In rare Gran Turismo hatch form, BMW's sixth generation 3 Series offered five-door hatchback versatility and much more rear seat space, along with a more unique look and a slightly raised Crossover-style feel. The extra height and weight these changes brought created a different kind of drive with this 'F34'-series model, but families looking for a compact hatch with a premium badge from the 2013-2019 period might not mind that. This, after all, was at launch the most practical compact model the Munich maker had ever brought us.
So, you like the idea of a BMW 3 Series saloon, ideally the sixth generation 'F30'-series model, but it's not big enough in the boot. You like the idea of a 3 Series Touring estate from this period, but it isn't roomy enough for those in the rear. You also like the idea of the 3 Series-based X1 crossover model, but it's not sharp enough to drive. At least we've established you want a 3 Series - possibly this one, the 3 Series GT - or 'Gran Turismo'.
This rare 'F34' model, a 3 Series with a hatchback, was launched in the Summer of 2013 aimed at better-heeled families. Folk wanting a BMW with the higher stance and commanding driving position of a small crossover, but one they could still enjoy driving. And a compact car that wouldn't perhaps feel too much like one after stretching out inside it. Such was the rationale behind this, Munich's smallest Gran Turismo model.
A bit of a niche product? Yes, but one you could see appealing to plenty of people. Packaged up neatly here are attributes that BMW claim to have carefully pitched to suit the Qashqai crowd, the station wagon set and people for whom perfection is a compact executive saloon. A car for all seasons and all reasons then? Or a compromise best forgotten? Well it didn't sell too well - despite a facelift in mid-2016. So the 3 Series GT wasn't replaced when production of the sixth generation 3 Series range ended.
What You Get
Here was a Gran Turismo BMW model you could actually call stylish. Few would say that of the originator of this line, the 5 Series Gran Turismo, with its awkwardly bloated body. In this case, the extra size necessary to create this car was more artfully accommodated into a shape that had as much SUV and MPV-ness about it as it did conventional family hatch. In other words, this GT has a bit more about it than your local sales rep's Passat or Insignia. Just as it should have for the money being asked.
The arcing silhouette and elongated tail see it sitting 81mm taller than an ordinary KM6 'F30' 3 Series model from this period and of course it's longer, even than the Touring estate. At the front, subtle changes offer a slightly different visual signature: the forward-slanting kidney grille, the reshaped headlamps, the more smoothly contoured bonnet and the so-called 'blades' set into the outer air intakes of the front apron. Moving back, you come across lovely boomerang-shaped 'Air Breathers' behind each front wheel arch: they have a purpose - drag reduction - but you wouldn't really care if they didn't. A car of this kind needs styling trinketry.
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