The BMW 6 Series is now a hatchback: meet the 6 Series GT

Not got a handle on BMW’s range? Still confused at how a 2 Series can be both a tyre-shredding M Car and a seven-seat MPV? Well this isn’t going to help. It’s the new BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, and it’s big hatchback.

It replaces the old 5 Series Gran Turismo – which created its own niche back in 2009 – and while its ethos is broadly the same, BMW has altered its name. It lines it up quite nicely with the also-a-big-hatchback X6, but until the 8 Series replaces the 6 Series coupe, it may cause some confusion.

Anyway, the car itself. BMW calls it a ‘large GT’, and in essence it’s a posher version of the 5 Series (with frameless doors!) that also manages to be more practical. It’s arguably better looking than the old 5 GT it replaces, being longer and lower. Special effort has been put into sharpening the rear styling, which used to be quite, um, boxy.

There are three full-size seats in the back, and these can electronically recline if you tick the right options box. The seats can all individually split, swelling the base luggage room of 610 litres (up 110 litres on the 5 GT) to 1,800 litres when they’re all folded. As well as being up 100 litres on the 5 GT, that’s the kind of room you get in a Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate. And that has an enormous boot