SPIED: BMW's 3-Series Gran Turismo SPOTTED In Real-Life On New York City Streets — Does It "Fit In" Or Look AWKWARD?

The car looks elegant on the street , this is different and another option.

Its different, that's for sure.

A little Crosstour-ish and a little A7 going on.

I just can't get behind this car. It looks even uglier on the street. And for the most part, I like the new 3 sedan.

It doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look great either! I'll have to see it in person to decide. But I think the AUDI A5 Sportback is much better looking compared to it, and I am a BMW fan!

I don't think this is an A5 Sportback competitor, the upcoming 4-series Gran Coupe will compete with that.

Although they both have hatches, this 3GT is supposedly a lot more practical that than the sportback, which is based on a coupe.

i will definitely have to see it in person to make my final judgement. I am concerned about the front end size and rear end size. Strong front end pics...

The execution in the rear quarter panels is what makes it off

What will sell this vehicle is when someone looking for a sedan (not a performance sedan) sits in a 3 series sedan and then the GT in the showroom they will be sold on the ease of entry/exit and significantly
larger interior space of the GT. Family men with kids people who have to haul people and senior citizens who don't want to buy an SUV will buy this one and be very happy with their choice. Couples, young adults and performance buyers will look elsewhere in BMW line for their babies.

It's hard to tell how a car really looks from pictures but on the surface, it looks much better than the 5GT. For those that tend to think in more practical terms, I think Pugproud is right, that person will see the practicality of this car when compared against the 3 sedan (ease of entry, storage, etc.).

@nguyen

I think you make some really great points.

And yes, it looks MUCH better than the 5GT.

Reminds me of the Crosstour. If you want the cargo room, just get the wagon. I am no friend of wagons, but the 3 touring looks better than the GT.

The 3GT actually has more cargo space than the wagon, and a LOT more rear seat passenger space (more than a 5-Series sedan, actually). And, frankly, wagons don't sell well in the U.S. As much as people love to chastise the 5GT as a "sales flop" it still outsells the previous generation 5-Series wagon 2-to-1. As far as the 3GT goes, I don't know what kind of numbers it'll see, but I'd take one over the wagon if for no other reason than I don't want a wagon. Other than the fender vent I actually think it looks pretty good, at least in M Sport guise, and a lot better than the 5GT (which could easily look 10x better if BMW just got rid of the dual opening trunk and just sloped the rear -- fingers crossed they'll do that on the refresh).

It's a good point @JRob but I think they forgot about why people like wagons. For instance, a lot of people in the US have dogs, in other countries as well. You can't put a medium or large sized dog in a 5GT, let alone in a 3GT.

It might seem trivial but it's a reality, so as an addition to a wagon it's fine, replacing a wagon means some customers will look to other brands.

The slopping roof versus a proper wagon makes it it less practical than a proper wagon, for cargo in any case. And the 3er/5er wagon look way better than their GT counterparts.

BMW has already admitted that it has lost a lot of customers a year to Mercedes-Benz after removing the 5-series wagon.

Don't get me wrong, I think this 3GT will do well, and I've driven in a 5GT, the interior space is amazing but there is no substitution for a wagon, besides an SUV, and that's a whole other story.

You're still luckier than me, because in South Africa they are replacing the 3er wagon (Called "Touring" here) with the 3GT.

In the US you will still get a 3-series wagon. So if you want a luxury compact wagon here you have to look at another brand. Both Merc and Audi offer wagon versions of their C-Class and A4.

For comparison: Pics of the five-door Audi A5/S5 Sportback. Audi made a mistake not offering this car to North America.

http://tinyurl.com/cyunn7v

http://tinyurl.com/d7e63xk

http://tinyurl.com/cwnlexp

http://tinyurl.com/bpahy4r

http://tinyurl.com/bp6aefe

http://tinyurl.com/c2afvqv

http://tinyurl.com/d63fuuu

http://tinyurl.com/bsudxzr

Audi USA sucks.

