Engine, Gearbox and Driving impressions
So now we talk about the part BMW are the best in.
Open the bonnet and the first thought that come to mind is, Woah that is very tightly packed but very neatly placed as well.
The pretty 2.0-litre twin turbo charged engine, it turns out 252 Bhp which can churn at more than 5000 RPM and 350 nm Torque pulls you up to 160 kmph without any sweat.
Be it Bumper to Bumper Traffic or the any speed Autobahns, it will bring smile on your face.
0-100 in 5.8 secs with a top speed of 260 Kmph, this is what makes this engine a gem to drive.
The engine is mated to a 8-speed ZF sport gearbox. As you accelerate, you still feel the change in gears which I think is a good feeling.
This gearbox is fast and intelligent, the ZF mechatronics also adapts to your driving style during the first 5000 kms or so.
The Rear wheel drive makes driving this car extra special, I have been absolutely amazed by the way it takes on curves.
However, it has a drawback, this winter I drove quite a lot in Snow and being a RWD, the car struggles even at little amount of slippery snow. I just need to be extra careful while driving in such conditions.
Even though engine, transmission and power figures are same as 3-series GT, the way the car drives is definitely different. The reason behind is the Gran Coupe has a more sporty design enabling in better dynamics, low ground clearance meaning lower center of gravity. This enables the car to stick to the road and can curve around at higher speeds.
The first thing you will notice when you start the engine is, the noise is more than you would expect.
I expected the engine noise to be really low, but even though it is a petrol engine it was quite audible.
Then, once you start accelerating the smooth shifts of the gear is like magic. There is a slight jerk whenever the gear changes which is good and makes you feel the speed. And as you accelerate more you would notice that gearbox never has a problem in selecting the right gears for you.
Drive Modes
There are 4 driving modes, Eco Pro, Comfort (Default), Sport and Sport+. As you guessed in Eco Pro everything dulls down and in Sport+ everything is super active.
My favorite mode however is the Sport mode, In this mode, the accelerator gives the right amount of responsiveness, the steering is in perfect sync with the speed and the gear selected always keeps the power ready to accelerate further. Most of all my favorite part is the sound from the muffler in this mode, it’s like sweet music.
In Sport Mode I can also configure the Drivetrain and Chassis.
The gears change at much higher RPM, at around 3800 RPM. The engine note changes, the steering feels tight and you hear the sweet music from the muffler. This is my Autobahn mode.
I felt Sport+ is bit of an overkill and it really brings down the fuel efficiency. The engine feels like it is on steroids. The engine pretty much always stays at high RPM, the steering feels same as Sport but I hate the noise in this mode. It sounds like I’m harming the engine. The mileage reduces drastically in this mode.
I generally use the default one which is Comfort mode inside the city and is perfect in traffic when you don’t really need speed or quick acceleration.
The gears change around 2000 RPM which is perfect and you would hardly hear the high-rev noise.
Eco Mode also has some settings which controls the climate control, the speed of coasting. I haven't bothered to change these at all.
Manual mode, I love this mode when I feel like using the paddle shifters. I usually use it on Autobahns when I want to customize my gear changes 😉
NVH (Noise, Vibration and Handling)
While the car is in Neutral, you can still hear the humming of the engine but it is definitely not a irritating one.
In Comfort mode and EcoPro mode, I can hardly hear the engine noise increasing it is pretty much the same humming as in Neutral.
However, things change in Sport mode, there is a sudden change in engine note and it feels like everything came alive.
When you accelerate more and reach speeds excess of 100, you will start noticing the wind noise increases as well. I was surprised about this because the car feels solid, the doors are heavy enough. But I guess this is due to the frameless doors that allows the noise creep to in. I felt the wind noise can be quite annoying specially in open Highways where there is wind almost always.
The car accelerates without any complain to 180, From 180-220 you can feel you making the engine working hard. And anything after that is quite an effort.
But in spite of all this, the car remains stable, you will never feel the steering vibrations or vehicle drifting due to high speeds. It is incredible how the whole body is designed to give the confidence to the driver. In a recent drive to Stuttgart, I could reach speeds excess of 200 and my son was snoring at the back without realizing how fast we were.
Braking
The braking department is excellent, I have absolutely no complaints in this area. The pedal is big and perfectly placed. They are powerful and has a very good bite.
The brakes also get harder as you increase the speeds and gives you a good feel at higher speeds.