Summarize

My 1971 BMW  2002ti was a bomb of a car. Personally imported via Club Motors, it soon became left-hand drive and the King of Jozi’s Robots back then. So, when I sat myself in the impressive all-new 220d Coupe M Sport my memories of that timeless classic cam flooding back. But could it ever match the exuberance of my immortal ti? 

Well, the 220d Coupe M certainly looks the part, those slightly recessed volutes on the flanks add that touch of ‘classic’ to the exterior. Other tweaks include new bi-LED headlights, a larger BMW-esque grille, revised outer air-vents and new taillights. Add those tough-looking 18” alloys, lower profile tyres and lower M Sport suspension and you a have a sporty and purposeful looking coupe.

The cabin is ultra-smart the gorgeously tan seats and door inserts contrasting well with the slick, black interior including among others a 22.3cm display, iDrive Touch Control and Business navigation system. It may be a tad cramped in the rear, but with the rear seats flipped down extra luggage space can be gained. Fear not, for you have a 390litre boot capacity.

On the road, 220d Coupe is a sure thing with its fine mix of positive steering feel, faultless silent ride and the so-impressively silent diesel engine that revs willingly and forcefully to a peak of around 4500rpm. Its 8-speed auto box is stunning in the way it offers the 2-litre diesel lump adequate performance via carefully spaced gear ratios that suits the low-rev grunt. In fact, it makes driving a diesel a pleasure offering more than reasonable performance from low revs with high torque outputs. 

Not only does the 8-speed auto box mate well with the torquey engine but results in a more than ample fuel consumption of 7 l/100km during our test and city driving. Attempting to perhaps erroneously match the brilliant 2002ti to the 220d - cars from different eras - proved somewhat of a misguided dream.  But memories are memories, right? 

QUICK TEST: BMW 220d Coupe M Sport auto

Engine:        140kW 400Nm 1995cc turbodiesel I4

Drive: 8-speed automatic RWD

TESTED: (1500m ASL)                                            

0-100km/h: 7.6 sec 

0-160km/h: 15.5 sec

400m: 14.4 sec @ 147km/h              

80-120km/h: 6.2 sec

120-160km/h 8.3

CLAIMED:                                           

Vmax: 228km/h

Fuel: 7.0 l/100km                             

CO2: 230 g/km

Warranty/Service 2y Unlimited/5y 100Kkm

LIST PRICE: R595 800

RATED: 83%