BMW M235i GRAN COUPE
1 Series-based M235i offers a refined ride and decent cabin, but also a characterless engine and questionable styling
OCCASIONALLY A JOVIAL POST spreads throughout social media prompting you to come up with a line that, should you ever end up kidnapped or in some kind of trouble, would alert the outside world without drawing undue attention from those holding you hostage.
It has to be something that sounds feasible in isolation, but out of character to people who know you. For me I reckon something along the lines of, ‘I’m really starting to go off Caterhams,’ or maybe, ‘Thinking about it, Pastor Maldonado was pretty underrated,’ would do the trick.
Anyway, I mention this because I’m beginning to think some of BMW’s junior designers are being held against their will. Perhaps the recent spate of misshapen designs and George Foreman grilles isn’t simply misguided styling, as we’ve all suspected until now, but actually increasingly desperate pleas for outside assistance. Something’s clearly wrong, and we should act fast.
Granted, aesthetic matters are rarely priority number one at evo, but ask someone whether they’d still want to live in their dream house if it looked like a 30ft-tall poo emoji and I suspect we’d all know the answer, so it’s fair to assume most of us here still appreciate a bit of style. That leads us, one way or another, to the car we have here – BMW’s new 2 Series Gran Coupé, available with a small selection of petrol and diesel engines, but most relevant to us in range-topping M235i form.
Just like the 2 Series coupe, the latest Gran Coupé is 1 Series based, this time putting it on the same transverse-engined platform shared with the larger Minis. The front-wheel-drive layout has given the 1 Series hatchback some awkward proportions, and in 2 Series Gran Coupé form you now get a rear end like that of BMW’s X4 and X6 into the bargain, which is a
bit like receiving hate mail and then finding out you have to cover unpaid postage.
The cabin’s a much better effort. You don’t get the theatre of a Mercedes-Benz CLA, but the materials and construction feel superior. Where the Mercedes creaks and rattles, the BMW remains silent, and there’s just a hint of the driver-focused BMW cabins of old, with the centre console and its attendant screen
– operated, as ever, by a rotary control on the centre console – angled subtly towards you. The driving position is spot-on too, though I’m less convinced by the digital instruments ahead, which are a bit too reminiscent of something from a 1990s video game, and make the head-up display vital for imparting information at a glance.
Power is down on the outgoing six-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive models, but 302bhp from a 2-litre turbocharged four is still nothing to be sniffed at. Peak torque of 450Nm sounds healthy too, and is available from 1750rpm to 4500rpm, at which point the engine is spinning up towards its peak power output at 50006250rpm.
There’s just the one gearbox – an eightspeed torque-converter auto by Aisin – and power is sent to all four wheels through BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive set-up. It’s a front-biased system, but there’s a Torsen limited-slip diff at the front axle, ARB anti-slip technology cribbed from the electric i3, and electronics that can quickly shuffle half the power rearwards when required. Other concessions to the M badging are quicker steering than conventional Gran Coupés, thicker anti-roll bars, and the same 10mm lower suspension available on M Sport models, though BMW says the Gran Coupé’s set-up is slightly softer than that of the 1 Series hatch.
There’s a lot to like about the M235i Gran Coupé on the road. Having recently driven an older, rear-drive M140i, the refinement benefits of the new car’s stiffer structure are instantly noticeable, and while I never had a particular problem with the old 2 Series’ cabin, and certainly prefer its traditional instruments, it’s hard not to imagine more casual buyers appreciating the extra space, higher quality and slick new tech. The more claustrophobic rear quarters might be a turnoff for family folks, but they’ll get a bigger boot as compensation.
Like the hatchback, the Gran Coupé also rides uneven asphalt better than just about anything else in this class. It doesn’t exactly glide like a 7 Series, but it’s composed and quiet, with similarly little noise rustling around the door mirrors or emanating from the engine bay.
This last point is a little contentious though, because while mechanical refinement is appreciated, it also betrays this engine’s lack of character. Switch to one of the sportier drive modes and knock the gear selector over to manual and the M235i will clip along at a decent pace. Throttle response is good and the gearchanges satisfyingly brisk, but there’s no point at which the engine really comes alive; no exciting build-up of torque, no rampant top end, nor – piped-in parps aside – any aural reward for hanging on to revs. BMW uses the term ‘Efficient Dynamics’ as a catch-all for mixing parsimony and pleasure, but with this drivetrain there’s a little too much efficiency and not enough dynamism.
The chassis is a better effort. Without driving Gran Coupé and hatch side-by-side it’s difficult to validate BMW’s claims of a softer set-up, but the M235i feels broadly as capable as the M135i does – with the same caveats. It steers cleanly and quickly, with the kind of sharp off-centre response that takes a little time to get used to but makes the next car you climb into feel strangely sluggish. It’s backed up by strong brakes and useful front-end grip too, so what you lose in the old rear-drive cars’ natural balance you more than make up for with an ability to really lean on the front end.
You can drive it much like a traditional hot hatch, using the quick steering and a lift of the throttle to hook it into a turn, and then squeeze the throttle to bring it straight again – and with the clever all-wheel-drive system, there’s no real understeer to deal with once you’re back on the power, though you can sometimes catch it napping and find yourself with a tug of front-drive torque-steer. Unfortunately, just like the engine, the process is more efficient than it is fun, with little feedback to put you in tune with what’s clearly an agile chassis. We would rather sacrifice some of the BMW’s quality for the greater driver engagement, rowdier power plant and sharper styling of a Mercedes-AMG CLA35.
Now before I forget, could someone ready a fleet of E39 Tourings for the extraction, while I keep Adrian van Hooydonk busy with questions about expressive design and the Chinese market? ⌧