BMW has made a welcome return to normality with its new 2-Series, abandoning the aggressive grille it has slapped onto the nose of its new models like the 4-Series, X7 and its all-electric iX SUV.
Instead what we have here is a return to elegance and proportionality. Alongside being the best looking Beemer to be unveiled in recent months, the new 2 Series is already building on the solid foundations of a predecessor which received rave reviews for its mix of rear-wheel-drive dynamics and relative practicality.
Sticking to rear-wheel drive is a further nod to the car company’s heritage in sports coupes, though the days when buyers actively sought out rear-wheel drive in coupe models are probably coming to an end. After all, BMW’s 2 Series Gran Coupe (the four-door coupe version) is front-wheel drive, while the higher powered versions of this new 2 Series coupe, such as the 240i, will come with four-wheel drive.
With buyers struggling to get their heads around the world of hybrids, plug-ins and all-electric cars, not to mention the plethora of new in-car technology, deciding on which wheels the power is delivered is probably not top of their list of questions.
Yet there should be enough purists out there to appreciate this rear-wheel drive coupe and see it as a reason to buy.
The new 2 Series coupe has grown, with an extra 51mm in its wheelbase, delivering more rear seat legroom and an extra 20 litres in the boot, which now comes to 390 litres, equal to many family hatchbacks.
Inside the car, many of the recent gadgets to feature on the latest 1 Series and 3 Series are included, such as the optional 12-inch digital display on the dash, along with heads up display with an all-new built-in dashboard camera.
The new 2 Series coupe will go on sale in Ireland early next year, with a starting price of €48,515 for the 220i, which will have 184hp from a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine. There will also be a 220d diesel model priced at €49,675, which will have 190hp, but also 48-volt mild-hybrid technology, and a claimed CO2 emissions as low as 122g/km on the WLTP cycle along.
Later in the year will come the more powerful 374hp M240i, with four-wheel drive and a turbocharged straight-six engine. Prices for it will start from €70,485.
