Like any good subculture, the automotive world is rife with lovers who obsess and quibble over the smallest particulars. We automotive buffs can bitch and whine with one of the best of ’em, splitting hairs of hairs. As such, it is tempting to imagine the burbling fervor across the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is one other tempest in a teapot. After all, it is only a automotive, and persons are solely speaking about which wheels get energy to the bottom. Actually, within the case of this 2020 BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe, it is much more pedantic than that — they’re speaking about which wheels get many of the energy and when. Lost but? Allow me to elucidate. For most of its historical past, BMW has cultivated a cult-like devotion amongst driving lovers by way of an enviable string of performance-oriented fashions. Cars such because the 3 Series and its higher-performance M3 offshoot have develop into icons by delivering a long time of enviable dynamics with participating interfaces which have stored driving enjoyment on the coronary heart of their mission. 
In current years, that grand custom has come below fireplace. BMW has adopted business currents, its mannequin lineup more and more trending towards sport utility automobiles and smothering a lot of its fashions’ tactile charms below an ever-thickening blanket of luxurious, security and effectivity options, prioritizing consolation, safety and ecological duty on the costly of sharpness. Given regulatory and societal pressures, plus the gross sales payoff, it is onerous guilty the corporate for that.

Even so, the automotive seen right here, the two Series Gran Coupe, is being seen as a revolutionary — and controversial — pivot level for the model. This is the vehicular second the corporate transitions one in every of its sedans from a rear-wheel-drive-based structure to a front-wheel-drive one. (Yes, BMW did this beforehand with the X1, however that is an SUV — sedans, coupes and hatches are nonetheless nearer to this model’s emotional middle.)In a means, BMW North America appears to be hedging its bets, acknowledging the sensitivity of this second. Here within the US and Canada, BMW will initially solely supply this new 2 Series Gran Coupe with xDrive all-wheel drive, although the vast majority of the time, the system will favor driving the entrance wheels, periodically disconnecting the driveshaft to the rear wheels when extra traction is not known as for, as is typical in steady-state freeway cruising.

BMW will promote this four-door alongside the rear-drive 2 Series Coupe and Convertible fashions.
BMW
The query is, is that this FWD/RWD deal one thing necessary solely to the foolish and overscrupulous, or does this modification basically have an effect on what this automotive is and the way it feels? I headed to the winding, mountainous roads of Portugal to seize a handful of wheel and discover out. 

