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| 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe. |
There's also a pioneering aspect here. At this writing BMW is one of two cars carving out a new niche of four-door coupes in this size class. The Mercedes-Benz CLA250, which we reviewed in March, is its only direct competitor.
Yes, I know a coupe and a sedan are two different things, but this and the Benz are sedans (the pillar between the front and rear doors makes it so) that just happen to have coupe-like rooflines.
That's all semantics. What matters is that this particular sedan with a swoopy roof looks great (I'd argue the tail needs prettying up) and drives even better.
Under the hood, it's a 228-horsepower 2.0-liter TwinPower turbo four-cylinder mated to an eight-speed sport automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, launch control and Driving Dynamics Control with various driving modes. xDrive is BMW's all-wheel drive. Zero to 60 happens in six seconds flat and the EPA fuel economy estimate is 23 city/33 highway.
There's also Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Traction Control, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with Anti-lock braking, Dynamic Brake Control, Cornering Brake Control, and an actuator-related slip-limiting traction control. That sounds like a lot of electronic interference, but the BMW handles like it's on rails and the feel is natural---reminiscent of what earned BMW the title of "Ultimate Driving Machine" back in the day.
Base price for the 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe is $37,500. Usually, especially in German cars, you'll find that the things you really want will cost extra. But in a surprise move, BMW has included a remarkable amount of standard content at that price:
- Active blind spot detection
- Front collision warning
- City collision mitigation
- Lane departure warning
- Speed limit information
- Larger-capacity fuel tank
- 18-inch M double-spoke wheels
- Multifunction steering wheel
- Rear view camera
- Power-folding mirrors
- Illuminated Berlin trim
- Auto-dimming mirrors
- Auto-dimming rearview mirror
- Sport seats
- Active driving assistant
- Active Guard
- LED fog lights
- Park distance control
- Automatic climate control
- Apple CarPlay compatibility
- M sport suspension
- M steering wheel
- Shadowline exterior trim
- Anthracite headliner
- Refrigerant
- All-season tires
- Satin aluminum exterior trim
- HiFi sound system with HD Radio
- Live Cockpit Plus including navigation and voice recognition
- Connected Package Plus featuring advanced real time traffic and BMW Remote Services
- Rain-sensing windshield wipers with automatic headlight control
- 40/20/40 split fold-down through-load rear seats
That's not to say that BMW won't happily sell you extra-cost options, and our tester had some:
- Storm Bay Metallic paint: $1,200
- Mocha perforated Dakota leather interior: $1,450
- M Sport Package (M Sport Steering, rear spoiler): $4,000
- Premium Package (Heated steering wheel, keyless entry, panoramic moonroof, lumbar support, heated front seats, adaptive full LED lights, ambient lighting, head-up display, SiriusXM Satellite Radio with one-year subscription, Connected Package Pro and Live Cockpit Pro): $3,050
- Remote engine start: $300
With $995 destination charge, the bottom line on the window sticker comes to $48,495.
For a loaded BMW, even a small one, that's a remarkably low price. And it includes BMW Ultimate Care, which covers the first three years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first) of scheduled maintenance (oil services, cabin microfilter, vehicle checks, air filter, spark plugs, brake fluid).
The BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe is a great car---and the battle between it and Mercedes equally great but very different CLA-Class is going to be fascinating to watch.
