1 week Ago By Jack Mortimer
Cars are getting pricey. In 2015, the cheapest new model on sale in the UK was £5,995. Today the equivalent model costs nearly three times the amount.
In the same decade, the cost of an entry-level Vauxhall Corsa has increased by £9,050, a Nissan Juke has gone up by £10,425, and a Volkswagen Golf GTI has risen by a staggering £14,155. That is certainly the case for the most powerful BMWs . While the entry-level 3-Series will set drivers back £41,220, the all-powerful M3 now costs a dizzying £87,205.
As a result, an increasing number of drivers looking for a fine mix of performance and practicality are downsizing. Since 2014, the famous Bavarian brand has offered a 2-Series - effectively a slightly longer 1-Series with a wider range of body styles. One of the latest styles for the second-generation 2-Series is the Gran Coupe - effectively a four-door saloon that is offered with the BMW's famous M treatment.
The M235 Gran Coupe is quite a bit smaller than the M3, but seats the same number of occupants and still has plenty of performance credentials, all for over £40,000 less. So, is the new BMW too good to be true? I spent a week behind the wheel of the new model to find out. BMW's styling department has been rather productive over the last few years.
In addition to the much-anticipated Neue Klasse series of electric cars that will be arriving towards the end of the year, we've recently seen the kidney grilles made much taller and more angular on some models and wider and flatter on others. On the 2 Series Gran Coupe, the two small grilles have actually merged into one, blending in perfectly with the rest of the rather angular and aggressive styling. I particularly like the massive set of air vents on the front bumper and the aerodynamic door mirrors, which feature sides that look like bat wings to stop air from getting between the mirror and the door.
Compared to the first-generation, the latest M2 looks quite a bit sleeker than before, with the boot area being rounded off somewhat, giving the car a much nicer side profile. That said, one slight bugbear I encountered with the test example was the paintwork. Whilst the shade, Tanzanite Blue, sparkled particularly nicely in the sunshine, it suffered from a fair amount of 'orange peel' - that strange finish that creates a distorted reflection.
In a world in which car interiors are getting increasingly simple, I was really quite impressed at the BMW M235 Gran Coupe's. The centrepiece of the dashboard is a pair of connected screens (for infotainment and the instrument panel), but they are accompanied by stitching and all manner of LEDs in the famous M2 colours. Tactile buttons for the air conditioning controls are, unfortunately, lacking, but the row of buttons on the particularly low centre console are nicely located and feel very solid - particularly the roller dial which controls the radio volume.
As drivers would like to expect of a car of this calibre, the general fit and finish of the BMW is very good, but some materials used for features like the head-up display housing do feel somewhat hard and scratchy. Fortunately, I would say that the company redeemed itself with the sports-style seats, which really hug occupants. The M2 is a particularly low car, so drivers should not expect that much headroom inside.
Even with the driver’s seat lowered as much as possible, I had to recline slightly more than normal to stop my head from brushing the roof lining. Fortunately, there is plenty of space in every other regard, meaning drivers and the front passenger will feel comfortable throughout lengthy journeys. Rear passengers may not get such a pleasant experience.
Whilst I had just about enough legroom with the seat in front pushed somewhat forward, the low roofline of the 2-Series Gran Coupe meant I had to slouch a fair amount to fit. The BMW's boot is similarly compromised, with buyers getting 360 litres of space without the rear middle seat folded down. That is quite a bit larger than the latest 1-Series, which shares the same platform as the 2-Series; however, the Mercedes-Benz CLA gives buyers between 395 and 460 litres, depending on what variant they choose.
With the M2 costing around £10,000 more than the entry-level version of the 2-Series Gran Coupe, drivers would expect a lengthy list of standard equipment. For the most part, this is something BMW manage to pull off. As standard, the M235 Gran Coupe comes equipped with a 10.
7-inch touchscreen (which is mated with a 10.25-inch digital infotainment display, a boosted stereo system from Harman Kardon, an all-around parking camera setup, and quite a few sporty touches - such as Adaptive M suspension, pinstriped seatbelts in the famous BMW M colours. That said, drivers who want a little more could also opt for a wide range of packages.
Perhaps the best of these is the Technology Plus Pack, at a hefty £2,750, which adds adaptive LED headlights with high-beam assist, a wireless phone charger, and a particularly useful head-up display. Whilst drivers would typically expect a high-performance BMW to have a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine, the BMW M235 Gran Coupe has a 2.
0-litre four-cylinder petrol as part of its mild hybrid powertrain. I will admit to feeling quite disappointed by this, at least until I drove it. With the 2.
0-litre fitted, alongside a seven-speed automatic transmission, the BMW will sprint from 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 155mph - all from a five-seater saloon that the whole family will fit in. However, perhaps even more amazingly, the M235 Gran Coupe isn't a gas guzzler, either.
Whilst the model averaged between 34.4 and 37.7mpg on the WLTP test cycle, I managed to get more than 43mpg out of it during a lengthy journey.
It's pointless to say that the BMW M235 Gran Coupe offers stunning acceleration, but one thing that really did take me by surprise was the experience it creates as it propels itself to the driver's desired speed. Whilst electric cars can offer even faster acceleration, nothing will beat the genuine roar of a petrol engine, even if it's just a four-cylinder like the BMW's. Like a lot of cars with conventional automatic transmissions, I found there to be a slight amount of throttle lag (meaning the engine pauses for a fraction of a second when the accelerator is first pressed); however, this improves quite a bit in 'sport' mode and, whatever driving style is selected, I have experienced far worse.
One of the M2's most enjoyable attributes is its steering. Whilst the steering wheel itself is, quite frankly, massive compared to most sporty models, but feels nicely weighted at high-speed yet surprisingly manoeuvrable when getting into tight spaces. However, all of the elements that help to improve the BMW's sporting capabilities mean that it's hardly the most comfortable car to use.
At low speeds on city streets or pacing along the motorway, drivers will find the M235 Gran Coupe rather smooth. Bumpy or twisty roads, though, caused me to get jostled around the cabin - even hitting my head on the roof at one stage! The M235 Gran Coupe offers just about everything motorists have come to expect from a BMW M-car, but in a slightly different package that helps to make a German performance saloon quite a bit cheaper. Despite swapping the in-line six for a smaller four-cylinder engine, the M2 offers great levels of performance and drivability whilst retaining good fuel economy and just about enough space for five passengers.
For drivers who are looking to buy a performance model for a premium brand, the M235 Gran Coupe is a good choice. For anyone else, I would give it a good look alongside models like the Skoda Octavia vRS and Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce..
