BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe attempts to downsize the recipe of the four-door coupe concept, which was pioneered by the Mercedes CLS. Like its big brother, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, it combines rakish coupe-like looks with four doors and a big boot to create a stylish family car.

Based on the fine 4 Series Coupe but offering a bigger boot and easier passenger transport, it’s a worthy rival to the ageing but successful Audi A5 Sportback and Volkswagen CC.

onlookers could be forgiven for not noticing the difference between the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and a standard BMW 3 Series – a criticism we’d never level at the far more imposing (and expensive) 6 Series Gran Coupe.

That said, the 4 Series Gran Coupe is still a handsome machine in the metal, with the 4 Series’ wider rear axle helping boost the car’s planted stance.

For extra visual aggression and around £3,000, you can spec the M Sport pack, which adds a more aggressive bumper an standard 18-inch alloy wheels, plus a comprehensive revamp of the interior.

Driving

4.2

Perhaps the highest compliment we can pay the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, is that you’d never notice the extra 50kg of extra doors and slightly taller stance.

In short, it handles just like the 4 Series Coupe, which is to say very well indeed – if lacking the final word in excitement. Thanks to its 50:50 weight distribution and the same widened tracks as the 4 Series Coupe, the Gran Coupe exudes balance, while remaining flat and confidence-inspiring in fast direction changes.

As with most modern BMWs, it’s the slightly dull steering that’s the main disappointment – it never really transmits a lot of information from the front axle. This sadly detracts from an otherwise engaging drive in which you experience from one of the most resolved (and adjustable) driving positions of any sports saloon.

The range of engines mirrors the Coupe’s too, save for the fuel-sipping 418d variant, which has been included due to its fleet-friendly CO2 rating. 

Reliability

3.5

Based on the proven mechanicals of the BMW 3 Series Saloon, there’s nothing in the 4 Series range that should give cause for alarm. In fact, the current 3 Series came 14th in our 2014 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey.

However, BMW has some slight catching up to do to beat its rivals on customer service: its 10th placed finish in our 2014 Driver Power survey fell behind Mercedes (9th) and also Jaguar and Lexus (4th and 2nd respectively). Audi, meanwhile, languished in 12th place.

Practicality

3.5

Despite BMW stubbornly billing this car as a ‘coupe’, its four doors and hatchback boot make it a more usable proposition than you might expect. Instead of the 4 Series Coupe’s bootlid, the Gran Coupe uses a hatchback tailgate with automatic opening and closing as standard, giving a much larger loading aperture.

At 480 litres, the Gran Coupe’s boot is also 35 litres larger than that offered by the 4 Series Coupe - exactly the same size as the cargo area offered in the 3 Series Saloon. Even the car’s closest rival, the Audi A5 Sportback, can’t trump the BMW as it offers a 480-litre space.

Another oddity in the car’s specification is its ‘4+1’ seating arrangement. Essentially, there is a middle seat on the rear bench, but it’s raised above the other two to clear the transmission tunnel. When combined with that curving roofline, it’s left only as an emergency seat for children.

Running Costs

4

The extra practicality of the 4 BMW Series Gran Coupe represents great value for money when you consider that it’s priced identically to the 4 Series Coupe range. 

It might be a big coupe lookalike, but the 4 Series Gran Coupe should serve up some supermini-sized running costs thanks to its two four-cylinder turbodiesel engines. According to BMW’s official figures, the 418d and 420d can record 63mpg and 60mpg respectively.

The 420d would be our choice as its extra torque endows this sporting saloon with some much-needed punch. That said, BMW’s diesels are rather noisy, so if you’re a fan of the black pump it’ll be worth waiting for the six-cylinder 430d and 435d Gran Coupe variants due soon.

Petrol fans are even better catered for, with the choice of 420i and 428i turbocharged four-cylinder engines and a flagship 435i six-cylinder also available at launch. If you’re not doing huge miles, the four-cylinder variants in particular are worth a look – they’re urgent and far more refined than the ‘default option’ diesels.

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Falcon GT F 351

The muscular cular ‘351’ GT F is a nostalgic tribute to a long line of Ford street fighters. A big part of its appeal is the fact that it makes 351kW.

But it doesn’t.

