Providing a rival to the Audi A5 Sportback, the Gran Coupé joins the 4 Series Coupé and Convertible from June as the last model in the 4 Series line-up and will be priced from £29,420.

Offering four-door practicality and enhanced luggage capacity, the Gran Coupé has the same dimensions as the coupé but its roof is 12 mm higher and 112 mm longer, giving more headroom in the cabin, especially in the rear.

Meanwhile the boot volume of 480 litres is 35 litres larger than that of the two-door version, and the same capacity of the BMW 3 Series saloon.

Practicality is also enhanced with the 2+1 rear seating with 60:40 folding as standard, which increases the load capacity to a best-in-class figure of 1,300 litres when completely folded flat. And there’s a wide-access tailgate, which simulates the look of a typical coupé boot when closed, and offers an automatic option.

Handling is based on the 4 Series Coupé with the same suspension and axle layouts with corresponding dimensions for wheelbase and track although suspension and damping have been adjusted slightly for the four-door version to account for the marginally taller body and extra doors. 

There will be a choice of five engines from launch, all featuring the latest BMW TwinPower Turbo technology and rear-wheel drive. Petrols comprise an entry-level 181bhp 420i, the 242bhp 428i and the range-topping 302bhp 435i. Diesels include the new 141bhp 418d Gran Coupé, which achieves 61.4mpg on the combined cycle with CO2 emissions for both the manual and automatic variants of 121g/km. There’s also the 184bhp BMW 420d Gran Coupé, with CO2 emissions from 124g/km.

From July the range will be extended with the addition of two higher-powered diesels to the line-up. The range-topping diesel variant is 309bhp 435d xDrive Gran Coupé and there’s a 255bhp 430d Gran Coupé with optional xDrive all-wheel-drive. A 420i xDrive model will also become available.

As standard the new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé features a six-speed manual transmission, but all engines can be combined with the optional eight-speed automatic or eight-speed Sport automatic transmissions, which features manual shifting using paddles on the steering wheel.

Five trim levels (SE, Sport, Modern, Luxury and M Sport) are offered, with the same standard equipment as the 4 Series Coupé but with the addition of a single-piece automatic tailgate as standard on all models.  

Kit includes front and rear parking sensors, heated front seats, Servotronic steering, a Sport multi-function leather steering wheel and Xenon headlights. There’s also leather upholstery, Two-zone air conditioning and Cruise control. Bluetooth, USB, Comfort Go, Drive Performance Control, iDrive Controller, 6.5-inch free-standing colour screen, DAB radio and automatic lights, wipers and boot opening. 

The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé goes on sale on 21st June 2014, with identical prices to the Coupé, starting at £29,420 OTR for a 420i SE and rising to £41,655 OTR for a 435i M Sport.