[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by 04cobra

Looks great, but other than needing 2 more doors why would someone buy the gran coupe over the M240?

Because of a little forgotten concept called personal freedom and taste?

[PDM5]

Congrats OP! BSM really works on this car and that interior looks really good. Those seats looks great!

[rtr76]

What Kia model is this?

[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by rtr76

What Kia model is this?

Is the next trim level up to yours.

[finnishjoe]

Upee! Kevyeitä kilsoja 💪🏼

[Mykele]

Why select this over a 3 series?

Not all of us want a car that has gotten as large as the new 3 series has.
As a current 2 series owner, my desire for next vehicle had following requirements.
1. 4 doors ( spousal request)
2. Lots of tech
3. Handling needs to be good.
4. AWD ( due to where I live).
5. similar size to my current car

Let's see what is avail in US:

Audi A4. For me, Too big,. Not a fan of the handling
MB C class, CLA. (Had a 09 C Class previously). Nice but too big for my taste
Lexus IS. Ummm. Nope. Yawn
Acura ILX. Nope felt cheap. TLX.. too big
Cadillac no thanks,. Not a fan of anything about them
BMW 3 series. Too big. Tech is good though, handling is good, but I can feel the size
2 series GC. Checked the boxes for me. Looks will grow on me. I see it from the inside anyhow.


And this is coming from someone that could be driving a P car, but chooses not to, because at the end of the day, this is a daily driver, aka grocery go getter.

After spending a good part of an entire day in early March with my CA driving different versions of the 2GC and 3 series (including the M340), I ended up ordering a pretty much loaded M235GC in storm bay over black on that day.

BMW really has done a great job with the handling. Normal driving, you would believe it's rwd.. only at excessive limits can you tell it's fwd based. And can we realistically drive our cars anywhere near their limits on city streets?.. no, we cannot legally. That's what track days are for!

Now the wait for the factory to reopen, and get it built, and shipped over the pond.
Hoping for July at this point.


OP-. Enjoy your car! Let us all know how things are going after break in period.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

[steps onto soapbox, looking towards Munich]

Every time I see BMW doing these red interiors I cringe at the red center console cover. If I owned an interior spec'd in this colorway, I would have a black console cover waiting to be swapped in upon delivery.

I have two reasons that are admittedly related...

A: the seats will actually pop more without the visual distraction of the red console cover. Let the seats have the glory.

B: why the hell are we accenting the center console cover? This detail feels like it should be on a Honda Civic Type R. BMW should be classier than that. Less is more here BMW. Plus it would be easier and less expensive to just keep the black cover.

On a positive note this is an easy fix for the end user to make.

No offense intended towards this vehicle's owner.

[TikiTourer]

very tasty car... congratulations

[MForSpeed]

Originally Posted by hooumeri

So I ordered the car back in early December but got my order confirmation in early January.. The car went into production February 28th and it was finished March 13th, picked it up earlier this week on April 14th. Overall the process could've been quite a lot faster had the order been confirmed earlier but I am happy they got the car manufactured and delivered before the COVID-19 shutdowns really started hindering deliveries.

According to my knowledge this is the first of its kind (customer car) in Finland, guess on Bimmerpost too(?). Optioned out with everything available, went for the adaptive suspension, hence the 18" wheels.

I was hesitant ordering this back in December since the press images weren't that great, in some of the photos it didn't look too sharp but then again in some pictures I really liked the look, especially those promo pictures of the black M-Performance model. So I ended up ordering the car and chose black sapphire metallic. When I first saw one in flesh at the dealer in late January I was really happy with my choice and felt a little relieved since there really were not that many photos or videos available at the time, even less so with the black color. My least favorite angle is the side profile but I wouldn't say it's bad. Contrary to many I actually think the best part of this car is the rear, maybe the color does it..

The car is a little grimy in some of the pictures because of course the weather had to suck balls when I picked it up.

Originally Posted by hooumeri

So I ordered the car back in early December but got my order confirmation in early January.. The car went into production February 28th and it was finished March 13th, picked it up earlier this week on April 14th. Overall the process could've been quite a lot faster had the order been confirmed earlier but I am happy they got the car manufactured and delivered before the COVID-19 shutdowns really started hindering deliveries.

According to my knowledge this is the first of its kind (customer car) in Finland, guess on Bimmerpost too(?). Optioned out with everything available, went for the adaptive suspension, hence the 18" wheels.

I was hesitant ordering this back in December since the press images weren't that great, in some of the photos it didn't look too sharp but then again in some pictures I really liked the look, especially those promo pictures of the black M-Performance model. So I ended up ordering the car and chose black sapphire metallic. When I first saw one in flesh at the dealer in late January I was really happy with my choice and felt a little relieved since there really were not that many photos or videos available at the time, even less so with the black color. My least favorite angle is the side profile but I wouldn't say it's bad. Contrary to many I actually think the best part of this car is the rear, maybe the color does it..

