Media Platforms Design TeamBase Price: $33,025 to $44,025 Competitors: Audi A3, Buick Regal, Mercedes-Benz CLAPowertrains: turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4, 240 hp, 255 lb-ft; turbocharged 3.0-liter I-6, 320 hp, 330 lb-ft; six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic; RWDEPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy, mfr. est.): 22-23/34-35, I-4; 19-22/28-32, I-6BMW’s product lineup has gone through more subdivisions than a colony of single-celled bacteria. The 2 Series is the latest entrant. In BMW’s new math, an even-numbered prefix indicates a coupe or convertible, while odd numbers tell you the car has four doors. Thus, when the 2 Series reaches showrooms this spring, it will replace the 1 Series coupe. But this is more than a numbers game. The 2 Series coupe is a little bigger than its 1 Series predecessor: It’s 2.8 inches longer on a wheelbase stretched 1.3 inches, to 105.9, and 1.3 inches wider. With overall height down about a half-inch, a broadened interpretation of the twin kidney grilles, heftier haunches, and long hood, the 2 Series looks hunkered-down and ready to rock.Muscle and MassBigger often means heavier, and that’s certainly the case here. BMW characterizes the 2 Series curb weight as “about the same” as the 1, but the lightest M235i weighs in at 3505 pounds, about 150 pounds more than the 1 Series M Coupe. In the U.S. the 2 Series comes with two engines familiar to the BMW lineup: a 3.0-liter DOHC inline six nourished by direct fuel injection and twin-scroll turbocharging, and a 2.0-liter DOHC four with identical feeding. The six is rated for 320 hp and 330 lb-ft, a smidge more than in the 135i, while the four-cylinder makes 240 hp and 255 lb-ft. Torque curves for both engines are broad and flat, maxing all the way from 1300 to 4500 rpm.A six-speed manual gearbox is a no-cost option with both engines, but the standard transmission is an eight-speed Sport automatic with paddle shifters plus a launch-control function. So equipped, the M235i will scoot to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds, according to BMW (and that’s probably conservative), emitting a seductively wicked growl while doing so. Media Platforms Design TeamBehind the WheelOur test drive was limited to the M235i, equipped with the eight-speed Sport automatic transmission and auto-damping suspension. We’re not complaining. The M235i brakes are formidable, their power magnified by a set of ultra-sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Plus tires (18-inch stock, 19-inch optional). With its 50/50 weight distribution, firm suspension tuning, and high stability-control threshold, the M235i has the responses of a cheetah. Shut down the stability control and the coupe will rotate on corner entries, predictably and with excellent control. The electric rack-and-pinion power steering is quick and accurate, and the snug embrace of the beautiful leather buckets gives the driver a strong sense of partnership with the car. It’s a classic BMW dynamic trait that’s particularly intense here—the car as an extension of the driver’s will.Speaking of the driver’s will, the 2 Series is equipped with a Driving Experience Control switch, one of the more noteworthy tech touches in an already sophisticated car. In addition to settings one would predict—Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport-Plus—the driver can also program accelerator mapping, steering effort, automatic-transmission function, and responses of the auto-damping suspensions.Media Platforms Design TeamIn a Perfect WorldThere is much to love here and little to criticize. Still, should a backup camera be standard rather than optional? Like many coupes, the 2 Series is a little blind in the quarters and to the rear. BMW extols a 0.8-inch expansion in rear-seat legroom, but it’s still a very tight fit. Also, there is neither a convertible model nor an all-wheel-drive option. For now, the 2 Series is rear-drive only. Even so, based on this first exposure, the 2 Series looms as a star in its segment as a compact rear-drive coupe with a sports car soul. Pricing—from $33,025 for the 228i, from $44,025 for the M235i—will guarantee a certain exclusivity. But it’s hard to imagine an unhappy owner.Tony SwanTony was smart, well read, funny, irascible, cantankerous, opinionated, friendly, difficult, charming, honest, and eminently interesting to be around.
He loved cars, car people, and words… but most of all, he loved racing. The Car and Driver writer, editor, and racer passed away in 2018 at age 78. Remembering Tony
Remembering Tony
