The BMW 3 GT xDrive Useful For Big Loads
The BMW 3 Series
Gran Turismo (GT) was launched in 2013. It is based on Chinese-long-version of the 3 Series. The BMW
3 Series GT is 200 mm (7.87 in.) longer; 79 mm (3.11 in.) higher and 16 mm (0.63 in.)
wider than a 3 Series sedan.
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| The BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo (GT) |
Let's take a look about the tested 3
GT.
It has a blue color and M-badge on the front fenders, on the brakes, and on
the black colored rims. The wide front grill makes great impression and in
combination with the LED headlights this gives very sporty and a little bit aggressive front view of the car.
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| The BMW 3 GT and its M-badges on the front fenders. |
The Air Breathers in black can't be missed as they are placed on the front fenders. The engineers
created these gills as an exit for air-flow which passes through the brakes. The
air cools the brakes and this is very important because they can heat and can
stop working properly. This could be
more than a problem when you ride with 200 km/h on a German highway where there
isn't any speed limit, and you have to stop.
Let's go back to
the volume. If you need more space for huge baggage the backseats can be put
down from the trunk because there are release levers for the left or the right back of
the seats. Even more, if you pull up the floor of the trunk - there are
compartments for different stores.
The negative point here is that the rear window can't be fully opened. Actually, from my experience as a driver the back windows aren't opened frequency but it’s better to be powered.
Talking about the
brakes, while I did this test drive I didn't like how the brakes worked. Even
though I didn’t drive fast, I had two situations where I had to ask why
BMW 3 Series GT doesn't stop and why there are M-badge on the brakes
apparatus. I'm sure that if you spend more time with this car you can get used
to these brakes. But in the beginning, you should be more careful.
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| The BMW 3 Series GT with Premium 18" BMW M Performance light alloy wheels Double-spoke style 405 M, forged, finished in matt Black. Wheel size 8 J x 18 with 225/50 R 18 95W tyres. |
The BMW 3 Series GT Rearview. The GT logo is so huge so you can see it from miles. The active spoiler is integrated into the
hatch. The spoiler automatically opens at 68 mi/h (110 km/h) and hides into the
hatch at 43 m/p (70 km/h). Also, you can extend the spoiler via a button on the
driver seat door.
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| The BMW 3 Series GT rearview and the active spoiler. |
When the hatch is
open... There is a huge trunk and if the seats are set down
there is a more huge trunk. But here is a point. The BMW 3 Series GT can weigh the
smallest carry (570 kg) in comparison with the 3 Series Sedan (575 kg) and 3
Series Touring (595 kg). So the 3-er GT can carry only huge loads. However, I
don't think that someone will buy BMW 3 Series GT to transport cement packs from
point A to point B but who knows? If it is
so the 3 GT isn't that car.
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| The BMW 3 Series GT can be loaded up to 570 kg which is the smallest load capacity compared to the BMW 3 Series Sedan (575 kg) and the BMW 3 Series Touring (595 kg). |
When we open the
backdoor there is something special – the door window is frameless like Subaru. The backdoor opening is narrow but when you sit down on the
backseat there is a lot of space for your legs and head. Unfortunately, for the
mid-seat passenger, there isn't so much legroom because there is a cardan cover. So, if there is a mid-seat occupant he/she
has to share its left leg with the left passenger legroom and its right leg
with the right passenger legroom.
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| The BMW 3 Series GT windows are frameless. |
The negative point here is that the rear window can't be fully opened. Actually, from my experience as a driver the back windows aren't opened frequency but it’s better to be powered.
The positive points here are that in the door pocket you can put a bottle and backseats are
heated.
On top of the middle console is the navigation system and bellow as follow: the air blowers and between them the button for hazards and the door locks; the radio; the climate control; two bottle holders; the gear stick and next to it the i-drive joystick.
There are two
things which I won’t miss. The first is that the 6-speed manual transmission
has a very simple and a little bit ugly gear stick. So I'll choose the 8-speed
automatic ZF transmission which has a beautiful gear stick with diode
illumination for the gear position. Furthermore, the 8-gears always will be
better than 6 and the automatic transmission because it has gear pads behind
the steering wheel. If I have to need to change the gears manually - here is...
and I am sure that this will be faster than the manual one transmission. The
second thing, which I don’t miss, is for the i-drive joystick and the function that
it can recognize writing points. If you need to type an address or a name, you
can do it as type letter by letter the name as you use someone of your fingers,
probably the middle one.
BMW offers three
petrol engines for its 3 Series Grand Turismo and five diesel engines. The
petrol units are:
BMW has been reducing the CO2 emissions from 1995 to 2020 by up to 30%. This came true with the BMW EfficientDynamics. As result of this program, BMW develop a lot of technologies.
