Skip advert
Advertisement

BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer (2014-2021) - Practicality, comfort and boot space

It's not quite as flexible as some cheaper rivals, but the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer is still a spacious family car

Practicality, comfort and boot space rating

4.0

How we review cars
Find your BMW 2 Series
Compare deals from trusted partners on this car and previous models.
Or are you looking to sell your car?
Value my car
Fast, no-nonsense car selling
Value my car

Just so you know, this is an older review of the 2014-2021 2 Series Gran Tourer. If you are interested in information about the latest BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, or news about the latest BMW models, please follow the links provided.

Large rear doors and a middle row of seats with a quick tilt and slide function aid access to the very back of the 2 Series GT; once inside, there is easily enough room for smaller children. In fact, by sliding the middle row forward and reclining the seat backs slightly, we found it possible to configure the car so that you can carry seven average sized adults in relative comfort – for shorter journeys at least. 

Advertisement - Article continues below

Being available with all-wheel drive means the Gran Tourer has to make room for a propshaft to send power to the rear wheels and so there’s a transmission tunnel which eats into foot space for the central middle seat – a problem you don’t get on the Citroen. Thankfully it’s not too intrusive and overall this is a very well thought out car.

Plenty of thought has gone into packaging too. There are cup holders between the rearmost chairs while the back door pockets can hold a 1.5-litre bottle as can the fronts. The glove box is a reasonable size and there’s under-seat storage in the front and middle row. But as ever with BMW you can pay more if you want more.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Used - available now

5008

2020 Peugeot

5008

36,941 milesManualPetrol1.2L

Cash £17,048
View 5008
Qashqai

2022 Nissan

Qashqai

26,958 milesManualPetrol1.3L

Cash £15,589
View Qashqai
Qashqai

2020 Nissan

Qashqai

30,821 milesManualPetrol1.3L

Cash £11,989
View Qashqai
MG 5 EV

2021 MG

MG 5 EV

35,712 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £10,950
View MG 5 EV

Other practical extras include height adjustable and removable picnic tables, which use a bracket that can be replaced by iPad holders if you do a lot of long-distance driving with the family in tow.

Size

The Gran Tourer has an extra 12cm between the wheels and a further 9cm in the boot over the 2 Series Active Tourer. The extra length has freed up room for a third row of two small chairs which can be folded out of the boot floor at the pull of a slightly fiddly lever. 

Leg room, head room and passenger space

It helps that BMW has raised the middle row of seats up slightly over the Active Tourer so those in the very back can just about slide their feet under the chairs in front. Because of this, the Gran Tourer’s roof is raised by 5cm to ensure that even with the optional panoramic sunroof fitted there’s still enough headroom. 

Room in the middle row is adequate too so three can sit abreast. However, unlike with a Citroen C4 Grand SpaceTourer, the chairs aren’t all the same size. Instead there’s a 40:20:40 split with a narrower centre seat, so it’s best to sit the smallest person in here for longer journeys. That said, three ISOFIX child seats mounts are standard on all models.

Boot

With the rear seats in place there’s a little room for a couple of soft bags (145 litres), but with them stowed the boot space increases to 560 litres – less than a Volkswagen Touran (927-litres) but a little more than Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer (537-litres). This extends to 720 litres with the middle row in its most forward position.

At the flick of a switch, the middle row electrically flops down and its carrying capacity grows to 1,820 litres – a figure which trumps every other BMW apart from the marginally larger X5. A load bay that’s almost completely flat and has no load lip boosts practicality further as does the easy-to-remove parcel shelf, which can be stored under a hidden compartment in the boot floor. 

If you regularly need to carry really long items, you can option the folding front passenger seat, which folds flat to give 2.6 meters through-load capacity. Go for the electric front seats though and you lose this feature.

Skip advert
Advertisement

New & used car deals

Renault Clio

Renault Clio

RRP £16,160Avg. savings £2,721 off RRP*Used from £8,711
Kia Sportage

Kia Sportage

RRP £28,065Avg. savings £2,310 off RRP*Used from £12,420
Nissan Juke

Nissan Juke

RRP £19,785Avg. savings £3,331 off RRP*Used from £9,900
Nissan Qashqai

Nissan Qashqai

RRP £27,415Avg. savings £5,568 off RRP*Used from £12,295
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

New Kia PV5 Passenger MPV undercuts the VW ID.Buzz by a huge £25k
Kia PV5 Passenger - show front

New Kia PV5 Passenger MPV undercuts the VW ID.Buzz by a huge £25k

New entry into the electric people carrier market undercuts the VW ID. Buzz by a significant margin
News
29 Apr 2025
Ford Fiesta to return? Icon could be reborn as re-nosed Volkswagen ID.2
Ford Fiesta facelift - front cornering

Ford Fiesta to return? Icon could be reborn as re-nosed Volkswagen ID.2

VW’s sales and marketing boss considers Ford tech share “very successful” – and won’t rule out future projects
News
30 Apr 2025
New 2025 Kia PV5 van starts from a tempting £22,645
Kia PV5 Cargo on display at Commercial Vehicle Show - front 3/4

New 2025 Kia PV5 van starts from a tempting £22,645

All-new entry into the van market promises competitive pricing and comes with a range of up to 247 miles
News
30 Apr 2025