BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 216i Sport (A) Facelift Review

With Cat B COE crossing the $100,000-mark, petrol prices through the roof, and even the humble plate of chicken rice threatening to become scarce, shopping for a sporty four-door coupe has become more financially irresponsible than ever.

And yet, BMW figures it has managed to come up with a rather appealing solution to our motoring woes: This 216i Gran Coupe.

Dollars and sense

With an honest 107bhp output, this BMW 216i manages to duck under the eligibility limits to be registered here as a Cat A COE car, so that six-figure COE bill has been avoided, allowing you to place one along your driveway from $199,888.

That's still a tall asking price, granted, but a $33,000 discount when compared against the Cat B COE BMW 218i Gran Coupe - the former entry-point to the 2 Series Gran Coupe range - is nothing to be scoffed at either (all prices as of 1 July 2022).

So, can you make do with just 107bhp?

If it is quick sprints up and down North Buona Vista Road you're after, look elsewhere.

Just as we saw in the BMW 116i Hatchback, this 107bhp three-cylinder feels near breathless at the upper ranges of its rev range. Push the 216i Gran Coupe hard and disappointment always awaits you, with your right foot reaching the end to the accelerator pedal before there's enough acceleration to properly excite.

The official performance figures reflect this as well, with the century sprint time of the BMW 216i Gran Coupe stated as 10.8 seconds, which compares unfavourably against the 10.6 second sprint time of the lighter BMW 116i Hatchback.

Comfort and quiet

But don't strike the 216i Gran Coupe off your shopping list just yet. Because if you don't need much performance to go with your compact four-door coupe, this little car has plenty else to offer.

Take things down a few notches and the BMW 216i Gran Coupe makes itself quite the enjoyable car to motor about in. Its compact three-cylinder is actually quite the pleasant thing when gently coaxed along, delivering a total of 190Nm of torque from a lowly 1,380rpm to make merging onto the highway and overtaking manouveres all settled in easy fashion.

It is also a surprisingly quiet unit, and of whatever vocals it does deliver, you'll scarcely be able to pick up an unpleasant note. Set the car into its 'Sport' mode and it will even rather adorably deliver on turbocharger flutter when you lift off the accelerator.

And driven sensibly, you can expect fuel economy to reach close to 12km/L as well, a fact that will no doubt be appreciated with every visit to the pump, prices being what they are these days.

Premium and luxurious

Settle into this gentle cruise and you'll also be able to appreciate the great cabin that comes with this baby Gran Coupe.

It may not sport the large BMW Curved Display already available in the 2 Series Active Tourer, but that's no big loss if you'd rather have plain old physical buttons for your air-conditioning controls, and BMW's rotary controller for easy control over any other function within the infotainment unit.

Make sure to give the sports seats here a good try at the showroom however: They are far too keen to vice the kidneys, and will make comfortable seating difficult if you're even just slightly portly.

Head room at the rear in the BMW 216i Gran Coupe isn't great either, although I reckon the presence of four doors will make that $199,888 price more palpable to your other half than any other two-door coupe.

If it is a premium drive you're after, the BMW 216i Gran Coupe makes itself a convincing option for these astute times. But if you don't need to have this four-door coupe body, there's also the new 1.0-litre Audi A3 (available as either a hatchback or a sedan body) to consider. This Audi A3 will deliver a similar power output, also comes with a premium badge, and has a lower road tax bill to boot.

And it can be all yours for close to $10,000 less than this BMW 216i Gran Coupe. You'll be able to afford plenty of plates of chicken rice with that money.

Shopping for a four-door coupe? There's also these options to consider:

The Mercedes-Benz CLA200 delivers on appealing proportions and a stunning interior

The Volkwagen Arteron meanwhile will capture everyone's attention, while offering high levels of refinement

There's also the larger Audi A5 Sportback, with a rather punchy drivetrain to consider

Or you might like the BMW M 440i Gran Coupe for its blend of dynamism, extroversion and functionality

Catch us as we take this sporty four-door coupe out for a spin in our video review as well!