The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé is for drivers hankering for something that has space and doors for all the family but still has the good looks of a coupé.

Normally, a BMW customer has two choices when it comes to choosing his or her next mid-sized car from the German company.

A sleek, focused two-door which is intoxicating to drive but, thanks to a heavily sloping roof, a bit cramped in the back. Or an equally sporty four-door sedan that sacrifices a little in terms of rakish good looks in order to accommodate rear passenger doors and more rear-seat headroom.

BMW clearly worries that this is a difficult decision to make and one that might be driving its customers into the welcoming arms of Audi and Mercedes as, unlike its closest direct competitors, it currently doesn’t have a car that offers the best elements of a coupe and a sedan. That is until now.

The 4 Series Gran Coupé is essentially a ‘stretched’ but not a distorted coupé and that’s because it’s been stretched upwards, rather than outwards.

Raising the roofline by 12mm has done nothing to spoil its lines. Neither has adding two extra doors. The car still looks like it means business — even on the school run.

And of course, because BMW has waited until Mercedes and Audi have already launched their offerings in this space (the 4-door A5 and CLA respectively), it can make sure that the 4 Series is ‘best in class’ in terms of things like trunk space and headroom.

Under the hood, the car will be powered at launch with a choice of five engines, four of which will be petrol powerplants and one will be of the turbodiesel variety. The most potent will be the 306hp, 3-liter, in-line 6-cylinder unit, but there will also be a choice of less potent four-cylinder engines too.

In terms of internal specifications, that’s down to the individual customer.

There will be three levels of standard trim and features, plus an options list that is huge (as with all BMWs); plus the BMW Individual Program will allow owners to create something even more exclusive.