Browse over 9,000 car reviews

BMW 218i vs BMW 228i

What's the difference?

VS
BMW 218i
BMW 218i

$59,900 - $59,900

2025 price

BMW 228i
BMW 228i

2017 price

Summary

2025 BMW 218i
2017 BMW 228i
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 2.0L

Turbo 6, 3.0L
Fuel Type
-

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
7.6L/100km (combined)

7.4L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

4
Dislikes
  • Expensive
  • Firm ride on larger wheels
  • No spare wheel

  • Turbo-petrol fours' lag
  • Tight rear room
  • Fiddly (8sp auto) gear shift
2025 BMW 218i Summary

Sometimes a name change can make all the difference.

Google used to be called “Back Rub”. The Spice Girls started off as “Touch”. And – particularly in Germany – some premium sedans became known as “coupes”, as they struggled to stay popular against SUVs.

Case in point: what is essentially a 1 Series hatchback with a boot has been more glamorously badged the “2 Series Gran Coupe” since 2020.

Still following the sedan script with four doors, it’s BMW’s tilt at Mercedes’ booted A-Class hatch, the rakish CLA, unveiled early last decade as the Concept Style Coupe and now in its third series-production iteration – though since 2019 a more conservatively styled A-Class Sedan has also existed, that goes up against Audi’s A3 Sedan.

But we digress. Now there’s a “new” 2 Gran Coupe, coded F74, though it’s really a heavy facelift of the superseded F44. Oh, and the ‘i’ no longer exists in the badge, so (M-enhanced models aside) it’s just numbers from here on in. 218. 220. M235.

Regardless of names, does it live up to the BMW promise?

View full pricing & specs
Interested in a BMW 218i?
2017 BMW 228i Summary

If one is good, two must be better, right? Or twice as good. The question is whether that simple equation adds up for BMW's upgraded 1 and 2 Series siblings – the former, a range of five-door hatches, the latter, a line-up of cabriolets and coupes, with a major addition in the shape of the full-house, performance-focused M2.

Prices are up, and changes are mostly under the skin, so you're not getting  big visual bang for your extra bucks. But the new and improved 2 has plenty to offer when it comes to added spec and tech.

BMW invited us to the new car's Australian launch program along Tasmania's wet and wild west coast.

View full pricing & specs
Interested in a BMW 228i?

Deep dive comparison

2025 BMW 218i 2017 BMW 228i

Change vehicle