BMW 2 Series Coupe review

In the M240i xDrive, the big six-cylinder's refinement strikes you first. During the warm-up miles, it's all about a demure hum and sweet harmonics. But fire it towards the red-line and it does serious work with plenty of bite and enough bark to make you realise why this format of engine has a special place in history.

There's 369bhp – enough of a power increase over the old 240i to overcome the inertia of 4WD. It gets from a standstill to 62mph in 4.3 seconds.

OK, it's not a perfect motor. Whisper it, but turbo lag makes an appearance below 3,000rpm. But you have to seek it out by manually holding high gear ratios. Otherwise the eight-speed auto 'box will hide the matter by smoothly shifting down.

What's the M240i like around a corner?

The main sensation is of huge grip. The steering is conservatively geared, and very mild understeer begins proceedings. Steering feel is too subtle for a sports car. At road speeds in the M240i xDrive you'll not overwhelm the traction unless the corner's tight or the road wet, as we discovered on a recent test in cold, wet winter Wales.

But there's a sense of the power squeezing rearward, the back half of the car shouldering the effort, and absolutely shoving you out of a bend.

Is it as planted and poised as a Porsche 718 Cayman? No, it's not. Because this isn't really a purpose-built sports car, but a BMW 3 Series that's been hacked at with axes. But it's much, much better than it would've been if BMW had cheaped out and based this on the front-wheel drive 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Coupe platform.

And the ride?

Even this is pretty civilised, at least on the M240i xDrive's £550 adaptive dampers. No particular sense of short-wheelbase pitch. The whole thing is quiet and smooth in the daily grind.

Have you driven either of the four-cylinders?

BMW says: "Rear-wheel drive and a six-cylinder in-line engine are unique in the segment." Don't take that at face value. You can have a straight-six 2 Series Coupe, and you can have one with RWD, but they won't be the same car. The only pure RWD ones are the four-cylinders.

As the 220i weighs 200kg less than the M240i xDrive, you'd expect it to be the lithe, pointy pick of the bunch. Sadly, the engine is just a bit too meek to justify the enormous power bulge on the bonnet and to get the 2 Series moving with gusto. It does 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds, and it feels that long. Overtakes need to be planned, not simply executed.

The 230i could be considered a neat little Golf GTI rival for those that miss three-door hot hatches and fancy the switch to rear drive. Its four-pot makes a useful 242bhp and 295lb ft of torque, and it drops the 0-62mph time down to 5.9 seconds while upping the top speed to a limited, Autobahn-friendly 155mph. The 220i runs out of puff at 146mph.

It’s the sense of speed that’s better in the 230i, though. You still don’t get a huge amount of feel through that chunky steering wheel and the brake pedal is a little woolly, but the engine punches above its weight and combines well with the eight-speed auto for fast responses and strong pace. What a shame there’s no manual gearbox option, though.

Might as well ask about fuel economy...

The 220i hits a creditable 41.5mpg in the official tests and 149g/km, while the 230i drops to 39.8mpg and 157g/km. However, it’s worth noting that we saw 40.5mpg in the latter on a 315-mile drive that was mostly motorway but also included some sprightly country road driving. Impressive. The M240i xDrive, meanwhile, manages 32.1mpg and 198g/km on the WLTP tests.