The car is a little grimy in some of the pictures because of course the weather had to suck balls when I picked it up.

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Looks nice in black

[digi_T]

I think that looks awesome, congrats.

I get the enthusiasts don't like the change in direction from BMW with this car but for me from every angle that car look great.

[mbanck]

Originally Posted by 04cobra

Looks great, but other than needing 2 more doors why would someone buy the gran coupe over the M240?

It's not just about 2 more doors, it's about having (relatively) much more rear legroom (and possibly headroom, not sure).

[Patrik]

Perfectly specced, it looks menacing in your pictures! Turvallista ajoa!

[TX3M]

Awesome ride, love the color combination. Congrats!

[hooumeri]

Hello there everybody! First of all thank you for all the compliments and feedback on the car, it is much appreciated.
It's been quite an intensive week for me at work but regardless I was able to finish the running in period two days back. Now having had the chance to drive the car with more intensity I can still comfortably say that BMW has been very successful in combatting the usual issues that come with FWD-bias cars regarding driving characteristics. Apart from the tail not going loose, I don't really find myself missing RWD/RWD-bias. As a daily this little car has for me the perfect mix of usability and fun driving characteristics which can be used to their full potential on public roads. The car feels really planted and easy to drive and of course feels very nimble doing so.

Some of the "quirks" I have noticed so far, good and bad, consequential and inconsequential:

The good:

• The exhaust sounds much better than what I anticipated, even in EU-spec
• There is an option to reduce the intensity of enhanced engine sound coming through the speakers (active sound design or what ever it's called..)
• In typical BMW fashion the acceleration figures seem grossly conservative, carwow clocked it at 4.4 seconds while the factory claims 4.9 seconds. I have no timing equipment so I cannot confirm this but it certainly feels much much quicker than 4.9
• There is quite a significant amount of space in the trunk for a car this size

The bad:

• I'm still not 100% sold on the rear 3/4 view, most of the times it leaves me feeling neutral but there have been a couple settings/angles where I got a little confused at the look
• This doesn't just apply to this model, but I wish BMW would allow us to set those hotkeys in the center console for CarPlay views too
• The rear seats (the bench part) were actually completely unlocked from the base/chassis. Easy fix by just pressing them down and locking them, but I would have expected them to have been locked instead of being all flimsy from the factory...

Originally Posted by J-RO

Very nice. What option did you NOT get?

Haha, AFAIK, there are none which I did not get

Originally Posted by 530iDriver

OP does the interior ambient lighting have pattern animation?

There is no animation apart from when changing the color via the settings (well, it fades in/out). I have not had a chance to drive it when it's properly dark yet so I might have missed it, but so far I have not seen any.

Originally Posted by BMW-Munich

Nice spec. I love the read seats and the interior lighting. It looks pretty cool. What about the driving performance? Are you happy with the cornering capabilities?

Thank you! I am very happy with the cornering capabilities of this car and that's something my friends have noticed/complimented too having tried the car.

Originally Posted by AD18

The seats look great. In your brief ownership so far how are you finding them? Comfortable, supportive?

These seats got a lot of praise from many journalists (Autogefühl for one) and I think it's well deserved. I find them plenty comfortable even though the look is so sporty. They do have a lot of adjustments so at least for my tall/skin body type they are supportive.

Originally Posted by 04cobra

Looks great, but other than needing 2 more doors why would someone buy the gran coupe over the M240?

I might get back to this topic a little later and explain why I bought this car over option X, but for now I can say that the replies in this thread have done quite a good job in explaining that already. Let me just say that things are quite different here behind the Atlantic Ocean and especially in socialist Finland.

Originally Posted by paliknight

Looks great for a 2er! Wouldn't mind it as a sweet daily driver.

What's the bias with the AWD system? 60/40?

Maximum 50/50.

Originally Posted by thaalrasha

I have to ask but ... Why not a G20 ? I'm pretty sure you could had a proper 330i for that price with maybe half of the options speced on your 235i. You'd had more space and proper RWD car... ?

Same story here, I might get back to this topic a little later when I have more time.

---------

All in all I can only recommend this car for anybody in the market for a car in this segment. That said you need to know what you want/need from a car. I have no need to haul a lot of gear or kids or whatever and this obviously is a requirement to be able to live with a car in this segment. For me this is strictly a daily car. As a hobby car I could have something like the M2C, which again I would not consider an option for me as a daily here in Finland. Value and price are something everybody need to consider on their own, but for me this hit the sweet spot.

[hooumeri]

[hooumeri]

...a few bonus clips.

[Sedan_Clan]

I just ran across a white F44 and I must say that it looks good in the flesh (...and in motion). For whatever the reason the car doesn't photograph as well as it actually looks.

[Darex]

Originally Posted by Mykele

After spending a good part of an entire day in early March with my CA driving different versions of the 2GC and 3 series (including the M340), I ended up ordering a pretty much loaded M235GC in storm bay over black on that day.

