New BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 2025 review: updates offer only minor improvements

For a car that isn’t one of BMW’s big sellers, the 2 Series Gran Coupé has been subjected to a pretty hefty overhaul. While the new cabin introduces fantastic quality and the in-car tech is class-leading, we’re left unconvinced by the drive. The M235’s powertrain is effective but lacks excitement, and the same can be said of its chassis. Plus a new performance pack doesn’t deliver huge changes, despite the extent of its upgrades. After driving the M235 against the base 220, we came to the conclusion that the latter is the one to have; not only is it much cheaper, but despite giving up some performance, it’s more fun too.

This is the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé, a car which for 2025 has been subjected to one of the most comprehensive mid-life facelifts we’ve seen in recent years. 

It’s a model that, in the UK at least, doesn’t find as much love with buyers as its hatchback equivalent, the 1 Series. However, with the ever-increasing size of modern cars, a four-door saloon whose footprint is nearly identical to the mid-Noughties E90-generation 3 Series has some appeal.

Onto the changes, then, and from whatever angle you approach the 2 Series Gran Coupé, its look has changed fairly drastically. The front-end design has now been brought more closely in line with the recently revised 1 Series – so the headlights have become slimmer and sharper, while the front grille is a little less pronounced than before, and the two elements have blended into one piece. We’re not sure the latter detail is the best move; there’s now more than a hint of Kia’s ‘tiger nose’ grille design that graced the front of most of the Korean brand’s cars a while back. To us, it feels like the 2 Series has lost some of BMW’s clear brand identity. 

The changes around the back are even more drastic. Indeed, the extent of this update extends to a new pressing for the entire roof frame. The large panel which goes from A to C-pillar has been revised in order to present a more distinct interpretation of another BMW signature, the Hofmeister Kink, at the tail end of the side windows, as well as introduce an overhauled rear-end design to accommodate completely reshaped tail lights.