[Mr Whippy]

I had real trouble finding a 3 with mem seats. All the dealers knew it but not one mentioned the 4 GC 335d has them as standard and could easily fit our needs.
In hindsight it's a bit odd they didn't mention it. I'll admit I didn't even know it existed.

And upon looking towards finally finding the car I bought, the 4GC seemed just as big inside, but it's hard to tell.

The door entry at the back seemed smaller too. But a much better boot?


Does anyone have definitive numbers on the space? Is the front/rear legroom the same? Just entry to the rear tighter and less headroom? And a bit lower?

Is the boot actually bigger?

Kinda wondering if a 4 GC would be a better car for our needs, mainly a family car with one baby for now.


Mainly very slightly tempted to buy a new end of production car next year, will prob lose a lot on a trade across but if the car is right it'd be nice to get it brand new to perfect spec and keep very long term.

Just thinking right now if the 4GC is worth looking at?

[robbiep]

I'll just say this, if you're one of those people who is a bit 'precious' about your car (there's plenty on here who are).

Loading pushchair, kids bike, etc, etc into and out of a GC or saloon boot is asking to get the boot lip damaged. The F31 has a flat load level, with no lip that you have to lift items over.
Again, if door entry at the back is an issue (and it is if you're loading kids into child seats, etc) then having what appear to be smaller doors to do that is inviting a pulled back.

[999rigger]

check this post

http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...php?p=20135027

[Ti Rich]

I have just gone from a F30 to a F36

There is more room in the front, slightly less in the back.

I believe the boot is the same volume but as as the access on the F36 is much better it is more usable.

My 16/17 year olds have not complained about the lack of space in the back so it must be OK!

[AlwynMike]

No numbers but coming from an E91 Touring to a 4GC, the 4 is bigger and better packaged inside, with a much larger boot than the E91, just not as tall at the back of the loadspace.
More comfortable , quieter, smoother and better handling too.

[Rich9600]

Originally Posted by robbiep

I'll just say this, if you're one of those people who is a bit 'precious' about your car (there's plenty on here who are).

Loading pushchair, kids bike, etc, etc into and out of a GC or saloon boot is asking to get the boot lip damaged. The F31 has a flat load level, with no lip that you have to lift items over.
Again, if door entry at the back is an issue (and it is if you're loading kids into child seats, etc) then having what appear to be smaller doors to do that is inviting a pulled back.

Exactly this. I test drive a 440i GC and loved it... But, stopped by the pram shop and found is no better than the Saloon I already had. So, a Touring was ordered.

The boy came unexpectedly early, both on September the first last year... 15 months in with both and the extra practicality of the Touring has been very noticeable. Pram in the boot and you can still fill a boot with shopping. The ability to put the luggage guard up and safely load to the roof have been a great advantage on a few occasions.

[Dyl]

The 4GC is better looking, why the hesitation?

[g9icy]

The GC feels about the same as a 3 series up front, but when I sat up straight in the back seat, my head hit the roof a bit, so actually tall people might suffer. Not sure about legroom, but I've had no complaints.

It's a massively more practical car than a 3 series (for me, anyway), as we can get the dog in the boot and put the seats down. It's like having the handling of a 3 series and the practicality of a hatchback - perfect! I find estates to be quite fugly, so they're out of the question.

Edit: And yes, the rear doors are definitely narrower.

And if anyone's interested, the 4 series LCI rear seats are considerably less comfortable to sleep on compared to a pre-LCI 3 series.

[Theone88]

Originally Posted by g9icy

The GC feels about the same as a 3 series up front, but when I sat up straight in the back seat, my head hit the roof a bit, so actually tall people might suffer. Not sure about legroom, but I've had no complaints.

It's a massively more practical car than a 3 series (for me, anyway), as we can get the dog in the boot and put the seats down. It's like having the handling of a 3 series and the practicality of a hatchback - perfect! I find estates to be quite fugly, so they're out of the question.

Edit: And yes, the rear doors are definitely narrower.

And if anyone's interested, the 4 series LCI rear seats are considerably less comfortable to sleep on compared to a pre-LCI 3 series.

I've come from a F30 to F36 to another F36, agree with most comments on front seats being about on par with the F30, back seat room is ok so long as you're not 6ft plus.

I've got 2 kiddy seats in the back of mine and it's generally ok, one seats slightly bigger than the other so takes a bit of reaching to get the belt clipped.

I think size wise the boot of the F30 is ever so slightly m bigger, however it's the sides and shape that make it feel smaller than the F36. If you have a pushchair that can go lengthways its perfect (a standard mclaren pushchair can which saves a lot of space.

Also be mindful that split folding seats is an optional extra on the F30, whereas the F36 seats already go down (not sure what the ratio is, not as much as split folding but enough to say get a 55 inch tv in).

