2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe Review | Price, specs, features, photos – Autoblog

The 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is BMW’s newest entry-level four-door offering. It slots below the 3 Series in price, panache and size, and despite the name, is wholly different from the two-door 2 Series. While that car rides on a traditional-for-BMW rear-wheel-drive platform, the Gran Coupe uses a front-drive platform shared with the BMW X1 and X2 crossovers as well as some Minis. Beyond that basic architecture, the two 2’s have different powertrains, styling, interiors, safety tech and driving experiences. Basically, they’re nothing alike. 

Now, beyond the BMW family, with four doors and a compact size, the 2 Series Gran Coupe competes against other small luxury brands’ starter cars. This group includes the soon-to-debut 2021 Audi A3 and recently debuted Cadillac CT4, but the closest competitors currently come from Mercedes-Benz with its A-Class and CLA-Class. In our experience, this pair provides a stronger luxury experience that’s more indicative of their bigger, pricier siblings, while the 2 Series Gran Coupe is the sharper car to drive. That said, it’s not sharp or sophisticated enough to tempt folks away from the 3 Series, which starts at only $3,250 more than the 2 Series Gran Coupe. That’s a much smaller gap than what you’ll find with the above competitors and it’s ultimately the reason we’d think twice about it. 

What’s new for 2020?

The 2 Series Gran Coupe is a completely new model for 2020. You can read all about its background and engineering in our First Drive review here.

What’s the interior and in-car technology like?

The 2 Series Gran Coupe has a respectable interior that matches its price point for quality, but falls short of its Mercedes competitors in terms of showy design and tech. BMW’s latest design language is used inside, which gives the car a premium feeling. It’s similar to that of the 3 Series, but there are more adventurous, youthful touches like the ambient lighting that uniquely bleeds through the dash trim at night. The center stack and console look is modern and full of fast, sharp edges. There are plenty of black plastics to be found, but none are objectionable. Visibility forward is good, but the Gran Coupe body style forces a narrow, compromised view out the rear window.

BMW’s iDrive 6.0 comes standard and includes analog gauges alongside an 8.8-inch infotainment screen. But, you can upgrade to the improved iDrive 7.0 and its pair of 10.25-inch screens, one for the instrument cluster and one for the central touchscreen. Apple CarPlay is standard and works wirelessly through Bluetooth. A WiFi Hotspot and wireless charging are bundled together as an option, however, we found that an iPhone 8 Plus was too large to fit in the wireless charger, rendering it useless.

Finally, pictured below, you’ll see two examples of available interior colors as well as the different front seats found in the 228i (left) and M235i (right).

How big is the 2 Series Gran Coupe?

The new four-door 2 Series Gran Coupe measures 178.5 inches in total length, making it 7.2 inches shorter than a 3 Series, but four inches longer than a two-door 2 Series. BMW has grown the 3 Series over time, so this 2 Series Gran Coupe is about the size of what a 3 Series was 10 years ago.

There are 34.4 inches of rear seat legroom, which is enough for an adult to fit, but unless there’s a shorter driver up front, there’s not enough to be comfortable for any long stretches of driving. That’s pretty consistent with an older 3 Series. The compromised headroom is not. Sitting straight up, those nearing the 6-foot mark will find their heads are grazing the ceiling and/or their necks craning to avoid it. This is similar to what you’d find in the Mercedes CLA, but the A-Class has two more inches of headroom. Both have less legroom, however, as does the Cadillac CT4.

Interior packaging is done well for the most part. The center console area is pushed down lower than rear-drive BMWs, giving you a wide-open space for drinks and storage of other items. There are big, useful bins in the doors, too. The trunk offers a wide loading space that makes it easy to move things in and out. Its official measurement is 15.1 cubic-feet, but like other BMW’s, that number is inflated relative those of other cars and car companies. It’s still quite large for the segment – we managed to squeeze in five suitcases – but it’s not comparable to a Camry-sized sedan as its official measurement would suggest.