BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 2025 review

BMW’s new second-generation 2 Series Gran Coupe, the ‘F74’, has launched in Australia, clinging to a particular ‘entry premium’ formula favoured by Munich and its Audi and Mercedes-Benz contemporaries as gateway drugs of sorts to brand ownership.

Now, front-drive-biased small hatches – and, eventually, four-door coupes – have been ground floor entry for Germany’s Big Three dating back a quarter century now, but BMW’s 2 Series GC, debuting in 2019, is the latecomer.

Squint and this new generation does appear like a very deep facelift of the first-gen F44, but ostensibly its three-variant line-up is roughly sized, priced and offers the performance hierarchy of a two-gen old (E90) rear-drive-bias 3 Series sedan…with the ‘wrong’ driven wheels.

Like competitors in Audi A3 Sedan and Mercedes-Benz CLA, the 2 Series GC is a pricier four-door extrapolation of hatchback (1 Series kin). In 218 115kW/230Nm 1.5 three-cylinder turbo petrol guise as we have on test here, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is currently, at a touch under $60K before on-roads, the second-most affordable way into BMW ownership.

The new ‘2er GC’ features almost entirely new panel work outside and a completely remodelled cabin, if atop mostly carryover or slightly massaged UKL2 platform underpinnings, architecture shared with the likes of Mini. But while much of its technical DNA is broadly carryover, BMW has polished up enough of the detail to warrant ‘new generation’ status.

The 218 really crystallizes the 1 Series/2 Series pitch: premium build, features, tech and vibe built atop an efficient if somewhat modest and broadly appealing driving experience. And at a pricepoint that buys more spice from a mainstream offering, without the outright niceties.

The three-variant range walks up to the mid-grade 2.0L 150kW/300Nm front-drive 220, for a $3K premium, to $62,990 list. Then it’s a huge $20K fiscal lunge up to the M235 xDrive ($82,500) that wrings 233kW and 400Nm from its 2.0L four and plies it through all four wheels.

Like its German rivals, BMW now lavishes M Sport standard, in line with Aussie buyer tastes — the old M Sport cost option was a 90-percent take-up in 2 Series. This leaves all variants, including the 218 primarily tested here, with a noticeably sportier swagger in this update, complete with a techier and flashier execution.

Which begs the question: does the humble three-pot heartbeat shortchange the sporty experience the 218 GC is pitching? Or does this particular recipe make for Goldilox amalgamation of attainable price, premium chic, fun and feel-good factor?

What are the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s features and options for the price?

At $59,900 list, the 218 GC is three grand thriftier than the mid-grade 220 GC ($62,900) — the only more-affordable BMW offering right now than the 218 GC is the 118 hatchback ($57,600 list).

A three-grand splurge for the 220 GC brings a larger 2.0L four-cylinder engine with an added 35kW and 70Nm, and a 0-100km/h drop from (218) 8.6 seconds to 7.3sec.

Otherwise, the 218/220 share specifications that include:

• M Sport Package
• 18-inch M light alloys wheels
• Adaptive LED headlights
• Adaptive M suspension
• Iconic Glow grille surround
• 10.25-inch digital driver’s instrumentation
• 10.7-inch touchscreen media with BMW OS9
• DAB+ and sat-nav
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Inductive phone charging
• M Sport paddleshifter wheel
• M Sport seats with front seat heating
• Veganza faux leather trim
• Head-up display
• Two-zone climate control
• DAB+ and sat-nav
• Six-speaker 100-watt stereo
• 360-degree camera
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Powered boot lid
• Tyre pressure monitoring and repair kit

It’s a near $20K lunge further up the tree to land an M235 xDrive GC ($82,500), which comes with a rapid 4.9sec 0-100km/h claim.

The M235 xDrive adds the following features:

• Active (massage) front seats
• Driving Assistance Professional
• Black roof
• Steering wheel heating

Our test car fits the Enhancement Pack ($5154) that includes metallic paintwork, one-inch-larger 19-inch M light alloy wheels, steering wheel heating, a panoramic glass roof, Active (massage) seat functionality, Driving Assistant professional and a Harman Kardon premium sound system.

An M Sport Pro package ($2462 for 218/220, $2700 for M235 xDrive) adds red M Sport Brakes, M Light Shadowline colour-coding, M seat belts and M rear spoiler, plus M Sport Seats (M235 only) and a black roof (218/220 only).

How does the 2 Series Gran Coupe drive?

