The 2025 BMW M235 Gran Coupe Is an ‘M2’ That Just Goes to a Different School

One of the biggest points of criticism against the 2025 BMW M235 Gran Coupe among those who haven’t actually driven it is the notion that it “looks like a Kia.” The second big stylistic qualm with this car, particularly among the BMW purist crowd, is the “M235” badge on its trunk lid that’s has the “M2” portion embiggened, making it look like it’s an offshoot of the very real and very quite good M car that is the rear-wheel-drive, straight-six-powered, two-door M2.

Despite the M235 GC being a four-cylinder, front-biased compact sedan that’s closer related to a Mini Countryman more than anything, I wouldn’t have a problem with its ambitiously sly up-badging if the M235 captured the spirit of the real M2. Unfortunately, however, it doesn’t. It’s not even close.

The Basics

I take issue with anybody who calls this car a Kia (as if that’s a slur?) based on the way it looks because, actually, the Kia kind of looks better. I mean, have you seen the new K4? Super sharp car. The same can’t really be said about this second-generation 2 Series Gran Coupe which, despite looking quite a bit better up front now, still wears the proportions of a 2004 Toyota Corolla. It’s stubby and narrow and decidedly un-luxurious as a shape.

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The interior is a scaled- and pared-down facsimile of the same tech you get in most other BMWs. Two screens—10.7 inches in the center, 10.25 inches in front of the driver—are sharp and expensive-looking. iDrive 9 takes getting used to if you’re coming from another brand, though. Drive mode changes still take way too many taps and climate controls are all in the touchscreen. If you’re coming from a non-luxury car, this may feel very upscale and futuristic for, like, the first two weeks of ownership but, eventually, you’ll see it for what it is: stressfully annoying cost-cutting.

It’s not all bad, though. That M color stitching in the dash is apparently done by hand and the vent surrounds are made of real, cool-to-the-touch aluminum. The seats are nicely bolstered, keeping you in place when driving hard but don’t feel uncomfortable or intrusive when you aren’t.

Driving Experience

My first taste of the M235 Gran Coupe was had on a closed, high-speed circuit at BMW’s Spartanburg testing facility. Right off the bat, this car will accelerate up to, sit at, and slow down from 130 mph with a fair level of stability and composure. High-speed lane changes feel safe and precise and it’s very much an introductory sort of BMW in that it may not dominate the autobahn, but it’d hold its own. At the end of this big straight, there’s a Karussell-like turn which the 2er took with a fair amount of stride.

This is a pretty fast car in a straight line. BMW claims a hot hatch-worthy 4.7 seconds to 60 mph, the 312-hp 2.0-liter turbo-four makes an OK noise for a turbo-four, and its seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox aggressively jolts with a (manufactured) burble on upshifts. But even in Sport Plus mode, none of it feels as edgy as I want it to. Yes, it did well on track, but a less expensive Honda Civic Type R or Hyundai Elantra N would trounce it.

Where the BM is merely stable, those cars hunker down. I distinctly remember flooring it well before the corner exit and where the M235’s Torsen front diff waited until the car was pretty much pointed straight before rocketing out of the circular, banked bend, those cars’ trick front ends would start ripping as soon as you ask ’em to, pulling themselves aggressively into the turn as if they were being tugged around by a giant, invisible rubber band.

Where those cars are equipped with slick-shifting six-speed manual gearboxes, the Gran Coupe 2er makes do with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto that’s notably slow-shifting. It’s not bad left to its own devices or when you’re going for a new PB at your local track, but on a mildly spirited, part-throttle street drive, it takes more than a second to respond to paddle-requested shifts. You can’t brag about how automatics are quicker than manuals when the automatic in question doesn’t actually shift quicker than a manual would.

That short street drive yielded a similar, reasonably-capable-yet-underwhelming vibe in other areas, too. It’ll do regular, daily driving stuff fine. Comfort mode steering is light, and it’s small enough to be considered easy to place around town and in parking lots. But despite Adaptive M suspension now being standard, the M235 rides busily over pockmarked streets and going across railway tracks. Faced with a winding road, it moves just competently enough to be worthy of an M Performance badge—nothing more, nothing less.

Steering is responsive but not particularly full of feedback or entertainment. Meanwhile, the brakes are strong in power but—despite rocking pads borrowed from the M3—the way the pedal feels could’ve been lifted out of pretty much any NPC-spec compact car. On the whole, it’s not a bad handling car. It just isn’t a fun one—definitely not fun enough to make up for the way it rides… or how much it costs.

BMW M235 Gran Coupe Features, Options, and Competition

The 2025 BMW M235 xDrive Gran Coupe starts at $50,675. Yes, a less powerful, less sporty, front-drive 228 model is coming next year and will start at $40,775. But that car is very much a “I’d like a new BMW for as little money as possible” play and, unfortunately, this spiced-up M Performance model doesn’t stray too far from that premise.

While it may not be as good to drive as it ought to, you can’t accuse BMW of skimping on bells and whistles. Standard on all 2 Series Gran Coupes are built-in nav, 12 Harmon/Kardon speakers that sound pretty good, wireless charging, auto-dimming mirrors, and the ability to use your phone as a key (this works with iPhone and Android). A $1,500 Tech package bundles the head-up display, Parking Assist Plus, a surround-view camera system, and augmented reality views for the nav while the $1,600 Premium package throws on a black pano roof and remote start.

The M235 Gran Coupe’s closest rival would be the $49,995-to-start Audi S3 and even just on paper, the S3 represents better value. For about a grand less, it makes 328 hp, 16 more than the Bimmer, and sprints to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds rather than the M235’s 4.7. It also weighs 29 pounds less and actually shares a chassis with the genuinely high-performance, genuinely fantastic RS3. The BMW becomes even more perplexing as a value proposition when you throw alternatives from Volkswagen, Honda, and Hyundai into the mix.

The Early Verdict

As a car nut, what pains me is that the M235 could’ve been such a great enthusiast play. Think GR Corolla but by BM friggin’ W. Yes, this M Performance 2er is quite quick, handling limits are high, and it can sit at autobahn speeds much more stably than the average car. But that’s also true of the competing Acura. It’s also true of the Volkswagen Golf R. The Audi S3. Sports car acceleration with luxury car amenities for 50 grand just isn’t the accomplishment it perhaps used to be. And even if it was, the best sport compacts transcend simply being fast and powerful. They’re supposed to be fun, they’re supposed to punch way above their station in the corners, and, most importantly perhaps, they’re supposed to feel special.

The M235 Gran Coupe doesn’t feel special. It’s simply a fancy-ish compact car that just so happens to have 312 hp and makes burbling noises through its speakers on upshifts. Its downright frumpy proportions, choppy ride, and suboptimal user interface certainly don’t help its case.

Ultimately, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is still an exercise in how much you can charge people for a luxury badge. If you want a proper sport compact driving experience while still Keeping Up Appearances, the Acura Integra Type S starts at $53,795—just three grand more than this BMW for what is, in my view, one hell of a better car.

In a way, then, the whole “big ‘M2’ badge” thing feels almost fitting. The 2025 BMW M235 Gran Coupe is a car for the sort of person who buys cars because of what they can project rather than what they can do. Delusionally boastful, image-obsessed, and secretly stressed out about making their next lease payment, the M235 is perfect for the sort of BMW driver who’d unironically consider scraping the “35” part of the badge off themselves anyway. This is a real M2, don’tcha know, it just goes to a different school.

And as a closeted capitalist myself, if that’s who BMW has to sell to pay its bills and greenlight the next M5 CS, more power to ’em.