BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé review

Introduction

Like Taylor Swift's brother, the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé knows a thing or two about being overshadowed by a sibling. For while it's closely related to the 1 Series, that family hatchback gets almost all of the attention.

The 2 Series Gran Coupé’s kinship with the BMW 1 Series extends to its mechanical underpinnings, choice of engines and the fact that you can have it with front or four-wheel drive. But in this case it's the more glamorous of the pair, thanks to its rakish roofline.

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1.5 220i MHT M Sport Saloon 4dr Petrol Hybrid DCT Euro 6 (s/s) (170 ps)

Expected annual mileage	5000
Term months	48
Deposit months	12
Monthly payment	£466.25
Initial payment	£5,595.00

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• Choose your car, pick your terms and apply for lease credit online
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• Drive it, enjoy it, then give it back at the end

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£5,595 initial payment, 48 month contract, 5000 miles p/a. Subject to status and conditions.

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This Gran Coupé's other claim to fame is that it's the smallest of BMW's four-door coupés (there's also the 4 Series Gran Coupé, the 8 Series Gran Coupé and the BMW i4). It doesn't have many direct rivals but goes head to head with other premium executive cars – namely the Audi A3 Saloon and Mercedes A-Class Saloon.

So is the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé as good to drive as its swoopy looks suggest, and how does it stack up against other models you might be considering? Let's find out...

What’s new?
June 2024: Facelift brings refreshed exterior design, new driver assistance systems. Reduced range: 168bhp 220i M Sport with mild hybrid tech, and M235i xDrive. Diesels are no longer offered.
July 2020: 148bhp 218d joins range, and 220d xDrive, with four-wheel drive.
March 2020: 2 Series Gran Coupe arrives. Choice of 138bhp 218i (1.5-litre three-cylinder engine), 302bhp M235i xDrive, with four-wheel drive. Also 187bhp 220d diesel.

Overview

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé delivers a similarly fantastic blend of driver appeal and ride comfort to that offered by the 1 Series, along with a great interior. It doesn’t cost much more than its sibling and many will love its swoopy coupé looks, but bear in mind that rear head room is pretty limited. The entry-level BMW 220 version is likely to be the best choice for most buyers.

Our pick

1.5 220i MHT M Sport Saloon 4dr Petrol Hybrid DCT Euro 6 (s/s) (170 ps) review

RRP £36,570

Pros

• Entertaining handling
• Brilliant build quality inside
• Slow depreciation

Cons

• Limited rear head room
• Mediocre boot
• Automatic gearbox can be a bit hesitant

Our pick

1.5 220i MHT M Sport Saloon 4dr Petrol Hybrid DCT Euro 6 (s/s) (170 ps) review

RRP £36,570

Trims available

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M Sport

This is the only trim available with the 220 and 223 engines. It’s pretty well equipped, getting 18in alloy wheels, cruise control, front heated seats and touchscreen infotainment.

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Performance & drive

What it's like to drive, and how quiet it is

The 2 Series Gran Coupé is available with a choice of three petrol engines, starting with a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder 168bhp unit, badged the BMW 220. It has mild-hybrid tech and can officially sprint from 0-62mph in a respectable 7.9 seconds.

That’s slightly quicker than the Audi A3 Saloon 35 TFSI, Mazda 3 Saloon E-Skyactiv X and Mercedes A-Class Saloon A200. You'll need to work it hard to get the best from it, but it’s all you’ll ever need for everyday driving, getting you up to speed easily and happily cruising once you’re there.

Upgrading to the mid-spec BMW 223 xDrive gets you a 215bhp four-cylinder engine, also with mild-hybrid tech, and adds four-wheel drive to use the power more efficiently. It cuts the 0-62mph sprint time to 6.4 seconds and is a generally smoother engine that doesn’t need to be worked as hard to make good progress.

For maximum performance, you'll want the hottest version, the BMW M235, which like the 223 has a four-cylinder petrol engine and four-wheel drive, but with power boosted to 296bhp.

