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The Gran Coupe certainly does have a slightly different driving characteristic. But it really just comes down to suspension tuning. Yeah the track is a few mm wider (less than the minimum amount that the thinnest wheel spacers would add) and the car is a few mm shorter, but that's more for appearance than anything. 90% of the difference in feel is just from modified suspension components. Actual objective road handling tests show the 3 series drives almost exactly the same as a 4 series.
Coupes from BMW and other manufacturers have always had more aggressive suspension tuning. And it really just comes down to modified spring rates and dampers. The actual geometry of the suspension is almost identical as are major mechanical components like the engine, transmission, steering rack, and subframes. Any changes in feel can easily be accomplished by simply modifying the dampers and springs which goes to show how little the tweaks in dimensions do.
I have driven a few Gran Coupes and I do prefer how they are tuned better than a stock F30. However, I personally prefer the styling of the F30 and a simple suspension upgrade got me better handling anyway.
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