[msej449]

If you guys in the US had the Euro 1 Series, my betting is that you'd go for that over the 2 GC most times. I simply don't understand why BMW USA doesn't offer it - they're ceding the whole 4-door hatch market segment to Mercedes and Audi.

The Euro 1 series is a great car for more urban environments: 4 doors, fairly comfortable rear seating, sporty, capable of carrying quite a big load with the rear seats down, and fairly small external dimensions. Of course, the M135i xDrive isn't an M140i, but that's a separate issue.

To US eyes, the Euro 1 shape probably looks odd - like someone has shortened the x-axis on a photo' but not the vertical axis. But in reality, especially in an urban/city setting, like the Audi A3/S3 Sportsback, it packs a lot of internal space relative to the eternal dimensions. As with the Audi, sitting inside, you'd think you were in the next or next+1 model up the range. Over the years, I've moved down from a 5 Series Touring to a 3 Series Touring to a 2 Series, and I only opted for my 2016 M235i over the M135i because I wanted a convertible.