The steady upsizing of BMW's iconic 3-Series left room for BMW to bring its smaller line of cars to the US market. With the introduction of the second generation model in 2014, the 1-Series became the 2-Series to follow BMW's revised naming conventions. When compared to the 4-Series, the 2-Series is about 8 inches shorter, 2 inches narrower and a thousand pounds lighter. Two models are offered with numeric designations tied to the powertrain offerings. The 228i equips a 240-bhp turbocharged four-cylinder engine, where the M235i equips a 3.0l inline six-cylinder engine rated at 322-bhp. Pricing starts at around $33,000 for the 228i, which is about $8000 less than the 428i, but expensive option groups quickly inflate the price. Regardless, the 2-Series coupe is one of the best price / performance values on the market.

New engines result in an updated nomenclature. Four cylinder models are now 230i (formerly 228i), whereas six-cylinder engines become 240i (formerly 235i).