2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe Road Test and Review

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Ask many driving enthusiasts, and they’ll talk about how much they loved driving BMW’s sports sedans from decades past. As the brand’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” tagline suggests, BMW is about performance. But most modern BMWs have evolved away from the simple pursuit of driving pleasure. They’re incredibly quick, capable, and technologically advanced – but without the same intimate connection to the road. 

The 2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is an unlikely exception. It’s the brand’s smallest and least expensive sedan. And it breaks BMW tradition with a front-wheel-drive-based platform. But it’s designed for lively fun more than dominating the spec sheet – even as it does pretty well there, too. 

For this review, we just spent a week testing the base-model 2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe, which is newly updated this year with revised styling, a redesigned dashboard, more powerful engines, and a new transmission. Keep reading to learn more about these latest changes, why we enjoyed driving this little BMW, as well as why it might not work for you. 

The Lowest-Cost BMW Sedan

The 2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe starts at $41,600 for the 241-horsepower 228 model like our test vehicle or $49,500 for the 312-hp M235. 

That’s a little bit more money than the 2 Series Coupe, which is BMW’s lowest-cost model. Bear with us as we explain the difference: The 2 Series Gran Coupe shares only its name with the 2 Series Coupe. The 2 Series Coupe is a rear-wheel-drive two-door coupe. The 2 Series Gran Coupe is a front-drive-based four-door sedan. (In BMW-speak, Gran Coupe means a sporty-looking four-door sedan.) 

Curiously for an entry-level model, the Gran Coupe comes packed with high-end standard features, including all-wheel drive, an adaptive suspension system, heated power-adjustable front seats with memory settings, a Harman Kardon premium stereo, GPS navigation, rain-sensing windshield wipers, power-folding exterior mirrors, and the ability to use your phone as a key. We’re surprised BMW didn’t make a 2 Series Gran Coupe costing, say, $36,000, without all these goodies. For 2026, the base 228 Gran Coupe will have front-wheel drive, cutting its price to $39,600. 

Our test car hit $50,825, which is steep for a subcompact sedan. But we think plenty of folks would be happy adding just the $1,350 Premium Package to get a panoramic sunroof, head-up display, and wireless phone charger. That’s a much stronger deal. 

Note that the German-built 2 Series Gran Coupe is currently facing a 25 percent tariff on imported cars. Prices will likely rise if that policy remains in place for the long term. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Updated Style

The 2 Series Gran Coupe hit the market as a 2020 model, and this year marked its first big update. Up front, the headlights are smaller and pointier, and the traditional BMW grille loses some of its chrome – or all of its chrome with certain color schemes, like on our test car. And around back, the taillamps get smaller – no longer stretching so far toward the middle of the car, and making room for the license plate to shift higher on the trunk. The 2 Series Gran Coupe’s overall shape stays the same: an aerodynamic small four-door car with a sharply rising windowline. 

On one hand, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is an attractive little car. It’s sporty-looking and attractively proportioned. On the other hand, various affordable economy cars have followed a similar playbook. At a glance, you’d have to spot the BMW logo or its intricate alloy wheels to realize you’re not seeing an ordinary Toyota or Kia. And to our eyes, the latest update makes the taillights and grille less obviously BMW than before. On the other hand, that inconspicuous design is an asset to an owner who wants a fun, premium-feeling car without trying to flaunt its luxury status. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

New Infotainment

Like other new BMWs, the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe has a single digital panel that includes both a customizable gauge cluster and a central touchscreen. The screens are the same size as last year’s 2 Series Gran Coupe, but now these displays fit together into a cohesive unit. Especially if you like screens, it’s a smoother, slicker look than before. 

On the other hand, this high-tech austerity is also available in mainstream-brand cars. (The BMW’s interior materials are appropriate for the price, at least.) And while we generally like the BMW infotainment system, we also like the simplicity of physical buttons and knobs – which the 2 Series Gran Coupe largely does without. Finally, the screen went mostly dark at one point during our test, leaving us without access to any climate controls; we had to perform what BMW calls a “soft reset” of the infotainment system by holding down the audio volume button for 30 seconds. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Cozy Cabin

The 2 Series Gran Coupe is a small car. It fits a long-legged driver just fine, but someone on the hefty side might feel squeezed. If you fit, you’ll find firm, supportive seats that hug your body well – keeping you in place when you take a fast corner. Our main objection is that you can’t get ventilated front seats, which can be a lifesaver in hot weather. We also managed to slam a knee into the dashbaord while getting into the car, but only once; it may have been just bad luck. 

