Despite being a front-wheel drive, the car handles like a BMW should – i.e. beautifully. On sweeping curves, the car holds its line very well.di
Driving the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 1.5L Petrol AT
As mentioned earlier, the new 2 Series Gran Coupe will be available with only 1 engine option – a 1.5L, 3-cylinder turbo-petrol with 154 BHP and 230 Nm on tap. There is no 4-cylinder option. This feels like a step down since the outgoing car came with a more powerful 4-cylinder petrol as well as a diesel.
1.5L, 3-cylinder engine comes with a twin-scroll turbocharger:
With your foot on the brake, press the engine start / stop button to fire up the engine. Immediately, you’ll notice that the refinement we are used to experiencing in German cars is missing, thanks to the missing cylinder. There is a slight body shake on start-up. On idle, mild vibrations are felt all over the cabin.
Engage “D”, release the brakes, and the car starts crawling forward at 6 km/h. Once on the move, you start appreciating the engine and gearbox combo. The 1.5L motor and 7-speed dual-clutch transmission are tuned superbly! The car is peppy enough at city and medium speeds. The engine is responsive at low speeds and there is enough power and torque available to help you keep up with city traffic. Even when you need to close a gap to the car in front, the engine has enough poke. You’ll never feel a lack of power. Overall drivability is very good with linear power delivery. As the engine warms up, the vibrations are not prominent, and the car feels quite smooth and comfortable to drive in the city.
On the open road, the 218 is an adequate performer. While we wouldn’t call it fast, it’s more than enough for Indian roads and most owners’ needs. BMW claims that the turbo-petrol can touch 100 km/h from a standstill in 8.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 230 km/h. A front-wheel drive setup means it’s not exactly entertaining either. Turbanator, who is used to more powerful BMWs was not impressed. However, if it’s your first time in a BMW, you won’t feel short-changed. Despite the rather low power and torque figures, the car does not feel underpowered. The mid-range is strong and the throttle response is good, which makes overtaking easy. The engine revs freely till ~6,250 rpm before shifting up. In terms of cruisability, in 7th gear, the engine is revving at ~1,750 rpm while doing 100 km/h. This makes the 2 Series Gran Coupe an effortless mile-muncher. Honestly, I think this is probably the best 3-cylinder units I have ever driven.
The 7-speed Steptronic dual-clutch AT does a very good job. With a light foot, it is so smooth, that you won’t even notice it shifting up or down. The response time is also nice and quick. It never seems confused and is almost always in the correct gear that one would need. Driven hard, it does make shifts known, but in my opinion, that only adds to the driving experience. One can engage a “sport” mode using the shifter. This makes the shifts more aggressive.
“S1” appears on the RHS of the instrument cluster when the gearbox is in sport mode:
Paddle shifters have been provided for those who want to shift manually. We noticed that using the paddle shifters, downshifts were quicker compared to kickdown time.The party piece here is the Boost mode. This is engaged by keeping the downshift paddle pulled for a few seconds. The engine gives you around 10 seconds of extra power to overtake traffic quickly – very handy while driving on single-lane highways.
Keeping the downshift paddle pulled for a few seconds engages the Boost mode:
Apart from the default Personal mode, there are 2 drive modes: Efficient and Sport which can be selected through the touchscreen. These 2 modes alter the nature of the engine.
The Personal mode is in the middle of the Efficient and Sport modes. It works well in town and on the highway and offers a good balance between efficiency and performance.
In Efficient mode, the throttle response is lazier and the gearbox shifts up earlier to maximise fuel efficiency. This mode provides the smoothest ride. It is good enough to be used in the city, but on the highway, it makes the car feel underpowered.
In Sport mode, the throttle response is sharpened and gearshifts are snappier. The transmission holds a gear for a longer time. This mode is helpful while pulling off quick overtaking manoeuvres on the highway. However, using this mode in the city is not advisable as power delivery can get spiky.
Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)
As mentioned earlier, the 2 Series Gran Coupe has 3-cylinder engine. The engine has that typical 3-cylinder thrum. However, things are not all bad. At city speeds, the engine is silent. On revving, it can be heard inside the cabin. What’s nice is that high revs, it sounds sporty and never sounds or feels harsh.
Coming to vibrations, there is a slight body shake on start-up and On idle, you will feel vibrations on the dashboard, steering, pedals and seat, especially when the engine is cold. These are less prominent when the engine warms up, but you will certainly miss the refinement of a 4-cylinder unit.
Wind and tyre noise are well controlled even at triple digit speeds.
Bonnet gets insulation underneath:
Mileage & Fuel Economy
The 218 has an ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of 16.35 km/l. It must be remembered that turbo-petrol engines are sensitive to throttle input and if you drive it hard, the fuel gauge will drop much faster. The car’s fuel tank capacity is 49 litres.
The car has an idling start-stop system, which aids fuel efficiency. There is no physical button to turn it off. One needs to dive deep into the infotainment system to deactivate it.
Suspension
Ride Comfort
The 2 Series Gran Coupe gets a strut suspension at the front and a multilink suspension at the rear. While we wouldn’t term it as plush at slow speeds, it’s not harsh or uncomfortable. While some bumps are felt inside the cabin, I feel it is more due to the large 18-inch wheels. Even so, no bumps are transmitted hard into the cabin. In typical European car fashion, as the speed increases, the ride gets better. Even larger bumps are tackled with aplomb. The suspension works silently too.
Handling & Dynamics
Like most other BMWs, the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s straight-line stability is very good. Occupants won’t even know that the car is cruising at triple-digit speeds. It never loses composure over joints or undulations at triple-digit speeds.
Despite being a front-wheel drive, the car handles like a BMW should – i.e. beautifully. On sweeping curves, the car holds its line very well. Push it hard on twisty roads and the car changes direction without drama. Body roll is very well controlled. Our test car came with 225/45 R18 Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless tyres, which provided excellent grip.
Steering
The S Series Gran Coupe comes with an electromechanical power steering. It’s light at parking speeds and city speeds, which most owners will appreciate. The light steering and automatic transmission make the car very easy to drive in the city. At higher speeds, the steering weighs up well. There’s no nervous feeling or twitchiness at all while cruising on the highways.
On twisty roads, the steering feels very accurate. However, there is a lack of feedback from it compared to some other BMWs that we have driven.
Braking
The 2 Series comes with disc brakes at the front and rear. The performance is strong and the car comes to a halt without any drama. Under hard braking too, the car doesn’t lose its composure. The 2 Series is equipped with cornering brake control, brake assist and fade compensation.
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