Downward expansion can be a hazardous venture for a luxury brand. Get it extremely right, and you end up with something like the Mercedes-Benz 190E. Get it extremely wrong, and you end up with something like the cloud of negativity that appears whenever people mention the Cadillac Cimarron. The trick is to produce something small that doesn’t look or feel cheap. While the original BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe didn’t quite achieve that, an opportunity for a do-over was inevitable. Well, here it is, and, ah. Yep.
First, a little explainer. This isn’t a four-door version of the BMW 2 Series coupe you can already buy in America. Instead, think of it as a big Mini sedan wearing a BMW badge. Indeed, it rides on the same front-wheel-drive-based platform as Mini models, the BMW X2, and BMW X1, meaning there’s no way in hell of fitting an inline-six in here.
Instead, think of this as BMW’s economy car. The absolute entry point into the brand, at least in America. Other countries get even smaller models like the 1 Series hatchback, but America likes sedans so the 2 Series Gran Coupe it is. Unfortunately, at first glance, it seems like BMW took its entry-level mission a bit too literally.
See, there are a few historic visual cues that have distinguished BMWs from other, more mainstream cars for decades. Almost all BMWs feature a longitudinal powertrain layout and the availability of inline-six engines, so most of them have long dash-to-axle ratios (distance between the base of windshield and the center of the front wheel). In addition, most BMWs have a well-defined kink to the greenhouse, and two at least moderately distinct but ideally separate kidney grilles. The new 2 Series Gran Coupe has none of that.
A short dash-to-axle ratio is an inherent trait of a transverse platform, but there are ways of visually cheating that, such as sweeping fender lines that fade into the front doors. It’s worked for Mazda, but BMW hasn’t bothered. Likewise, the signature kidney grilles have finished merging into an amorphous blob, and the Hofmeister kink? Well, it’s certainly subtle.
Add in a hood that seemingly doesn’t start until a third of the way back the front clip, a shedload of metal in the rear quarter panel, occasional lazy surfacing like a slightly disjointed rear wheel arch that seems forced to fit, questionable tail lights, and the unusual-for-BMW three-window greenhouse, and you end up with a small sedan that doesn’t look particularly premium. Based on styling alone, the new 2 Series Gran Coupe looks more Dodge Dart than Acura Integra, and that’s not great.
Speaking of limitations of the same platform underpinning the X1 and many Mini models (say that five times fast), let’s talk tech. While larger BMW models, and even the 2 Series coupe, get fully-featured iDrive 8 or 8.5 with a rotary controller, the 2 Series Gran Coupe gets just a touchscreen. It’s fine, since it doesn’t make a huge difference for most people who just connect Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but it also just doesn’t get the tactility of physical controls.
Then again, some nice toys come as standard equipment. Goodies like a 12-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system, a proximity key, navigation, parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, and my favorite, auto-dimming exterior mirrors. Once you drive at night with auto-dimming exterior mirrors, you won’t want to drive without them. They’re simply that good.
Alright, so what about goings-on under the skin? Well, the base 228 model (no more ‘i’ as that’s now reserved for EVs) features a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 241 horsepower from 4,500 to 6,500 rpm and 295 lb.-ft. of torque from 1,500 rpm to 4,000 rpm. Combined with a seven-speed dual-clutch transaxle, it’s enough grunt to get the all-wheel-drive 228 xDrive model from zero-to-60 mph in a claimed 5.8 seconds, or about what a turbocharged Mazda 3 will do.
Should you wish for more grunt, you can pony up for an M235, which is the same but different. There’s still a two-liter boosted four-banger up front and a seven-speed DCT, the engine still makes 295 lb.-ft. of torque, but horsepower’s been increased to 312 from 5,750 to 6,500 rpm, and it gains a limited-slip front differential. Zero-to-60 mph? That happens in a claimed 4.7 seconds.
More importantly, BMW claims that the new 2 Series Gran Coupe features a stiffer body structure and more rigid chassis connections, a necessary move considering how the old car felt like it was wobbling every time you spiritedly hit a mid-corner bump. In addition, you do get adaptive dampers as standard, a pretty nice piece of kit.
