Used BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe cars for sale

Used BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe pros and cons

Is a used BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe a good car?

When is a coupe not a coupe? When it’s a 2 Series Gran Coupe, which is BMW’s way of saying ‘we made a 1 Series saloon but we don’t want to call it that.’ It’s kind of like a motorised toupé — covering up what we all know to be true. 

Then again, BMW’s not alone here as the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s closest alternative — the Mercedes CLA Coupe — is also really a four-door saloon cosplaying as something sexier. 

It’s worth remembering that both the 1 Series hatchback, and the A-Class too, are actually rather more practical and all-round useful than these four-door pretenders. 

Still, the BMW 2 Series Coupe looks… interesting. There’s a big (but thankfully not too big) grille at the front, and bright, slim LED headlights too. From the front, it looks more or less identical to the 1 Series, so it’s only when you come around the side and see the extended bodywork and the frameless doors that you can see it’s actually a sleek-ish four-door. 

Inside, the dashboard is absolutely identical to the 1 Series, which is actually a good thing, as the build quality is exceptionally good, and this is definitely the high-point of BMW’s infotainment system with an excellent touchscreen, but still some physical control for important stuff like air conditioning. The downside is that the digital instruments look a bit gloomy, and aren’t as versatile as the Merc CLA’s digital dash. 

The front seats are comfy and usefully adjustable and there’s decent space too, but the back is actually a little more cramped than the 1 Series hatchback as the more aggressive roofline cuts into headroom. Legroom is fine though, which is good. 

The boot is bigger than that of the 1 Series in terms of sheer volume — 430 litres — but it’s overall less useful because the saloon-style lid means it’s hard to load up bigger items, and you can’t put pets in there at all. The back seats do fold down for more loadspace, but that bootlid means nothing big is going to go in easily. 

The engine lineup starts with a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol 218i with 134hp, then goes onto a 176hp 2.0-litre four-cylinder 220i petrol, and then the range topping M235i with a 302hp 2.0 petrol. There were 1.5 and 2.0-litre diesel options too at first, but those were dropped later on. The 1.5 and 2.0 petrols come with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed auto, while the M235i comes with an eight-speed auto only. 

While the M235i is the fastest version, it’s actually the 134hp 218i, with the little three-cylinder engine, that’s the most fun to drive, especially if you get it with a manual gearbox. It might only have a small power output and front-wheel drive, but it’s light, agile, and feels every inch the proper BMW from behind the wheel. It’s just a shame that BMW never offered a 2-Series version of the brilliant 128ti hot-hatch. 

The 2 Series Gran Coupe, in any form, is a good motorway cruiser, with impressive refinement and comfort levels, and aside from the M235i, all the engines are economical to run.

Good to drive, comfortable, and well-made, it’s only really the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s slightly odd styling which might put you off.

What to look for when buying a used BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe

While it’s not quite as well-made as the brilliantly-solid second-generation BMW 1 Series, the 2 Series Gran Coupe seems to be well-made with few major reported issues. It has been recalled a couple of times, for camshaft problems and airbag replacement, but aside from those it’s reported as being a solidly-built and reliable car. The 2 Series Gran Coupe didn’t appear in the Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, but the mechanically-identical 1 Series did, finishing in 25th place, and garnering an excellent quality and reliability rating. 

BMW as a brand finished in 14th place out of 32 manufacturers in the overall Driver Power customer satisfaction table — well ahead Audi and Mercedes — with a relatively low 21% of owners reporting a problem with their car.