The backseat has no surplus of legroom, but BMW carefully carved out just enough space for most people’s knees. For cargo, BMW quotes a class-leading 15 cubic feet of trunk space, which includes a shallow compartment hidden under the trunk floor. Given the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s small trunk opening, though, you won’t get the cargo flexibility of a bigger sedan like a Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima – even if their trunks are no roomier on paper. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Corners Like a Mini

Remember those well-bolstered, body-hugging front seats we mentioned? They’re not for show. 

Since the 2 Series Gran Coupe uses a front-wheel-drive platform, it doesn’t share its underpinnings with larger BMWs. Instead, they come from a BMW subsidiary that’s known for zippy handling: Mini. Sure enough, the 2 Series Gran Coupe drives like a Mini Cooper. 

The steering lacks the classically natural precision of, say, a 2002 BMW 330i. But even if it feels a little artificial, lacking the road feel you’d want while pushing it to its limits, the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s steering is hyper-responsive and pleasantly weighted. And this car has the handling limits to support that quick steering. Overall, it has an eagerness that escapes most of BMW’s modern sedans, which are more capable but more aloof. Our 228 test vehicle rode smoothly most of the time, but it hit a couple bumps with unexpectedly harsh slams. We’ve heard mixed reviews of the M235’s stiffer sport suspension, with critics saying it’s unpleasantly harsh. Try before you buy. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Choice of Two Lively Engines

As we mentioned, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is available with a choice of two engines, and both of them got upgrades this year. 

The 228 like our test vehicle has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 241 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque – up from 228 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque in last year’s model. We’ll miss the coincidence of the 228 Gran Coupe having 228 horsepower, but we love how the upgraded engine zips the car to 60 mph in just 5.8 seconds. It jumps eagerly off the line, and the new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission operates smoothly. 

The M235 has the same powertrain, except that it’s tuned to 312 hp. BMW quotes a mere 4.7-second sprint to 60 mph even with the same torque as the 228. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Great Gas Mileage

Between the new transmission and some other tweaks to the engine, the 2025 228 Gran Coupe like our test vehicle gets better gas mileage than before – despite making more power. It gets an EPA-estimated 26 mpg in the city, 38 mpg on the highway, and 30 mpg combined. That’s about the same as a 191-horsepower Mazda3 economy sedan, though the BMW does want costlier premium-grade fuel. 

We blew past the EPA’s estimate to average 35 mpg during our weeklong test, seeing mileage in the mid 20s while running quick errands and topping 45 mpg on the highway. 

The M235 holds steady with last year’s EPA estimates: 24 mpg in the city, 33 mpg on the highway, and 27 mpg combined. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Competitors to Consider

The 2 Series Gran Coupe isn’t the only game in town for an entry-level luxury sports sedan. It competes directly against the Audi A3/S3 and the Mercedes-Benz CLA, and we’d also consider the less expensive Acura Integra and Mazda3. 

The A3 (and its S3 performance variant, which competes with the BMW M235) delivers similar performance to its 2 Series counterparts for slightly less money. It’s not as hyper-responsive as the BMW, for better or for worse, and its interior isn’t quite as fancy or modern. 

The CLA is a swoopy, flashy little sedan that looks more expensive than its rivals – and is. It’s not sporty as the Audi or BMW, either. Its size is just about keeping the price down, not enjoying the performance benefits of a smaller, lighter sedan. 

Meanwhile, the Integra is an upscale version of a Honda Civic five-door hatchback. It makes a modest 200 horsepower but costs as little as $33,000. You can’t get it with all-wheel drive like the others, but it delivers premium amenities, an agreeable driving experience, and dull-looking though blissfully simple dashboard controls. The Mazda3 is another value option, except that unlike the premium-branded Acura, you can get it with 250 horsepower and all-wheel drive. It’s attractively finished and appropriately speedy, but it’s not as hair-trigger zippy as the 2 Series Gran Coupe. And the Mazda's infotainment system is neither modern nor especially easy to use.

2022 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The BMW That Makes You Smile

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe isn’t the brand’s most beautiful or flashy sedan. It’s not its most powerful or its roomiest. But by wrapping the mechanicals of a Mini in a sleek sedan’s body, it’s one of the most joyful BMWs to drive – for one of the lowest prices. 

The competition is fierce, and the 2 Series Gran Coupe has its foibles. But it proves that luxury cars can still make you smile in everyday driving. If that’s what you’re looking for, and you don’t need something either bigger or less expensive, put this BMW on your shopping list. 

2025 BMW 228 Gran Coupe ・ Photo by Brady Holt