The three-cylinder is a charmer. Despite modest 115kW/230Nm numbers, the 1.5-litre unit offers a poky mid-range torque hump, making it toey and usable around town, for the most part where and when you want it. It’s a clean, smooth union with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission which does a fine job of plucking the triple’s best.

The 218 isn’t quick — 8.6sec claimed for 0-100km/h is hardly brag worthy — but even on the open road the powertrain delivers solid enough thrust and decent rolling response, and while returning real-world fuel economy in an almost hybrid-like mid-sixes. The three-pot even returns a characterful thrum under load.

But it’s not infallible. Give it the berries exiting a side road onto the Hume — as we did numerous times during a Sydney-Canberra return road trip — and acceleration is more measured than urgent. You need to pick your merging and overtaking gaps carefully.

All in all, it’s a very Euro powertrain tune, one leaning harder into efficiency than sheer punch. But it does so with an impressive amount of all-round polish and refinement.

Question is: would you stump up the extra $3000 for the 220’s two-litre 150kW/300Nm advantage that returns performance whole 1.3sec swifter sprinting to 100km/h? You bet.

While the UKL2 platform carries over from F44 — its 2670mm wheelbase is unchanged — there are not insignificant chassis changes. The suspension has been tweaked, with revised hardware, 20 percent more positive caster, and ‘Adaptive M suspension’ now standard.

Don’t be fooled, though, this is BMW’s new name for frequency selective dampers. That means there’s no driver-selectable soft-to-firm adjustment available no matter how much digging you do through media submenus.

Sat on (optional Enhancement Pack) 19s, there’s crisp edge and planted nature to our press car and the enlarged M light rims looks a treat. But around town, it does ride a little firmer than it needs to, while the front axle is particularly sharp across speed bumps, which elicits a slightly noisy clunk from our particular Brooklyn grey example.

But get moving and backroad and highway pace brings a nicely struck compliance and, once again, its grand touring manner is equal parts engaging and pleasant. It’s a well-sorted chassis with a ride and handling balance befitting the 2 Series’ premium positioning.

It feels as if engineers have really honed the Gran Coupe’s front end, which is nicely weighted and tracks very confidently once the red mist descends. The chassis is well balanced if not overly playful, and the 218-spec strikes a happy middle ground between sporty swagger and cruisey comfort.

We did briefly sample the vastly more potent (and expensive) M235 xDrive at the 2er GC’s Aussie launch, right at the beginning of our week with the base 218. Unsurprisingly, it’s quicker and seemingly edgier in character — almost hyper alert in front end response and general character.

And yet, the M235 xDrive doesn’t feel quite as resolved and as comfortable in its metal skin as the lower grade variant. The base variant feels more in balance with its various elements. Interesting…

Also evident is the impressive active driver safety and assistance systems. Over-speed alerts can be switched off and stay off, there’s no driver monitoring punishment, and the lane departure smarts are subtly effective and unobtrusive.

In fact, there’s an almost surprising lack of driver modal adjustment for what’s clearly a start-and-go-type experience.

During our week with the BMW, it rarely demanded switching between Efficiency and Sport drive modes, partly through a lack of much tangible variation (outside of gearbox programming) but mostly because generally fine all-round drivability didn’t really warrant it.

What is the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s interior and tech like?

The interior is where the 2er has been remodelled the most, and it pays some handsome dividends. It’s a cleaner, simpler design than before, one that’s strikingly contemporary yet retains convention and familiarity in most of the right places.

Crucially, it feels like a proper BMW, let alone nigh on the most affordable BMW on offer.

There’s a genuine sense of expense and of celebration, such as the tri-colour logo stitching across the passenger-side dash fascia, or the ornate ‘scaffolding’ style lower wheel spoke. And this German-sourced (Leipzig factory) model’s interior build quality is rock solid…which is more than can be said of some of BMW’s key rivals.

Plenty of sportiness, too. The windows are (in true coupe form) frameless, the seating is low-slung, and the wheel is, well, comically chunky. And the front occupants are planted by remodelled sport seats that offer exceptional pliancy and support. The perforated Veganza faux leather, too, isn’t too prone to clammy heat soak on a sunny day.

Our Enhancement Pack-optioned tester fits the massaging Active seats (as standard in M235) to taste, though base spec is heated…if heated only, with no ventilation option.

It’s an impressive fit-out: the head-up display is standard — a real boon on an entry ‘18’ variant, and the neat illuminated Hexacube dash caps, with integrated air vents, are real metal, not plastic lookalikes.

