Page 70 - Motor Trend (May 2020)
P. 70
FIRST DRIVE I BMW M235i
s much as we hope the average sold outside of China. Make no mistake,
consumer, upon stepping into a though: This platform (unlike the UKL1
rear-drive car for the first time, will derivative) has been a crossover-SUV
experience an epiphany regarding platform from day one.
Athe thrill of properly tuned vehicle What do you get when you build a
dynamics, it’s a fantasy. sport sedan out of a crossover? A sedan
A decade ago, then-BMW CEO Norbert that drives like a sporty crossover. Think
Reithofer told us 80 percent of 1 Series X2, but with a trunk. It’s quick around a
owners believed their cars were front- corner and has plenty of power, but it feels
wheel drive. He pitched it as a good thing, like driving a simulation of a sport sedan.
seeing an easy path to introducing front- People who’ve never bought a sport sedan
drive products in the future. Well, here before, the exact kind of people who might
we are: the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe. be looking to get into a new BMW for the
Specifically, the 2020 BMW M235i first time, will think it’s very quick and
xDrive Gran Coupe. The xDrive compo- handles very well. BMW engineers say they’ve gone to
nent of that long name is critical, as Sure, it does, but it’s an artificial feeling. tremendous effort to ensure the car
every 2 Series Gran Coupe shipped to A facsimile of performance. It’s a half-day doesn’t feel like a routine front-drive
the U.S., be it an entry 228i or this sporty high-performance driving experience, hatchback and have even coaxed the
M-improved car, will be all-wheel drive. not racing school. It’s safe and sane, not all-wheel-drive system into drifting in just
Primarily, though, the transversely Roman candles. the right conditions.
mounted engine will power the front Those conditions are not to be found
wheels, with the rear axle disconnected PART SEDAN, PART on public roads, where the M235i Gran
until it’s needed. Coupe either just grips or, if you try to
CROSSOVER, PART
It’s a familiar design, one you’ll recog- carry real speed into a tight corner, under-
nize from BMW- and Mini-branded M CAR, THE NEW 2 steers until you go back to throttle. It’s
crossovers. Indeed, the 2 Series Gran SERIES GRAN COUPE counterintuitive, but that’s how you drive
Coupe is just the second sedan built on TRIES TO DO A LOT a modern performance all-wheel-drive
the UKL2 architecture and the only one system. All that weight in the nose is going
WITH A LITTLE
to fight a change in direction, but power
and grip distributed correctly via the stan-
dard Torsen limited-slip front differential
and brake-actuated rear torque vectoring
can pull the car through a corner.
WORDS
SCOTT EVANS
70 MOTORTREND.COM MAY 2020
