[nadepalma]

BMW 2 Series to Get Updated Name Structure
By Jason Siu
Nov 17, 2014

The BMW 2 Series lineup will also be getting an update for its nameplates.

Similar to a previous report that the BMW 3 and 4 Series model names will be getting an update for their naming convention, the German automaker will do the same for its 2 Series with the current 228i become the 230i and the M235i becoming the M240i. The naming change will come with a new generation of engines from BMW with the B48 replacing the 2.0-liter N20 and the B58 replacing the popular 3.0-liter twin-turbo N55 engine.

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[ausrutherford]

Sums up German name strategies...

 

[Edge]

Sums up German name strategies...

No worse than Cadillac's naming strategy. Or Infiniti's. Or Acura's. They all suck.

BMW needs to drop the 'M' from the M240i, though. Call it a 240is if you must, but there's not enough here to warrant using the 'M'.

 

[Dequindre]

Oh lord...

 

[All Star]

New engines...new numbers...isn't that what BMW has always done?

 

[vanshmack]

New engines...new numbers...isn't that what BMW has always done?

They did, and then they didn't. And now it looks like they're trying to get back to that.

 

[63GrandSport001]

I prefer it to when the number told you the size of engine in the vehicle, though in todays world of turbocharged cars it seems that luxury buyers are super dumb and need a bigger number or they feel that they purchased something not as good.

 

[baloo]

I prefer it to when the number told you the size of engine in the vehicle, though in todays world of turbocharged cars it seems that luxury buyers are super dumb and need a bigger number or they feel that they purchased something not as good.

BMW's diesel engine line-up in Europe would look like this:

320d
320d
320d
320d
320d
330d
330d

 

[caddycruiser]

I still do not understand why BMW and BMW who have always named this way...made a conscious effort to have their # series vehicles no longer have ANY correlation to engine size. Or some do, most don't.

In many cases (not all, still weird), a 328i was a 3-series with a 2.8L engine. Made perfect sense. E320? E-class with a 3.2L V6. Came out with a new engine, but same class of model? Then just update the latter 2 numbers to match.

Why does 40 mean 3.2? Why does 28 mean 2.0? This has just overcomplicated what used to make sense, for no rhyme or reason.

Oh well.

 

[baloo]

This has just overcomplicated what used to make sense, for no rhyme or reason.

The reason is pretty simple: A lot of BMW engines are based on a common architecture with a displacement of 0.5L/cylinder. The 3-series for example comes with five different diesel engines that all have the same 2.0L displacement, but very different outputs. They can't really use '320d' for all of them, can they?

Likewise, the 7-series comes with 258 hp, 313 hp and 381 hp diesel engines. All of them are 3.0L. If you call them 730d, 740d and 750d, you can at least tell a difference.