But it’s not all joy. The small 10.25-inch instrument and 10.7-in media screen hardly fill their curvaceous floating frame, leaving them looking skimpy. And the latest OS9 media platform, while quick and powerful, is quite clumsy and convoluted in content.

BMW dig around, and some feature adjustment is unnecessarily buried, while others, such as the confounding drive mode labelling, are twee and properly mystifying. It also presents a facade of drive mode personalisation, but very little options once you dig out in the submenus.

The subscription-based Digital Premium feature, with expanded map functionality and media streaming, ups the tech ante for owners into that sort of pizzazz. But disappointing is the surround-view 360 camera system, now standard even the base variant, which means well though suffers from very fisheyed display work.

Fancy yet frivolous are the air vents, with their clumsy remote ‘joystick’ directional adjustment — a case of gimmickry reinventing a basic feature that wasn’t broken. At least adjustment isn’t buried in the touchscreen nonsensically, as they are in Teslas and Porsche Taycan…

Rear space is almost cramped, with the coupe roofline — that is, a roofline sloping from the B-pillar — impinging on rear passenger headroom, while legroom is constrictive once the front seats are adjusted for front occupant comfort. It’s not the best-packaged BMW by a long mark, but such is the price of coupe-esque style. An X1 is smarter for those after room.

The boot space, though, is very deep, offering 430 litres in total, with a 40:20:40 rear split fold for load through of longer objects. For lugging bulkier goods, though, the 1 Series hatch offers more commodious space due to the broad load-through aperture.

Is the 2 Series Gran Coupe a safe car?

The F44 2er GC scored five stars with ANCAP from an assessment conducted back in 2019…using the 1 Series hatchback. And while this rating should carry through to this closely related F74 ‘deep facelift’ (of sorts), the regime states that the existing rating is set to expire in December this year.

The F44 scored 94 for adult protection, 89 for child occupant protection, 76 percent for vulnerable road user and 73 percent for safety assist.

Standard features include:

• Autonomous emergency braking
• Lane departure warning
• Lane keeping
• Speed limit assist
• Active cruise with stop and go
• Rear cross traffic warning
• Safe exit warning
• 360 camera with parking assistance

What are the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s ownership costs?

After clocking up around 1000km, including plenty of highway driving, the 218 Gran Coupe returned fuel consumption safely in the sixes against its 6.3L/100km combined claim.

That’s approaching hybrid frugality for this 1.5 tonne four-door — not too shabby. It demands 95RON or E10.

BMW offers a service inclusive package of $2369 for the first five years and 80,000kms. Servicing intervals are usage dependent and the vehicle notifies the owner when it decides servicing is due. A ‘plus’ package, at $3782, covers the above package basics plus brake discs/pads and windshield wiper wear across the same durations.

Warranty wise, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is covered by BMW’s decent five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

The honest verdict on the 2 Series Gran Coupe

While the jury is out as to whether the F74 looks better than its forebear, the interior updates are a genuine upgrade. Better yet, as the price-busting entry points to BMW ownership, the 2 Series Gran Coupe (and slightly cheaper 1 Series hatch) deliver much more than cut-price and semi-premium experience.

The German-built 2er Gran Coupe feels like genuine premium motoring, even if occasionally in some areas — such as front suspension noise — a crack or two does appear.

Holistically, it’s a nicer, more x-factor infused experience than its arch rival Audi A3 Sedan, itself recently launched and reviewed by yours truly. But tipping in at a tenner under $60K before on-roads and options for the BMW 218, it’s also a little pricier than an A3 four-door ($57,800).

But as characterful and frugal as the 218 Grand Coupe is, the eminently quicker two-litre four-pot 220 twin is a far more enticing proposition, especially given the modest $3K premium. In theory, at least. We hope to do a full test on the 220 GC once it’s released a few months after the 218 and M235 versions.

Not only does the 2er Gran Coupe’s M Sport-infused swagger better deserve the 220’s added (7.3sec 0-100km/h) pace, the added poke is a nicer fit for the four-door’s fine dynamic package.

The M235 xDrive? Our brief punt at a wet local Australian launch presented more questions than answers, so stay tuned for a more definitive and deeper dive soon.

While the 2er GC fits a size and space once occupied by a proper 3 Series of a couple of generations past, it’s still no 3 Series substitute. But given the entry 330i now commands $93K list and nudges six figures on road, Munich’s more junior front-drive sedan suddenly doesn’t appear terribly expensive, all things considered…