique chair. Not all at the same time, but they were all items that the 3-series sedan could not have carried unless we were towing one of those terrible rental trailers or sporting a roof rack. So why put up with the small trunk of a 3-series sedan in the first place?
The 3-series and the 4-series are closely related, to be sure, so the 428i can be viewed as the more capable sibling, much in the same way that the 6-series Gran Coupe is a far better looking cousin of the 6-series coupe. The slightly lower roofline didn't quite fool us into thinking we were in a coupe of any sort, though it does make the car feel just a bit smaller, despite the exact same wheelbase as the 3-series sedan.
On the road, the 428i Gran Coupe exhibits excellent manners at all speeds. The steering weight is just about perfect -- a 3-series hallmark -- and offers good feedback. The ride never gets harsh, yet it's not overly cossetting as in a Mercedes-Benz C-class with the luxury pack suspension. The wide tires on the 428i provide plenty of thump-whump noises over broken pavement, but the suspension doesn't really let the ride become crashy, even over surfaces like railroad crossings.
The turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four cylinder provides plenty of power at just about any speed, with no hint of turbo lag, and the eight-speed gearbox is tuned to take advanage of it -- this engine is happy to stay put at low revs to save fuel, but when pressed it turns into something more akin to a V8 from a generation back, happy to play checkers with other cars. In fact, given its smooth performance and power, the 435i model may be superfluous.
Our 428i Gran Coupe averaged 27 mpg in mixed driving over the course of a week, which was impressive given the heavy holiday traffic it saw. Road and wind noise, which was minimal, also managed to stay the same at almost all speeds -- the tires could be loud over concrete pavement, but over smooth asphalt they were surprisingly hushed.
The iDrive's system continues to require some practice for those used to infotainment menus that operate via touchscreens, but it is by no means a system that confounded owners and automotive journalists alike when it premiered in the 2001 7-series. Interior surfaces in the cabin are top-notch, even though virtually nothing has that almost-armored feel of a Mercedes-Benz C-class interior, including the doors which feel as though they weigh about 5 pounds. The 4-series Gran Coupe further separates itself from the C-class with a much sportier cabin and overall sportier approach to interior design. And unlike the 3-series cars of the mid-2000s, it tends to avoid ergonomic missteps that made those cars a bit of a compromise to live with.
Do I want it?
The 428i Gran Coupe tries to be a sedan, a station wagon, and a coupe all at once; it actually succeeds at being a sedan with the interior room of a very large hatchback, if not quite a station wagon. Its coupe credentials are more tenuous, but that doesn't prevent it from being a tremendously fun and versatile daily driver.
With a starting price of $41,250, the 428i Gran Coupe is a very compelling alternative to the 3-series and the 3-series' own Gran Touring variant, though like most other BMWs, the base car is a little barren and options can easily get the out-the-door price into the mid-$50,000 range. Our car had the M Sport package, which included the Adaptive M suspension, sport seats, aluminum interior trim, M steering wheel, and aerodynamic kit, among other details, which added $3,500 to the price. The Premium Package added a whole list of items like automatic climate control and keyless entry, auto dimming mirrors and other small items for another $2,200. And we hadn't even reached the big-ticket items like navigation. Our car was optioned to $52,300, just about $11,000 north of the base price, and there were still plenty of items on the menu.
The 428i Gran Coupe is perhaps destined to be a rarer variant of the 3-series, though its versatility won us over -- we'll never look the same way at a 328i trunk again.
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