Sunday Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: A bit of a stretch

What happens when you take a standard BMW 3 Series sedan and stretch it by 120mm? You get the 3 Series Gran Limousine, a more spacious and comfortable take on the original, aimed squarely at chauffer-driven owners. Stretching a car to liberate more space in the rear seat is an age-old formula that works quite well in India. Mercedes’ long-wheelbase E-Class for one has is the favourite in its class, the Skoda Superb is purposely built on a long wheelbase for greater legroom in the back and then the S-Class, 7 Series and A8 are sold here in long-wheelbase form only. Even SUVs like Mercedes GLE have benefited from being built on a longer wheelbase.