BMW really has done a great job with the handling. Normal driving, you would believe it's rwd.. only at excessive limits can you tell it's fwd based. And can we realistically drive our cars anywhere near their limits on city streets?.. no, we cannot legally. That's what track days are for!

Now the wait for the factory to reopen, and get it built, and shipped over the pond.
Hoping for July at this point.


OP-. Enjoy your car! Let us all know how things are going after break in period.

Thanks for your post. I'm in the same boat as you, but not quite as far along as you. I, too, concluded the 2GC is a better fit for me than the 3. I think it has better ergonomics than the 3 up-front, surprisingly enough, and not much worse in the back, for that matter. It also has better packaging and color options, except for the missing 360º camera [but you can't have it all, I guess].

Since I pretty much want all the options, it became clear that outfitting a 228i makes little sense, when the price quickly climbs to the price of a similarly-configured M235i, which ends up actually being a better value, given the motorization difference and included features. Probably not coincidental!

I'm confused about the Dynamic Dampener Control (Adaptive Suspension) option. I know it's tied to 18" wheels (not 19"), but as an option in the configurator, I cannot seem to find it. Many reviewers insist it's a worthy and important option to tick.

Beyond that, I am still torn between Mineral Gray, Storm Bay, or Misano Blue.

[Mykele]

Originally Posted by Darex

Thanks for your post. I'm in the same boat as you, but not quite as far along as you. I, too, concluded the 2GC is a better fit for me than the 3. I think it has better ergonomics than the 3 up-front, surprisingly enough, and not much worse in the back, for that matter. It also has better packaging and color options, except for the missing 360º camera [but you can't have it all, I guess].

Since I pretty much want all the options, it became clear that outfitting a 228i makes little sense, when the price quickly climbs to the price of a similarly-configured M235i, which ends up actually being a better value, given the motorization difference and included features. Probably not coincidental!

I'm confused about the Dynamic Dampener Control (Adaptive Suspension) option. I know it's tied to 18" wheels (not 19"), but as an option in the configurator, I cannot seem to find it. Many reviewers insist it's a worthy and important option to tick.

Beyond that, I am still torn between Mineral Gray, Storm Bay, or Misano Blue.

I ordered Dynamic Damper Control on mine, and it shows up as part of my build in "my Garage" on the owners portion of BMW website. Funny thing is that you cannot add it to a M235GC any longer when you build and price. ??? Unless it's now standard in the 235 and I will get a credit for the cost..

One look at Storm Bay sold me on it.. my current 2 is MG, and I almost went that route.
Storm bay changes color depending on the lighting. Sometimes looks primer gray, it gets a light blue cast in other light. It will hide the dirt better than MG does as well.

[CyberYYZ]

Originally Posted by Darex

Thanks for your post. I'm in the same boat as you, but not quite as far along as you. I, too, concluded the 2GC is a better fit for me than the 3. I think it has better ergonomics than the 3 up-front, surprisingly enough, and not much worse in the back, for that matter. It also has better packaging and color options, except for the missing 360º camera [but you can't have it all, I guess].

Since I pretty much want all the options, it became clear that outfitting a 228i makes little sense, when the price quickly climbs to the price of a similarly-configured M235i, which ends up actually being a better value, given the motorization difference and included features. Probably not coincidental!

I'm confused about the Dynamic Dampener Control (Adaptive Suspension) option. I know it's tied to 18" wheels (not 19"), but as an option in the configurator, I cannot seem to find it. Many reviewers insist it's a worthy and important option to tick.

Beyond that, I am still torn between Mineral Gray, Storm Bay, or Misano Blue.

I am awaiting my car and would recommend the Storm Bay colour for sure

Good luck and keep us posted

[Darex]

Originally Posted by Mykele

I ordered Dynamic Damper Control on mine, and it shows up as part of my build in "my Garage" on the owners portion of BMW website. Funny thing is that you cannot add it to a M235GC any longer when you build and price. ??? Unless it's now standard in the 235 and I will get a credit for the cost..

One look at Storm Bay sold me on it.. my current 2 is MG, and I almost went that route.
Storm bay changes color depending on the lighting. Sometimes looks primer gray, it gets a light blue cast in other light. It will hide the dirt better than MG does as well.

I previously had a MINI F56 in "Moonwalk Grey", and I loved that color, and still do. It's like you say: sometimes, primer gray, othertimes, metallic. Sometimes, light gray, sometimes darker, and nearly impossible to ever photograph the way it looks in "real life". I was hoping that Storm Bay was similar, but wasn't sure, as I haven't seen it, but given your description, then it's absolutely the best color option!

[Darex]

Originally Posted by CyberYYZ

I am awaiting my car and would recommend the Storm Bay colour for sure

Good luck and keep us posted

Great! I was at BMW Toronto a couple of months ago, and sat in it there, but they didn't have Storm Bay at the time, to see. I'm from Toronto myself, so congrats!