2017 BMW 2 Series

Do It All M240i xDrive

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 4 Value Rating: 5

I love this car. I live in the midwest so decided to get xDrive, which is only available with the 8 speed ZF automatic. My last 4 BMW's had manual transmissions and rear wheel drive but I wanted a car that handled well in both good and bad weather and one my wife wouldn't complain too loudly about driving occasionally. I can't afford to buy both a weekend fair weather car and a commuter car for year round driving so I bought a car that does both well. The car is a rocket-the xDrive is faster than its' manual or automatic rear drive counterparts and only about .1 second slower to 60 than the M2. I do miss the manual trans. but this ZF is unreal, upshifting and downshifting when it should. I wish BMW would go to a touch screen interface for radio, nav., etc. because the iDrive can be tedious. The car could use a couple more USB ports-there's ONE in the console, that's it. Voice recognition works great for both on board and Siri use with Apple Car Play. The 360 degree distance sensors are excellent and will even warn you of a curb your front or rear end is about to scrape. Haven't tried auto-park yet. The suspension adjusts from firm to firmer, but hey, I didn't buy the car to drive grandma to church. Trunk room is more than adequate and the rear seats fold if more room is needed. Before I bought the BMW I looked at the Camaro SS-like sitting in a tank, no visibility (but that LT1 sounds fantastic!) and the Ford Mustang GT-nice but bland. Both Camaro and Mustang have less rear seat room than the BMW, which has adequate leg room but limited head room (those over 5'5 will be uncomfortable). They also had belt lines so high you couldn't rest your arm on the door. I find myself looking for excuses to drive this car-it reminds me of my first BMW, a '69 2002, but on steroids. In an age when cars are constantly getting bigger and heavier BMW has gone the other direction and created a modern day throwback-thanks, BMW!