BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 220d 2020 UK review

A 2.0-litre diesel engine sits at the centre of the Gran Coupe line-up, but it does little to make the baby 2 Series stand out It’s fair to say our early impressions of the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé haven’t been entirely positive. The 1 Series with a boot, frameless doors and a faster profile is fresh from a three-star road test rating, coming across as a car more to fill a gap in a model range to try and cover the stylish Mercedes-Benz CLA than a car that really feels like BMW has poured its heart and soul into it.That road test was of the entry-level three-cylinder 218i model, but now we turn our attention to the sole diesel offering, the 220d. The range is crowned by a four-wheel-drive M235i model.In the 220d, power comes from the same 187bhp, 295lb ft 2.0-litre diesel used in the larger 320d. It’s excellent in that car and here is paired to the same eight-speed automatic transmission as in the 320d as standard. But the key difference lies in which wheels are powered: in the 3 Series, it’s the rears, and in the 2 Series Gran Coupé, it’s the fronts.