In case you missed it, Stuff attended BMW’s recent national media launch of the refreshed 2 Series Coupé. We ended the event behind the wheel of the company’s 220d and M240i models. Our initial thoughts on the 220i, the petrol-drinking cousin of the 220d, are here.
The long and short of it is that the 220i is – for the most part – a fun car to drive. It just didn’t quite live up to what we expected. While we were in the driving seat, we couldn’t help but feel it was holding back on us. Taking a spin in the diesel variant is a slightly different experience, however.
A meow instead of a roar
The angular air intakes, menacing single-LED headlights and low stance the BMW 220d features don’t match the demeanour it displays on the road. Instead of a poised beast ready to strike, like the above characteristics imply, what you get is more akin to a slightly overweight house cat. Sure, it can pounce but when it does, it’s not very fast or dangerous.
The 220d looks almost identical to the 220i – which makes sense since the 220i is a pussycat too. The main difference lies under the hood. With the 220d you get a whole 5kW of power and 100Nm of torque more than the 220i. But in this case, you’re also firmly planting your carbon footprint. Pickup is a little slower than in the 220i — that’d be the diesel engine talking. The nippier acceleration from the 220i, while not that eyebrow-raising, might be worth losing a little on-paper spec for.
Both the 220i and 220d have moments where you might forget entirely about their shortcomings. It’ll happen,. They’ll turn up. Those moments are usually when you’re sliding sideways and peering out a side window at the scenery. That’s when the 2 Series vehicles stop being cars and start feeling really fun to drive.
Console-ation prize
But most of us don’t spend all that much time drifting (we hope). Most of us drive like normal people. Always remembering our indicators, that sort of thing. We head to and from work or the shops. Our attention is usually focused in front of us, not off to the side. This is why the car’s console is built around the middle of the vehicle. There’s no point having all the dials and buttons all facing the driver. That’s what the steering wheel is for. Control over the infotainment system running BMW OS 7 is fairly intuitive, whether on the wheel or poking the dials and screens. And you get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. So that’s nice.
If you’re after a smallish BMW, you might like the design choices in the 2 Series coupé. It’s probably the least polarising BMW on the market today, but it’s also very derivative. If you don’t care about performance on your shopping runs, you can grab a 220i and call it a day. It’s the cheapest of the lot, starting at R765,000. We don’t really see the appeal of the 220d. It’s R50,000 more expensive for not much more power and an engine that responds more sluggishly than the 220i.
The main event
If you’ve got a bit more cash to spend, (R 1,050,000 or so), and you want a performance-focused coupé, the M240i is the answer. Sure, the 220 models might be cheaper and more fuel-efficient (read: less fun) but the M240i is the main event. The angular air intakes, rear diffuser and exhaust are accented with brushed aluminium or carbon fibre. It’s less ‘bells and whistles’ and more ‘shock and awe’.
Powering this one is a 3.0-litre turbocharged 6-cylinder petrol engine that sends 285kW of power and 500Nm of torque to all the wheels. That’ll get you from 0 to 100km/h in just over four seconds. Yes, you read that correctly. The M240i ditches the rear-wheel-drive system of the 220i and 220d, in favour of BMW’s xDrive (all-wheel drive) system. BMW purists needn’t be alarmed. The M240i still has a rear-wheel-drive bias, and it’ll still go sideways on no notice.
Cut yourself on that edge
The steering of all three felt well weighted, but the M240i’s extra oomph made small adjustments at high speeds feel like a 17-year-old neckbeard on 4chan – super edgy. For that reason, we’d like a little more feedback so it doesn’t feel like a cough will send you across three lanes of traffic.
The only fault we could find with the M240i is that, as with the other two models, there isn’t really a point to the rear seat. Unless your passengers don’t have legs, at least. Some of that legroom has been given over to expansive boot space, which is surprising for a coupé. If you’re on the shorter side, you also might not enjoy these cars much. We were told the M240i has limited seat adjustment. It could present issues if you like to get up close to your steering wheel or sit over it like a trucker.
BMW 2 Series coupé verdict
If you’re wanting a new toy to play with, in the shape of a coupé, then the BMW 2 Series is a great place to start looking. If the budget is tight – especially since petrol hit record highs – you can’t go wrong with the 220i. But if you can spare a few more pennies, you’ll have a buttload of fun in the M240i, going straight or sideways around what we assume is a properly sanctioned race track.