2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe

It was great to have the BMW 220i Gran Coupe in the COTY contest. It did everything expected of a new BMW and was a perfect ‘palate cleanser’ to provide relief from the seemingly endless line-up of SUV and EV contenders. Following lap-after-lap on the handling course in too many bland-mobiles, it was relaxing and enjoyable to drop behind the wheel of the little BMW and go cruising. Or sprinting.

It was the same story at the end of each day, when the BMW was a popular choice for the commuter trundle from Lang Lang back to the overnight COTY base. But does the Gran Coupe M Sport move the needle on the crucial measures of a serious COTY contender?

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“Remind me again – it’s like the Civic, because it does what you want, but it’s not a landmark car,” said one judge.

It was certainly among the semi-final contenders because it’s a BMW, but it also failed to advance to the final rounds because it’s a BMW. We expect more from the German brand. Even more, we demand it.
The 220 was spawned from the decision by BMW Group to integrate its babies with MINI and BMW badges, which means the 1 and 2-series cars. So there is a lot of shared engineering and the Gran Coupe takes its power to the front, not the rear.

That’s much more MINI than the traditional compact BMWs of the past, starting from the 2002 and moving smoothly into the early 3-Series models. But COTY is not a history lesson, it’s about here and now. So, does the shared engineering make the 2 Series a bad car? Not at all. Does it make the Gran Coupe a great car? Not at all.

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Despite the name, the Gran Coupe is effectively a four-door sedan with sloping roofline at the rear, not even a hatchback. So it’s lacking in innovation. For Robinson, the move to a big-screen cabin, despite the lovely materials and finishing, still come with one massive disappointment. “What happened to the instruments? BMW always had classic dials, simple and clear, and now this?” he snorted. And what of the giant-sausage rim on the steering wheel? Germans must have big hands.

The mechanical package on the 220 was fine and nice, with a 2-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder making 150kW/300Nm but no sign of significant hybrid work. With a 7-speed double-clutch automatic, it was good for a 0-100km/h run in 7.3 seconds and economy of 6.7 litres/100km.

And that’s the thing. It was a lovely car to drive, roomy in the cabin and comfortable, but not special. No-one would complain about a 2 Series Gran Coupe in the driveway, but will you to rush out to buy one?

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