FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i

How big is the boot of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i?

The boot floor of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is super practical for a BabyDrive! The boot floor folds back and there is about 10cm of extra depth available under the floor.

Which empty will hold twelve shopping bags, that's one less than the Kia Stinger and Volvo S60 that are far bigger cars, while the big VW Arteon and similar-sized Toyota Corolla sedan both hold 15 bags. If you're considering the 2 Series Gran Coupe's SUV equivalent, the BMW X2, that holds just 10 shopping bags.

The twin stroller fits with no shopping bags.

A tandem pram fits using the lowered floor with a couple of bags of shopping. Without that lower floor, it would not fit.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The single stroller fits with two shopping bags beside it.

The compact stroller fits with six shopping bags beside it.

You can't put a dog in the boot of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i because of the fixed parcel shelf.

The boot floor of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is flat and would work perfectly for an emergency nappy change. There is a luggage hook on the right and a storage area behind the wheel arch on the right too.

How good is storage inside the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i?

The storage inside the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is good throughout and practical.

In the front, central console there are two cup holders, they will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and there are 12V and USB sockets with them too.

In front of them there is a cordless phone charging pad too.

The central console storage box isn't a bad size and the lid doubles as your armrest.

There is a coin drawer by the driver's right knee which was handy for glasses as there is no glasses case in the ceiling.

The glove box in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i will hold an iPad and wallet with the manual.

The door bins in the front will hold a large refillable water bottle with room for your wallet behind it. There are no storage wells in the handles.

Storage in the second row is good, with door bins that will also hold a large refillable water bottle, with a little space behind too.

There is a fold-down armrest in the central seatback with two cup holders that will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup.

In the back of both front seats are net map pockets that will hold but not conceal an iPad. In the back of the central console box there are two USB sockets and a phone storage shelf too.

How noisy is the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i?

The 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is not a very noisy car. The media system is easy to navigate and use, with a swipe touch screen…

…or using the rotary dial down in the central console.

It does have Apple CarPlay but not Android Auto.

The reversing camera image is lovely and clear. You can turn the parking sensors off by touching on the screen…

…or with a button, down in the central console.

You can also alter the volume of the parking sensors and warning sounds within the media screen settings, which is really handy when you are transporting little passengers and don't want to disturb them if they're asleep.

The auto engine cut out in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is really disturbing for passengers, it feels like the car is actually stalling which I found really worrying the first few times it happened at a junction. It's not really something you have to worry about in most modern cars but in the old rustbucket cars I drove in my teens and early 20's if you felt your car stall at a junction you panicked as you might not get it started again!! The shuddering to a stop and start is disturbing for passengers and would definitely wake little ones. Thankfully, the button to turn it off is down in the central console.

I find this function really disturbing for sleeping babies, you have just got your baby to sleep in the car and you stop at lights and the engine turns off sometimes they will stay asleep but when the engine shudders to a start again it shakes baby awake and all your efforts are ruined!! Even coming to a stop at lights with the engine running can be enough to wake a sleeping child so turning the engine off and on again will definitely do it! I have driven routes I know have roundabouts rather than lights just to avoid coming to a stop for any length of time!!

The cruise control in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is very accurate. In fact, I often wonder why other cars can't have cruise control as good as BMW! The cruise control buttons are on the left side on the steering wheel and I found them simple and easy to use. The 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i really hugs and grips the road so you can trust the car at the set speed on undulating and bendy roads which is fun!

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The indicator volume wasn't baby-waking in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i.

The Sat-Nav guidance can be turned on and off easily on the right side of the media screen in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i, which is excellent for not disturbing other passengers.

I find on most journeys when I use sat nav I only need directions for the last part of the journey. I know how to get to the area I am going and then it’s just the exact address I need help with. Because I need to input the address before I head off I found myself on most occasions when you can’t mute the sat nav voice having to listen to all the directions, which disturbs your concentration, any conversation in the car at the time or more importantly my sleeping baby! So being able to mute the sat nav voice until you reach the part where you actually need it is gold!

It also comes up in the screen in front of the drivers steering wheel which is easier to look at while driving.