Most of the time, except in first gear, or when the ambient temperature is high, the GT F pumps out 404kW.

What? A car that produces more than the people selling the car say it will?

What madness is this?

It makes 404kW due to something called transient overboost, which is another way of saying the supercharged engine goes bananas and produces an extra 15 per cent of power for 15 to 20 seconds.

Because it can’t do it all the time, in all conditions, Ford chooses not to count the extra power in its official power figure.

TopGear has previously written about this mysterious source of extra power, but this is the first time Ford has gone on record and admitted its existence.

The good news for some FPV owners is that the transient overboost function is not limited to the 351 GT F, but is present on every single Australian-developed supercharged 5.0-litre V8 FPV has sold since it was introduced in 2010.

The soon to be reintroduced XR8, which will be launched in November, will also feature the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 with the transient overboost feature.

FPV insiders suggest the 351 GT F can blast from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds. This is around 0.2 seconds faster than the GT R-SPEC, which was the fastest GT to that point thanks to its wider rear tyres.

Development testing suggested a 0-400m sprint time of 12-something seconds for the final GT F, which is damn fast.

TopGear was given a little taste of the GT F, including a couple of fast starts and a few laps at 160km/h on the banked oval at Ford Australia’s You Yangs proving ground south west of Melbourne.

We also went for a handling circuit ride with one of Ford’s crazy-fast development drivers, who was able to show that, in the right hands, the final GT is able to go blindingly fast around corners as well as in a straight line.

The GT F gains all of the suspension upgrades of the R-SPEC car, which includes nine-inch wide rear tyres (instead of eight-inch) and a full range of suspension upgrades to dramatically improve the handling of the big Ford.

It also gets six-piston front Brembos and four piston calipers at the rear.

The engine upgrades were done without any mechanical changes, instead relying on clever software tweaks to gain the extra grunt.

Ford developed a special exterior design, complete with a single wide stripe that runs over the bonnet, roof and boot and it also blacked out the door handles, wing mirrors, parts around the headlights and the rear spoiler.

There are a range of changes on the inside, the seats have special stitching and 351 embroidered in the headrests, there are unique black plastic trim bits and a special instrument cluster. Nerds will love the digital gauges on the centre screen, showing things like boost pressure and even G-forces. Ford suggests these gauges are for the passengers rather than the driver, who should be paying attention to the road instead.

FPV customers love badges with big numbers on them, so there are 351 badges for the boot and on the front quarter panels next to the front wheels.

We suggest owners order some spare badges because there is a good chance they’ll go missing at some stage.

Ford will make 500 GT F 351 sedans for Australia and another 50 for the Kiwis. Almost all of these have already been sold despite a considerable price of $77,900.

It will also produce 120 Pursuit utes (20 for the Kiwis), which have most of the 351 GT F features, but run a 315kW engine from the GS instead. These cost $52,990.

It only gets the less mental engine because the leaf-sprung ute already has trouble getting power to the ground with the 315kW version of the Miami V8 and engineers suggested fitting the ute with the 351kW (or 404kW) engine would have been pure madness.

Check out Top Gear Australia magazine for a more detailed test drive of the last ever GT Falcon.

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Harley-Davidson LiveWire Electric Bike

Dyed-in-the-leather Motor Company faithful who had their worlds rocked by water-cooled V-Rods and rolled by made-in-India Street models may want to sit down for this one—Harley-Davidson, that pillar of conventional, conservative, American cruiser-style motorcycles, has built an electric bike. Now we know for sure that pigs—or Hogs, at least—can fly.

Called Project LiveWire, this sleek eBike is sure to send a shockwave through Harley-Davidson's existing consumer base—if not through the entire motorcycle industry. And that's a good thing. Following on the heels of the Dark Custom series and the entry-level Street lineup, Project LiveWire is the latest salvo in Harley-Davidson's both-barrels-blazing effort to attract new, younger, and different customers to the bar-and-shield brand.

"America at its best has always been about reinvention," said Matt Levatich, H-D President and COO. "Like America, Harley-Davidson has reinvented itself many times in our history, with customers leading us every step of the way. Project LiveWire is another exciting, customer-led moment in our history."

