BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is an entry-level compact luxury sedan.. In its latest, second-generational avatar, the car offers more in all aspects save for one. It has grown in size, offers more features and packs more safety equipment than before. But under the bonnet, the 2 Series isn’t as potent as before. So are the gains in the other parameters significant enough to overshadow and ignore the losses in performance, or would you be better off just buying an equally priced EV or even an SUV? Let’s find out:

The BMW 2 Series is a sharp looking sedan which looks properly sporty. The M Sport package dials up the dynamic styling cues with larger intakes, sportier side sills and M-specific alloy wheels. Compared to the previous generation, it has grown in size as well with additional 20mm and 25mm in length and height, respectively.

The nose takes inspiration from a shark, with a long sloping bonnet and an illuminated grille which is placed below the sleek headlights. The LED headlights are super intricate with sleek arrow shaped dual LED DRL elements, which look great with the illuminated grille at night. BMW says the adaptive headlights have a glare-free matrix high beam with blue accents, which offer great throw and intensity when the conditions allow for it.

In profile, the design looks clean but sporty with a sloping roofline and M-specific 18-inch alloy wheels, which have Y-shaped spokes that look really sharp. Tubeless tyres are now offered as standard instead of the runflats offered previously, but the tyre size remains the same at 225/45. You get M-badging on the right side front fender and I particularly like how BMW has cleanly integrated a ‘2’ badging at the rear of the window line, highlighting the typical BMW ‘Hofmiester kink’ design cue.

The rear profile of the BMW 2 Series looks serious with its M-specific diffuser finished in gloss black and it also gets black air inlet inserts towards the sides of the bumper. However, those are fake vents and don’t actually have a functional aerodynamic benefit. Just like the headlights, the tail lights too have dual arrow shaped LED elements. 

From some angles, especially when viewed dead on, the car looks like it is angry at you with the gloss black diffuser sitting on the protruding body coloured bumper, combined with the tilted angle for the tail lights. This treatment makes the car look more serious and sporty than it actually is (in terms of driving), and some people will definitely like that. There is ‘218’ variant badging on the right side of the boot.

There are a total of four colour options to choose from, including two metallic shades which come in the form of Black Sapphire and Portimao Blue. The other two regular exterior colours are Alpine White and Brooklyn Grey.

While the Black Sapphire's metallic treatment looks nice and sporty, the regular Brooklyn Grey has a rather sophisticated vibe to it, and matches well with the host of gloss black elements on the exterior.

At this price point, the BMW 2 Series is definitely one of the sportiest looking sedans in the country, and with its neat lighting elements, it offers a lot of presence at night.

The interior styling of the new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is that of a typical BMW: sporty, premium and modern. The two displays integrated on the same curved bezel dominate the driver side of the dashboard, while the passenger side has a rather simple and clean design. While most of the dashboard is finished in a black shade contrasted by silver elements and a neat BMW-M colour stitching pattern, you do get two options for the seat vegan leather upholstery: Veganza Perforated Mocha and Veganza Perforated Oyster. Both look really classy.

Quality is what you’d expect from a bimmer at this price point. All the buttons and stalks have a nice weight to them, the dashboard, central armrest and door pads get soft touch materials, and I particularly liked the finish around the AC vents, which have a metal-like feel and finish. Adding further style to the design is the neatly integrated ambient lighting, which can be found all around the cabin.

Front Seat

The 2 Series has a low sloping roofline, and the seats themselves are placed rather low to the ground. As a result, it does take some effort to get inside the car, while getting out is still relatively easy. 

Once inside, the seats feel comfortable with good support all around. It even gets manually adjustable underthigh support extension, which helps improve comfort for taller passengers. There’s enough space in the seats for passengers up to 6ft, but taller passengers will have their knees rubbing against the central console. 

Finding a comfortable driving position is easy with tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel, and powered height-adjustment for the seat. There are no issues in terms of visibility, and you can get into a really sporty position by setting the seats all the way down as well.

