2025 BMW 2 Series Reviews, Pricing & Specs
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Original MSRP
6.3
of 10
expert review
avg user rating
(0 reviews)
Pros
Fun to drive
Standard all-wheel drive
Plenty of cargo space
Cons
Uninspired styling
Unintuitive technology
Firm ride quality
The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is both affordable and sporty.
The redesigned 2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe gains a bit more power and technology. While it may be the least expensive BMW model, it makes only a few sacrifices on the sharp end of performance to get there. For most drivers, this entry-level sedan will be a great appetizer to the rest of the lineup. BMW Canada brought a limited number of these into the country, so grab one while you can if you’re interested.
Verdict: The all-new 2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is a relative bargain among compact luxury cars, leading shoppers to the brand’s pricier and more athletic models. However, if you favour performance over practicality, you might want to consider spending a little more on the two-door 2 Series coupe.
The four-door 2 Series Gran Coupe is a bit of an anomaly in BMW's lineup. Unlike the 8 Series Gran Coupe, this one is built on a completely different platform than its two-door counterpart. It shares some of its underpinnings with the Mini Cooper, which makes the 2 Series Gran Coupe the most affordable BMW. While that should entice some shoppers, it doesn't do much for appearances.
Starting with a front-wheel-drive (FWD) platform, the 2 Series Gran Coupe needs a taller hood to accommodate an engine that’s turned sideways, at least when compared to other BMWs that have their engines mounted lengthwise for their traditional rear-wheel-drive (RWD) layouts. That taller hood adds a lot of visual weight, especially above the wheel wells, giving the 2 Series Gran Coupe a profile more akin to that of a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla than a traditional BMW.
While it lacks the athletic stance of its two-door half-sibling, the Gran Coupe does well to stick to a more traditional BMW twin-kidney grille instead of the polarizing oversized nostrils that have plagued some recent models. From a straight-on frontal view, it can easily pass as any other BMW sedan or coupe, and the same holds true from the rear.
The Gran Coupe's interior is much closer to BMW's current design language, with a large glossy panel that encloses both the digital instrument cluster and the infotainment touchscreen. (Note our test vehicle was a U.S.-spec M235 xDrive; in Canada, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is available only in 228 xDrive form, and some features shown are not offered in our market). Interior quality is comparable to some base-model BMWs with sturdy, soft-touch materials on upper surfaces and attractive metallic accents.
If you had any misgivings about its Mini Cooper origins, rest assured there's little trace of that, except for the steering wheel buttons. The 2 Series Gran Coupe's cabin is right at home under the BMW banner with the same kind of sporty seriousness you'd get from other models.
The 2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The sole model available in Canada is the 228 xDrive Gran Coupe, which is rated at 241 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. This second-generation Gran Coupe features a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with standard and all-wheel-drive (AWD). BMW claims the 228 will reach 100 km/h in six seconds.
On a challenging, twisty road, the xDrive AWD system does an admirable job of eliminating the front-end traction issues that limit the cornering performance of the Mini Cooper. There's plenty of grip to accelerate out of a curve, though the Gran Coupe still has a hint of the telltale nose-heaviness of its FWD-derived platform. All Gran Coupe models come standard with adaptive dampers, which allow you to choose between softer or firmer settings.
The ride quality is comfortable enough for long-distance drives, though prominent seams in the road surface can cause noticeable thumps through the seat. The cabin also remains fairly calm when cruising, with wind noise well silenced and road noise only noticeable on coarser asphalt. You won't mistake the engine for anything but a four-cylinder, but it only makes itself known under aggressive acceleration.
The gear selector lever on the centre console is both attractive and intuitive, and it's surrounded by a few secondary capacitive-touch buttons. On a few occasions, we accidentally brushed those buttons with our hands, inadvertently activating some features.
The instrument panel is placed well within the driver's sightline, and the available head-up display further reduces distraction. The minimalist air vent slots in the dashboard add to the modern look, but a remote toggle to adjust their flow direction seems unnecessarily over-engineered. Between the console and the dash is a small tray, a large rubberized wireless charging pad, and two fairly small cup holders. Combined with the moderate centre armrest bin and door pockets, there's adequate, but not generous, space for your personal effects. There’s enough legroom for passengers in the rear seats, but headroom is limited. Average-sized adults will likely bump their heads, and the narrow door opening requires some care to avoid bumping into the roofline.
The trunk is listed as having only a 340-litre capacity, but in person it seems much more accommodating. You should be able to easily slide a couple of large rolling suitcases, and when you need to expand past that space, convenient seatback release levers are located just inside the rear deck lid.
All 2 Series Gran Coupe models come standard with a 10.7-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless versions of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless charging pad, and a Harman Kardon premium sound system.
For the most basic functions, the infotainment system is intuitive and easy to use. For some secondary features and settings, however, control seems needlessly complicated. For example, if you want to adjust the adaptive cruise control following distance, you'll need to dig through a few menus until you finally find the page you're looking for. Almost every other car makes it easier by simply adding a button to the steering wheel or cruise control stalk, and there's also a conspicuously blank button where one should go on the Gran Coupe’s wheel.
Adjusting other systems can be equally frustrating. Physical climate control buttons have been eliminated and moved to the touchscreen, but thankfully, they're anchored to the bottom section of the display for consistent access. Voice-activated controls can further alleviate some of the distraction and frustration, but they don't include many of the user settings.
As is the case with most modern vehicles, the Gran Coupe features remote monitoring and control via a smartphone app. Your phone can also double as the key fob, thanks to the BMW Digital Key feature. Over-the-air software updates ensure your system and maps will be up to date, and streaming audio and video services are available through the infotainment display.
The 2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe comes with standard advanced safety and driver assistance features such as forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, front and rear parking proximity sensors, and a semi-automated parking system. We suggest adding the optional Driving Assistant Professional package that includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane-change assist, evasive steering assist, and traffic jam assist (which combines adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist to lighten the burden of driving).
Our test vehicle was equipped with all the available safety features and, in our experience, they all performed as they should, with no false alarms or technical glitches. The adaptive cruise control has an automatic setting that adjusts the following distance according to conditions, but we found it allowed far too much space between us and the car ahead. In traffic, that's essentially an invitation to other drivers to cut in, so we preferred manually selecting either the far, medium, or close settings.
Crash test results hadn’t been published by either the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) at the time of writing. We expect the 2025 Gran Coupe to at least achieve the same rating as the first-generation model, which earned the top score of "Good" in all IIHS crash tests.
At the time of writing, pricing in Canada for the 2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe started at $49,900 (not including the $2,555 destination charge or other fees) for the 228 xDrive Gran Coupe, the sole model available in our market.
Due to the 228 xDrive’s low volume in Canada, official fuel consumption ratings are not available. The U.S. EPA rates it at 7.8 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving, but note that Canadian ratings trend higher due to our additional cold weather testing.
The new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe should easily satisfy an appetite for performance for most drivers, but it doesn't quite have the balance or liveliness we expect from a BMW. For that reason, we think the two-door 2 Series coupe is a better choice for spirited drivers, if you can live without the convenience of those extra doors.
