With BMW’s 2 Series now firmly established in the German maker’s lineup, it’s no surprise that new variants are beginning to
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appear. Starting this summer, BMW will offer its xDrive all-wheel drive system on the M235i, marking the first time that all-wheel drive has been available for the 2 Series. The convertible will also get optional xDrive, at least in Europe (North American availability has yet to be announced).
The M235i xDrive Coupe gets the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline-six as the rear-drive M235i Coupe, generating the same 326 horsepower (320 horsepower in the North American market). It also gets the same eight-speed automatic transmission, but the power is channeled to all four wheels allowing a 0-100 km/h time of 4.6 seconds – 0.2 seconds quicker than the rear-drive car.
Another upgrade for the summer of 2014 sees BMW 1 Series, 2 Series, 3 Series, 4 Series and 5 Series cars equipped with automatic transmissions and navigation getting
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a new proactive drive system. The proactive drive system uses navigational information to ensure that transmission shift timing is precisely adapted to the prevailing driving environment, allowing quicker downshifts when approaching corners, for instance. The Proactive Driving Assistant works in tandem with navigation even when the system is not active, and can "see" a corner or intersection ahead in order to take into account turn-offs and highway exits.
If the vehicle is approaching a corner, the transmission automatically changes down to the most appropriate gear, making optimum use of the engine braking effect. Subsequently, the system again shifts to the optimal gear for accelerating out of the bend. As well as improving response in the approach to and departure from the corner, the system also networks with the navigation system to reduce unnecessary gearshifts and hunting between closely spaced corners.
©(Copyright Canadian Auto Press)
