Owner of the open road
4 SERIES GRAN COUPE: A CAR THAT WAS DIFFICULT TO GIVE BACK
An excellent choice if you are looking for a sporty luxury car that has it all.
Doing what I do is not always about getting your hands on the latest cars and travelling all around the world, but that is part of it. This type of job embodies certain skills that you must apply from the minute you drive the car to the last hour when your story appears in the paper.
It does not end there. You should be able to put your readers in the driver’s seat of the latest vehicle, so how you put your words matters and that is a skill. There are times when I get a car to test and feel like ‘oh no, can I have this for life?’ which makes me sad when it is time for it to return to its owners. The BMW 420d Gran Coupe made me feel that way.
Before I get into details about the Gran Coupe, the 4 Series appeared as a concept in 2012. It was scheduled to replace the current 3 Series Coupe – something like what Audi did with the A4’s Coupe and Convertibles. It made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2013 and that has been the story till today.
Following the recent update of the 4 Series range a few months ago, the Gran Coupe also received a makeover but the changes can be tough to notice. My test unit was equipped with restyled LED headlights that replace the outgoing Gran Coupe’s xenon lights, LED front fog lamps and the rear LEDs.
The interior, too, is not that different test with data would not have made sense.
Thus, with the approval of The Citizen’s test guru, Mark Jones, I headed to a wedding in Bushbuckridge, 400km away from our offices. I did not have to stress much about luggage space as the big boot took care of that.
I choose to call it a 4 Series for people who want to combine the practicality of the 3 Series while keeping the looks of the 4 Series. Unlike the normal 4 Series Coupe, the Gran Coupe offers easy access to the rear seats.
My two rear occupants found plenty of legroom to stretch out.
There is enough headroom at the back, despite the sloping roof. The rear middle seat is best left for children.