BMW News: 2020 BMW 2-series Gran Coupe Debuts

[Drew Dowdell]

BMW has taken the wraps off the 2020 BMW 2-series Gran Coupe. It will come in two flavors, a 228 hp 228i Drive and a 301hp M235i xDrive.

The 228i is powered by BMW's "B" modular engine family. It produces 228 horsepower from 5,000 rpm - 6,000 rpm and 258 lb-ft of torque from 1,450 rpm to 4,500 rpm. The M235i increase that to 301 horsepower from 5,000 rpm - 6,250 rpm and 332 lb-ft of torque from 1,750 rpm - 4,500 rpm. The 235's engine gets larger diameter main bearings, new pistons connecting rods, a larger turbocharger, and a larger capacity cooling system. all of that gets you to 60 in 4.7 seconds, a 1.3 second improvement over the 6.0 seconds the base engine gets you.  Power is routed to all wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission. Top speed for the 228 is an electronically limited 130 mph while the M235 can get to 155 when equipped with performance tires.

Unlike the 2-series coupe, the Gran Coupe rides on a front-wheel drive platform shared with the X1, X2, and Mini Clubman and Countryman. 

The xDrive system has an ARB (Actuator-Related Wheel Slip Limiter) and can split torque up to 50:50 front:rear.  On the M235i, the xDrive also includes a front limited slip differential. 

The standard Active Driving Assistant includes safety features like Frontal Collision Warning with City Collision Mitigation Function and Active Blind Spot Detection, and Daytime Pedestrian Protection. Also included is the Lane Departure Warning system with active lane return, which operates from 43 – 150mph. The standard Lane Change Warning system, which prompts the driver to guide the car back onto the correct lane at speeds above 12 mph by means of a visual warning and, if necessary, a steering input. The Active Driving Assistant’s other functions include rear collision preparation and cross traffic warning, which reduces the risk of a collision when reversing into roads or paths obstructed from the driver’s view.

Production of the 2-series Gran Coupe begins in November.

 

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[Drew Dowdell]

@regfootball will hate this because it has ear slicers on it. 

 

 

[regfootball]

?????

[G. David Felt]

Just not feeling the style or the interior.

[Drew Dowdell]

16 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Just not feeling the style or the interior.

You have no hope of fitting in it anyway. ?

 

[balthazar]

Frameless glass wasted on yet another boring FWD generic 4-dr sedan appliance.

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Frameless glass wasted on yet another boring FWD generic 4-dr sedan appliance.

Gonna be noisy with wind and road noise probably too. I have yet to ever see a frameless glass auto that was quiet.

[ccap41]

46 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Gonna be noisy with wind and road noise probably too. I have yet to ever see a frameless glass auto that was quiet.

You can see noise?!?! 

Edited October 17, 2019 by ccap41

[ocnblu]

All I can see is a Ford Focus greenhouse, and the continued dumbing down of a once razor-sharp brand focus... into the uber-bland.  That giant toomuh on the trunk lid squishing down the taillights is just plain ugly.

[smk4565]

Looks like a few years old Corolla from the front and a Supra from the back.  Ugly car. Doesn’t even look like a coupe.

Since car companies call 4 door cars coupes to make them sound sportier and charge more money, maybe they should call 2 door cars sedans for increase sales.  A lot of people don’t a 2-door coupe because it isn’t practical.  If Ford made a Mustang with a 3 box design they could market it as a family sedan and sell 200k a year even if it has 2 doors.  A 2-door sedan has practicality in the buyer’s mind.

Edited October 17, 2019 by smk4565

[Robert Hall]

16 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Looks like a few years old Corolla from the front and a Supra from the back.  Ugly car. Doesn’t even look like a coupe.

Since car companies call 4 door cars coupes to make them sound sportier and charge more money, maybe they should call 2 door cars sedans for increase sales.  A lot of people don’t a 2-door coupe because it isn’t practical.  If Ford made a Mustang with a 3 box design they could market it as a family sedan and sell 200k a year even if it has 2 doors.  A 2-door sedan has practicality in the buyer’s mind.

Well, a 2dr with a fixed b-pillar and fixed window frames on the doors technically is a 2dr sedan.  Like the Fox Mustang 2dr notchback, it could have been described as a sedan...and in olden days, 2dr sedans were everywhere...

Edited October 17, 2019 by Robert Hall

[regfootball]

2 hours ago, dfelt said:

Gonna be noisy with wind and road noise probably too. I have yet to ever see a frameless glass auto that was quiet.

and it will cut off your ear, too!

 

the side greenhouse glass, c pillar window shape / kink reminds me some of my Malibu.....

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2019 by regfootball

[Robert Hall]

5 minutes ago, regfootball said:

 e side greenhouse glass, c pillar window shape / kink reminds me a LOT of my Malibu.....

I see the same thing...

[regfootball]

there's even some Pontiac EXCITEMENT! in some of these lines!  I am seeing Grand Am resurrection here!  This also looks good to someone who might be driving a Civic Hatchback SPORT + TOURING!  Did BMW steal some GM designers?

