BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe Australia Pricing and Spec

BMW’s new 2 Series Gran Coupe is coming to Australia in 2020. We’ve got pricing, specification and when you might be able to get one.

The new sedan, a car to finally match Audi’s pretty A3 sedan and Merc’s CLA will arrive in the first quarter. This isn’t the old 2 Series from China, but it is based on the UKL2 platform along with the new 1er and the X1/X2 pairing. And the Mini, of course.

Look and Feel

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The 2 Series Gran Coupe is that rarest of creatures – a four-door sedan. BMW has gone for some design flourishes, such as frameless doors, chunky grille and big LED headlights with signature daytime running lights. I like it, it’s better proportioned than the 1-series hatch, but it’s not what you’d call gorgeous. Then again, that’s not what BMW does, so mission accomplished, I guess,.

The interior is a lot like the 1er and 3er, with a lot of common parts seen in more expensive BMWs, so that makes the cabin feel good. The big touchscreen and similarly-sized dash screen are lovely to look at and use. From a quick look at an M235i, the materials are very nice indeed.

You get the usual set of four cupholders and bottle holders in the doors. Rear seat passengers aren’t in for a treat but nor is it tiny. The switch to front-wheel drive has liberated a lot of space, but there’s still a decent hump in the floor to house a prop shaft for the rear wheels.

How much is a 2020 2 Series Grand Coupe and what do I get?

We get two different specifications, the entry-level 218i and the poppity-bangey M235i. As you’re about to find out, there’s a biiiig gap between them.

BMW Operating System 7.0

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BMW Australia has gone to town and specified Live Cockpit Professional and a 10.25-inch touchscreen running BMW Operation System 7.0. It’s a nifty system and looks brilliant, especially with the very readable map detail in between the digital dials. I’m a big fan of it.

OS 7.0 is really what they used to call iDrive and here includes wireless Apple CarPlay, but no Android Auto. Which is something I’ve never got to the bottom of, but there you are.

Safety

As you might expect, you start with the usual six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls and all the usual stuff.

Driving Assistant includes lane departure warning, lane change warning, approach control Warning with city-braking intervention (or forward AEB), rear cross-traffic alert, rear collision prevention (sigh – reversing AEB) and traffic sign recognition.

218i Gran Coupe – $47,990 (plus on-roads)

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The 218i opens the range at under $50,000, but it’s not a bargain basement, plastic steering-wheeled bait and switcher. Better not be, anyway.

You get 18-inch M alloys, cloth trim, six-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, auto parking, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, Live Cockpit digital dashboard, keyless entry and start, head up display, wireless charging pad and LED headlights.

You also get the largely cosmetic M Sport pack, including the lovely M steering wheel in leather.

M235i Gran Coupe xDrive – $69,990

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The huge jump to nearly $70,000 for the M235i adds M Sport steering, brakes and spoiler, 19-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry and start with BMW Digital Key, M Sport front seats with electric adjustment, leather trim, adaptive LED headlights and a 16-speaker harmon kardon stereo.

Warranty and Servicing

BMW still only offers a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is a bit dull, but every other German is doing it.

Servicing is via the usual pre-paid option – expect to pay $1550 for three years of servicing with 12 months/20,000km-type intervals.

Drivetrains

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The M218i ships with BMW’s modular 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo. Driving the front wheels through a seven-speed twin-clutch. This is probably all very familiar to Mini fans out there. It should be, it’s the same engine. It’s also in the 1 Series.

Up in the M235i is the rip-snorting 225kW/450Nm twin-scroll turbo screamer. That bad boy runs through an Aisin eight-speed automatic driving all four wheels, with up to 50 percent to the rear. The front wheels score a Torsen limited slip-diff. Launch control makes available all of the torque in first and second gear for reasonably vivid acceleration.

Redline Recommendation

Well, obviously the M235i is the one to have. If the X2 M35i is anything to go by, it will be hilarious. Obviously, I haven’t driven either of them, so when I do, you’ll hear about it.