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2018 BMW 640i xDrive Gran Turismo First Drive: A BMW with a Difference

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There are two ways of looking at the 2018 BMW 640i xDrive Gran Turismo: A) It’s the answer to a question no one asked, or B) It’s a more interesting, more useful, and more luxurious alternative to a loaded 5 Series sedan. We take the latter view.

Make no mistake?This automobile might be a hard sell whilst it arrives at BMW sellers inside the U.S. This autumn priced from $70,695. It?S now not that the 6 Series Gran Turismo is a bad car. It?S simply that Americans aren?T big fanatics of hatchbacks even when they?Re cheap and a laugh to pressure together with the Golf GTI or the Fiesta ST. And the ones Americans with the cash to spend on a huge 4-door BMW are used to spending it on conservative sedans or swaggering SUVs.

The 6 Series Gran Turismo replaces the largely unloved five Series Gran Turismo, and, as the brand new nomenclature indicates, it takes the large hatchback concept further upmarket. The car shares a good deal of its structural hardware with the 5 Series and seven Series sedans, together with engines and transmissions. Size-smart, it?S a tweener, 6.Three inches longer ordinary and with a three.Eight-inch longer wheelbase than a 5 Series sedan, however 5.7 inches shorter average and with a five.Five-inch shorter wheelbase.

The 6 GT is two.Four inches taller than both sedan, reflecting BMW?S emphasis on creating a roomier interior with a better H-factor than in its regular four doorways, though greater than 8-tenths of an inch has been trimmed from the roofline as compared with the old 5 GT. The new automobile appears the better for it, frankly, swoopier and sportier, particularly due to the fact there?S less crown inside the roof on the rear of the car, and the rear pillars circulate a tail that?S less truncated.

From the motive force?S seat, it?S like a ordinary 5 Series. From the rear seat, the 6 GT is an impressively roomy mini-limo, with a cute, light, and ethereal atmosphere, especially whilst trimmed in light leather and with a panorama glass roof. The rear hatch opens to expose a wide, deep 31-cubic-foot load area; fold the rear seats flat (levers assist you to do it while standing at the rear of the auto), and that balloons to 65 cubic toes. By manner of assessment, the shipment ability of the taller, squarer X5 is 35.Eight/seventy six.7 cubic toes, and that of the five Series wagon?Sadly, a stranger to U.S. Shores?Is 20.1/60.0 cubic feet. Like all hatchbacks, that is a actually beneficial automobile.

Although available in different markets with a choice of gasoline and diesel engines, all U.S. Gran Turismos can be 640i xDrives, powered by using the acquainted 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six making 335 hp from 5,500 to six,500 rpm, and 332 lb-feet of torque from 1,380 to 5,200 rpm, riding all four wheels via ZF?S 8HP50 eight-pace automated transmission. Despite a lower weight of 4,409 kilos, BMW claims a 0?60-mph acceleration time of 5.1 seconds, and U.S. Spec motors can be restrained to one hundred thirty mph because of the 245/forty five R19 all-season tires which can be preferred fitment the front and rear.

BMW engineers admit the 6 GT?S journey/handling balance has been tweaked in prefer of the former, given the auto?S assignment as a roomy, comfortable, useful luxury cruiser in preference to the Ultimate Driving Machine. Thankfully, even though, that doesn?T suggest it turns into a wobbly mess must you get a hurry of blood on a winding avenue. Well, at the least the vehicles we drove in Portugal, which have been geared up with the $four,one hundred Dynamic Handling bundle, didn?T.

The Dynamic Handling package includes rear-wheel guidance, active roll stabilization, dynamic shock manipulate, and peak-adjustable air springs front and rear, and it?S likely well worth the cash. The air suspension device is new?Specific from that to be had inside the five and 7 Series?And offers true ride comfort with low effect harshness and notably better body control via corners. The 6 GT?S steering also feels better than that of a few five and seven Series we?Ve driven these days, extra particular and consistent, though still not with the transcendent experience that changed into once a BMW trademark.

For the total 6 GT enjoy, you?Ll also need at hand over $2,a hundred and fifty for the Executive package deal, which, amongst other matters, gives you the first-rate crystal-clear head-up show, gesture control, and BMW?S park help system. The $1,700 Driving Assistance Plus package deal provides useful goodies consisting of energetic cruise control and the front cross-site visitors alert. The $500 Luxury percent includes energy rear seat backs, and vented, massaging front seats come with the $2,600 Luxury Seating bundle, which also trims the entirety in Nappa leather.

Bottom line: You’re looking at about $82,000 all up for a well-rounded 640i XDrive Gran Turismo, which is not far off base 7 Series money. Or, to look at it another way, spending about $10,000 more than we did on our fully loaded 530i long-termer. Yet there’s something curiously appealing about the new 6 GT. You get close to 7 Series interior comfort for less money, most of the practicality of an X5 with better ride and handling and fuel efficiency, and look-at-me sheetmetal that stands it out from the 5 Series sedan herd.

BMW gained?T sell lots of these automobiles. But folks that do buy them, who dare to be one-of-a-kind, will love them.

The post 2018 BMW 640i xDrive Gran Turismo First Drive: A BMW with a Difference appeared first on Motor Trend.

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