By now, you might be wondering what this entry-level BMW sedan will run you. Well, in March, you’ll be able to choose from two models: the $42,775 228 xDrive Gran Coupe and the $50,675 M235 xDrive Gran Coupe. In mid-2025, a front-wheel-drive 228 sDrive Gran Coupe will join the lineup for $40,775. Not exactly peanuts, but not preposterously expensive either. While it’s easy to get the impression that the new 2 Series Gran Coupe is for someone who absolutely has to have a BMW badge, it still might not be the one to go for.
Mind you, this is based on the not-so-farfetched speculation that this sort of buyer isn’t scooping up a 2 Series Gran Coupe as a family car. For about the same amount of money, customers could buy a 230i Coupe, a proper rear-wheel-drive BMW on the platform of the bigger 3 Series with enough rear seat room to do in a pinch, a sophisticated driving experience, and pretty much all the goodies you’d really want from bigger models. Maybe that explains why BMW Canada discontinued the old 2 Series Gran Coupe in early 2023 and nobody noticed.
(Photo credits: BMW)
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Counterpoint to all the negativity towards this car. Now Dodge Dart owners can rebadge their cars without anyone noticing!
I honestly didn’t think they were sold here. Not sure how long they were in production but I don’t remember actually seeing one on the road.
Nice first gen Cruze there. Oh wait, that’s a BMW, not an old Bowtie.
Nice Hyindai, I guess.
It will sell like hotcakes among natural food influencers.
Where’s Adrian when you need him? Looks to me like they hung up a poster of the last Dodge Dart and said “Like that, but make it uglier to match our design language.”
This car is so damned awkward looking*, and not just for a BMW. However, I have a feeling it would look better as a wagon, given the huge amount of metal already over the rear quarters as Thomas mentioned.
That being said, there isn’t a snowball’s chance in Hell I’d drop that much money on an entry level BMW. I’d rather get a Mini** with some personality.
*Is it possible they made this car as ugly as possible to convince buyers to just buy a crossover instead?
**Of course those are wildly overpriced too.
There’s a 1 series hatch overseas that’s basically the same car underneath and it looks much, much better as a hatchback.
It’s not bad, but something about it still seems like a shriveled-up and pruny Focus. It really needs a proper longroof and a DLO that doesn’t slope upwards so much toward the back. Also putting the model designation in the gloss black plastic ‘kink’ is one of the tackiest things they’ve done yet. It’s not even Hofmeister shaped anymore!
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/BMW_F70_118d_IMG_1239.jpg/1200px-BMW_F70_118d_IMG_1239.jpg?20240913193913
Executive Summary:
“Wearing a BMW badge.”
Uhh. I thought at first I was looking at the Kia Forte. I mean they are very similar in outside look.
It’s like BMW was rooting around in some Korean dumpsters and found the sketches they rejected.
I eas going to congratulate BMW on creating the Hyundai Elantra.
“All the goodness of the Elantra without the reliability.”
So, its a Mini Cooper with less soul? Got it!
I say this as a BMW fan and M car owner – fuck this thing. Especially that M2(35) badge they stuck on it. You’re not fooling anyone with this up-badged Kia clone.
Not grand.
Not a coupe.
Not a BMW.
Definitely a number 2.
I actually think this looks great by modern BMW standards. The current one is incredibly awkward looking and stands out in the wrong ways. I also like the idea of a front wheel drive performance luxury car to compete against stuff like the Golf R, CTR, etc. This isn’t quite the luxury hot hatch I’ve been begging for, and Europe gets a hatch version of this that looks fantastic, but alas…it’s as good as we’re gonna get.
That being said, dynamically speaking these suck. I drove a last gen X2 M35i which is basically the same thing underneath and hated it. It was way too numb, way too hyper, the inputs were all over the place, it just felt like a frenetic, disconnected experience. To add to that, the biggest critique of the current one is that it drives like a crossover…which is the opposite of a ringing endorsement.
And the consensus across the automotive journalism landscape the consensus of the new M35i crossovers are to skip them…and that they’re a hyperactive, disconnected, too stiff, etc. So basically…subjectively speaking they made it look better, but the issues from the last generation remain, and I have doubts that the M235i will fix them.
This car bugs me because it’s could be good/compete with the S4, CLA43 AMG, etc. But it isn’t. It’s a half baked lease mobile. I’d love for this to turn out to drive really well because I’m the target demographic for one and I love everything on paper….but if it’s anything like the current one it won’t.
The first time I saw the old one in person I thought maybe it was a new Corolla until I noticed the roundel. This refresh hasn’t changed that opinion.
