BMW 330i GT, Track Test

The BMW 3 Series is one of our favourite cars of all time. It’s been the global sports sedan benchmark for several decades now, and it’s one that’s always set the bar when it comes to driving dynamics. 

But India is a unique market. It’s one in which the regular 3 Series sedan has had to soften its suspension set-up to deal with our roads. But even that doesn’t solve the question of rear seat legroom in a market that’s primarily dominated by chauffer driven cars in the luxury segment. Enter the 3 Series Gran Turismo, which is expected to retain all the 3 Series goodness from the driver’s seat while providing rear-seat legroom to embarrass the 5 Series. 

The only trouble is that when you really push it – especially on a track – the higher centre of gravity tends to work against the inherent chassis balance that the 3 Series is famous for. From the driver’s seat, you can feel the extra weight (and the height) and the whole car feels a bit unwieldy when compared to the sedan. But if you slow it a bit though, the 3 GT begins to make a great deal of sense – especially from the quite spacious rear seat. The cabin is certainly a nice place to be. From the outside though, once again, the 3 GT appears just that little bit quirky when compared with the sedan. The upside, of course, is that it will be more unique on the road. 

So, if you want a car with BMW quality and dynamics – as long as you’re not heading to a racetrack anytime soon – that you can enjoy from both the driver’s seat as well as the rear bench, the 330i Gran Turismo could well be the car for you.

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