Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Bread
Is there any other brand that just completely poops all over a model designation as thoroughly as BMW?
A 2 series can be:
A weird Minivan sort of thing 2AT
A fwd sedan with a hatch, that they call a coupe 2GC
An actual coupe that's rwd and can even be an M car 230i, M240i and M2C
A rwd soft top convertible too
All that's missing is a panel van
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To my eye, the 2AT and 2GT MPVs are really the only odd ducks. The other form factors are consistent with the 4 Series, prior generation 6 Series, and 8 Series. And, if you think of the MPVs as stand-ins for a would-be 2GT in the vein of the 6GT and now-canceled G24 4GT, they become perhaps a bit less "left field".
It's true that the 2 Series is also unique in that it spans two platforms, but most enthusiasts would agree that's a good thing since it means we get a small RWD coupe.
Would it be even better if all 1 Series and 2 Series products were on a single RWD platform? Sure, but as I believe you mentioned in a post above, they were at a disadvantage to competitors with less interior space to work with, so something had to give. I'll add that the RWD entry-level lineup also put them at a manufacturing cost disadvantage.
The good news is that all this should change in a decade (or so). A future BMW dedicated EV platform for small vehicles along the lines of VW's MEB will no doubt be RWD-first as any pure electric architecture should rightly be. While pure-RWD performance vehicles may not be plentiful due to the fact that they'd be leaving an entire second (or third, or third and fourth) motor's worth of power on the table, at least RWD-biased AWD will be readily available, and will no doubt be the norm for products with high performance aspirations. Finally, the M2 Gran Coupe and Minivan that we all want so bad will be possible. Well, maybe not so much the latter.
