[chylld]

After leaving Germany on the 10th of April, my 4GC has finally made it around Africa and into Australian waters! 5 days to make it around the south of the country and dock in Sydney (wollongong actually, but close enough)

428i GC in mineral grey with red/black dakota leather interior and a few options:
Adaptive LED headlights
M Sport Package
Metallic paint
Head-Up Display
Active Cruise Control
M Sport Brakes
Surround View
harman/kardon sound system
Comfort Access
Seat heating front
Sun protection glazing
Tyre pressure monitor
Variable sport steering

 

[nohlo]

Congrats!!! I have ordered my GC as well but I still have no approximate date on when it'll arrive. Dealer says sometime mid June.

When did you place your order?

 

[chylld]

Ordered feb 14th 2nd order at my dealer; 1st order was placed late last year

 

[Stsainj]

Eager to hear your experience. Waiting for availability in the dealerships for test drives to see if the Gran Coupe will fill my needs better than the Macan, Evoque, or 3 series touring

 

[chylld]

Interesting choice of alternatives... those were the 3 other cars with which I was cross-shopping

Evoque was the first we considered, but they are a bit big and I couldn't get comfortable in the seat. A friend has one and complains the boot is too small, and it's starting to have a lot of problems (spends more time at the dealership than in the garage)

3-Series touring - meets all our practicality requirements and probably the best looking wagon around. However my wife doesn't like wagons...

Macan - I actually preordered a Macan S very early on and have been a very active member of macanforum. However my dealer tried to rip me off severely (double-charging ~$6k luxury car tax) and when I brought the issue up, I was told to take it or leave it. The same day the 4GC was leaked so I took my business to BMW and placed my preorder there Macan is a great car but looks nowhere near as sleek as the 4-series.

 

[Stsainj]

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-bmw-4-series-gran-coupe-first-drive-review
Nice new review!
Macan US MPG not finalized but a bit disappointing. Wagons don't sell well in the US either. (The new C-class wagon looks nice too but unlikely to make it here) Like the interior of the Evoque. Just wish that the GC was also available with a panoramic sunroof. (I'm not sure I can bear to buy a 3GT just for that added feature )

 

[chylld]

Gotta love the comments there... but I take it as a compliment that the biggest complaint people have about the 4GC is "BMW has too many models!"

2 more days until my ship docks in Victoria... my state is the next stop

 

[porgy]

congrats chylld! I do feel that BMW has too many models, but you know what if they all looked as good as the GC's I would have NO problem... I'd be head over heels if they even went and got around to penning a 2 GC. Kinda as close to e46/36 as its ever going to get again

 

[chylld]

Discharged! (I think this means it's off the boat)

 

[nohlo]

Excited!! Can't wait to see some pics of it when it arrives!!

 

[chylld]

Dropped in to the dealer on the way home on Sunday, they said BMW Australia have my car and are holding it until model launch approx 17/6. Soon! Ish!

 

[chylld]

Delivery booked for monday morning 23/6!

 

[porgy]

in for pics first one on the boards

 

[chylld]

It's here! Pics first: (including one of a black 4gc that was bought as soon as it landed on the showroom floor)

 

[chylld]

Impressions in chronological order:

- such a cosy place to be, cockpit just wraps around you and the seat is super adjustable, although I would like a little bit more tilt in the base. Still, very comfortable

- more than enough room in all 3 back seats (i'm 5'9"). middle seat very usable

- steering is nice and light in comfort mode - wouldn't change it. weights up in sport mode a little bit. i have variable ratio depending on amount of lock ("variable sport steering") and it's taking a while to get used to

- rear view mirror is stupidly positioned quite low so it blocks out a large portion of the forward visibility. adding insult to this is the small rear window which looks out at the tops of the cars behind you

- car is so quiet. thought i was doing 30kph, look at the head-up display and it says 70kph!! ride is nice, lets me know where bumps are but doesn't shout about it. a bit of road noise to let me know i'm moving. not as quiet as a lexus, but if i wanted that, i would have bought a lexus.

- engine has a good amount of power, much more responsive and lag-free than my golf R.

- comfort access, love being able to leave the key in my pocket!

etc etc. love this car.

 

[nohlo]

Love the pics and love the car. Thank you so much for posting! Keep us updated with more feedback if you can. I'm dying to get mine!

 

[porgy]

The interior is stunning Chylld, although I'm having trouble discerning if its red leather or a burnt orange....

Congrats on the new GC, I think you might be the first on the site

 

[chylld]

It is red leather, the colour temperature on my camera may have been wrong Also the leather is the same brightness of red as the lower dash, but the interior lights make the seats look brighter in photos.

Played with the interior ambient lights - the 'white' light is a bit orange so I got a bit of a shock when I changed it to actual orange! Same colour as the instruments which is not my thing, but at least you have a choice Really happy with the ambient lighting.

Need to shop for non-polarised sunglasses as my current sunnies are vertically polarised, and make the HUD disappear. If I rotate them 90 degrees, the HUD is clear but the nav screen / instrument cluster display disappear. So it will have to be non-polarised