You can also see the speed limit of each road on this screen too which is really handy.

As well as the distance to empty displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen, this is so helpful as a parent.

The distance to empty display becomes extra important as a parent because getting fuel with a baby is a whole new world of difficult. If they are screaming in the car you definitely do not want your journey prolonged with a fuel stop! If they are asleep the turning off of the engine, doors opening and locking and unlocking, then re-opening the doors and closing, starting the engine again, beepers going off because you haven’t got your seatbelt on when you start the car or because you blink in the wrong direction, do you take them out of the car when you go in to pay? If you do will you get them back in the seat again or will they have a complete meltdown and you’ll be stuck on the fuel station forecourt with a screaming baby!! Hopefully, you are starting to gather the anxiety that what was once a simple fuel stop can be for a mum!!!!

For this reason, the distance to empty display can let you know if you have enough fuel to make it home with bub and then go out and get fuel another time when you will not have to take bub with you.

The doors and windows of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i close gently, so they are not particularly baby waking.

The doors close quite easily with a gentle close, which was surprising for a car of this size. With baby asleep you can get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy. The same for the windows their mechanism is not too noisy and I didn’t notice them having a loud opening or closing sound.

With baby asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up! 

Road and engine noise are good in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i, it feels sturdy and solid as it hugs the road as you'd expect from a low-slung luxury brand car.

There is a good seatbelt removal visual in the screen in front of the driver and an alarm.

You can lock the doors and windows from the driver's door and control panel.

How many child seats fit in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i?

There are two top tether anchorages in the fixed parcel shelf behind the two outer rear seats. They are within plastic guides but quite difficult to access because of the very low roofline.

There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats, also within plastic guides and these are easy to connect to.

We could fit two child seats in the back of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i but with no room for an adult passenger to sit between them.

I also found when I tried to sit in the central seat the roofline is so low I couldn't sit there and I'm only 162cm! In the outer seats, I had about 3cm of room above my head and my husband who's 184cm couldn't fit in the rear seats at all without stooping uncomfortably.

Legroom is a consideration in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i too. With a forward-facing child seat installed in the second-row, we could just about fit a 180cm passenger in front.

But it is cosy for that rear child seat passenger.

There are considerations with installing child seats in the rear outer seats because the ceiling is so low, some forward-facing child seats were too tall so you really need to check them first.

With a rear-facing child seat installed I could just fit in front of it in the driver's seat and I'm 162cm.

Posting bub into their car seat wasn't easy from outside the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i. That low roofline makes posting bub in and getting them out difficult and it's back-breaking to bend in to do up and undo harnesses and seatbelts too.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

From inside it is slightly easier but the low roofline makes it a contortionist's game!

There is room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.

How comfortable is the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i? And How good is the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i to drive?

The front seats of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i are very comfortable and easily adjustable using the controls on the side of the seat base. You can also save your seating position into memory, which is really handy too when there is more than one person who drives the car!

The headrests are not adjustable and I found I couldn't wear a ponytail while driving.

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are quite comfortable but I find the seating position too low and cramped in the back and didn't like the low roofline as it felt claustrophobic. I also couldn't sit in the central seat there was not enough headroom and I'm only 162cm! In the outer seats, I had about 3cm of headroom only.

For the first year of Tulsi’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down and doesn't feel quite as thick in your hands as some BMW steering wheels.

Across the front dashboard, there are four air conditioning vents. Two in the centre and one at either end of the dashboard.

The aircon controls are centrally located on the dash and easy to use while driving. This model also has heated seats which was nice during winter!!

There are no aircon vents in the back of the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i which I think you would need most of the year, especially with how closed in it is in the back for rear passengers.

Visibility in the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is quite surprisingly good for such a low vehichle. One of the things I like, compared to a high SUV, is you are down at kid level so you can see if there are any little ones around in your mirrors. Whereas in a ute or SUV you can get blind spots down at that level.

When maneuvering or parking, the visibility out the windows is limited out of the back. The mirrors and excellent camera image really helped.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i, was relatively easy to park with the help of the cameras.

How safe is the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i?

The 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i is yet to be given an ANCAP safety rating.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!