Since its debut, the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo has always been rather peculiar. It’s not quite a wagon but it’s not quite a crossover. It’s sort of in the middle and wears a funky hunchback body style. It’s as if it’s not quite sure what it wants to be. That indecision is off-putting for a lot of customers, which has led it to poor sales figures. So with the new generation of 3 Series finally debuting, BMW is set to kill off the Gran Turismo variant from the lineup.
According to BMW, during a recent investor presentation, “no successor model will be developed for the current generation of the BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo.” The Bavarians actually claim that there was enough demand to warrant production (though I find that to be a bit optimistic) but they’re trying to reduce complexity and tighten up the model portfolio a bit. In that reduction, the 3 Series GT is one of the cars getting the axe because it simply makes no sense anymore.
While a fine car in its own right, the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo makes little sense for customers. Sure, we don’t get the 3 Series Touring here in the US, so it sort of acts as the wagon version of the 3er lineup but it’s just not anywhere near as good looking as either the wagon or the sedan. Plus, it’s not as practical as a proper SUV, no matter how hard salespeople try and claim it to be. It also wears a starting price ($45,400) higher than that of the BMW X3 ($43,000 for an equivalent xDrive model), an actual SUV.
Not only is it more expensive than the X3 to start but, and I can promise you this, the BMW X3 is nicer to drive, more practical, more comfortable and even comes with a newer design language and a nicer cabin. The X3 is better in every single measurable and immeasurable way, while also being cheaper to start. So the 3 Series Gran Turismo just doesn’t make any logical or emotional sense to buy over either the BMW 3 Series sedan or the BMW X3. Which is why it deserves the axe it’s about to get.
The same should happen with the 6 Series GT. Ugly car, no personality and no sense. Throw in the trash all the beauty of the sedan and the station.
X6 should have killed the 5 and 6 series GT by now…
All three are fugly and should go away.
6 series has morphed into the 8 series🤦🏾♂️
Does the story with 5/6GT different?
Aren’t lwb. hatches popular in China?
Having driven the 3gt and the (previous) X3, you are wrong on the driving dynamics. Comfort, that would go X3, but not handling
I’ve had two GTs. First was a 2016 Estoril Blue with saddle interior 328. Second was a 2018 Alpine white with red interior. Both were M Sport. They weren’t the most exciting cars I’ve ever had. But they were comfortable, roomy, practical. I live in Florida where there are no twisty roads. So knife edge handling isn’t that important. But they were great cruisers and got pretty good mpg. I don’t want an SUV and with the discontinuation of the 3 series wagon there isn’t much left to choose from. I will miss the GT.
No props, you now can buy an even uglier GT the Tesla Model Y
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/883b063a3ebdd59270d82e9a8ce840a4878c6bd1da82d4624de9de5cbcfdc849.jpg
Why wasn’t the GT compared to the X4? These two vehicles are going after the same audience depending on customer’s ride height preference.
Comparing the new X3 with the old 3er GT makes no sense. The same no sense, than the GT itself, at least to me :D
But I am sure many will miss it. But the reasons are obvious as mentioned above ;)
I mean the 3er GT was redundant from the beginning – to many choices in the outgoing line-up: 3 sedan, 3 touring, 3 GT, 4 Coupe, 4 Gran Coupe, 4 Cabrio – 2 more than in previous generations. I however really liked the 3 GT it was for exactly the young and successful people who didn’t want an SAV or X4. And in Austria & Germany I see a lot of them, almost as many as the Touring body style, I think a lot of them are company cars, but that is just an assumption.
I will miss it, although I knew from the beginning that BMW can’t stay in every niche, so from that view point the X2 should be discontinued as well as well as a few others in the current line-up.
Never did make any sense to me. What about the X4? Another head-scratcher. And the new 6. Let‘s have a 5 wagon for God‘s sake, so we don‘t have to drive a Volvo or a Benz or an Audi.
Why bring X4 into this? X4 is liked by a good number of people and sells enough to warrant continued production. Its design will only get better with time and it’ll truly become the sportier brother to soccer-mom X3.
And now M!
It’s a soccer-mommier brother to the X3, if that wasn’t soccer-mom enough. It takes the worsened handling and increased practicality compared to the 3 series sedan and tosses out most of the practicality while sticking with the handling. If you want a sporty car, you’re in the wrong place looking for a crossover.
I thought there is a 5 wagon?
I am a real estate agent and the GT was the perfect car for means my business. I bought it because it was the the same sedan or SUV that everyone else was driving. It’s comfortable I live in New Hampshire and this thing is a beast in the snow. Handles like a dream can fit my signs and banners I use for business easily. And I get a lot of compliments because it looks different than every other BMW around here. I think this is a mistake on BMW’s part but who am I to say. I guess I will be buying something different when I’m done with this.
