BMW 220d Gran Coupe M Sport: missing the mark in more ways than one

By William Kelly

These are always the hardest reviews to write. What can one say about a humdrum, everyday BMW? It’s a 2.0L turbodiesel BMW with front-wheel drive. And that’s about as interesting as it gets for me I’m afraid.

You know what you’re going to get – a solid, well-built and possibly even good looking car. It will be reliable as any other new car and it’ll get you from A to B in comfort and with a sense of style.

For me this is the issue – the only thing the BMW has going for it is its price tag. At over R730,000, the sense of style factor better be sky high. Sure, the build quality is great, and yes, the toys are all there and they are all great. And sure, the thing will not break, probably, but seriously… R730k! For a front-wheel drive diesel?

I just can’t get past it I’m afraid.

I don’t care how good the doors closing with a solid thunk are. I don’t care that the Merc or Audi equivalent is the same money, if not more. I don’t care that it handles well, for a front-wheel drive car with decent tyres. I don’t care that it’s about as interesting as any of the other cars in a parking lot, i.e. not very. I don’t care that it comes with a BMW badge even.

The car is good – how could it not be? But it’s not that good that I would pass over a second-hand Porsche for the same money that will outlast, out depreciate and out perform the whole of the BAM (BMW, Audi, Merc) brigade on every level of response.

Read also: BMW i3: Is running an electric vehicle all that simple here in SA?

Look, I get that this car is not targeted at me. I get that new cars are expensive and that the built in Motorplan is part of the deal, saving you from manufacturer defects and and and…I repeat. It’s not targeted at me. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it or get excited and gushy and gooey over it. It leaves me cold.

And being somewhat apologetic for my forthright opinions, yes, I do appreciate the fact that for the suburban exec that a BMW like this is eminently acceptable and in the rivalry for the exec cash spend the BAM brigade have made a reputation built on excellence within this range of motoring.

Its terribly obvious – there is nothing on the BMW that is rubbish or airy fairy. Its interfaces are good – its solidity and confidence inspiring driving are inherent.

But would I buy one? Hell would have to freeze over first. It’s not for me and you know what? That’s OK too. Just because I can’t relate to the car or why anyone would want one doesn’t make it a bad car and I am sure there are people out there champing at the bit to get their hands on one.

Unfortunately, for me, the BMW 220d Gran Coupé M Sport has more of what I don’t want or need and less of what I do want and need from a car, for the money, than I am prepared to overlook.

The beauty of supply and demand, matching wants and needs, the free market system. God help us all.


2nd opinion: By Miles Downard

So, it’s quite apparent that Mr Kelly isn’t bowled over by this new BMW 2 Series Gran CoupĂ© powered by a two litre turbodiesel motor. Safe to say I wasn’t either.

What this is is a saloon version of the latest 1 Series. The 2 Series Gran CoupĂ© is a rival to the Mercedes CLA and the Audi A3 saloon. As with the new 1 Series, it’s based on a front-wheel drive platform from Mini and marks a new direction for BMW who has traditionally only made rear and all-wheel drive vehicles. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t stack up as a BMW in my view.

BMW’s argument is that most of its customers don’t know, or care, which wheels are driven. And that may well be true, but I do know and I also can tell when a front drive vehicle hasn’t been terribly well engineered. And this is one of them.

Read also: BMW 1 Series undergoes a complete platform change, but is it better for it?

It’s 2.0L turbodiesel motor pushes out 140 kW and 400 N.m of torque, delivered to the front wheels via an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The problem is that the torque isn’t delivered very well to those wheels. It’s not that it’s too much power, other front driven vehicles have those sorts of numbers, if not more but this BMW just cannot handle the driver being even a little enthusiastic in their throttle application. All the nanny systems (traction and stability control) immediately have to jump to the rescue of the front tyres as the drivetrain attempts to dump its torque through the rubber. Admittedly the Mercedes CLA I drove recently suffered from a similar issue but it was managed far better. It also just feels worse coming from a BMW which is supposed to be the ‘drivers’ car of this segment.

On the matter of appearance, the 220d’s interior is actually rather nice. A massive step over previous generations and a place I’d be happy to spend my time on the daily commute. I just feel sorry for those around me that have to look at what I’m sitting in. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I have yet to come across a beholder of this ‘beauty’.

Then we come to price. The base spec 220d Gran Coupe M Sport is R681,716. The press vehicle had a few additional boxes on the options list ticked which pushed it up a bit over the R 700,000 mark. That’s rather a lot of money considering a base spec 3 Series diesel is R740,000 and is a better vehicle all round. I’ll leave it at that.

Visited 1,274 times, 1 visit(s) today