Sedans aren’t necessarily the hottest vehicle type in the automotive industry today. Some brands like Ford and Chevy are shying away from the three-box design template, but not so with many others like BMW as the German brand has just released the first-ever BMW 2 Series GranCoupe.
Aimed to compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLA, the first-ever BMW 2 Series GranCoupe is a compact luxury sedan slotted below the conventional BMW 3 Series. It is essentially the sedan version of the BMW 1 Series, as reflected by its similar styling. Up front, the kidney grilles are wide, which are flanked by LED headlights as standard. While BMW did its best to apply many of the design cues of its beautiful BMW 8 Series GranCoupe, there’s only so much that could be done to a much shorter body of a front-wheel-drive car, which measures 4,526 mm in length, 1,800 mm in width, and 1,420 mm in height with a 2,670 mm wheelbase. As a result, the 2 Series GranCoupe looks taller than the 8 Series. As with all of these “four-door coupes”, the 2 Series GranCoupe utilizes frameless doors. The rear fascia, meanwhile, features a similar LED taillight graphic as seen in the BMW 8 Series GranCoupe.
The interior is also very similar to the BMW 1 Series hatchback. As with every new BMW, the 2 Series GranCoupe comes with the latest version of iDrive, which comes with the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant. There’s also BMW’s fully digital instrument cluster as well as a large 9.2-inch color head-up display. In some markets, the BMW 2 Series GranCoupe comes with plenty of standard features, ranging from power-adjustable front seats, Sensatec (faux leather) interior, sports leather steering wheel, Apple CarPlay, among other features.
For now, the BMW 2 Series GranCoupe can be had with two engine choices. Both are powered by the same 2.0-liter inline-4 turbocharged petrol engine in two states of tune. The base 228i xDrive’s engine produces 228 hp and 350 Nm of torque, while the M235i xDrive’s engine produces 301 hp and 450 Nm of torque. Both utilize an 8-speed automatic powering all four wheels. The 228i scoots to 100 kph in 6.0 seconds while the M325i does the same job in 4.7 seconds. An optional M Performance Pack shaves 0.1 seconds from the M235i’s acceleration time, thanks to the overboost function. The 228i xDrive has a 243 kph top speed while the M235i goes all the way to 250 kph.
Various advanced safety systems will be offered as standard in some markets, including Frontal Collision Warning with City Collision Mitigation Function, Active Blind Spot Detection and Lane Departure Warning system with active lane return that operates from 70 to 240 kph.
The BMW 2 Series GranCoupe will go on sale in Q1 2020 with production set to commence on January 2020.
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