BMW M235i wants to be thé fast but still small Gran(d) Coupe

One thing the premium German manufacturers love to do is play “model ping pong”. If one does, the other does. We have now have Audi A1 to A8 and a bunch of Qs thrown in too, Mercedes-Benz has every ‘Class’ known to mankind and BMW is doing the same with their 1 to 8 Series, plus a whole bunch of X derivatives.

So, while we will probably never see Audi and BMW follow Mercedes-Benz down their ill-fated X-Class road, it was only a matter of time before BMW introduced a compact sedan into the market. And the rival we have on test here, to go up against Audi’s S3 Sedan and Mercedes-AMG A35 Sedan 4-Matic, is the M235i Gran Coupe xDrive.

The S3 Sedan comes in at R710 189 and the A35 Sedan at R826 000, so this new player slots in the middle of the two with a starting price of R725 000. The similarities don’t end there either; they all offer the same sort of power, with the S3 making 228kW/400Nm, the A35 225kW/400Nm to challenge the 225kW/450Nm of the M235i, and they all put the power down via an all-wheel drive systems.

Maybe a quick word of caution, don’t go around telling BMW owners that BMW have gone backwards now as their 235i now only makes 225 kW while thinking this is the previous 3.0-litre straight-six engine. This new model now runs a boosted 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged powerplant coupled to an eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission.

While outright performance is not the be-all-and-end-all in what is essentially a family car, albeit a very compact one, this is a BMW M Performance car and therefore it is expected to hustle. And that it does, but does the M235i Gran Coupe ever feel “really” fast? No, it doesn’t, it feels a bit like a hot hatch in its power delivery.

Using the pseudo launch control, the M235i Gran Coupe still gets to 100 km/h in 5.41 sec and runs just short of 210 km/h in the 1 km sprint, while on its what to an electronically limited 250 km/h top speed. This of course is done in a completely fuss free way thanks to the xDrive system. This sure-footedness from the test strip translates onto the road when you feel that want to push things a bit. Which is not a bad thing, but if you are expecting a tyre smoking, wild knuckle ride, then maybe you should rather look at one of BMW’s rear wheel driven M Performance cars.

For what it is worth, the competition has also lost a bit of their irresponsible side and replaced it with better on street manners. So why a four-door coupe and not a hatch? For me it can only be for the extra boot space. The boot has a meaningful, real-world, amount of space on offer, but this boot space comes at the price of rear leg room, and the Coupe styling kills the head room in the back at the same time to add to your misery. As a full-size adult, being stuck in the back of a 2 Series Gran Coupe is not going to be a pleasant journey.

I know that the car is a descendant of the 4 Series, the 6 Series and the newer 8 Series Gran Coupe models, but I didn’t find myself loving the styling. As with anything new, people’s opinions will be polarised, and you are either going to be progressive and love the M235i Gran Coupe or hate it.

This said, what is not up for debate, is that you get a car that is packed with the latest technology as standard or as a cost added extra. From LED headlights up front as standard, to BMW Live Cockpit Professional and optional gesture control for infotainment functions, Lane Departure Warning with active lane return, Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go function, to a Connected Navigation service that allows you to send destinations from various apps straight to the car’s navigation system.

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