BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer 2015 review
Some people see buying an MPV a necessary evil as they have to swop their sporty hatchback or sleek coupe for something with more seats and a bigger boot. Ford offered keen drivers a fig leaf with the sporty S-Max back in 2006 but it’s taken another 9 years for a premium manufacturer to launch a posh people carrier. And of all the manufacturers to do it, who’d have thought it would be BMW to take the plunge. With this the very no much rear wheel drive, the 2 Series Gran Tourer is a stretched seven seat upgrade to the Active Tourer.
Hopping inside is a slightly odd experience. It certainly looks like a BMW, it has the quality you’d expect of the brand, it even smells like a new car inside but with the short bonnet and the huge windscreen you can’t help but notice how much space there is inside. There’s lots of headroom, it’s very light and airy especially with the panoramic sun roof fitted. Our only complaint is the thick A-pillar which creates a blind spot at a roundabout or junction. Trim levels are SE, Sport, luxury and M Sport and importantly all four come with a screen and i-Drive infotainment system as standard. This is undoubtedly one of the best on the market, and what’s particularly nice is you can use the controller wheel to select things on the screen rather than prodding at a touchscreen because it’s a lot safer. The Gran Tourer is pricey, but sat-nav, climate control, parking sensors, DAB radio and even a power tailgate all come as standard. Luxury is added with a wood trim dashboard, leather upholstery and different alloy wheels, whilst the M Sport version gets a racier look thanks to a different body kit, 18 inch wheels and a sports steering wheel. Of course this being a BMW there are lots of options available if you want to create the ultimate MPV.
Unlike an M3 or i8 the rear of this car is just as important as the front and because of that you get a fantastic amount of legroom and it’s actually comparable to a 7 series luxury saloon. It’s possible because the Gran Tourer is 12cm longer than the Active Tourer. There are lots of extra features in the back too such as the optional fold down tables that you can eat your lunch off and the rear bench slides backwards and forwards up to 13cm. Two small seats pop up from the boots which are suitable for kids or small rides for adults. You even get cup holders and 560 litres of boot space behind the rear seats expanding to 1,820 litres.
So it looks like a BMW but does it feel like one on the road? Well despite sharing quite a few parts with the latest mini, yes, somehow BMW has engineered the sensations you get driving a car from Stuttgart. The oily feel of the steering, taut body control and the fast, smooth gear changes from this automatic are all suitably premium.
The car we looked at is the 220d xdrive and because it’s four wheel drive it feels even more assured than the standard model and can get from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds. To be honest buying this kind of car for most people is probably not necessary but if you do live in Wales or the Scottish Highlands then it’s certainly good to have that power and all-weather grip.
Whatever Gran Tourer you choose the handling is remarkably assured and whilst the M Sport version is quite firm, most versions are pretty comfortable too. For the rest of us, the 148bhp 118d is probably the sweet spot in the range, with enough pulling power to move people and their luggage all while returning up to 64.2mpg. There’s also a 114bhp 1.5 litre diesel called the 116d which gets 68.9mpg but can start to feel sluggish when fully loaded. If you drive shorter distances or want a car with a sportier feel you might also be interested in the petrol 218i which comes with a Mini Cooper engine with 136bhp or the 220i which gets 192bhp. Both of those engines can return between 45 and 50mpg.
As you’d probably have guessed the Gran Tourer doesn’t come cheap with the entry level 218i SE model having a starting price of £24,710. That makes it more expensive than the Citroen Gran C4 Picasso at £20K, but it is closer to the £22K VW Touran and Ford S Max from £24,545. The BMW also counters with strong kit levels and excellent running costs.
If you wanted a luxury seven-seater before now, your only choice was a big SUV, but the Gran Tourer changes that. It has a really upmarket interior and impressive performance. Thanks to its advanced engines and slippery aerodynamic shape, it’s also a lot more economical than a traditional 4x4. Even in the 220d xDrive you see more than 50mpg on most trips. Its styling might not quite have the wow factor of an SUV, but if it’s a luxury MPV you’re after then look no further.
