GRAN DESIGN(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 39

The 2 Series Gran Coupe is BMW's idea of what a small, stylised premium sports saloon should be. This second generation F74 version is a little sharper-looking, a little sharper to drive and quite a lot more sophisticated inside.

Background word count: 187

Small saloons don't sell well here. In fact, they don't sell at all unless they come with a premium badge. But Audi made the concept work with its conventional A3 saloon of 2013, before Mercedes developed it further, shortly after pioneering the idea of a car of this kind as a 'four-door coupe' with their CLA. Both those models progressed into second generation form and, forced to respond by creating what would be in effect a saloon version of the 1 Series Hatch, BMW followed the CLA style-conscious route with their contender, the 2 Series Gran Coupe in 2021. That first F44 design proved to be somewhat divisive in its looks and some were disappointed that it adopted the front-driven platform of the 1 Series, rather than the rear-driven format of the 2 Series Coupe. With the second generation F74 2 Series Gran Coupe we look at here, BMW hasn't changed the engineering much, but most other areas of this design have received a thorough revamp, including the styling which the Munich maker hopes is now a lot easier on the eye. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience word count: 333

As before, the drive dynamics here are no different to those of the 1 Series, but as with that Hatch have been lately sharpened in ways we'll get into in a minute. The engine choices are much the same as those of the 1 Series too, kicking off with the 48V mild hybrid 1.5-litre three cylinder model we tried, the 220, which offers 170hp and is the variant most will choose. It makes 62mph in 7.9s en route to 143mph, which is quite as fast as you really need to go in this car. If that's not fast enough, you'll be directed to the mid-range 223 xDrive, which uses a four cylinder unit (also with 48V mild hybrid tech) and puts out 218hp. This variant is considerably more rapid, dispatching 62mph in just 6.4s en route to 155mph. As the model name suggests, it includes 4WD for extra traction too. As does the flagship model, the M235 xDrive, which uses a 2.0-litre four cylinder turbo petrol unit that does without any electrified tech and delivers fractionally less power and torque than the previous generation version but still puts out 300hp. This top variant makes 62mph in 4.9s and is electronically limited at 155mph. All 2 Series Gran Coupes now have to have auto transmission, a redesigned 7-speed Steptronic dual clutch auto set-up, complete with a 'Boost' paddle that gives the driver extra burst of overtaking acceleration. The suspension's been thoroughly tweaked. BMW calls it 'adaptive', which isn't quite true; all 2 Series Gran Coupes feature passive suspension, but it's of the 'frequency-selective' kind we first saw on the 3 Series. This doesn't allow the driver to alter ride comfort; instead, the damper valving reacts differently to high and low-frequency road surface inputs. Which you need because, due to the fact that only sports suspension is available across the range, this car remains somewhat firm of ride, which might not be welcome on your suburban morning commute; we'd suggest you try before you buy.