BMW 435i Gran Coupe 2015 Review

Is the 435i Gran Coupe the best looking BMW in a generation?

Back in November 13 I pronounced the 428i coupe a return to aesthetic form for the Bavarian bunch, but I think the 435i Grand Coupe could be even better.

It's certainly an eminently more useable car than the two-door. Indeed, with that big hatchback, even more so than the cooking model 3 Series sedan.

Our 435i was put into use for an extended period over the summer break as the family truckster – albeit a stylish and mighty quick one. And as much as the gorgeous Estoril Blue paint job, wheel at each corner stance, outright speed and serious refinement of the 225kW/400Nm 3.0-litre turbo petrol six-cylinder five-door impressed, it was the amenity and practicality of the Gran Coupe's packaging that was the standout.

Yes, BMW may have built this car as an answer to those buyers who want a coupe but 'must have' four doors, but the reality is in doing so the company has actually created one of the mid-size prestige segment's most versatile vehicles. It's just a shame you'll pay such a premium for the privilege – at $109,000 before options the M Sport-equipped Gran Coupe is circa $10,000 more than the equivalent and all but mechanically identical 335i sedan.

BMW has a serious selection of five-doors in this size segment. In addition to the 3 Series Touring wagon, the Gran Coupe is in a line-up with the 3 Series GT, X3 softroader and the X4 softroad/coupe/cum/crossover thingie...

There's little doubt in my mind, however, it's the Gran Coupe that presents the most 'BMW-ness' of them all. After all, how many of the above would you want to properly punt down the Great Ocean Road or take to a drive day at the local racetrack?

And isn't that a big part of why we want a car with the spinning propeller badge on the front?

The 435i Gran Coupe has serious grip and pace as evinced via a few quick laps of our Wodonga TAFE test track (between Falcon XR8 and Commodore SS V-Series Redline filming). That said, it is still a significant step down from the dynamics offered by the latest M4 – which we've also spent time in on the same layout.

That may be stating the bleeding obvious, but we've noted in other reviews of the 435i suggestions it's a cut-price M-car. It isn't. Case closed.

But nor does the 435i deliver the at times tiresome track-focussed ride or temperament of the ultimate 3 and 4 Series models – even on its M Sport packaged 19-inch wheels. There's a worthwhile difference between this car's Comfort and Sport+ modes in terms of ride and comfort yet, at all times, great body control.

And while the front-end doesn't display the pin-point accuracy and immediacy of the M car (the 435i will default to a little face-saving push in extremis, unlike the M4), the chunky M Sport steering wheel delivers consistent, appropriate weighting and the sort of feel most sporting drivers (and all BMW fans) expect.

The eight-speed automatic is arguably industry leading. And again there's worthwhile differences in the Driving Experience Control shift modes and mood.

Around town I used the ECO PRO mode for much of the time, though not when it got hot – the 'greenest' powertrain setting tones down the air-con too much for my liking. It simply doesn't cut it when the mercury's up over 30 degrees.

In around 1500km of mixed use the real-world fuel economy figure was in the 8.5-9.0L/km zone. That's not a bull's roar away from BMW's ADR figure of 8.7L/100km. We didn't undertake any formal performance testing of the 435i Gran Coupe but for the record BMW claims a 0-100km/h sprint of 5.2sec. Slow it's not – in a standing start or, more importantly, when overtaking on the open road.

There's been much written about BMW's current crop of powertrains by the motoring.com.au crew thus it serves little purpose to repeat it here. For more detail check out our 4 Gran Coupe launch coverage or any one of a number of 3 Series related reviews

I will however use a few more words to reinforce my assertion regarding the 435i Gran Coupe's packaging versatility. I'm not damning this car with faint praise when I suggest the only similar-sized car (note that word – not wagon or crossover) with the same sort of accommodating luggage space is Skoda's excellent Octavia. Although the 4 Gran Coupe's rear suspension does intrude into the useable space more than our Czech mate, there's still some serious luggage landscape – and that's before the 40:20:40 rear seats are tumbled.

I'm sure BMW will be chuffed with me linking the Gran Coupe with a Skoda but, like the latter, the 4's load space is seriously long and the lift from the ground seems considerably less than most SUVs. It easily swallows a shed-load of luggage and then a couple of full-size bodyboards.

In this Beemer, the tailgate is a push-button open and close. Now, there's a mod-con one gets used to very, very quickly.

As is par for this segment, rear legroom is adequate and shoulder room is more three tweens rather than three adults. Do I need to detail how very well BMW looks after the two people in the front? Again look up one of our many 3 and 4 Series launch or seven-day reviews for more.

We often bleat about Euros and options so this quick spin wouldn't be complete without at least one... Did I mention the Surround View monitor and Head-up Display fitted to our test 435i?

These are worthwhile features but will cost you $1300 and $1700 extra respectively in the 4 Series. Surely when mass market brands can offer similar features as standard equipment in their staple models they should be included in the Gran Coupe's near $110K-plus price tag.