Great pics but the A5 sportback is not an 3GT competitor, no more than a 5GT is an A7 competitor.

And here are video clips of the S5 Sportback: exterior, interior and driving scenes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cCkokdh7hU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgbevvjdf0w

Several German and other European car magazines consider the Audi A5/S5 Sportback and this BMW 3 Series GT to be competitors. For example, according to Auto Express, "The BMW 3 Series GT is a more practical version of the 3 Series and rivals the Audi A5 Sportback... 1It's a difficult car to pigeonhole, with rivals ranging from the likes of an Audi A5 Sportback to the Mercedes C-Class Estate."

After all, both are hatchbacks whose rear seats could be folded down to enlarge trunk volume. It doesn't matter that the GT is larger inside.

So then the 5GT is a competitor to the A7, if you use the same logic? Their both hatchbacks afterall. But actually the 6GC is the A7 competitor.

It matters a lot that the inside of the GT is larger. The 3GT is built for practicality, the A5 Sportback is a coupe with more doors. It's not that difficult to see that.

Bottom line, it really does not matter at all what you think. What matters is what the opinion makers -- such as the car journalists -- say to forge the opinions of the market. If enough car journalists say that the A5 Sportback is a competitor to both the BMW 3 Series GT as well as a 4 series grand coupe, then that is how the market will view these cars.

The problem is that BMW's 3GT and 5GT are not as distinct as an SUV or sedan or wagon or hatcback -- no matter what BMW is trying tom advertise. That's because the BMW GTs are trying to marry certain characteristics from each of these other distinct models, the customers will consider these other models as rivals of the GT -- depending on what specific characteristics are most important to them.

"Practicality" is relative: every car segment has cars that vary greatly in interior space offered -- it all depends on what the customer wants/needs. For example, the Hyundai Genesis, Acura RLX and Infiniti M35/45 are much larger inside than the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 and Mercedes E Class -- yet the later cars are more desirable and popular.

Similarly, a few customers need the BMW 3 GT's extra 19 cubic feet of rear passenger space (54 cubic feet trunk space with rear seat down). But most customers would be happy to have the A5 Sportback's rear seat legroom -- which similar to the Audi A4 -- as well as 35 cubic feet trunk space with rear seat down. The BMW's actual trunk space is just over 18 cubic feet, while the Audi's trunk space is about 17 cubic feet. That's because most of the BMW 3 Series GT's extra space is in the rear passenger cabin (great for transporting rear passengers who are fatter and taller -- but then, why not get a better looking car X3 SUV, 3 series sportwagon or 5 Series sedan instead?

The A5 Sportback is an all rounder -- both beauty and practicality. On the other hand, the BMW offers more interior space for rear passengers -- at the compromise of awkward exterior styling.

Firewombat: "So then the 5GT is a competitor to the A7, if you use the same logic?"

That's what the market's opinion makers say. Example, Car and Driver: "The A7’s most direct competitors are the Mercedes-Benz CLS...the Porsche Panamera V-6. Others are the coupe-ish Jaguar XF, as well as the funky BMW 5-series GT. Whereas some are better to drive and all offer more or less similar levels of practicality, none wears sheetmetal that is as effortlessly sensual as the A7’s. And in a segment where styling is pretty much everything, that gives the Audi a leg up."

I've never heard of anyone being "happy" with the A4 or A5 rear seat room / leg room / comfort, little exaggeration there @sitriani

Autocar on the A5 Sportback: "Legroom is sufficient for all but the longest of leg, but the sloping roofline does mean anyone approaching six feet will be squeezed against the headlining. No question, the A5 is capable of transporting four full height adults. "

Why don't you ask the hundred thousand people who bought A4 and A5 cars in 2012 why they bought those cars if they were unhappy with the rear legroom. Unfortunately, you obviously don't hear what you don't want to hear, wombat.

That's a very long post @satriani. Do you have your own arguments / opinions or will you just be quoting magazines?