Officially, the M235 can sprint from 0-62mph in just 4.9 seconds – which is almost a match for the Mercedes AMG A35 Saloon – and the engine pulls strongly from the moment you press the accelerator pedal, only running out of power as you're about to hit the 6500rpm rev limiter.

The rival Audi S3 Saloon is even quicker, and also sounds better if you equip it with the optional Akrapovic exhaust.

Every 2 Series Gran Coupé comes with a seven-speed automatic gearbox that flicks between gears smoothly in Normal mode and is impressively snappy when you switch into Sport mode. To make things more engaging – or for quicker downshifts – you get paddles behind the steering wheel for manual gearchanges.

Gearbox wise, our only complaint is that on all versions there’s a slight delay between you putting your foot down and the car pulling away from a standstill.

BMW's M adaptive suspension is standard across the range and gives you the ability to soften and stiffen the suspension by changing mode. In its softest setting (Comfort), the 2 Series Gran Coupé still feels quite firm. There's a slight underlying fidget but it's not uncomfortable, and the suspension soaks up all but the worst road imperfections with relative ease.

When the road gets twistier, you’ll want to swap into Sport mode, which stiffens up the suspension. As a result, the Gran Coupé maintains tight control of its body movements while remaining pretty cosseting.

The steering is a particular highlight, with its well-judged weighting giving you loads of feedback and making it really easy to know what the front end is up to.

The BMW M235 is even better, getting its own bespoke steering and suspension set-up to help it feel even more precise and stay flatter in corners. With a limited-slip differential (LSD) as well as four-wheel drive, it has superb traction on greasy, winding roads.

It’s very agile, feeling a lot like a nimble hot hatch to drive, which makes sense as it’s closely related to the BMW M135. If you’re thinking the M235 is a tyre-shredding hooligan like the BMW M2 performance car, that’s not the case.

The M235’s ride is generally well-cushioned, but is even firmer than the already-firm regular 2 Series Gran Coupé, especially in Sport mode. What’s more, the car can feel a little unsettled at times, unlike the more composed Audi S3.

Refinement wise, the 2 Series Gran Coupé is pretty quiet. Sure, you’ll hear some road noise and a bit of wind noise, but it’s easier to hold a conversation while travelling at speed than in the A-Class Saloon, which creates slightly more noise as you drive along.

"On a twisty road, the 2 Series Gran Coupé’s steering is a highlight, even if you're not in the M235 version. It’s much better than its rivals and I found it great fun to drive." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

As has always been the case with the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé, the driving position is great – our only demerit is that the pedals are slightly offset.

Luckily, it’s still really easy to get comfortable because every version gets lots of adjustment for the driver’s seat and steering wheel. The seats are supportive, giving you plenty of back support on long drives and more than enough side bolster to keep you steady through fast corners.

You don’t get adjustable lumbar support as standard – which is a bit stingy – but you can add it by paying extra to get the electrically adjustable seats option. If you spend even more, the seats get a memory function.

You sit quite low down in the 2 Series Gran Coupé but all-round visibility is pretty good. Indeed, the slim windscreen pillars mean you have a good view when pulling out at junctions, and large cut-outs in the rear pillars improve the view over your shoulder.

To make parking easier, front and rear parking sensors, and a rear-view camera are standard across the range. For even more assistance, a 360-degree camera is available as an option, as is a system that lets the 2 Series Gran Coupé park itself.

Every version has a 10.3in digital driver's display behind the steering wheel showing all the information you need in a very crisp, clear manner. There are plenty of customisation options, and you can choose between digital dials or a full-screen map.

To the left of that screen sits a 10.7in touchscreen. Starting with the good points, it's angled towards the driver for easy reach, reacts quickly to prods and has sharp graphics that make it really easy to read at a glance.

There are plenty of features, including sat-nav, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring. It’s also handy that the 2 Series Gran Coupé is equipped with 5G connectivity, allowing it to update the infotainment system over the air, as and when required.