Good riddance
The Gran Coupes make no sense either, for that matter.
A hatchback version of the 3 series sedan? Explain to me how added practicality makes no sense.
How well are any of their GT models selling? They’ve always seemed like a solution looking for a problem.
There are plenty of them in the UK, I suspect tastes in mainland Europe aren’t too different. Hatches outnumber sedans pretty much everywhere at least in the lower models like the 3. With a 1 car garage, your first and only car needs to be practical.
Whereas the X3 has hardly more legroom in the back than the X1, the 3er GT has the same or more legroom than a 5 series, and more trunk space than a 3er Touring (wagon). That alone makes it a useful car to some.
But anyway, there seems to be a good chance the next 4er GC will similarly be based on the LWB version of the 3 series as the current 3er GT is; if that is true it can be considered a spiritual successor as it is also a hatchback. Just the driving position will be much lower.
Well I’m glad the 3 Series GT has been cancelled. Now I don’t have to see my car driving around every corner. In South Florida where I live BMW’s, MB’s, Porsches, Maserati’s and every other luxury and sport car brand are so common that its practically impossible to drive anything unique. Thanks to the low sales of BMW’s ‘ugliest’ and most ‘confused’ car of late I get to drive something special. I love my Esoteril Blue F34 and have plans to make it even more unique and purposeful for me with performance parts and other aesthetic treatments. Like the company Apple’s famous slogan it pays to ‘Think Different.’
I can assure you that the X3 is in fact significantly worse to drive than the GT. I haven’t driven either. It’s just common sense that a hatchback is going to drive better than a crossover. Crossovers aren’t really more practical than hatchbacks either. In fact, crossovers are basically worse than their hatchback and wagon counterparts in almost every way! You seem to not really know what you’re talking about.
So you haven’t driven either yet are going to assure me and then tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about? I have driven both and can assure you that the X3 drives better. Personally I think it drives better than any F3X 3 Series.
You are alone on that one
I for one am very unhappy the GT is going away, because I was planning on buying one, ordered custom, at the end of this year when my Acura goes off-lease. I really can’t find another car as suited, for me at least. Compare it to the X4 someone said? Okay, the 3 GT is about 2.5″ longer, in wheelbase and length, 4.5″ lower, yet with 2″ more front headroom, 1″ more rear headroom, 1.3″ more front legroom, almost 4″ more rear legroom, over 30% larger cargo with rear seats up, and 5 cf more with the rear seats down. It costs less, has more rear seat room than ANY BMW up to the 6-Series or Mercedes up to S-Class. And yes, I’m looking for a 4-person tourer with a comfortable back seat, must-have hatchback for versatility, but sporty with great features.
This was certainly the only BMW I’d consider buying, and even though it’s perfect, for me, I won’t be able to get one. I’ll have to settle for a VW Arteon or Lexus ES or Kia Stinger, none of which match the specs of the 3GT. Which is really pissy.
Continuing for a sec, I really don’t understand why people dislike the looks of the GT. Hell, the standard 3-Series is just a SEDAN, about as sedate-looking as it can be. Good looking, but nothing special at all. My wife looks at it and thinks it’s in the same vein as, what, just another generic, no-name sedan. Not bad, but nothing special. At least the GT gave it a sporty roof line PLUS the flexibility of a rear hatch and a lot more room. Put those two features on a standard 3-series, or hell 5-series, and I’ll be a customer. While I’ll admit the 3GT isn’t the best looking car profile I’ve seen, its special features more than make up for that. And I’ve driven the 3, 3GT, X3 and X4, and definitely feel the GT beats the X3 and X4 by miles. It’s better than the 3 on the highway, but admittedly the 3 has it beat on the curves and acceleration.
I LOVE my ’14 mineral metallic white GT (with blacked out windows) and it is is quite rare in So Cal; I have seen less than 20 on the road in the 4.5 years I’ve owned mine and enjoy the exclusivity. I have driven many of the new BMW’s including a ’19 X3 an will take my GT ANY DAY!! Personally, I think it is one of the best looking vehicles on the
road and the hatchback makes it quite handy for hauling guns/ammo and golf clubs. Although it does not set speed records or handle like an M4 it certainly is quicker and better handling than anything else that can carry this many people and cargo. Additionally, because it is bigger than a 3-sedan (7″) and taller (2″) it is far easier for my 6’+ large frame to get in and out of than even the X3. LONG LIVE THE 3-GT!!