BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe First Drive: A Different Kind of M Car

As much as we hope the average consumer, upon stepping into a rear-drive car for the first time, will experience a conscious or subconscious epiphany regarding the thrill of properly tuned vehicle dynamics, it’s a fantasy.

A full decade ago, then-BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer told us 80 percent of 1 Series owners believed their cars were front-wheel drive. He pitched it as a good thing, seeing an easy path to introducing front-drive products in the future. Well, here we are: the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe.

Specifically, the 2020 BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe. The xDrive component of that long name is critical, as every 2 Series Gran Coupe shipped to the U.S., be it an entry 228i or this sporty M-improved car, will be all-wheel drive. Primarily, though, the transversely mounted engine will power the front wheels, with the rear axle disconnected until it’s needed.

It’s a familiar design, one you’ll recognize from various BMW- and Mini-branded crossovers. Indeed, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is just the second sedan built on the UKL2 architecture and the only one sold outside of China. Make no mistake, though: This platform (unlike the UKL1 derivative) has been a crossover-SUV platform from day one.

What do you get when you build a sport sedan out of a crossover? A sedan that drives like a sporty crossover. Think X2, but with a trunk. It’s quick around a corner and has plenty of power, but it feels like driving a simulation of a sport sedan. People who’ve never bought a sport sedan before, the exact kind of people who might be looking to get into a new BMW for the first time, will think it’s very quick and handles very well.

Sure, it does, but it’s an artificial feeling. A facsimile of performance. It’s a half-day high-performance driving experience, not racing school. It’s safe and sane, not Roman candles.

BMW engineers say they’ve gone to tremendous effort to ensure the car doesn’t feel like a routine front-drive hatchback and have even coaxed the all-wheel-drive system into drifting in just the right conditions.

Those conditions are not to be found on public roads, where the M235i Gran Coupe either just grips or, if you try to carry real speed into a tight corner, understeers until you go back to throttle. It’s counterintuitive, but that’s how you drive a modern performance all-wheel-drive system. All that weight in the nose is going to fight a change in direction, but power and grip distributed correctly via the standard Torsen limited-slip front differential and brake-actuated rear torque vectoring can force the car to pull itself through the corner when physics beg to differ.

It certainly has power. At 301 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, it’s the most powerful four-cylinder engine BMW makes. The company says the M235i xDrive Gran Coupe will hit 60 mph from a standstill in 4.6 seconds using launch control. Shunting as much as half the engine’s output to the rear axle prevents torque steer, aiding the illusion of rear-drive dynamics.

The default Comfort driving mode does betray noticeable turbo lag at low engine speeds, so if you’re not brake torquing or using launch control, there’s going to be a moment’s hesitation and a surge when you just mash the throttle. Sport mode tightens everything up a bit too much for everyday driving, but simply slotting the shifter over to its S position is a nice compromise. Sport mode and S position combined are for when you really want to drive like turn signals were never invented.

As a plain sedan, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is likewise compromised. The rear doors have the smallest aperture of any door hinged at the front, making it a squeeze to get in and out. There’s just enough room for an average-sized adult in the back seat if the front-seat passengers are merely average in height and the rear passengers don’t move their heads out of the carve-outs in the ceiling. The rear driver-side passenger sits on one of the buckles for the deployable center seat belt, which won’t see much use owing to lack of space.

Further back, the short trunklid is more mail slot than parcel dump. One full-size suitcase will easily fit, and you can probably cram some smaller bags around it. Blame the serious case of “X6 butt,” coupled with the decision to keep it a traditional trunk and not a hatchback like the larger 4 Series. For something that’s trying hard not to be a crossover, there’s an awful lot of crossover styling in it, from that back end all the way up to the familiar X2’s nose.

The dashboard is equally familiar, effectively a downsized version of the one you’ve seen in everything from the 3 Series to the 8 Series. We’re told there’s some neat ambient lighting going on, but we weren’t able to see it in the light of day.

BMW continues to update its iDrive infotainment system, which is too layered now. Still, it boasts over-the-air updates and the ability to buy software features—such as automatic high-beams—through the system long after you’ve left the dealer’s lot. Even better, BMW has given up on its experiment of charging a subscription for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto usage; those are now standard equipment. As a cherry on top, the optional head-up display will show navigation instructions from your connected smartphone if you prefer, not just from the built-in navigation system.

The interior is otherwise quiet and comfortable—even the optional sport seats. BMW clearly prioritized front-seat comfort, as those passengers get the lion’s share of available interior space. Outward visibility is somewhat pinched by the high windows, none more so than the gun-slit rear window. Blame the X6 butt again.

A sedan built on a crossover platform and styled like a crossover is going to struggle with its identity, but you know what? That’s fine. Most people don’t use the rear seats very often, and no one buys a sedan to haul furniture. Most people don’t track their daily driver, either.

The M235i xDrive Gran Coupe will make the average driver feel like a hero while keeping them out of too much trouble. Is it an M product the way the M2 Competition Coupe is? Not at all, but look how many of those BMW sells. The people who want the full-on M car will buy it. This is for all the other people who want a fast daily. They’ll love it.

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Source: WORLD NEWS