BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe

M235 xDrive 4dr Step Auto [2025.5]

It is hard to believe that the 2 Series has already been around for over a decade.

Mind you, if you know your BMW history, you’ll know that’s not the whole story.

You see, although the 2 Series moniker might only be eleven years old, the car itself is derived from the 1 Series, which first launched another decade before that.

BMW decided to separate the 1 Series hatchback from its coupe and convertible models. The same trick was pulled with the 3 Series, where two-door variants became the 4 Series.

The reason was partly to split off the sportier models from the more practical hatchbacks.

But it’s also given the 2 Series the opportunity to expand and take its own direction.

Naturally, that's resulted in several 'sub-models', such as the Active Tourer, Gran Tourer, and Gran Coupe - and we're testing the new version of the latter here.

Despite what the name would have you believe, the Gran Coupe is a four-door saloon, albeit with a more rakish sloping rear than your typical family saloon car.

A brand-new second-generation model unveiled last autumn has not long gone on the leasing market - and the 'M' version is already out, too.

Called the M235 (note that the 'i' suffix has now been dropped from its name), it’s not quite the performance powerhouse that is the full-fat BMW M2 coupe.

Nevertheless, the M235 promises to pack a punch.

How does it fair? And can it truly be considered an ‘M’ car?

We’ve taken one for a spin to find out.