The same magazines you criticize for not selecting an Audi model as a win in a comparison test. Very convenient.

Upcoming 4GC will be an A5 sportback competitor, 3 GT has no competition from Audi or Merc, not on the cars they are based on, not on their purpose, and not on their specs.

Your posts are somehow based on trying to compare this raised sedan body to an extended coupe body to ensure that people will look at the later and praise Audi. Met @Gnut much?

You keep repeating the same argument that the A5 is not a competitor to the 3 GT.

Yet we've established two things:

1. Fact: The opinion makers consider the A5/S5 Sportback to be a competitor to the 3 GT [Auto Express was just one of many other car magazines that mentioned this]. Their opinions influence perceptions in the car market.

2. Assessment: Your repetitive opinion, while interesting, is irrelevant since you are insignificant to the car market and cannot influence perceptions in the car market.

Don't worry yourself about the length of my post, wombat. My post (which aimed to establish those two things) was directed at everyone else, not at you.

@Satriani, maybe it sounds repetitive because you can't explain your opinion, besides using selected quotes from 1 or 2 magazines?

Again, if the 3GT is an A5 competitor, why is the 5GT not an A7 competitor? I haven't seen any road tests with the 5GT, CLS, and A7?

And that's because both GTs are aimed at a different market and not direct competitors to the Audi sportback. It's pretty simple to see that.

Just like the A5 coupe will compete with the new 4 series coupe, the A5 Sportback will compete with the 4GC.

If anything, the A4 wagon will be a the closest competitor from Audi, unless they start creating GT-type cars as well.

You ARE repetitive: you have repeated your mantra "I don't think this is an A5 Sportback competitor" since the start of this thread to everybody who mentioned that the Audi A5/S5 Sportback is a competitor to the BMW 3 GT.

I have already proven that the opinion makers consider the A7 ans BMW 5 GT to be competitors (Example, Car and Driver: "The A7’s most direct competitors are... Others are... the funky BMW 5-series GT... in a segment where styling is pretty much everything, that gives the Audi a leg up."

See this German comparo between the 5GT and A7. You haven't seen such comparos because you haven't looked. Yet you blurt your opinions without the facts like some Bimmer fanboys tend to do. In any case, there are fewer road tests of the 5GT because it is has been a relatively poor selling product for BMW.
http://tinyurl.com/d94exg7

Are you going to tell us that you know more than the Germans? If you stopped listening to the sound of your voice and listened to what the real experts say, you would have also known this :)

I have proven -- with facts and logic -- that the Audi Sportbacks are considered competitors of the fugly, awkward-looking BMW GTs. The BMW GT may be another crossover, like Acura's failed ZDX was, but it is also competing against a broader array of vehicles.

It doesn't matter that you don't or can't listen to reason and facts. Every intelligent person reading my posts knows I explained with logic and facts.

I am sure you'll repeat your mantra that they are not competitors, but your personal opinion is not substantiated by the market. Thus your opinion/mantra is irrelevant.

5GT is not an A7 competitor.

Lol, if the BMW 5 GT and Audi A7 are not competitors, why did the Germans comparo test the cars -- Audi (first place), BMW (last place)? Why have many car magazines mentioned the Audi A7 aa a competitor or rival to the BMW 5 GT? Is there some sort of BMW fanboy logic we do not understand?
http://tinyurl.com/d94exg7

Automobile mag: "Why might the Audi A7 succeed where cars like the BMW 5-series Gran Turismo and the Honda Accord Crosstour failed? In a word: style."

@Satriani, why have more magazines and websites tested the 6GC as an A7 as competitors in road tests, along with the CLS, instead of just the one test you're talking about?

Your FAIL in this debate is epic. When someone uses actual automotive articles by people actually PAID to do this, you ask why instead they don't present their own opinion, and when they do just that you call it irrelevant.

Wow @Cleveland, that didn't take long at all. How long has it been since you've been banned?