BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe Review & Prices

This is the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – a small family car that’s based on the 1 Series hatchback, but shares its name with the 2 Series Coupe. It gets swoopy coupe looks but four doors for added practicality. Confused yet? Like a teenager picking a baffling variety of GCSE subjects, the 2 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t know what it wants to be.

Not that that means it’s the only small, four-door saloon-shaped family car out there. You might also consider the Audi A3 Saloon and Mercedes A-Class Saloon, for example.

The BMW is arguably the least handsome of that trio, though. The styling has been updated with sharper headlights and a new-look grille, but it still has slightly awkward proportions, like a bigger car’s design has been draped over a small car and it doesn’t quite fit properly. Like a toddler wearing his dad’s suit.

Inside there can be no such complaints. You get the twin-screen setup found in bigger, pricier BMWs, and it runs the latest operating software, so you get snappy responses and sharp displays. Temperature controls are now in the screen too, which is annoying, but it’s one of the easier-to-use examples of this setup.

The driving position is excellent if you’re after a sporty feel. You sit low to the ground but visibility is still pretty good, and you’re surrounded by quality materials. A Mercedes A-Class Saloon’s cabin is a bit more visually stimulating, but the BMW is classier and feels much posher.

Practicality is a bit less impressive. Space is okay in the front – it’s not exactly roomy, yet not claustrophobic as you might expect of a car of this size – but those in the back will find headroom limited, and bulky child seats will be a squeeze. Meanwhile, the boot is smaller than the A-Class Saloon and A3 Saloon.

You have a choice of two petrol engines in the regular 2 Series Gran Coupe – the 220 has 170hp and front-wheel drive, while the 223 gets 218hp and all-wheel drive. There’s also the sportier M235, which bumps power up to 300hp.

On the road the 2 Series Gran Coupe is easy to drive – while its small dimensions mean it’s not hugely practical, it does make it much less intimidating to drive than bigger family cars, and means you can enjoy narrow, twisty roads without worrying about whether you actually fit between the lines.

The suspension is on the sporty side of comfortable, so you do feel bumps in the road but you don’t feel like you need a chiropractor on speed dial. Meanwhile, at motorway speeds it’s quiet and refined, so there’s no need to worry about taking this small car on a long trip.

There’s a lot to like about the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – the thing is, if you’ve got a young family and want a BMW saloon, the 3 Series does everything better. If budget is an issue, you might want to consider a used BMW 3 Series instead.

If this pint-sized saloon suits your needs, check out the latest BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe deals available through Carwow. You can also browse used 2 Series Gran Coupes, as well as other used BMWs from our network of trusted dealers. When it’s time to sell your current car, Carwow can help with that, too.

Compared with the obvious alternatives – the Audi A3 Saloon and Mercedes A-Class Saloon – the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is a bit more expensive. The Audi starts around £30,000, the BMW around £35,000, and the Mercedes splits the difference. Although it’s the least practical, it does just about look and feel the poshest, which goes some way to justify the extra cash.

That said, there are other roomier saloons available at this price if you’re not too worried about the badge on the bonnet – the Skoda Octavia, and even the bigger Superb, are both a similar price, and much better suited to family life. And if you’re looking at well-specced Gran Coupes, you’re knocking on the door of entry-level BMW 3 Series money.

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is refined on a motorway, but while it’s capable on a twisty road, it’s not huge fun

In town

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is well-suited to city life because it feels so small from the driver’s seat, so you’re not too worried about width restrictors or nipping down car-lined streets. The down side is that you sit low, which feels nice and sporty, but you lack the commanding view you get from an SUV. Visibility is pretty good for a small saloon, though.

We’ve only driven the performance-focused M235, but even in its comfiest setting the suspension is quite stiff. An Audi A3 Saloon is a bit more gentle over rough surfaces. Otherwise the engine and gearbox work well enough, with the latter rarely too flummoxed in everyday driving, meaning you always have power on tap to nip out at a busy roundabout.

On the motorway

Hit motorway speeds and the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe settles down nicely. You notice harsher bumps, but nothing so rough as to put you off, and impressive small car refinement means you can talk to your passenger without raising your voice. Wind and tyre noise are kept to a minimum.

Adaptive cruise control is included as standard, but you can upgrade this for a cost to include automatic speed adjustment based on the speed limit, and a system that can nudge the steering to keep you centred in your lane.

On a twisty road

The ingredients are all there for the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe to be great fun to drive down your favourite country road – and indeed it’s impressively capable. There’s loads of grip, little body roll and the suspension soaks up bumps nicely. Again, we’ve only tested the M235 so far, and the sporty drive modes and upgraded suspension help you navigate tight turns at pace, the well-judged steering making it easy to place the car on the road.