That’s exactly my issue. It’s not as though transverse-FWD designs need to be inherently ugly. Why is it that substantially cheaper cars (Mazda3, Civic, Forte, Elantra, etc) manage to be better-styled. Even the 2GC’s German rivals, the A/CLA-Class and A3, look far superior. Why did this car have to be so ugly?
Something about the FWD Bimmers is that they’ve always had this ‘ass-up’ stance where the nose is visually the lowest part of the car and they taper upward toward the rear. I think that gives them somewhat ‘minivan’-like proportions as the hood slopes into the windscreen, something that Mazda and Kia with the new K4 are trying very hard to avoid by having long and flat hoods. It’s definitely odd that BMW aren’t employing similar tactics, but my theory is that BMW designers are trying to take unflattering proportions (ahem, iX) and twist them into appearing ‘upmarket’. I’m not sure why, but regardless I’m not buying any so they don’t care about me.
A Triumph GT6 has entered the chat…
https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/triumph-spitfire-1962-roadster-vs-bmw-2-2019-4-door-coupe/
Except the GT6 has a 2 liter engine while in BMW land a 6 will automatically be a 3 liter due to using the common 500cc cylinder design across models, Also, the BMW will use overhead cams while the Triumph used a more compact pushrod design.
He didn’t specify which inline six.
Volvo P3 chassis S60 has entered the chat. Transverse DOHC 3.0L turbo straight six, eh mate?
https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/volvo-s60-2010-sedan-vs-bmw-2-2019-4-door-coupe/
I’m glad you said it Thomas, because Dart is exactly what I was thinking when I got to the first side profile shot. And Dodge Dart definitely does not scream luxury vehicle. Its too frumpy for a BMW.
I see that BMW is licensing Kia designs.
Seriously, change the emblem and slot this thing in between the Forte and the K4, see if anyone notices.
That was exactly my thought- just like a bored Kia designer had a few hours to kill after finishing on the Forte and thought “this could use a few more fake vents”
I’ve always thought that this thing looked like the last Cruze sedan, but with fussyness turned up to 11.
But yeah, I think it looks even more like the Forte. But certainly not better than the Forte so probably not the way I’d want to spend 40k+.
I mean, maybe the engines don’t blow up? Although BMW mills do have a reputation…
My understanding is that some of these newer BMW powertrains have been rather reliable. There’s also the value of never having to step foot into a Kia dealer. So I understand why it exists, but when I look at it, I just don’t feel much enthusiasm for it. And at 40+k for a compact sedan, I feel like I should be lustful for it, rather than apathetic.
I was just thinking that Kia should sue over that grille design. They could probably make a pretty strong case.
I think this shape is called Tiger Kidneys.
So, it isn’t exactly ugly, but it looks oddly proportioned in each and every photo used in this article. I’ll reserve my final judgement until I see one in person, but my preliminary judgement is solidly “meh” enough that I’ll likely forget it even exists.
If this car was given no media attention, would it just go away?
I like the design, have so since back when it was called the Ford Fusion/Focus. From some angles, the grill even seems to match. Probably not what BMW wants to hear.
From the back I thought it was a new Hyundai Accent.
Which itself reminds me of the Nissan Versa!
Yeah no matter how you look at it, this is not an attractive car. Or honestly I don’t find it offensive, just crazy that they think it’s worth $40k
The merged kidney thing they’re doing is just Kia’s tiger grille.
I hadn’t even thought of that, but now I can’t unsee it.
Coupe = 2 doors
Fight me BMW and other OEMs
I’m waiting for other bizarre appropriations – like “fastback” for anything that has a rear window that’s not vertical.
I’ll fight ya. Coupe is French for “cut,” and has traditionally referred more to a car with a cut-down, sleeker roof than one with two doors. Thus, a four-door coupe isn’t an oxymoron. Neither is a two-door sedan, which used to be more of a thing back in the day (BMW’s own E30 two-door was famously an example of such).
Now, with sedans in general being a lot sleeker than they used to be, the lines between a sedan and a four-door-coupe have really become blurred, and basically come down to how the automaker chooses to market it. The Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class and Volkswagen (Passat) CC were the harbingers of the modern implementation, but I credit the 2011 Hyundai Sonata for being the first coupe-like sedan that wasn’t explicitly marketed as such.