The front armrest doesn’t move, but is pretty long and wide, so there are no issues in terms of comfort.

Rear Seat

At the rear, the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe offers an acceptable space for two average sized adults. The cushioning feels comfortable for long journeys, but the underthigh support is strictly average, even after you stretch your legs out in the front. Knee and head room is adequate, but a taller passenger won’t be very comfortable here.

There are three headrests available, but I won’t recommend seating three people for longer journeys inside the 2 Series, as the seat contours protrude outwards and have been designed as such to maximise support for two. The middle seat base also has a slight bump and will be only comfortable for kids.

In terms of amenities, you get a central armrest and rear AC vents.

Storage and Practicality

The 2 Series offers acceptable amounts of storage spaces inside the cabin. There are 1-litre bottle pockets on all four doors along with additional storage space for small items. The glovebox size is good enough to store multiple 1-litre bottles, but it isn’t cooled. The central console gets two open slots, one just below the central AC vent and one where the wireless charger is. These spaces can be used to store your phone or wallet, while your coffee or cold drinks can be stored in the two cupholders in the centre as well.

The armrest packs a decent cubby hole beneath it for small items. There are no seat back pockets and rear passengers only get two cupholders in the central armrest.

Charging Options

You get two fast type-C charging ports along with a wireless charger and 12V power socket at the front. The rear passengers also get two fast type-C charging ports.

Features

The BMW 2 Series gets all the features that you’d expect at this price point, save for the weird omission of ventilated seats.

Let’s start with the entertainment package, which includes two digital screens. The 10.7-inch main infotainment system has bright and crisp graphics. It is easy to use with big icons for various menus, and gets wireless connectivity for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. There are no issues in terms of lags or response times.

Sitting on the same bezel is a 10.25-inch instrument cluster for the driver, which is highly customisable with various view modes and layouts. Just like every other BMW, it has rather cool graphics, and relays a lot of information. You also get a head-up display with augmented reality, which can also be customised in different ways. 

The 12-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system offers a crisp experience, although it missed that 360-degree surround sense-feel that one would expect from the system. 

I really liked the execution of the 360-degree camera, which not only has a sharp camera quality with multiple viewing angles and 2D and 3D modes, but the camera switches the feed quickly to the side that you are parking on. For example, while reversing, when you get close to the wall behind, the feed will automatically switch to a top down view, so that you can park the car as close to the wall as possible. It does the same thing for the front and the side as well.

There’s also an in-car camera in case you want to take a photo or record your drives in the 2 Series. For hassle free entry, you do get keyless entry and an NFC key card, but there’s also an option of a digital key that can be shared with four people. That key can be accessed via your smartphone, and can be a useful feature to give access of the vehicle to your inner circle, without handing over the actual key.

The 2025 BMW 2 Series packs a host of safety equipment including 7 airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX mounts, tyre pressure monitoring system, 360-degree camera, and electronic aids like an electronic parking brake, electronic stability program, traction control and even autonomous driving assistance features like front collision avoidance, lane departure assist, and blind spot detection.

While having those features does add an extra layer of safety in the right conditions, they haven’t been fine tuned for the chaotic Indian driving conditions., Auto-emergency braking can be triggered prematurely or even unnecessarily which can catch traffic behind you off guard or even cause a collision, given our short follow distances. The 2 Series also features parking assist and reversing assist, and the latter can be really useful to reverse out of a tricky narrow alley in case you find yourself facing a dead end.

By sedan standards, the BMW 2 Series only offers an adequate boot space with a claimed figure of 430-litres. It will accommodate a full size suitcase along with some duffle bags with ease. Small loose items can be tucked away in the net on the side. 

In case you don’t have passengers in the second row, but do have additional luggage, or want to carry your golf bags, then the seats do have a 40:20:40 split. Folding them opens up a long and flat floor which can gobble up a lot of items. 

