BMW revealed stats and photos Oct. 16 for its new, smallest sedan, the 228i xDrive Gran Coupe and M235i xDrive. One look at the graceful “gran coupe” styling and it’s a given that dealers will be clamoring for more from the Leipzig, , plant.
But more than just styling, these models appear to be quite well equipped with several advanced safety and infotainment technologies that are of great interest to
U.S. drivers.
Based on the subcompact X1 SUV, the low, wide and sporty 2-Series models are all-wheel drive (xDrive), seat five and are powered by turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines with eight-speed automatic transmissions.
The 228i xDrive model has 228 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque from 1,450-4,500 rpm. Expect 0 to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds, BMW says. The M235i xDrive gets a tuned version of the 2.0-liter for 301-hp, 332 lb.-ft. of torque (from 1,750-4,500 rpm) and 0-60 acceleration in 4.6 seconds.
Standard features will include LED headlights and fog lights, rearview camera, power front sport seats, leather multifunction steering wheel, navigation system, Apple CarPlay compatibility and 17-inch all-season run-flat tires.
Standard advanced technologies will include four years of the Connected Package Plus, which includes real-time traffic routing, BMW Assist eCall and concierge services. The Active Driving Assistant safety suite includes lane departure warning, pedestrian warning with braking, frontal collision warning with city collision mitigation, blind spot detection, rear-cross-traffic alert, rear-collision preparation and speed limit information.
The 2020 2-Series models are expected to go on sale in the U.S. in early spring 2020. Pricing has not been announced, but the current X1 xDrive SUV and 230i xDrive coupe both start at about $38,000, so the new Gran Coupe should be priced similarly.
The new exterior styling is much more graceful and substantial looking than the current model. And that alone means these least-expensive BMWs will be popular, even if they are an out-of-favor sedan body style, at least in the U.S. But the 3-Series sedan is among BMW’s top-selling models (behind the midsize X5 SUV at 4,339 and the top-selling X3 compact SUV at 5,943, as of September, 2019; the 2-Series coupe held its own at 860 sales, up 37 percent from a year ago).