The bike you see in these images is not a final product intended for sale—at least not yet. It's a development prototype intended to gather input about riders' expectations for an electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle. (Did you know you had any expectations for an electric Harley-Davidson?) Just like with the Project Rushmore touring bike revision, Harley-Davidson is soliciting an unprecedented amount of consumer input into the development of its first electric motorcycle. All summer long, consumers across the country will be given the opportunity to ride the LiveWire at over 30 Harley-Davidson dealers—or participate in a "simulated riding experience" called Jumpstart, if you're a non-riders—and give feedback that will directly shape the future of Harley-Davidson's eBike. "Longer term plans for retail availability of Project LiveWire will be influenced by feedback from riders along the Project LiveWire Experience tour," the company says.


Very little is known about the LiveWire at this time and Harley shared no specifications, except to promise "tire-shredding acceleration" and a unique "fighter jet" sound unlike any existing internal combustion or electric motorcycle. The design is more naked musclebike than any current Harley-Davidson cruiser, with what appear to be 17-inch wheels, disc brakes front and rear, a substantial inverted fork, and centrally mounted rear monoshock. We know nothing about motor or battery technology except to note that the area described by what we presume is the battery box is quite large, with space for enough cells to provide at least the industry-standard 12-15 kWh capacity, delivering range and performance on-par with well-developed products from Brammo or Zero. Many small details including the triple clamps, rearsets, and unique combination mirrors/turn signals appear to be hand crafted and exquisite. We expect to learn more next week, when we'll have an opportunity to ride the LiveWire ourselves.


This is big news. Who would have thought it would be Harley-Davidson—not Honda or one of the other big four, or even BMW—who would be the first established OEM to announce an eBike? This is just further evidence of how focused Harley-Davidson is on constantly reinventing itself to remain relevant for the next 110 years of its history. We look forward to riding the LiveWire next week, and getting our first glimpse at what the future of Harley-Davidson looks like from the behind the handlebars.

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Mercedes Benz GLA 200 CDI

This is the new Mercedes GLA crossover – an interesting car for all sorts of reasons, and a rival for the Audi Q3 and BMW X1. This is more of a crossover hatchback than a compact SUV – it has up to 185mm of ground clearance, but the silhouette and driving position of a fairly large hatchback rather than of a typical 4x4.

The car you see here is a GLA 200 CDI, which comes with front-wheel-drive and a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes (Indian cars are likely to get only the auto). Power comes from an up-rated version of the same 2,143cc turbo-diesel used in the A 180 CDI and B 180 CDI, which in this car makes 134bhp and 30.55kgm of torque. India is also slated to get the GLA 220 CDI, which uses the same engine, but with outputs of 168bhp and 35.67kgm.

It’s refined, economical, comfortable and pleasant – albeit not as practical and convenient as some. Mercedes’ 2.1-litre diesel is a good choice for the GLA, showing off much better manners under the bonnet of this compact crossover than it does in other applications.

The engine is a little bit clattery at idle and shudders slightly on restart, but is quiet and smooth at normal operating revs, and even revs with a commendable lack of coarseness. It hits its peak torque at just 1,400rpm, and is seldom short on pulling power or insistent on a lower gear to negotiate a short climb or a typical highway overtake.

The car steers precisely, with little effort necessary through the rim, but little feedback flowing through it either. It makes for a relaxed, easy-going driving experience complemented well by ride quality that’s much more supple and absorbent than we’ve found in any of Mercedes’ other new-generation compact cars.

In the UK, ‘Comfort’ suspension comes as standard on ‘SE’-grade cars, and it deals with bumpy and broken surfaces very calmly indeed. Even the ‘Sport’ suspension, fitted as standard to AMG Line models, allows the GLA a considerably better isolated cabin than any A-, B- or CLA-class model – as another test car proved.

The GLA’s driving position is recumbent by SUV standards, and its ride height and visibility relatively ordinary. That low profile makes for quite clean, balanced and wieldy handling; on the flipside of the equation, you’ll find more cabin- and boot space, and a higher access point, elsewhere in the compact SUV class.

But you won’t find much better fuel economy. From a mixed route taking in mountain roads and expressway, our GLA 200 CDI test car returned just over 17.5kpl, thanks in part to a class-leading drag coefficient.