Beneath the floor, you have your space saver spare tyre and tools for your jack.

In this second generation avatar, the 2 Series gets a single, three-cylinder, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, paired with a 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. There is no diesel engine available at launch, though it could be introduced later..

1.5-litre turbo-petrol

This engine offers a smooth and refined experience in regular drive conditions, despite being a three-cylinder unit. Performance is adequate for all intents and purposes, but you will want more at this price point.

City Performance

Driving the 2 Series in the city feels effortless. The engine is super refined at low speeds, it crawls smoothly and there are no sudden jerks whatsoever. The gearbox does its job without ever making you feel any gear shift and it always keeps you in the right gear as well.

Making overtakes in the city are easy, thanks to the twin-scroll turbo setup which eliminates any turbo lag. So finding the small gaps or making a quick overtake just requires a simple tap of the throttle.

You can expect a fuel efficiency of around 8-10kmpl in the city.

Highway Performance

With a claimed 0-100kmph time of 8.6 seconds, the 2 Series has adequate performance for all highway overtakes. With good performance even beyond speeds of 100kmph, you won’t ever have to plan your overtakes, but the performance is missing that exciting feeling that you usually associate with BMWs. The engine also gets loud when you’re pushing the car hard, and isn’t really able to hide its three-cylinder character when doing so.

However, the gearbox feels keen when driving spiritedly. It offers quick and snappy shifts, doesn’t hesitate to downshift when you ask for a quick overtake while cruising, and also keeps you in the power band when in Sports mode. BMW also offers a ‘boost mode’ with the new 2 Series, which as the name suggests, offers additional power or boost for a small duration. You won’t really feel any significant difference if you use it at higher speeds, but it does make the car quicker when you launch it from a standstill. 

Overall, the BMW 2 Series’ new three cylinder engine offers performance that is acceptable for all commutes, both in the city and on the highway. But at this price point, you expect the performance to be more than just acceptable and pack a bit of fun and excitement – and that is something that is missing in the new 2 Series.

Ride Quality

For a compact luxury sedan, the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe offers good ride quality in the city. Regular speed breakers and potholes are dealt with ease, and it doesn’t translate to a lot of movement inside the cabin. It even does a good job of insulating the impact over a sharp pothole or bump. 

Ground clearance has been increased by 19mm over the previous generation, and you can actually go over almost every off-beat speedbreaker without any issues. Although, you will have to be careful of sharp inclines, as the front lip can scrape over them.

Handling

The steering feels light and easy to use in the city, and you won’t have any issues maneuvering the car in the city. On the highway, the steering feels predictable for a quick lane change, and you can carry triple digit speeds with confidence.

That confidence is maintained around a high speed corner too, where the car feels stable and willing to turn. Body roll is acceptable, and the car’s dynamics are enjoyable around a fast corner. Take it up a ghat road or twisty mountain section, and I doubt that the 2 Series’ handling will give you reasons to complain.

BMW only offers the 2 Series Gran Coupe in a single 218 variant.

For an entry level compact luxury sedan, the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe delivers on all aspects that make a luxury car feel luxury, save for one. If you want a fancy-looking sedan that handles well, keeps you comfortable when the going gets rough and offers a premium in-car experience with its hi-tech features and materials, then the 2 Series Gran Coupe is a great choice. Only if it had a more potent engine to go with, it would’ve served the BMW badge and that M-sport package that it wears proudly a whole lot better.

Other Cars To Consider Instead Of the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe

Toyota Camry

Reasons to consider

• Better rear seat experience

• More fuel efficient with similar performance

• Toyota’s impeccable dealer and service network 

Reasons to ignore

• Misses out on that luxury badge value

Mercedes A-Class Limousine 

Reasons to consider

• More refined and powerful petrol engine 

• Option of a diesel engine

Reasons to ignore

• Car feels a bit dated

• Interior doesn’t feel as premium