BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe pros and cons: 3 reasons to buy, 2 to skip

The new-gen BMW 2 Series Gran Cup was recently launched as the German carmaker’s entry-level model for the Indian market. The 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe price starts at Rs 46.90 lakhclimbing up to Rs 48.90 lakh, and the car rivals the Mercedes A-Class sedan. Should you be in the market for a compact luxury sedan, here are three reasons why the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe could be the right fit for you and two reasons why you should avoid the entry-level BMW.

Sharper styling

Shark-nose profile for front end

Compared to the outgoing model, the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe is a little bit larger (20mm longer, 15mm wider and 15mm taller) and sports a more aggressive design. Up front, the fascia has been profiled to resemble a shark nose, with sleek adaptive LED headlights, vertically mounted air intakes, a massive trapezoidal air dam and a large single-piece grille with an illuminated surround.

Design is much less polarising than other modern BMWs

The side of the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe features new 18-inch alloy wheels and frameless doors, and the signature BMW Hofmeister kink has a ‘2’ embossed within. Finally, the rear end houses a sporty-looking diffuser and slim LED tail-lamps. Overall, the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe’s styling carries a more universal appeal than the polarising designs of modern BMWs like the 7 Series.

Good set of features

BMW has equipped the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe with a decent feature list. As standard, you get a 10.7-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, a 360-degree camera, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, a panoramic sunroof, a wireless charger, ambient lighting, auto-park assist, connected car tech, an ADAS suite, and more.

Roof-mounted camera and digital key

The 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe also comes with a couple of novel features for its price bracket, like a roof-mounted interior camera that can take exportable photos and videos of occupants, as well as the digital key, which allows owners to lock/unlock the car, pre-cool the cabin and access the boot through their smartphones. This digital key can be shared with up to five users as well.

Handles well

Agile in the bends, even though it has front-wheel drive

‘Sheer driving pleasure’ is BMW’s most iconic slogan, and the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe delivers on this promise in the handling department. In our review of the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupewe noted that the sedan’s chassis, steering and suspension setups have been tuned exceptionally well, resulting in sharp and nimble handling despite the front-wheel-drive layout.

With the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe’s advantages covered, let’s dive into its most prominent woes.

Engine feels unexciting

1.5-litre 3-cylinder engine is less powerful than outgoing model

On the other side of the ‘driving pleasure’ equation lies the engine, and the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe is disappointing on this front. For one, it ditches the outgoing 2 Series Gran Coupe’s 176hp, 280Nm 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo-petrol engine in favour of a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder turbo-petrol unit that makes 156hp and 230Nm – which is less than a Hyundai Verna turbo.

Engine thrums make it into the cabin, and it can get noisy at high revs

At idle, the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe’s new 3-cylinder engine isn’t very refined, with vibrations making it through the steering and seats. Once you get to driving, the motor’s power delivery is gradual and unexciting, and it gets fairly audible towards the top of the rev range, too. 0-100kph is dispatched in a claimed 8.6 seconds.

BMW does provide a ‘Boost’ mode that electronically tweaks the gearing to provide additional torque for 10 seconds, but on the whole, the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe’s engine is unfortunately not up to par for the ‘sheer driving pleasure’ tagline.

Limited rear seat space

Taller occupants will find it cramped

The rear-seat experience was nothing to write home about in the previous 2 Series Gran Coupe, and despite the growth in dimensions for the new-gen model, it continues to be a weakness. Due to the swoopy coupe-like roofline, the 2025 2 Series Gran Coupe’s rear headroom isn’t ideal for taller occupants, and the limited kneeroom adds to the penned-in feeling.

All prices are ex-showroom, India.

Also see:

2025 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe: 5 must know things before buying

BMW 2 Series vs Mercedes-Benz A-Class: entry-level luxury sedan spec comparison