 

Edited October 17, 2019 by regfootball

[balthazar]

Listen everybody, its like I’ve been saying for a few years; we’re in the 98th percentile of auto design progression. It’s not that brand are stealing from each other, its that its all been done and there’s just about no where left to go.

[ocnblu]

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

Listen everybody, its like I’ve been saying for a few years; we’re in the 98th percentile of auto design progression. It’s not that brand are stealing from each other, its that its all been done and there’s just about no where left to go.

That's because everyone has the same goal:  fuel economy in spite of EVERYTHING ELSE.  Nothing is about STYLE or GRACE anymore.  There is one way to design a lozenge if it is to function as a lozenge.

[ccap41]

12 hours ago, balthazar said:

Listen everybody, its like I’ve been saying for a few years; we’re in the 98th percentile of auto design progression. It’s not that brand are stealing from each other, its that its all been done and there’s just about no where left to go.

THANK YOU!

I hate hearing every single time a new vehicle comes out, people start picking it apart saying this and that are swiped straight from X brand or Y vehicle. 

No matter what the design is you'll be able to find it SOMEWHERE in the history of vehicle design and claim it was swiped from them. 

[G. David Felt]

Maybe hover crafts will change the style designs a bit.  

[Carguy]

That C pillar also looks like a VW Arteon! Almost EXACTLY!

[regfootball]

2 hours ago, Carguy said:

That C pillar also looks like a VW Arteon! Almost EXACTLY!

YES!! that too!

[surreal1272]

Thats a nice looking Hyundai that BMW released. Didn't know they were involved like that?

 

[trinacriabob]

Based on the photo on the homepage, I'm on board with this BMW looking like a Malibu.  It very much looks like one based on that vantage point.

As an aside, that's a great color on that BMW.  Exterior color choices today are pretty bad.  Interior color choices are even worse.  "Sporty" cars or trim lines are offering terra cotta colored leather but there aren't many exterior colors on the limited color charts that go with it.  I'm talking the up-line Focuses and Malibus, among others.

In defense of the BMW, I will say that the "opera window" C pillar kink is a little lower than in the Malibu ... and fleshed out with some chrome, so it looks better than does the kink at the midpoint of the arc on the Malibu.

And, yes, the line along the doors is much like that in the now gone Buick Verano.  And, damn, those rear tail lamps are ugly.

I just checked out what this BMW looks like inside.  The "laptop left open" info-audio center on the center stack is tamed down, so it's not bad.  The lighting effects on the doors are pimpy.  I don't like them.  The I.P. cluster is fairly cool.  The seats look comfortable.  Also, I like bucket seats with the perforation inside the headrest.  I remember them on the '97-'03 Grand Prixs.

I forgot where I read this back in the day, but it was prediciting that American and foreign car design intentions would intersect in the future.  They probably did so around the New Millennium.  They sure didn't around 1986, when there were Cadillac de Villes, Olds 98 Regency Broughams, and Buick Park Avenues with loose cushion velour seats with the car's emblem etched into the seating.  Now, if we're talking by about the time the Olds Intrigue rolled out, I'd say that car started arriving at the crossing of paths (tapered front end with no hood ornament, simple dash design, simple seat design) and wouldn't have offended any European.  Upon seeing the brochure, my relatives across the pond liked it.  It was the land yachts of the '70s and '80s that they criticized.

On 10/17/2019 at 8:33 PM, balthazar said:

Listen everybody, its like I’ve been saying for a few years; we’re in the 98th percentile of auto design progression. It’s not that brand are stealing from each other, its that its all been done and there’s just about no where left to go.

It's that the opposite of what has always happened is happening ... the Germans are looking at US / U.S. for auto design ideas!  This new BMW has borrowed a kit of parts from the Americans.

Edited October 21, 2019 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

On 10/17/2019 at 6:27 PM, Robert Hall said:

Well, a 2dr with a fixed b-pillar and fixed window frames on the doors technically is a 2dr sedan.  Like the Fox Mustang 2dr notchback, it could have been described as a sedan...and in olden days, 2dr sedans were everywhere...

Any car with 2 (or more) side windows is a sedan, whether 2 or 4 door, whether a fixed pillar or a hardtop.
'coupe' as terminology refers to 'close coupled'; AKA a C6 Corvette. Technically a C7 Corvette would be a 2-dr sedan.
Some body style terms do modify these definitions tho.

[regfootball]

Maybe the next BMW is the GRAN DAMME (in blue as well) I mean, it looks like they are trending that way anyways

 

 

[Paolino]

You know what this needs?  A range-topping 1.3L 3-cylinder engine.  That SCREAMS luxury!

[ocnblu]

9 minutes ago, Paolino said:

You know what this needs?  A range-topping 1.3L 3-cylinder engine.  That SCREAMS luxury!

How about one in the front... and one in the BACK!

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, Paolino said:

You know what this needs?  A range-topping 1.3L 3-cylinder engine.  That SCREAMS luxury!

Well, BMW does have a 1.5 3 cyl as seen in the i8..