(Side word: Before I’m going any additional, it is value mentioning I do not usually get scrunchy-faced over such issues, and I rely front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive vehicles in my private steady.)Which-wheel drive?So, how did we get right here? Well, a handful of years in the past, the German automaker created the UKL2 platform, a versatile structure that has gone on to underpin many small BMW household fashions, together with the X1 crossover, the Mini Countryman in addition to the not-for-North-America 1 Series. In distinction to the rear-wheel-drive-based 2 Series Coupe and Convertible, fashions that fairly confusingly will nonetheless be offered alongside this one, the UKL2 chassis of this Gran Coupe permits higher cabin packaging, extra cargo room and decrease prices, all hallmarks of a FWD structure. That means this Gran Coupe also needs to match up properly in opposition to rivals just like the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class and CLA-Class, all of which share the identical sort of structure and driveline. In the case of this range-topping M235i xDrive, its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine’s 301 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque evaluate favorably with the Audi S3 (288 hp, 280 lb-ft) and considerably out-torques the Mercedes-AMG A35 and CLA35, each of which provide 302 hp and 295 lb-ft. An eight-speed computerized with paddle shifters is normal, as is a Torsen limited-slip differential and launch management, the latter of which helps allow a factory-estimated 0-to-60-mph time of 4.6 seconds, en path to an electronically restricted high velocity of 155 mph. Despite its torque benefit, the M235i’s efficiency numbers are primarily equivalent to these of its German rivals, with a tenth of a second separating all gamers to 60 mph and identically ruled high speeds. By the splashy headline efficiency numbers, then, the M235i xDrive and its rivals are a lifeless warmth. Choosing between them is more likely to come down to cost — $45,500 plus supply — or to values which might be extra subjective and fewer data-driven: Styling, options, driving really feel and model picture. The M235i has an aggressively unsubtle visage. What do you assume?
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Divisive seems to beStyling is more likely to be an element right here. Audi’s S3 has crisp, conventional sedan bodywork that is ageing effectively, albeit whereas drawing comparatively few eyeballs. Mercedes’ lozenge-like four-doors veer in the direction of the extra slipstream and voguish — they’re consideration getters. This 2 Series? It arguably splits the distinction. As its Gran Coupe designator implies, BMW has tried to imbue this automotive with sleeker bodywork, utilizing frameless doorways to assist allow a decrease roofline, in addition to extra steeply raked entrance and rear glass to present the automotive a coupe-like really feel.  In the steel, although, this design is much much less elegantly proportioned than BMW’s different Gran Coupe fashions, all of which take pleasure in a sure long-legged, sharply tailor-made presence. Blame the 2GC’s abbreviated 178.5-inch total size and its 105.1-inch wheelbase, however most of all, blame this automotive’s brief dash-to-axle ratio — the space from the bottom of the windshield to the entrance wheels — for its much less swish, extra odd seems to be. Speaking of much less swish, the two Series’ new face is more likely to cut up opinions. BMW has steadily been morphing its trademark twin-kidney grill into one thing each wider and shorter total, and on this case, the ensuing aesthetic is extra showy and overdone than refined. Between that and the (mercifully practical) outsized air intakes bookending the entrance bumper, the emphasis appears to be on the pugnacious and crowd pleasing as a substitute of the good-looking and enduring. That mentioned, the M235i seems to be correctly planted on its 18-inch double-spoke M alloys and 225/40 Pirelli P-Zero tires, inch-larger rubber than the extra modest 228i xDrive Gran Coupe that we’ve but to check in manufacturing kind. (19-inch models are non-compulsory with both all-season run-flat or efficiency non-run-flats.)The cabin is offered with all kinds of tech options, together with a totally digital gauge cluster and WiFi.
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Cabin techIf the two Series Gran Coupe’s exterior is divisive, its inside ought to deliver factions collectively. Its furnishings and basic aesthetic can be acquainted to anybody who has been in a contemporary BMW passenger automotive, and that is factor. Even my Alpine White tester’s fundamental black cabin seems to be good-looking and effectively organized, matching its purposeful, driver-oriented aura with sufficient creature comforts to maintain nearly anybody content material. For the extra performance-oriented M235i, inside fitments embody a grippy M Sport steering wheel (BMW has sometimes made wheels too thick in diameter, however not right here), steel pedal pads and non-compulsory power-articulated M Sport seats ($750). In phrases of cabin tech, whereas lesser 2GCs come fitted with a BMW Live Cockpit setup working iDrive 6 by way of an 8.8-inch show, my tester has the BMW Live Cockpit Professional, which fits a step additional by changing the automotive’s analog gauges with a 10.25-inch in-cluster show working iDrive 7. The well-organized system contains built-in navigation and Apple CarPlay, with BMW mercifully scrapping its plan to cost an annual subscription fee for the latter after the primary yr. In less-great information, Android Auto integration stays a “coming soon” attraction. My take a look at automotive can also be fitted with BMW’s Gesture Control, tech that permits you to wave your hand forwards and backwards or twirl your finger within the air to execute choose infotainment capabilities, together with dismissing a cellphone name or cranking up the quantity on the $875 16-speaker, 464-watt Harman Kardon audio system. Unfortunately, whereas this $190 social gathering trick might impress within the brief time period, I’ve discovered it is more likely to annoy over the lengthy haul as a result of serial unintended activation. If you have a tendency to speak together with your arms, you may need to give this feature the center finger. Available tech options which might be extra universally appreciated embody a full-color, multifunction, 9.2-inch head-up show in addition to a wi-fi charging and Wi-Fi hotspot bundle ($500). It’s value noting that rear-seat packaging, whereas nonetheless on the tight facet, is noticeably higher than that of the 2GC’s Mercedes rivals. Ingress and egress is considerably difficult owing to the brief rear doorways, however each entry and area are much better than within the 2 Series Coupe. The M235i can actually deal with effectively, and there is loads of energy, there’s simply not a lot driver engagement.
BMW
Drive timePortugal has lengthy been a favourite new-model launch spot for European automakers on account of its temperate climate, twisty roads and basic affordability. I’ve been lucky sufficient to drive on the roads outdoors of the nation’s capital metropolis of Lisbon many occasions, and it is all the time a deal with. For this take a look at day, BMW eschewed any monitor time, as a substitute specializing in the realm’s wonderful public street community, stringing collectively a route that included quite a few tight, winding sections that threaded collectively picturesque little cities. I’ve pushed extra demanding routes within the area, however this route was effectively chosen to spotlight the M235i’s small dimensions and prepared energy and grip popping out of tight corners. In its transfer to electrical energy steering and heavy mixture of run-flat tires, BMW has struggled greater than most upscale automakers to ship good steering really feel, and this new 2GC sadly reads from that very same script. Steering is fast, correct and pleasingly weighted, however finally numb. On the plus facet, experience high quality in my take a look at automotive geared up with driver-selectable Dynamic Damper Control ($500) is effectively judged, and street noise isolation is equally well managed on the area’s easy however sometimes coarse-grained roads. Braking really feel is agency and simply modulated. When flogging the M235i on a difficult street, the general impression is of confidence matched with capability, however not sufficient emotion. A very good portion of that’s doubtless attributable to this automotive’s FWD-based underpinnings — the differential cannot ship greater than 50% of the engine’s energy rearward, so when you’re hoping to make use of the throttle to steer the automotive, effectively, robust noogies. As it’s, this mannequin reminds a little bit of the Volkswagen Golf R, an AWD automotive that provides shocking sophistication, functionality and velocity, but is finally a sport compact unwilling to let its hair down. iDrive is absolutely fairly good today. Version 6.0 comes normal, with v7.0 accessible as a part of an possibility pack together with a full digital cluster.
BMW
It’s too early to find out whether or not this 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe can be branded as a heretic or a hero by new-car consumers. I believe it’s going to fall someplace in between, irking a handful of self-anointed purists whereas failing to ignite adequate ardour in some way among the many majority. If you have been looking for a small, entry-level BMW however want extra passenger and cargo flexibility than the two-door BMW 2 Series Coupe and Convertible supply, the Gran Coupe may very effectively have your quantity. On the opposite hand, whereas very succesful, even in top-spec M235i kind, the 2GC struggles to be as rewarding to drive onerous because the slower, cheaper 230i Coupe, and even the bigger 3 Series sedan, a mannequin that is each bigger and cheaper. For now, BMW officers insist the corporate stays dedicated to rear-drive 2 Series fashions in addition to these new ones, however with declining sedan gross sales, I would not guess on this equitable stasis lasting for lengthy. The Gran Coupe’s extra sensible four-door form and newer tech will in all probability make it a better promote to extra consumers, even when it is not as enjoyable to drive.The 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe arrives in US sellers in March.
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Editors’ word: Travel prices associated to this story had been lined by the producer, which is widespread within the auto business. The judgments and opinions of Roadshow’s employees are our personal and we don’t settle for paid editorial content material.