And yet… perhaps it’s because it’s so tempting to hold BMW to higher standards because of the old Ultimate Driving Machine adage, perhaps it’s the engine, which is powerful but lacks character. It just doesn’t quite sparkle in the same way the Audi S3 Saloon does. That said, it’s likely that base model vs base model, the BMW will nick it – we’ll update this review once we’ve had a chance to compare.

Space is decent up front, but the rear seats are tight and the boot is quite small

Space up front is good enough. You’re aware you’re quite close to your passenger, and the dashboard rather surrounds you, but it’s in no way claustrophobic and even taller drivers will be able to get a comfortable driving position.

The door bins are quite small, but there’s a useful cutout for a larger bottle. There are a couple of cup holders between the seats and a deep space beneath the armrest – not exceptional, but adequate practicality for a car of this size.

Space in the back seats

Things are much tighter in the back seats. With a six-footer behind another six-footer, headroom and kneeroom is tight – fine for short journeys, but your passengers will want to rotate places on a road trip. Fitting three across the back is basically impossible – it’s a squeeze width-ways, plus the middle seat is raised and uncomfortable to sit in, with nowhere to put your knees.

There’s limited storage, with small door bins – though again the cutout for a bottle is useful – and no pockets in the seatbacks in front.

Finding the ISOFIX mounting points for a child seat is easy, but you might find it tricky to fit a bulky seat, plus the doors are small and the car is low to the ground, which makes it trickier to get the child in the seat than it is in an SUV that sits higher off the ground.

Boot space

Boot space isn’t fantastic – at 360 litres, you get less capacity than the Mercedes A-Class Saloon (395 litres) and the Audi A3 Saloon (425 litres). All three have the same issue, though, which is a small boot opening. If you regularly carry larger items this could be a problem, so consider a hatchback like the BMW 1 Series instead.

Still, if you go for the 2 Series Gran Coupe, the bumper is low and you get a flat floor, which can be helpful when lifting heavy items in. The rear seats fold 40/20/40 too, so you can push long luggage through while carrying people in the back seats.

Generally looks and feels quality with excellent technology, though some of the ambient lighting is tacky

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe’s interior is its real highlight. It looks and feels much posher than the Mercedes A-Class Saloon’s cabin, and just about beats the Audi A3 Saloon too.

Your eye is first caught by the twin-screen setup on top of the dashboard. On the left is the infotainment touchscreen, and ahead of the driver is the instrument display. Both are clear and easy to read, with sharp, modern graphics. The touchscreen is quick to respond to your inputs, with the only complaint being that BMW’s menus can be quite overwhelming and illogical to navigate.

The dashboard design is clean and sophisticated, with little in the way of physical buttons. The climate controls have been moved to the screen, which isn’t as intuitive but is implemented better than most other manufacturers have, so it’s not too distracting.

The only complaint here is the ambient lighting. Although the way it’s integrated into the trim is undoubtedly clever, it can look a bit tacky, particularly in red, white and blue to denote BMW’s M Division colour theme, as it was in our test car.

Still, whether you like that or not is down to personal preference. What’s not is the fact that the 2 Series Gran Coupe largely impresses in terms of material quality. It’s possible to find cheap materials, but even these look posh, so you only shatter the illusion if you go poking and prodding about.

You have a choice of two petrol engines in the regular 2 Series Gran Coupe, as well as a more powerful version in the sportier M235 model.

The range kicks off with the 220, which has 170hp and front-wheel drive. This should be the most economical, recording up to 53.3mpg in official tests. Step up to the 223 and you get 218hp and all-wheel drive, with reduced fuel economy of 47.9mpg. The go-faster M235 also has all-wheel drive, but power is bumped up to 300hp. Again though, this has a knock-on effect on fuel economy, which is recorded at up to 37.7mpg officially.

A lack of full hybrid models means the 2 Series Gran Coupe isn’t a particularly good company car option, because all have a relatively high Benefit-in-Kind rating. First-year Vehicle Excise Duty costs are quite low for private buyers of the 220 and 223, but the M235 commands quite a high rate because of its high emissions. It also incurs the extra charge in years two to six because the starting price is over £40,000.

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe has not yet been put through safety tests by the experts at Euro NCAP, and nor has the 1 Series with which it shares much of its makeup.

You get plenty of assistance kit, including front collision and lane departure warning. Adaptive cruise control is standard-fit, as is a system that will park the car for you. Optional upgrades include more advanced cruise control tech that effectively steers the car for you.

BMW scored a mid-table finish in the Driver Power owner satisfaction survey. Reliability isn’t fantastic and repair costs can be pricey, but owners love the build quality and driving experience.

All BMWs come with a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty. If your car is nearing the end of this and it has been properly serviced in line with the manufacturer recommendations, you can buy an extended warranty.