[Ti Rich]

F36 has a 60/40 split as standard and optional 40/20/40

F30 has no folding seats as standard, only optional.

F36 is wider and longer too.

F30 boot is 480 L

F36 boot is 480 L

[Theone88]

Originally Posted by Ti Rich

F36 has a 60/40 split as standard and optional 40/20/40

F30 has no folding seats as standard, only optional.

F36 is wider and longer too.

F30 boot is 480 L

F36 boot is 480 L

Good work

[Abzynthe]

The only difference I found between my dads F30 and my F36 was the practicality of the boot. Everything else was pretty much the same.

[Alscoob]

F31 is what you should look at (but then I am bias). The whole car feels bigger inside than the GC or the 3 saloon due to the longer flatter roofline. It is also far easier to load prams buggies children into, as already mentioned, flat load area at the rear & bigger rear doors.

Push the seats down and far more load capacity than the GC also. I had a 440i for a day and although I liked it, felt that I couldn't live with the interior space.

[mcoops]

F31 is the most practical of course. But it depends on your situation and aesthetic preferences. I have a 4GC and kids - a 9 and 7 year old. So, no prams for the boot, and they are not big enough to worry about headroom. Boot is big enough for our luggage on main family holiday, with hatchback flexibility. Yet I get what I think is the prettiest shape for an Fxx. If you have babies or are transporting adults/lanky teens in the back, it might be more of a compromise.

[225]

I only had a GC for 3 weeks and it did have a decent boot but for a young family the f31 is much better imo. Easyloading of prams and general gubbins, especially with the glass partion opening on its own and comfort access. I have also coded one touch boot opening and closing. Add in extended storage and you can get a surprising amount in what is actually a small estate.

The GC is prettier but the f31 still looks good especially in wheel barrow form

[JNW1]

I like the look of the GC but with two labradors the better access and more conveniently shaped load area of the F31 make that a more practical option for me.

If was choosing between a saloon and a GC the latter would be my choice but if like the OP I'd just bought an F30 I wouldn't feel strongly enough to make an early change unless there was a very attractive deal on offer.

Hindsight is obviously a wonderful thing but the likes of TRL have been doing really good deals on the 4GC recently and on a PCP a new one of those may have actually been not that much more expensive than a nearly-new F30; obviously a bit different if you're paying cash though....

[Racing Teatray]

We got a 440i GC rather than a 340i Touring because my wife hates estate cars and refuses to countenance getting one unless and until it proves absolutely necessary (no kids so far).

For those with babies and a GC, how is getting them in and out of the rear seats? The doors are quite small but I guess being frameless helps?

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Racing Teatray

We got a 440i GC rather than a 340i Touring because my wife hates estate cars and refuses to countenance getting one unless and until it proves absolutely necessary (no kids so far).

For those with babies and a GC, how is getting them in and out of the rear seats? The doors are quite small but I guess being frameless helps?

The few times we have taken our baby in the 4GC, it's been absolutely fine. She's seven months now and is easy to get in and out, as is the seat. That said, my wife's car is the main family hack and it's only if we are going over an hour that we tend to bother switching to mine.

Boot space is great and so much more useful and accessible than a saloon. Agree that the F31 would be the practicality winner, but my wife too would not even consider an estate. For a few weeks I was looking at A6 Avants and she was utterly unimpressed and unenthusiastic. One look at a 4GC and she was smitten.

The looks of the 4GC are the big winner for me over the F30 and the icing on the cake is the extra equipment.

[Theone88]

Originally Posted by Racing Teatray

We got a 440i GC rather than a 340i Touring because my wife hates estate cars and refuses to countenance getting one unless and until it proves absolutely necessary (no kids so far).

For those with babies and a GC, how is getting them in and out of the rear seats? The doors are quite small but I guess being frameless helps?

I've got a 4 and soon to be 6 year old, no issues for me! They actually just get in themselves now (with me making sure they don't stand on the skirts!).

Think I mentioned earlier one of our car seats is quite big so only small issue is reaching over to get the seatbelt clipped.

[Dyl]

I bought a GC because I had a 12 month old and a 3 door Golf. Now that was a PITA. She’s just turned 3 and have had no issues at all since I got it.

[Mr Whippy]

Thanks for all the responses!

It sounds like a 4GC should have been looked at then.
Given the mem seats it'd have widened my choice of cars by several factors, and likely more high spec cars too!

I'll admit the saloon is my fave and I'm not 100% on the 4gc looks or all the extra back end bulk of the estate, but needs overrule that to some extent, and the 4GC sounds like a good compromise.


I might have to go pester my local dealership for a drive in a 4GC in spring.

Does anyone know the rough end dates for ordering the saloon or 4GC before the new model arrives?
In the past have there been amazing deals to be had at these points?

[MashinBenzin]

4GC remains in production until 2020 or 2021 I believe, I haven't checked that for a few months though.