When it comes to a buying decision, it depends if you find the idea of a premium-brand crossover more appealing than that of a more upright compact SUV. This tester suspects many will, once they realise that the Mercedes GLA provides as much space and capability as they really need, combined with impressive performance, efficiency, quality and brand allure.

There’s certainly little wrong with this particular execution of Mercedes’ premium crossover concept, and plenty to like about a car we’d confidently describe as the best yet to come from Daimler’s new compact generation.

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Mercedes-Benz S 350 CDI

The new S-class is a byword for innovation and luxury. Not just a super-luxury sedan, but a rolling technology demonstrator on wheels, the new S-class has gone straight to the top of its class. The twin-turbo V8 engine in the S 500 is creamy smooth and effortless, and has all the refinement you would expect. That car’s Rs 1.36 crore (ex-showroom, Mumbai) price tag, however, also reflects its status as the ‘Best car in the World’. Mercedes, ever the democrat, has now launched a more affordable, more efficient and slightly lesser-equipped edition – this S 350 CDI.

 

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI on the outset looks the same as its much more expensive petrol powered sibling. The large swept back LED headlamps combined with the massive chrome grille are not just imposing to look at, but command instant respect from everybody on the road. Although the shade of black that this particular S-Class is in does tend to subdue the fine lines of this rather massive car, the sheer length and width of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI is enough to make everyone strain to take a second look. Mercedes-Benz have omitted the handsome diamond cut wheels that you get on the more expensive S500 for a set of rather plain looking multispoke 18-inch wheels.

The main difference between the S500 and the S350 CDI on the exterior front though is at the rear. While the S500 gets a slightly sportier rear bumper with built in trapezoidal exhaust tips, the diesel gets a conventional bumper with a hidden exhaust pipe setup. The LED festooned tail lamps though continue to be a common feature and as with the S500, the S350 uses only LED bulbs though the entire car completely omitting conventional lighting techniques.

First impressions of the car are just as strong as that of the petrol S 500. It looks stately and sleek at the same time, with those striking led headlamps and the big Mercedes chrome grille giving it a lot of presence.

 

With a diesel under the hood, you can’t expect petrol engine-like refinement, but start up and idle are  astonishingly good for a diesel. There is a hint of a hum, if you mute the audio and set the AC fan speed to one, and it’s only when you extend the diesel engine and pull it hard that the serene calm of the cabin gets ever so slightly disrupted. But otherwise this motor is so creamy smooth, you don’t realise it is a diesel most of the time. As always, the double-glazed glass and the incredible sound insulation keeps you at arm’s length from the outside world.

The 3.0-litre diesel V6 is as you can expect from a Mercedes, and with 255bhp and 63.2kgm to haul the car around, is pretty brisk too. As is befitting a car of its stature, there’s no solid shove from the motor, but instead a smooth long surge that seems to go on and on. The mid range is particularly strong and allows you to reach silly speeds without realising, before you run into the somewhat low 4,200rpm redline. The seven-speed automatic works well for slow driving and highway cruising, shifting gears unobtrusively. Set the car to sport mode and the engine responses and gearshifts quicken, but it’s here that you notice that Mercedes’ 7G-Tronic torque converter auto is not quite as quick, clever or responsive as some of the more modern luxury gearboxes around.

 

Otherwise the new S-class is luxury car travel at its brilliant best. Once you sink into those big seats and shut the doors after you, you’re in your own world. The attention to detail is breathtaking – the wood and chrome look like they belong together, the graphics on the multi screen COMAND system make you feel you are piloting an Airbus A380, and quality levels are right up there with Bentley. Getting into the rear of the car is even nicer. You don’t get the same split rear cabin as the petrol, but the two individual electric ‘seats’ that form the bench are still reclinable, heated, cooled and massaging. They don’t recline as far back as in the petrol, but they’re still super soft and comfortable, and the ability to move the front passenger seat forward 77mm for truly excessive legroom is still available. What’s more, flip up the centre armrest and there’s room for a third passenger as well. Now, apart from the super-luxury rear seats, some of the kit from the petrol version is missing from the S 350 CDI, but it’s nothing of tremendous consequence to the luxury experience. There’s only a rear camera instead of the 360-degree setup, the wood trim is missing from the steering wheel, the 18-inch alloy wheels are different, the boot lid isn’t power operated, there’s no night vision system, and the Burmester hi-fi system is a few speakers down (it still sounds phenomenal though).  No car in the world blends high technology and old world charm quite like the new S-class, and that’s evident on this diesel as well.

