Published:
10 June 2022The BMW 220i is no fire breather, then. The whole point of the car is the chassis balance afforded by the native rear-wheel drive. The similarly priced BMW M135i xDrive may leave the 220i at the lights, but you’ll have more fun in the corners in the coupé. That’s the idea, at least: handling is where the 2 Series Coupé needs to deliver.
By and large, it does, so long as you don’t expect it to be a hardcore sports car. The all-wheel-drive M135i will produce more traction in the wet, while a Mazda MX-5 will be more playful. What the 220i deals in is poise.
It is sometimes said that the more modestly engined BMWs have never had enough power to feel particularly rear-wheel drive, but that is not the case in the 220i. Not because it wants to oversteer on the road, but when you try a bit harder, it always feels like you’re being pushed through the corner rather than pulled towards the hedge on the outside. Of course, wet roads change the game dramatically and make the 220i quite happy to spin its rear Pirellis.
The car’s low centre of gravity and the option of an ultra-low seating position also help the 2 Series’ natural flow on a twisty road. Yes, there is a fair bit of mass being asked to change direction, but it does so more willingly than in a tall car.
The steering needs just 2.2 turns lock to lock, which suggests it could undo a lot of the chassis’s poise with nervousness, but BMW has used a variable rack to good effect here. The pace feels natural and you only really notice how quick the rack can be when parking. On the open road, you’re never left second-guessing how much lock to use.