The BMW 3 Series GT based on the Chinese-long-version of BMW 3 Series is
great car for these who have to carry huge loads. Right, huge not heavy
loads because BMW 3 GT can be loaded up to 570 kg. The other 3-er models as Sedan
and Touring can be loaded up to 575 and 595 kg. This car is very agile and the
power is available when you need it. The tested 2.0L (184 hp) diesel engine
isn’t noisier and the 8-speed automatic transmission shifts the gears smoothly. There are and other four engines, two petrol, and two diesel ones. If you
like the manual transmissions there is one 6-speed. The negative point for me
was the brakes. At twice I had the feeling that this car doesn't like to stop. It’s a
subjective opinion and if you spent more time with the BMW 3 Series GT you’ll get used to
its brakes. There is enough space for five passengers including the driver and
their baggage. The BMW 3 Series GT has a lot of systems that are integrated into the car.
The color, rim, even steering-wheel choose is huge and the optional equipment
is more than satisfactory. There is Standard and Optional M Sport
package power by M.
Enjoy the gallery that I made especially for this test drive of the BMW 3 Series GT.
Here is the moment
when the front frameless door is open. I take that seating; the safety belt is
put on and run the engine. First of all the steering-wheel remind me of BMW Z8
from the Bonds' movies and this recalls me for a BMW 507. That's all because
the small circle where is pleased with the BMW logo and behind it the driver’s
airbag and three spokes steering wheel. Also, we can miss the small M-badge at the bottom on the steering wheel which is from additional equipment. If I had the
opportunity to choose the steering wheel I'll put the 'Sport leather
steering-wheel' with some silver detail, on page 60 in the 3 Series GT catalog.
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| The BMW 3 Series GT - driver's seat with M steering wheel. |
On top of the middle console is the navigation system and bellow as follow: the air blowers and between them the button for hazards and the door locks; the radio; the climate control; two bottle holders; the gear stick and next to it the i-drive joystick.
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| BMW 3 Series GT central console |
I run the engine. The tested BMW 3-Series GT was equipped with 2.0L diesel engine with
184 hp (135 kW) @ 4000 rpm and the max torque is 380 Nm between 1750-2750 rpm.
The engine was connected to 8-speed automatic transmission – the better one.
When I leave the parking lot the seat belt tight me to the very comfortable
seat. This optimizes the body reaction if there is an accident – it is the good
one and there is the same thing in the Mercedes S-Class. The engine isn't
noisier event that it is a diesel one, it is very powerful and the power is
available when you need it. The 8-speed transmission works smoothly and you
can't feel gear shifting.
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| The BMW 3 Series GT engine room where you can have one of the 3 petrol engines or one of the 5 diesel engines. The information is based on the European model. |
*320i/320xDrive, 4-cylinders, 1997ccm, Power 184hp (135kW)@5000rpm,
Torque
270Nm@1250–4500 rpm;
*328i/328xDrive, 4-cylinders, 1997ccm, Power 245hp (180kW)@5000rpm, Torque
350Nm@1250–4800rpm;
*335i/335xDrive, 6-cylinders, 2979ccm, Power 306hp (225kW)@5800-6400rpm, Torque
400Nm@1200–5000rpm;
________________________________________________________________________
The diesel units
are:
*318d, 4-cylinders, 1995ccm, Power 143hp (105kW)@4000rpm,
Torque
320Nm@1750–2500 rpm;
*320d/320d xDrive,
4-cylinders, 1995ccm, power 184hp
(135kW)@4000rpm,
Torque
380Nm@1750–2750 rpm;
*325d, 4-cylinders, 1995ccm, Power 218hp (160kW)@4000rpm,
Torque
450Nm@1500–2500 rpm;
*330d/330d xDrive,
6-cylinders, 2993ccm, Power 258hp
(190kW)@4000rpm,
Torque
560Nm@1500–3000 rpm;
*335d/335d xDrive,
6-cylinders, 2993ccm, Power 313hp
(230kW)@4400rpm,
Torque
630Nm@1500–2500 rpm;
BMW has been reducing the CO2 emissions from 1995 to 2020 by up to 30%. This came true with the BMW EfficientDynamics. As result of this program, BMW develop a lot of technologies.
The BMW Auto
Star/Stop system will run off the engine on the traffic lights or whatever
situation is there and the BMW 3 GT is stopped completely. When you press the clutch the
engine automatically will run again for 6-speed manual transmission. If you get an 8-speed automatic transmission, the engine will run after you take your step
off the brake pedal.
BMW TwinPower Turbo
technology – this becomes with all available engines for 3 Series
GT. 'TwinPower Turbo technology' combines a TwinScroll turbocharger with
Valvetronic, Double-VANOS and High Precision Injection in petrol engines.
