1. Introduction / Design and Appearance
2. Interior and Features / Space and Practicality
3. Driving Experience / Competition and Pricing

Interior and Features 

We’re impressed by the 2AT’s interior, because it now has a feeling of overt luxurious-ness that wasn’t present before. Again, we’ve gone over this in detail in our international First Drive, but the good thing to know is that the car’s spec remains pretty much the same in Singapore. 

There’s an increased sense of space, not just because the car is taller and wider, but also because of the floating armrest console layout – no gearshifter here folks – and the tall windows. 

The BMW Curved Display from the iX is now adopted and slightly shrunk to fit the scale of the car – big cars like the iX get a 12.3-inch driver’s display paired with a huge 14.7-inch infotainment screen. The 2AT makes do with a 10.25-inch / 10.7-inch pairing, but it still looks very advanced, sleek, and techno-current. 

Backing this big piece of glass is BMW’s OS 8, which we’re slowly getting more familiar with. The good: Clear home screen layout, spiffy graphics, snappy animations, voice assistance, news, and every internet-connected feature you can think of.

The not-so-good: Small home button and app icons, not the most intuitive driver’s display, a missing iDrive controller, and a touchscreen that requires a bit of forward lean to reach. 

There’s also a healthy list of safety and assistance systems onboard, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that detects pedestrians, lane keeping/departure warning and steering assistance, speed limit info, and adaptive cruise control. 

The test car we drove was the Launch Edition, which adds extra equipment for a S$9k premium: A driver’s seat with lumbar support, a head-up display, the expanded 360 degree camera (very sharp and useful), AR navigation in OS 8, and a panoramic glass roof. 

Space and Practicality 

The floating console delivers a lot of usable stowage space in the cockpit, so no fiddling with wallets and phones into cupholders. 

With the car being taller and wider, there’s a notable increase in interior space. The first-gen model was already good at holding four adults in comfort, but this one delivers even more leg- and headroom. Our resident Zoolander, Luke, fit his 1.8-metre frame in the rear with lots of room to spare. 

Three adults is a squeeze with shoulder room – as it is with all small segment cars – but small families looking for an MPV with lots of space or a tall door aperture for child seat access won’t be disappointed.

The second row also features individually-adjustable seats – 40/20/40 split – so they can not only be moved fore and aft but also folded down. Boot space begins at a generous 470-litres, expandable to 1,455-litres. There’s a dual-level floor and automatic tailgate, but no remote seat folders. 

But there’s one important omission the 2AT makes: It’s not a 2GT. Yes, the seven-seat model of the previous generation – the 2 Series Gran Tourer – is now entirely missing from the lineup and the car only comes as a five-seater.

That car was slightly larger and heavier, and our guess is the expected cost of developing another model is something BMW wanted to avoid, especially when mucho moolah is needed for EV development. While the 2GT was a strong seller here, its vestigial rear seats meant it probably didn’t find a huge audience outside of Singapore. 

Page 3: But what’s it like to drive, and what alternatives are there now?

1. Introduction / Design and Appearance
2. Interior and Features / Space and Practicality
3. Driving Experience / Competition and Pricing

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