BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé Four-door coupé combines sleek looks with a fuel-sipping petrol engine

Entry-level version of BMW’S compact four-door coupé combines sleek looks with reasonable costs On sale Now Price from £25,815

IF YOU WANT to create a spin-off model from a regular hatchback, you’ve got several possibilities. One current trend is to beef it up to turn it into a psuedo-suv. Another is to create a four-door coupé by adding a sloping roofline and an elongated tail.

Take the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé. Despite its name, it isn’t based on the rear-wheeldrive 2 Series coupé; instead, it’s essentially a front-wheel-drive 1 Series hatchback with more glamour. And that’s a good thing, because the 1 Series is one of our favourite family cars. The 2 Series Gran Coupé’s closest rival is the Mercedes-benz CLA, which is also closely related to a family hatch (the A-class).

There are three engine options in the Gran Coupé, including a 2.0-litre diesel if you do lots of motorway miles and a 302bhp 2.0-litre petrol in the range-topping four-wheel-drive M235i. In entry-level 218i form, as tested, the Gran Coupé comes with a 138bhp 1.5-litre petrol engine that propels the car from 0-62mph in a respectable 8.7sec.

Although that’s quicker than the equivalent CLA 180 can manage, the 218i suffers from a shortage of low-down pull, so it feels a bit sluggish unless you work the engine hard. Once up to speed, it cruises along happily enough, and acceleration is smooth and linear when the gearbox wakes up. However, the optional seven-speed automatic ’box is hesitant when you pull away and doesn’t change down as quickly as you might want on the move.

M Sport trim gets lowered sports suspension, which results in a firm ride that has you feeling potholes and broken surfaces around town. The upside is sharp handling, as in the 1 Series, with

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