Enthusiast's reviews of cars like the 2020 BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe will always be tainted. No matter how the car performs on its own merit, an undercurrent shapes the narrative: deep down, most of us believe BMW shouldn't build "cars like this".

"Cars like this" are front-wheel-drive based, but often equipped with all-wheel drive to mask pedestrian roots. "Cars like this" lack the athletic proportions of their ancestors: those legendary vehicles that cemented their brands as premium. "Cars like this" are built to a low price, furnished with materials unfit for luxury cars. The CLA, A3 and 228i are prime examples.

Yet because of the proud badges on their trunk lids, and upgraded running gear, "cars like this" tend to cost more than mainstream transverse compacts. My 228i Gran Coupe tester, with its $47,845 price tag, fell into all of those classic traps.

Mack Hogan

Some of them are unavoidable. Because the 228i xDrive starts at about $5000 cheaper than an all-wheel-drive 330i, you'll see cut corners. The cabin's accent trim pieces, while noticeably cheaper-feeling than those in the rest of BMW's sedan lineup, are at least modern and creative looking. They're still plastics, but creatively textured and backlit to look more expensive. There are tasteful applications of aluminum, and a lovely thick steering wheel, but BMW's a step behind Audi and Mercedes when it comes to entry-model interiors.

Mack Hogan

That's in no small part because BMW held off building a transverse-engined compact car longer than Audi or Mercedes. But with the sedan market sinking, the Bavarians opted not to die as heroes. But BMW's first full-force effort already looks behind the times, visibly frumpier than transverse options from Audi, Volvo, and even Mazda.

Good news, though: the 228i xDrive isn't dull. BMW's is masterful at pairing turbocharged engines to 8-speed automatics. The drivetrain combo delivers seamless, uninterrupted power. There's no better drivetrain in the segment. Even in its base trim, the 2-Series Gran Coupe delivers 228 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. In sport mode the BMW's exhaust will happily spit out pops and crackles, occasionally approaching the playfulness of a current Mini.

Mack Hogan

The 228i feels descended from a Mini in the corners, too, clawing through curves with its front-wheel-drive biased all-wheel drive system. Handling feels direct and quick, though the steering goes artificially heavy in sport mode. Sadly, there's still not a lot of road feel coming through the steering wheel.

Worse still, the 228i's handling comes at the expense of ride quality. Much like recent sporty Minis, the 228i Gran Coupe is truly head tossing on city streets. Our tester did have the M Sport package, but there are nicer-driving cars that ride a lot softer.

Mack Hogan

These compromises do not befit a $50,000 BMW. Even with $10,000 in options, my tester lacked safety tech like the adaptive cruise control, a feature that comes standard on most new Toyotas. That'd be passable if the 228i were a dynamic standout like the rear-wheel-drive based M2, or if the mini Bimmer had a killer interior. But the price is hard to justify here. It made me better appreciate the BMW X6, another car that—most enthusiasts would probably agree—doesn't really need to exist.

The X6 is strange looking. It's costlier than its more conventionally handsome and practical brother, the X5. With the X6, BMW invented a segment devoid of any real use case: the fastback-styled SUV. The M50i tester I had even sported a gaudy light-up grille. And if you want to see BMW's current priorities, note that the light-up grille came on before the headlights when I unlocked the car.

Mack Hogan

But the X6 M50i, in its misshapen brazenness, is brilliant. It has a 523-hp turbocharged V-8, a thunderous bellow, and better body control than any SUV has a right to. It embraces its silliness, and includes every bell and whistle available to satisfy your whims. The X6 both rips off the line and settles into cruising, comfortable at triple-digit speeds as it is plodding to Aldi. After nine days, I hated myself, because I even started to like the look of the damn thing.

In its third generation now, the X6 is a mature product built upon the stellar underpinnings it shares with the exceptional X5. The BMW X6 doesn't care if you think it should exist. Instead, it delivers so much refinement, power, and extroverted weirdness that it's one of BMW's most charming current products. It's a different philosophy entirely to the 228i Gran Coupe.

Mack Hogan

The 2 Series Gran Coupe feels like a "grimace and take your medicine" approach to the segment. It's a cautious and half-hearted attempt to build the type of vehicles our badge-obsessed market demands. The X6, on the other hand, is the best possible version of a product that doesn't make rational sense. Bellowing exhaust, LED-lit grille, and sense of humor included.

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