Articles by Ewan Kennedy

BMW has added yet another model to its range, this time a 4 Series Gran Coupe (without the 'd' on the end of grand to give a continental ring to the name).It's the latest competitor in one of the fastest growing market segments globally, that of 'premium midrange class'. These are five-door hatchbacks with stylish rear ends that add a real touch of sportiness. The terms 'four-door coupe' and 'five-door coupe' has been created to describe them.The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe joins the three-door 4 Series Coupe (without the Gran) and is a small brother to the 6 Series Gran Coupe. (If you've been out of the automotive scene for a while you may not have heard the news that what used to be called the BMW 3 Series sports models have been renamed the 4 Series.) BMW's new model competes head on with the Audi A5 Sportback, but surprisingly Mercedes-Benz has the CLA-Class and CLS-Class which are slightly smaller and a little larger respectively than the new Bimmer.STYLINGThe shape of the new Gran Coupe is exceptionally good to our eyes. The front is as expected, with the current BMW full-width theme created by the headlights being joined to the headlights. In profile the five-door retains the same theme of the three-door Gran Coupe, but the extra length of the roof makes it really stand out. We like the 'gills' on the front guards and the deep swage lines in the doors. The tailgate is large and gives good access to the rear luggage area, which is slightly larger than the volume in the three-door.No attempt has been made to hide the fact that the 4 Gran has back doors, as has been done in some similar vehicles.The interior styling theme is similar to that of others in the 3 and 4 Series models, with a concentration on the driver's area having a cockpit feel. There's an airy feel and the materials are of a high quality and crafted very well.ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONSA good range is on offer: four-cylinder turbo-petrol 2.0-litre units with power outputs of 135 or 180 kW depending on the state of tune; a straight-six 3.0-litre with 225 kW; and a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four with 135 kW. It's interesting that the petrol and diesel engines have the same power outputs, but the latter's 380 Nm of torque greatly exceeds the 270 Nm from the petrol.All sit in front of eight-speed automatic transmissions with sports tuning. A six-speed manual gearbox is a no-charge option from the factory, though it doesn't seem likely we will see many (if any) in Australia.SAFETYAll models have a full range of crash prevention equipment. Better still the car can ring for help if it experiences a collision and even give the medical services an estimate of the severity of injuries to occupants in advance of them reaching the car.Naturally the 4 Series Gran Coupe easily qualified as a five-star car in tests carried out to European NCAP standards.INFOTAINMENTBMW continues to be one of the leaders in the fields of information and entertainment technology. Its second generation Connected Drive Service and Apps system has its own Sim card so the vehicle can communicate in some circumstances without the need to pair it to a smartphone. The convenience of being able plan a route for the satellite navigation on your home or office computer then send it to the car's sat-nav is much appreciated.As well as automatically calling for help in a crash involving the vehicle (see 'Safety' above) any occupant in the vehicle can be manually told to contact authorities, giving information of the location of an incident to a third party.DRIVINGInterior space is good in the front and the seats have good support built in. The extended roof of the five-door Gran Coupe over the three-door 4 Series Coupe makes for better headroom in the rear, but it may still prove marginal for taller travellers. Rear legroom is fine.A five-door family hatchback normally doesn't provide the sort of satisfaction the excellent handling dynamics the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe does. Road holding is assisted by a balanced body, feedback through the steering wheel and the driver's backside is excellent and safety is enhanced by the sheer ability of this car.Noise and vibration are generally well insulated from the interior, though some of the coarse-chip surfaces we encountered did challenge the BMW's suspension at times.Our initial road testing out of Melbourne was done in the two higher powered models, the 428i and 435i. Both have loads of torque from low revs, with the turbocharged four-door 428i coming close to matching the six-cylinder non turbo 435i. To be honest, unless we had plenty of money to spare the lower cost 428i would more than satisfy our driving needs.VERDICTThe addition of yet another model to the BMW 3 Series and 4 Series range gives buyers a staggering number of choices. Obviously it comes down to personal choice, but we feel the 4 Gran Coupe has just the right balance between sportiness and practicality, so it would be the one we would opt for.

Nissan's stunning GT-R supercar remains one the greatest automotive bargains of all time. We have spent a lot of time with them, and loved every experience.Having interviewed the GT-R's designers and engineers in Japan, and driven GT-Rs extensively in this country we still marvel at the level of racecar technology they offer. Most important is the sheer driving pleasure they provide. We have fanged a couple of GT-Rs at Eastern Creek Raceway and driven them extensively on roads in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania. Without exception we have come away with huge smiles on our face. Though it must be said that my partner Julie wasn't smiling after her first trip in the passenger seat of a GT-R a few years back. Having had a broken back many years ago she found the rock-hard ride of the original GT-R very painful. To the extent she spent several hours lying down to recover from the experience. Not nice.Having just spent a few behind the wheel of the latest Nissan GT-R – in special Black Edition guise – we were impressed with the softer ride. It's certainly not Lexus soft, but it's acceptable to the point that we could use it as a daily driver, not just a track day special. That's important.ENGINE TRANSMISSIONThe latest Nissan GT-R 3.8-litre V6 puts out 540 horsepower (404 kW in weak metric terms) at 6400 rpm, up from the 390 kW in the previous iteration. Maximum torque has gone up from 612 Nm to 628 Nm, this solid grunt is generated in a generous band between 3200 and 5800 revs, so it's delightfully easy to keep the engine on song.Each GT-R powerplant is carefully assembled by hand. As an example the engine builders precisely match the ports of the intake manifold and cylinder head. Sodium filled valves speed up cooling and the catalytic converter is just half the size of the previous one. Impressively, engine efficiency means it can run on leaner air/fuel mixture, cutting emissions and fuel use. The latter is 98 octane, not cheap fuel, but it lets the engineers tune their motors to the max.Power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed double-clutch transmission mounted at the rear of the car. Shift feel and quietness have been refined.STYLINGThe GT-R Black Edition runs on black ultra-light forged alloy 20-inch wheels. They have a width of 9.5 inches at the front and 10.5 inches at the rear. Its rear spoiler is unique to this model and is built from lightweight carbon fibre.Seats are Recaro sports units in the front. Finished in black leather with red accents they look as good as they feel. A pair of individual seats are squeezed in at the rear. The dashboard, steering wheel, console and doors also get the black and red treatment.Incidentally, there is a good variety of colours, your GT-R Black doesn't have to be black.DRIVINGAcceleration is mind blowing. Hit the launch control and hang – for in just 2.7 seconds the big GT-R leaps from rest to 100 km/h. That's superbike territory and emphasises that this really is a race car for the road.The aforementioned improvement in ride comfort has been made possible electronically. The suspension settings are switchable between 'comfort', 'normal' and 'race track'. We particularly liked the action of the fixed-position steering wheel-mounted shifter paddles.The latest Nissan GT-R has an even stronger body to let it handle the added power and torque. Obviously, it also gives the suspension a stiffer platform to work from.Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres, developed for the GT-R, give excellent road grip as well as improved feedback through the steering wheel.There is little legroom in the rear of this sportscar, which is no big deal. A 315-litre boot provides reasonable usability for a pampered pair when touring. The Bose sound system has been given a boost as it now has subwoofers that were previously only available with the Egoist spec GT-R. Door speakers and woofer in the rear are now mounted on a solid aluminium panel to reduce vibration.On the subject of sound, that from the dual twin exhausts perfectly matches the feel of the big Nissan GT-R. 

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