Exterior
Despite coming with four doors, and thus defying the traditional meaning of coupé, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé’s design lives up to the name and definitely doesn’t cross into saloon territory.
Gazing at the car from the front, it matches the silhouette of a traditional 6 series, but closer inspection shows how the new roof line is set up to accommodate the two extra doors.
The Gran Coupé is 23 mm higher than the standard two-door version as a consequence, and the wheelbase has been stretched 113 mm longer as well.
Pleasingly, this gives the model a sleeker new look. Over the wheel arches, the extended wings provide a touch stance and offset the visual impact of the standard wheels well – the smallest of which comes in at 18” diameter.
Put together, all these aesthetic factors make the Gran Coupé an athletic-looking vehicle.
Interior
The front cabin of the 6 series Gran Coupé will be familiar to anyone with a passing awareness of the standard two-door model.
Not a lot has changed here but what’s familiar is also great for comfort and support – the multi-adjustable seats make even the longest journey comfortable.
The iDrive system controls a 10.2 inch screen and is intuitive to use though can show up some small issues with the minor functions.
Overall, the interior is made of quality materials which confidently give off the feeling that it will last forever.
Practicality
There are definitely some positive qualities here, even if the car isn’t built with practicality at the fore.
The boot yields 460 litres of storage, increasing to 1,265 once the rear seats are folded flat – good competitive statistics when measured alongside the Mercedes CLK’s 520 litres and the Audi A7 Sportback’s volume of 535/1,390.
Headroom for the passengers is limited, and you can comfortably fit two adults in the back as long as they’re not both pushing much over six-foot.
There’s a decent amount of leg room for them too. Unfortunately, the centre console stretches quite far back and becomes intrusive for any third passenger in the rear.
Ride and Handling
Mix a performance saloon with a sporting coupé and you find the 6 Series Gran Coupé right there in terms of dynamic driving.
It’s a BMW, so the car is a joy to drive whatever the occasion. It has very precise steering, comforting and confident brakes and despite housing 19-inch wheels rides unusually comfortably – the adjustable chassis feature adds a lot here to improve its driving excellence thanks to the addition of the Drive Performance Control.
With that, you get five possible chassis settings from the main console that let you adjust steering weighting, throttle response time, gearbox shift points and even the stiffness of the suspension – all designed to better fit your personal needs.
Performance
Launching with only three options – the 640i, 650i and 640d (the latter is the only diesel model that looks set to dominate in the UK). The diesel provides a cultured sound, economy and performance such that the other two models almost seem redundant and could well account for 80% of the cars sold domestically.
Each model comes with an eight-speed gearbox as standard, with paddle shifts as part of the multi-function steering wheel.
In terms of statistics, the 6 Series outputs an impressive 450bhp with the 650i and will do the 0-62 dash in 4.6 seconds.
The 320bhp 640i and 313bhp 640d can both make 0-62 mph in 5.4 seconds and all three models are restricted to 155 mph as standard. Both the petrol models feature a 3.0 litre straight-six engine.
Running Costs
The 6 Series Gran Coupé is not a budget car. Coming in at £61,380 for the 640i basic model, with the diesel 640d at £62,985 and the 650i costing £69,270 this is not a car for anyone who is really concerned with the smaller amounts in their wallet.
Depreciation is likely to hurt, but to compensate this, the fuel and tax bills are likely to be significantly lower with the diesel version.
Fuel economy figures are emissions stats are solid – almost realistically mistakeable for a family hatchback! The twin-turbo V8 650i 4.4 litre has C02 emissions at 206h/km and boasts 31.7 mpg. The 640i is officially 181g/km with a fuel economy of 35.8 while the 640d impresses with 148g/km and 49.6mpg.
Reliability
BMWs are well-built vehicles with a solid reputation for sticking around for the long haul and there’s no reason to suspect any different from the 6 Series.
Do a little history research regarding your dealer’s after-sales service to see how they stack up to the car’s natural reliability.
Safety
There’s no Euro NCAP crash test rating which might give rise to questions, but not for long as the 6 Series Gran Coupé features an impressive safety kit, in the top of BMW’s range.
Electronic stability programme, electronic brake-force distribution, Isofix attachments in the rear, anti-lock brakes, anti-whiplash head restraint system and type pressure monitor system are all standard.
Optional extras can improve this further with a lane change warning system, night vision and pedestrian recognition technologies, land departure warning system, speed limit display and full colour HUD all available.
Equipment
There are two different trims: the SE and the M Sport. They both come with the same parts but the M Sport features a slightly altered internal and external design to reflect its name, as well as 18-inch alloy wheels as standard.
The cars both feature leather trim, a full range of parking sensors, 10.2-inch screen powering the multimedia system, heated front seats and dual-zone climate control.
Adding to that already impressive list is metallic paint and xenon headlights.
BMW expect the M Sport to outstrip its smaller cousin in terms of Gran Coupé sales, with the 19-inch alloys, black exterior trim and body styling.
Finally, you can optionally add Bang and Olufsen Hi-Fi or Park Assist!