Less impressive is the fact that, unlike in previous versions, you no longer get a dial control between the front seats or physical controls for the air-conditioning. That means you spend a lot more time tapping the touchscreen or using the voice control, ultimately making the car more distracting to use when you're driving.

There’s no doubting the build quality of the 2 Series Gran Coupé – it’s among the best out there. True, it doesn’t have quite the visual flair of a Mercedes A-Class Saloon but everything is screwed together really well and feels plush, with any scratchy plastics hidden low down and out of sight.

"My favourite element of the 2 Series Gran Coupé's lovely interior is the M stitching on the dashboard. You might think it was done by a machine but according to BMW it’s done by hand on every car." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

You’ll have no complaints about space in the front of the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé – there’s plenty of head and leg room, and lots of elbow room too.

The door bins are a decent size, and you get a big glovebox and a generous cubby hole under the central armrest. Add the tray at the front of the centre console and there are plenty of places to stow your bits and pieces

In the back, leg room is identical to that offered by the BMW 1 Series and slightly more generous than in the Mercedes A-Class Saloon. There's more foot space under the front seats than in the A-Class.

Unfortunately, though, the Gran Coupé shapely sloping roofline really cuts into rear-seat head room – so much so that a six-footer won’t be able to sit up straight without their head being wedged uncomfortably against the ceiling.

The boot – at 360 litres – is actually bigger than that of the 1 Series, allowing the 2 Series Gran Coupé to swallow more grocery shopping or a pushchair with ease. Even so, rival executive cars offer more boot space: 425 litres in the case of the Audi A3 Saloon and 395 in the Mercedes A-Class Saloon.

Every version of the 2 Series Gran Coupé gets 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats, which allow you to load long items through from the boot without compromising the outer rear seats. The back seats in the key rivals split into three sections too.

On the subject of practicality, if you don't need the four doors offered by the Gran Coupé, there's also the even sleeker, two-door BMW 2 Series Coupé to consider. Or, for a bit more practicality, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer MPV.

"While the 2 Series Gran Coupé has a smaller boot than the A3 and A-Class saloons, all three suffer because of their small boot openings. The 1 Series' hatchback opening is much better, so I'd consider that if you value practicality." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

If you’re buying the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé as a cash purchase, it’ll cost you a slight premium over the BMW 1 Series and also more than an entry-level Audi A3 Saloon or Mercedes A-Class Saloon.

Luckily, to make up for that, the 2 Series Gran Coupé is predicted to depreciate more slowly than rival executive cars, keeping PCP finance rates competitive.

The entry-level BMW 220 is the most efficient version, and you can expect CO2 emissions of up to 126g/km, which is similar to the A3 Saloon 30 TFSI S Tronic and slightly less than the A-Class Saloon.

Even so, company car drivers will pay less for the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the A-Class, the A250e, because it attracts a much lower BIK tax rate. (An electric car will cost even less to run as a company vehicle.)

Back to the 2 Series Gran Coupé, and there are two trim levels. M Sport, which comes with the BMW 220 and 223, includes 18in alloy wheels, cruise control, front heated seats and touchscreen infotainment.

The BMW M235 adds to the equipment list with performance upgrades, some bespoke styling inside and out, and an upgraded Harman Kardon stereo system.

Every version comes with plenty of standard safety equipment, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning, traffic-sign recognition, speed-limit assistance and rear-cross traffic alert. For even more equipment, you can also add the Driving Assistant Pro pack.

The safety experts at Euro NCAP gave the model the full five stars when they tested it in 2019. That matches the A3 Saloon and A-Class Saloon, but those rivals were tested in different years so it's impossible to compare them directly.

BMW finished eighth out of the 31 manufacturers ranked in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey. That’s much better than Mercedes and Audi, which finished in 22nd and 24th place respectively.

The 2 Series Gran Coupé is covered by a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty, matching the cover offered by Mercedes and bettering Audi’s three-year warranty, which is limited to 60,000 miles.

"You get a good amount of standard kit with the 2 Series Gran Coupé but you’ll probably want to add some options. I’d suggest adjustable lumbar support at the very least." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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