The first-generation BMW 2 Collection Gran Coupe was arguably the second-worst factor to return out of the 12 months 2020. It was BMW’s first front-wheel-drive automobile ever bought in the US, and every little thing from its styling to its driving expertise was viciously criticized by the press. Quick ahead to the current, and we’ve realized how you can navigate life with the horrors introduced upon us by that wretched 12 months. Now BMW has unveiled the second-generation 2 Collection Gran Coupe. Is it going to be the vaccine that cures the ills of the first-generation automobile, or is it only a new variant? I received to pattern the brand new automobile very briefly at BMW Take a look at Fest this 12 months, and preliminary impressions are good.
Full Disclosure: BMW flew me out to its amenities in South Carolina for the annual BMW Take a look at Fest occasion. I sampled upcoming tech and drove a number of fashions, however I used to be solely given about 5 minutes on a closed course within the new 2 Collection Gran Coupe. This isn’t a full evaluation or perhaps a first drive story; it’s extra of a preview of a primary drive. We’ll let you understand as quickly as we get extra time with it.
I drove a 2025 BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe for 5 minutes on a closed course at BMW’s take a look at monitor in South Carolina, and from these 5 minutes I may inform the brand new automobile is a extra cohesive car than the first-gen mannequin. When performing just a few high-speed lane adjustments and lengthy quick turns the M235i was steady, strong and responsive. It felt playful, and mercifully it didn’t understeer into oblivion; if something it was extra desirous to oversteer. The brand new inside is barely extra upscale than the outgoing automobile’s, and it feels extra spacious.
One of many greatest demerits in opposition to the first-gen 2 Collection Gran Coupe was its frumpy styling. The brand new automobile isn’t what I’d name a looker, however it’s an enchancment, particularly on the rear. The brand new design higher masks the platform’s front-wheel-drive roots, with a barely decrease nostril and extra flattering physique strains that really feel extra cohesive than earlier than. The silhouette is aided by a extra swish slope to the C-pillar, and an ass-end that appears much less like a swollen brow over awkward creased design parts. General it’s extra intently associated to the remainder of the BMW lineup. All new 2 Collection Gran Coupes will come normal with an M Sport exterior design bundle to maintain the theme sporty and elevated, the place the earlier design’s base trim seemed extra like an economic system automobile than a luxurious automobile. Dimensions stay principally the identical as earlier than, although it’s grown an inch in top and just below an inch in size.
Past enhancing the appears to be like, BMW gave most fashions extra energy, too. The bottom 228i now comes with a turbocharged 2-liter Miller cycle inline-4 that produces 241 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, which is up 13 horses and 37 torques when in comparison with the first-gen automobile. The M235i additionally has a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, however with 312 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, up 11 horsepower and really down 37 pound-feet of torque versus the earlier mannequin. Each engines are mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch computerized transmission. BMW claims the 228i now goes from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, 0.2 second quicker than earlier than, whereas the M235i takes the identical claimed 4.7 seconds because the outgoing automobile.
After all the tech quotient is up, with the two Collection now that includes BMW’s newest curved driver’s show and infotainment display screen working the latest model of BMW iDrive. New normal options for all 2 Collection Gran Coupe fashions embrace a 12-speaker Harmon/Kardon stereo, keyless entry, wi-fi charging, phone-as-key expertise, adaptive suspension, computerized emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, a parking assistant, and adaptive cruise management with lane-keeping help. M235i fashions get a regular M Sport Brake bundle that options four-piston entrance calipers developed for full-fat M fashions, a bundle that’s non-compulsory on the 228i.
Most new 2 Collection Gran Coupes will begin occurring sale in March, although base front-wheel-drive 228i fashions will arrive just a few months later. Costs for that base FWD 228i will begin at $40,775 together with the $1,175 vacation spot cost. Including xDrive brings the value as much as $42,775, whereas the top-of-the-line M235i xDrive begins at an expensive $50,675 earlier than choices.
The second-generation BMW 2 Collection Gran Coupe is an enchancment over the outgoing automobile, however is it going to mild driving fanatic’s hearts on hearth? Not going. It’s a strong entry-level luxurious automobile with a reinvigorated sporty edge, and new appears to be like that do a superb job of righting the wrongs of its predecessor. If I used to be available in the market for a brand new 2 Collection Gran Coupe, although, I’d a lot relatively purchase a used 3 Collection if I actually wanted 4 doorways, or I’d purchase a correct rear-wheel-drive 2 Collection coupe.