Interior

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI’s interiors are a brilliant place to be in. From its strangely likable two spoke steering wheel wrapped in leather and festooned with high quality aluminum, to its four prominent AC vents that would look right at home on a bespoke Rolls-Royce, the S-Class is clearly built to delight. The large comfortable leather seats up front offer a level of luxury that makes one want to curl up into a ball and fall asleep.

The two large LCD screens that form the instrumentation cluster and the central command system are both crisp and offer a range of options to play around with.That said, as with the S500 we drove earlier, the actual operating system in the S-Class does feel a little outdated and repetitive as it is the same one used in all other models too. With Apple’s CarPlay operating system expected to make an appearance inMercedes-Benz models a little later in the year, one can expect that to change.

As the S350 CDI is a lot cheaper than the S500, Mercedes has omitted a few key features that do seem to take away from the S-Class’s glamour. Most annoyingly, especially for a hot country like India,Mercedes-Benz has gotten rid of the cooled front seat option while keeping the heated seat package untouched. Mercedes has also omitted the electronic boot controller, which means that one has to manually shut the bootlid, which, on a S-Class is just ridiculous. Forget the uber cool ‘leg swipe’ feature that opens and shuts the boot on the S500, even a button to shut the boot is absent!

Other omissions include the rear central console that incorporated features like built in laptop tables.The rear captain seats too have been ditched in favor of a bench setup. That said, the rear seats still get electronic adjustment that lets them recline and a cooling seat option, which is absent in the front. Thankfully, the phenomenal Burmester audio system is still there and converts the S-Class into the Royal Opera house wherever commanded.

Engine

Now to the important bits. How does the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI drive? Well, one could have expected a diesel engine to be noisy and unrefined, but then you realize you are in a S-Class. The only time you can realistically hear the engine is if you mute the music and lower the air conditioning fan speed to minimum. The refined 3.0-litre, twin turbocharged, V6 engine makes a healthy 262PS of peak power and 620Nm of peak torque. Mated to the 7G-Tronic Plus seven speed dual clutch gearbox, the S350 CDI can go from 0-100kmph in a claimed 6.8 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 250kmph.

Not only does the power delivery feel instantaneous as it ought to, the S350 CDI does everything that it is commanded to do with no fuss at all. There is no hint of turbo lag whatsoever even in the relaxed comfort mode.  In fact, the way the S-Class in general wafts on Indian roads is nothing short of the kind of comfort and ease Aladdin must have had on his magic carpet.

Although us auto journalists enjoy putting a car through its paces, this is one of the cars that even us 'wild-bunch' drive with a whole lot of dignity and respect. That said, we did subject the S-Class through a bunch of twists and turns and it came out with flying colors. The Airmatic suspension can be adjusted to either Comfort or Sport mode, both of which exhibit very significant changes in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI’s suspension characteristics. To facilitate high-speed stability, the S-Class automatically lowers itself by 20mm over speeds of 120kmph hunkering down onto the road like a supersonic cruise missile.

The S-Class we drove rode on a set of 255/45R18 wheel and tyre package, essential to keep the 2132kg (kerb weight) S350 CD planted on the road at all times. The S-Class even has a height adjustment system, which can increase the ground clearance of the car by 20mm in order to navigate a particularly nasty speed hump or pothole, the likes of which are quite common in India, especially with the monsoon fast looming.

Price

At Rs 1.07 crore (ex-showroom, Maharashtra) the S 350 CDI is considerably more affordable than the petrol S 500, it's undoubtedly more economical to run and nearly as well equipped - it takes luxury diesel travel to an all new level. To begin with, if you are sat in the back, you can’t really tell it is a diesel, unless you make an effort. The engine is smooth, linear and jerk free and there is just about enough performance on hand too. Add in the brilliant interiors, the fact that it has enough features to keep demanding customers happy, and you soon come away with the impression that the new S-class diesel is everything you expect in a diesel limo.

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