The TwinScroll
turbocharger is charged by the exhaust gas. The difference here is
that the turbocharger ones are scrolled by the exhaust gas by the 1st and 4th cylinders
and the other is scrolled by the exhaust gas from 2nd and 3rd cylinders for 4-cylinder engines.
The cylinders don't work together because of the balance of the engine, so this explains why the TwinScroll turbocharger takes the exhaust gas by the 1st
and the 4th cylinders and the 2nd and 3rd.
This technology works similarly in 6-cylinder engines.
The DUAL ‘VANOS’ is BMW’s variable valve timing technology. ‘VANOS’
electronically manage the opening of the intake valves but the DUAL VANOS
manage and the exhaust valves according to the drive gear based on engine
speed and throttle opening. The very first ‘VANOS’ was introduced on the BMW M50 engine in 1992 used back then in the BMW 3 Series (E36) and in the BMW 5
Series (E34).
Brake Energy Regeneration is a system which uses the kinetic energy from braking and step out of
the accelerator and transform it into an electrical one. Thus the battery is
charged.
Optimum Shift Indicator is available for 6-speed manual transmissions and the manual mode with
the 8-speed automatic transmission. This indicator will help you to drive on
optimal gear. It’s very useful in the city or long-distance driving because it decreases fuel consumption.
This BMW 3 Series GT has Driving Experience Control including ECO PRO.
It allows the drive train, suspension components and steering to be
individually adapted by the Comfort, Sport, and Sport+ modes. By activating the
ECO PRO Mode helps to optimize the fuel consumption. The tested BMW 3 Series
GT has an adaptive suspension. The Adaptive M suspension adapts to suit your
current driving style to the road conditions by electronically controlled
dampers. You can select Sport or Sport+ mode via the Driving Experience
Control. I drove the xDrive unit but with the rear-wheel-drive models the Adaptive
M suspension lowered the chassis with 10 mm and this has no impact on the
driving comfort.
The gadgets! If you have to travel with a lot of baggage or often to load/unload carries BMW 'Comfort Access System' will help you. This system helps as open
the hatch if you move your step under the rear bumper. How it works? Usually,
there is a sensor which ‘watches' for movement and after your step is ‘shown’ -
it'll open the tailgate. This doesn't work if the key isn't with you. This
system gives access to enter the car and to run the engine without pulling out the key from your pocket.
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| BMW 3 Series GT (front) |
The BMW 'ConnectedDrive' is also available
in the 3 Series GT. With this system, you can be more close to the thing you're
interested in, like News, Weather, E-mails, Facebook and more. Also with BMW
'ConnectedDrive' you can stream online radio and a lot of other functions.
The Head-Up Display is something useful
that can be equipped in your BMW. It projects the speed limit, your speed, and navigation directions. So, your head is up and you just follow the road.
But here is a negative point. BMW’s Head-Up Display isn’t fully visible
with polarized sunglasses.
The safety in the BMW 3 Series GT. The safety is a standard for every new BMW which is produced. So, the first of
all are the airbags which are six, two for the driver and the passenger next to him,
head airbags for front and rear passengers and the side airbags which are
integrated into the back of the front seats.
The Active Protection is optional
equipment. This function automatically increases the tension in the front seat
belts and closes any open window, including the optional Panorama glass roof, if there is a dangerous situation. If there is a potential accident, an automatic braking function brings the vehicle to a
complete stop. If you’re tired the Attentiveness
Assistant monitors your steering response and signal for any irregular driving
behavior on the Control Display.
The Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with
extended functionality became a standard in the BMW 3 GT. It includes the
Cornering Brake Control, the hill-start and braking assistant, brake drying, and
braking readiness. The function of DSC is to recognize any slight skidding and
to stabilize your car.
The full LED
headlights can be equipped with Adaptive
Headlights with variable light distribution and BMW Selective Beam (Anti-dazzle High-Beam Assistant) which
automatically switches between high and low beam.
The Dimensions of the BMW 3 Series GT:
BMW 3 Series GT
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mm (in.)
|
Length
|
4824 (189.92)
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Height
|
1508 (59.37)
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Width front/rear
|
1828 (71.97) / 2047 (8059)
|
Wheel-base front/side/rear
|
1541
(60.67) / 2920 (114.96) / 1586(62.44)
|
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| The BMW 320 xDrive Gran Turismo. |
Enjoy the gallery that I made especially for this test drive of the BMW 3 Series GT.
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| BMW 3 Series GT in Metallic B45 Estoril Blue; front view. |
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| BMW 3 Series GT; right side view. |
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| BMW 3 Series GT; left side view. |
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| BMW 3 Series GT; rear-seat space. |
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| BMW 3 Series GT dashboard |
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| BMW 3 Series GT M steering wheel |
