As the enthusiasts pick of the bunch, BMW's 2-Series coupe has previously ticked all the boxes for those looking for a lightweight, manual, rear-wheel drive sports car for daily duties.
Unfortunately, it seems that those days might have come to an end with the introduction of the new 2 Series coupe, which is bigger than the last, but doesn't feature that questionable front end that we were all afraid of.
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Starting with the styling, it's clear that BMW wanted to make the 2-Series look tough with wide fenders, and chiselled body lines. All this gives it a bolder road presence, but makes it look rather large.
Unfortunately, these looks aren't deceitful as the coupe measures 109mm longer, 66mm wider, and sits on a wheelbase that's 51mm longer than the last. To its credit, it's sitting 51mm lower this time.
Revealed as the new entry-level to the 2-Series range, the 230i gets a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that makes 190kw and 400Nm of torque. Power is sent through an eight-speed automatic transmission, and it can hit 100km/h in 5.5 seconds.
As there are currently just a few models in this new range, the M240i xDrive is the range-topping coupe, and gets a turbocharged 3.0-litre engine that makes 285kW and 500Nm of torque.
It gets power to the ground through an eight-speed automatic transmission that's connected to a rear-biased all-wheel drive system, and can sprint to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds.
Right now, there is no mention of a manual transmission in the 2-Series range, but we can imagine that BMW will introduce it with the upcoming M2.
On the inside, BMW states that the interior is roomier than the last model, and features higher quality materials. As standard, it gets an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment display, but this can be upgraded to a 12.3-inch unit if required.
Interestingly, it only features BMW's iDrive 7 operating system, rather than iDrive 8, which recently debuted in the all-electric iX SUV.
Local pricing and specification hasn't been revealed, but we can imagine that it will land in the first half of 2022.
