BMW adds 220i to 2 Series Gran Coupe range

 

BMW Australia has expanded its 2 Series Gran Coupe range to three with the addition of the new 220i, a variant designed to somewhat bridge the price and performance gaps between the existing 218i and M235i xDrive.

 

Priced from $53,990 plus on-roads, the 220i sits $4000 upstream of the 218i but still $19,000 shy of the flagship all-wheel-drive.

 

Unlike the 218i however, which is powered by a force-fed 1.5-litre three-cylinder mill, the 220i is motivated by the same 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine as the M235i, albeit in a lower state of tune.

 

In 220i guise, the 2.0-litre unit produces 141kW of power and 280Nm of torque, in this case sent exclusively to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

 

The dash from 0-100km/h takes 7.2 seconds, once again splitting the difference between the 218i and M235i.

 

Aside from the engine and transmission, the rest of the 220i’s spec sheet reads almost word for word the same as the 218i’s with the only real difference being the addition of paddle shifters.

 

Some of the spec highlights include a the an M Sport Package, M Sport multifunction leather steering wheel, Sport Seats finished in cloth and Sensatec upholstery, Anthracite BMW Individual headliner, 18-inch M Light alloy wheels, head-up display, parking assistant with rear view camera, automatic parking assistant and reversing assistant, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, wireless smartphone charging, Apple CarPlay, folding rear seats, LED head, tail and foglights and a six-speaker stereo system.

 

An adaptive suspension package is also available as an optional extra.

 

Safety features are catered for by the Driving Assistant suite, which includes lane departure warning, lane change warning, approach control warning with city-braking intervention, rear cross traffic warning, rear collision prevention and speed sign recognition.

 

According to BMW, the 220i will join its 218i and M235i xDrive stablemates here in the third quarter of this year “to provide customers further choice in the premium compact sedan segment”.

 

So far this year ending May, the brand has shifted 415 examples of the 2 Series Gran Coupe, accounting for 8.2 per cent of the $40,000+ small car segment.

 

2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe pricing*

218i (a)	$49,990
220i (a)	$53,990
M235i xDrive (a)	$72,990

*Excludes on-road costs