Tested: 2022 BMW 230i Stands Alone

BMW should have picked a name and stuck with it. After our David E. Davis Jr. sang the praises of the 1968 2002, BMW might have said, “Okay, henceforth our overachieving compact sports coupe will be called 2002 and eventually become an iconic brand unto itself.” But no. BMW kept building cars in the 2002 idiom, joyful little rear-drive coupes, but the names were erratic—3-series, 1-series, 2-series. The 1987 325is could have been a 2002. Ditto any of the E36 coupes, the 2008 135i, and now the 2022 BMW 230i. If BMW never stopped building the 2002—and it basically didn’t—this would be the latest model, and we’d all understand what to expect, which is to say understated style girded with surprising performance and a dash of four-passenger practicality. The 230i, redesigned for 2022, is an everyday car with a secret rambunctious side.

Not that it looks dowdy, but the 230i’s styling is exceptionally restrained compared to almost anything else in the BMW lineup these days. The long-hood/short-deck proportions recall the 1-series, and the grille is about half the size of that on the 4-series, with movable vanes to optimize cooling or aerodynamics, as needed. The triangular vents at the lower front corners are functional, BMW says, reducing turbulence around the front tires. Otherwise, the optional M Sport brakes, with their blue or red calipers, are the only real peacocking going on. BMW stuck to a theme of restraint on this one, including the dimensions, which are within a couple inches of an E46 3-series coupe (that’s the early-2000s one, if you don’t speak BMW model jargon).

Michael SimariCar and Driver

HIGHS: Deceptively quick, outstanding brakes, throwback dimensions.

Though BMW rates the 230i’s turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four at just 255 horsepower (the M240i xDrive gets a 382-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six), these are BMW horses, meaning a good number of them escaped the count. As such, the 3554-pound 230i rips to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, an impressive number for a car that doesn’t bill itself as a drag racer. The quarter-mile time—13.7 seconds at 101 mph—is also solidly in rowdy territory. With numbers like that and a base price of $37,345, the 230i could plausibly score a few converts coming from a Subaru WRX or a V-6 Chevrolet Camaro.

Unlike those two cars, the 230i is automatic only, employing the ubiquitous and capable ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic. And you know what? That’s all right. The BMW 2.0-liter four is plenty powerful, but it’s not the kind of engine you wind out to redline just to hear it sing. And the automatic does offer a couple of neat tricks, such as launch control (which isn’t the quickest way to 60 mph) and a “sprint” function on cars with the Shadowline package—pull the left shift paddle for at least a second and the transmission will drop to the lowest possible gear while all other engine-management systems set themselves to max-attack mode. But essentially, this engine and transmission are a means to an end, generating enough speed to showcase the chassis and brakes.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

LOWS: No manual transmission, options quickly run up the price, nobody knows what “230i” stands for.

Of the 2002, David E. wrote, “I learn not to tangle with the kids in their big hot Mothers with the 500 horsepower engines unless I can get them into a tight place demanding agility, brakes, and the raw courage that is built into the BMW driver’s seat as a no-cost extra.” The same could be said of the 230i. You wouldn’t want to mess with a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat on a straightaway, but get down into a canyon and the BMW will run away. Wearing staggered Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer tires, 225/40R-19 up front and 255/35R-19 in back, the 230i generated a healthy 0.92 g of skidpad grip and showed off the kind of balance that comes with a nearly 50-50 front-to-rear weight distribution (50.4 percent front, 49.6 percent rear). With fully defeatable stability control and the optional electronically locking differential, the 230i would be blast on an autocross course.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

Its brakes, too, are up for diving deep into corners all day long. Not only did the 230i stop from 70 mph in just 152 feet (within a yard of the Maserati MC20’s performance), it did so time after time with no fade. Even repeated stops from 100 mph elicited consistent results and more than 1.0 g of deceleration.

Since this is a BMW, all manner of options are available, but the 230i works best with minimal adornment—no need to kill that throwback vibe with the color head-up display and Tacora red leather. The standard SensaTec faux leather is believable enough, and if you’re careful with the options, you might build a 230i that costs less than a Toyota Supra 2.0, which uses the same powertrain. Perhaps those two machines don’t seem like natural competitors, but the 230i delivers near-Supra performance along with a back seat and less extroverted styling. It even returned 38 mpg on our highway fuel-economy test.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

Yes, we’ve compared the 230i to a lot of cars that aren’t really its competitors. Because at this point, what is? Minimalist rear-wheel-drive European coupes aren’t exactly thick on the ground these days—the Mercedes C300 Coupe has a base price about $11,000 higher than that of the 230i. Only one company stuck with this formula and developed it over decades. And though we may wish for, say, a manual transmission or more feedback through the steering wheel, let’s look at the big picture: This car still exists, and it still delivers performance that can surprise a muscle car or two when you get it in its element. The fact that we can take that for granted is a testament to why we shouldn’t. Regardless of whatever else BMW rolls out—electrified, bombastic, hypercomplicated—we’re glad somebody in Munich still has their hymnal turned to page 2002.

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