BMW 2 Series (2014-2021) review | One badge for four very different cars

What is the BMW 2 Series?

It might sound a little strange to suggest that a car might have an identity crisis, but if any car does, then the BMW 2 Series is it. You see, depending on which of the four different versions you buy, your car will do a very different job. On the one hand, you have the glamorous pair: the BMW 2 Series Coupe and the BMW 2 Series Convertible. Both of these four-seater, two-door cars have sleek, sexy looks that match well with a desirable badge and stunning quality, making them super-attractive for buyers looking for style and sophistication at a reasonably affordable price.

On the other hand, you have the 2 Series Active Tourer and 2 Series Gran Tourer, which couldn’t be more different. Yes, the desirable badge and the stunning quality remain, but this time they’re wrapped up in an MPV body with practicality at its heart, which means there’s very much a chalk-and-cheese feel to the 2 Series range.

Of course, with the diverse nature of each of the various types of 2 Series, the rivals for each one will be very different. If you’re considering the coupe, then you’re probably also considering cars like the Audi TT, Toyota GT86 or Volkswagen Scirocco. If you’re considering the convertible, then the likes of the Audi A3 Cabriolet, the Mercedes SLK or Vauxhall Cascada might well also be catching your eye.

The Active Tourer, meanwhile, dusts it with other premium high-sided hatchbacks such as the Mercedes B-Class and Volkswagen Golf SV. With the seven-seat Gran Tourer, meanwhile, most other premium-badged seven-seaters take the form of SUVs, such as the Land Rover Discovery Sport, but one premium-ish MPV rival does exist in the form of the Volkswagen Touran.

How practical is it?

As you might imagine given the diversity of the range, just how practical your 2 Series is will very much depend on which 2 Series you’re choosing.

Let’s look at the coupe and convertible models first. Understandably, neither of these cars was designed with practicality at the forefront, but compared with similar coupe and convertible rivals, there’s actually a reasonable amount of room for passengers – more than you’ll get in an Audi TT, for example (the TT Roadster doesn’t even come with rear seats at all).

You also get a surprisingly big boot; 390 litres of luggage space in the coupe, and 335 in the convertible, is plenty for a car of this size and type (though it’s worth pointing out that lowering the convertible’s roof reduces the usable space to a somewhat less capacious 280 litres).

Of course, the five-seat 2 Series Active Tourer is a far more pragmatic proposition, with a light, airy interior, high driving position with good visibility, and plenty of room in the back seats, where you’ll also find a 40/20/40 split to allow easy through-loading, and the seats also slide to allow you to increase boot space to its maximum of 468 litres without decreasing passenger carrying capacity.

Much the same can be said of the seven-seat 2 Series Gran Tourer, though the difference is that extra length allows space for an additional pair of seats. These seats are pretty vestigial, and are best thought of as being reserved for occasional use, though they can be folded down into the boot floor when not in use, at which point the Gran Tourer can carry up to 560 litres of luggage.

What’s it like to drive?

There are some fairly fundamental differences between the ‘glamorous’ end of the range and the ‘practical’ end, too. While the coupe and the convertible are based on the same sporty rear-wheel-drive platform as the 1 Series of the day, the Active Tourer and Gran Tourer share the same front-drive platform as the MINI (although some versions can be had with all-wheel drive instead).

That means differences in the way they behave on the road, but all of them are very good to drive, with agile handling, sharp responses, a reasonably comfortable ride and good refinement. Most of the same engines are shared across the board, and most do a really good job on performance, refinement and fuel economy.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Between the four different types of 2 Series, there are one or two differences in trim levels and the stuff you get from each of them, but they follow a generally similar format. In each case, SE is the entry-level trim, and you can expect a standard kit list that includes automatic climate control, remote central locking, rain-sensing wipers, rear parking sensors, alloy wheels, height adjustment for the front seats, and a multi-function leather steering wheel. You also got the excellent iDrive infotainment system which brought together a 6.5-inch colour display, DAB radio, a Bluetooth hands-free phone connection, USB and aux-in sockets and six speakers.

In most cases, you could then choose to upgrade to either Sport or M Sport trims. Sport added sports seats and a range of sporty styling upgrades inside and out, but very little else in the way of extra luxury kit. It was a similar story with M Sport trim. It had even more aesthetic embellishments, but little in the way of extra gadgetry; if you wanted that, you’d have to raid the options list. Depending on the type of 2 Series in question, and the time it was built, you might also have had the choice of Luxury or Modern trims (these came and went over time on various versions of the car).

BMW 2 Series running costs

With the 2 Series being available in so many different shapes and sizes, pinning down precise figures for running costs is rather difficult. Obviously purchase prices will vary greatly between the four types of car, but whichever you’re considering, they won’t be particularly cheap choices. With higher original prices and stronger resale values than most of the competition, they’re likely to be pricier as used cars, although having said that, they shouldn’t be any more expensive than other premium-badged alternatives.

The story is similarly vague with fuel economy due to the diverse nature of the range. Obviously, the diesels will treat you best on this score. Taking the coupe as an example, the diesels will all return upwards of 50mpg, regardless of whether you team them with a manual or automatic gearbox, although the 220d will drop into the mid-40s if combined with xDrive four-wheel drive. You’ll get somewhere in the mid-to-late 30s with most of the petrols, with very little difference between them, while the most powerful M235i and M240i versions should get around 30mpg.

Engine-for-engine, the Active Tourer gets very similar figures to the coupe, but the convertible and Gran Tourer are a little thirstier due to their extra weight. The Active Tourer has another trick up its sleeve, too, as this one is the only 2 Series to be offered with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. According to the latest official tests, up to 157mpg is achievable, but this figure isn’t representative of real-world use. Put simply, if you run the car on electric power the whole time without any intervention by the petrol engine, then you’ll use no fuel at all. If you regularly rely on the combustion engine, you’ll use lots. The fuel economy you get will depend entirely on how you use the car, so it’s best suited to drivers who only do short, tightly regimented journeys and have regular access to charging points.

BMW 2 Series reliability

Timing chain issues are less of a concern with the 2 Series than with earlier 1 Series models, and the three-cylinder petrol engines that power most models are generally thought of as being pretty dependable.

If you’re looking at buying a diesel, though, you’ll want to try and find out whether it’s had regular long runs at higher speeds, which help to clear out the particulate filter. If a diesel 2 Series is used exclusively for shorter trips, the particulate filter can clog up, and that can lead to an expensive bill to replace it.

You’ll also want to check all the electrics work properly, and ensure that the air conditioning blows cold. And don’t forget that Active Tourer and Gran Tourer models will probably have had to suffer lots of abuse at the hands of young families, so check the interior plastics are all in good order and the fabrics aren’t torn.