A VERY BEARABLE LIKENESS

BMW M235I XDRIVE GRAN COUPÉ Finding the spiritual successor to a dream car can become a lifelong obsession…

It has become fashionable for motoring journalists to liken the ‘spirit’ of this car or that to some classic of the same brand from yesteryear. Brands with longer histories are, of course, more susceptible to this, and if it’s a high-performance car, all the better.

I must admit that I’ve tried to steer clear of such comparisons, as they often feel forced, as if the need to find the spiritual successors to yesterday’s cars is driven more by emotion than by reason.

Somehow, though, I’ve found it almost impossible to resist the urge with the M235i xDrive Gran Coupé that I recently tested.

Long before there was such a thing as a BMW (or any mainstream) four-door coupé, there were sedans and estates with four doors, and coupés and convertibles with two. They also only came in 3, 5, and 7 Series. Einfach (simple). Back then, I would have sold a kidney to the highest bidder for my aunt’s late-eighties E30 325i sedan, and the few opportunities I had to drive this beast

were some of my most memorable behind any wheel to date.

The car wasn’t particularly powerful by today’s standards, but it left a mark on my heart that, until I met the M235i, I hadn’t realised was there.

WHY GRAN COUPÉ?

Like many other uber niche vehicle concepts, the 2 Series Gran Coupé is aimed at a tiny market segment who has become spoilt for choice and who increasingly demand more variety and individuality.

Manufacturers (especially German ones) have responded with a flood of sedans that would morph into coupés and four-door coupés over the years. Cars such as the Audi A4 sedan / A5 Coupé / A5 Sportback; the BMW 3 Series, which became the 4 Series, and the 4 Series Gran Coupé; and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, into S-Class Coupé, and then into the CLS, among others.

These transitions happened at the higher end of the market first, but have now begun to trickle down the price list, with cars such as the Audi A3 Sedan, the Mercedes CLA, and the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL?

At 4,526 mm in length, the M235i xDrive Gran Coupé is longer than any version of the E30 was. It is also wider, and taller. Odd, when you think about it, how small the original BMW 3 Series was, back then.

This is one of the reasons why the M235i GC, and the E30 235i of my younger years, feel so connected to me. If there have to be spiritual successors to cars like the 325i, or the SA-only 333i, the M235i GC comes closer to the mark than its actual 3 Series descendant.

Spend some time admiring the exterior aesthetic of the Gran Coupé. It might not be to everyone’s liking – Car & Driver in the US called its roofline “bubble-like” – but, for me, it pleasingly echoes the swooping elegance of the much larger 8 Series Gran Coupé.

At the front, the four-eyed, slightly angled headlight design draws attention to the iconic BMW kidney grille with its racing car-inspired three-dimensional mesh that replaces the vertical bars on other derivatives. The elongated rear lights that stretch into the centre of the car, embracing the BMW badge in the centre, add another sophisticated touch to the coupé’s design.

Getting in and out of the car can be challenging if you’re of a larger frame – I found the MercedesBenz CLA easier in this respect – but once inside, the cabin is a good fit, if snug at the rear.

Standard equipment on the M235i includes multi-function controls on the steering wheel, with M Sports steering, cruise control with brake function, climate control with microfilter, and an array of intelligent services including emergency calling, and a full suite of ConnectedDrive services. The test unit added R106,100 worth of optional extras to the car’s rather hefty R785,100 price tag, including M Sports seats, a head-up display, tyre

pressure monitoring, parking assist, a panoramic sunroof, and Harmon Kardon surround sound system. While I wouldn’t necessarily spec the car in the same way – I’d lose the red M seat belts and head-up display, as I only wear polarised sunglasses that render the latter obsolete – I quite liked the car as it arrived.

HARD TO (A) FAULT

Surprisingly, the M235i has more in common with the X2 than it has with the actual 2 Series (which is a 1 Series coupé, remember). Where the latter is a rear-wheel-drive fun machine, the Gran Coupé borrows its front-wheel-drive architecture from sister brand, MINI. By adding all-wheel-drive, BMW has culled much of the front-wheel bias inherent to the platform, but it costs the car a bit of the sharpness inherent to a rear-wheel-powered machine. It helps that there is a Torsen limited-slip differential upfront for better power distribution, and that the all-wheel-drive system can send 50% of the available torque to the rear if needed.

Like most of its competitors, the M235i suspension is too firm for my liking. Yes, roadholding is excellent as a direct consequence,

LAST WORD

If I have learnt anything in two decades of motoring journalism, it is that most people buy cars for emotional reasons. No matter your budget, you will ultimately buy the car you enjoy looking at and driving the most from those you can afford. Choosing an M235i Gran Coupé over, say, the similarly-priced and significantly larger Volvo S90 or Lexus ES 300h, is a question of form over function, of doing something that stirs the spirit rather than merely moving the body.