Vulgar sized grilles, a monthly heated seat subscription, grotesque SUVs , a 3 and 5 series that manage to get more ugly as the generations go on. But there's one car that BMW have managed to get totally right . That's right, you guessed it. The BMW 2 series and for god's sake no that doesn't include the Gran Coupe, Gran Tourer or the Active Tourer. It only hit me the other night, I have spent many a year bemoaning every new 3 series as they became worse to look at, more bloated, longer and less interesting. It has been right under my nose for nearly a decade, the F22 2 series is the closest we're ever going to get to the great E46 of the early 2000s. But first the M cars... I've got overexcited because immediately I want to talk about the M cars, both of which have that iconic inline 6 (I know the G80 M3 does too just stick with me here). It probably doesn't need to be said that the G80 M3 is the most powerful of the three with a monstrous (a cliché adjective I know) 473 horsepower, a full Nissan Juke's worth of power more than the M2 and 135 more than the classic E46. However the power is better delivered in both the M2 and E46, as firstly manners maketh the car (on the road anyway) and both M2 and E46 have superior power to weight numbers than the G80 M3. The E46 is first on the podium with 4.29kg/hp, beating out the M2 (4.24 kg/hp) and the G80 M3 (3.74kg/hp). Secondly, and on the topic of numbers I am about to get even more boring with statistics, as the M2 and E46 both have higher compression ratios than their large snouted younger G80 brother. In oversimplified terms higher compression equals more thermal efficiency ergo less heat waste ergo more horsepower from their respective engines, both less than the G80, but as mentioned before both make up for that with their power to weight ratios. Now for the boring ones..... Right now I'm going to shut up about M cars as for the average consumer i.e. me, the 2 series stands out as a fun alternative to the mundane and boring 3 series. For this segment I'll be comparing each car's 2 litre diesel variant. Straight away if you're looking for the best daily driver of the three and you don't want to be the most boring person on Earth please, for the love of god buy the 220d. Yes I know having a small coupé and fuelling it with diesel is like having a chocolate éclair and filling it with baked beans, but if you can get past the sound the 220d really is perfect. Lets get the boring things out of the way, technically the 220d is very very nearly as economical as the 3 series, with a combined 63MPG, only one less than its 5 doored brother. The lightweight 2 Series propels you to 60 in a spritely 7.2 seconds, 0.1 slower than the 320d but the 2 series just does it better. With 50:50 weight distribution, low centre of gravity and its long wheel base the little 2 series comes alive around corners, somethings it slightly lumpy brother does not (as much). I can't believe I have made it this far in to this without being all shallow and mentioning looks. The 2 Series is an evolution of the (in my opinion) beautiful 1 Series, it is essentially a 1 Series refined, and in a world of ever growing cars evolving in to ugly grey plug in hybrids, the small, sporty 2 Series really is a breath of fresh air on the road. Obviously it would be blasphemous if I tried to make the case that the 2 Series is better looking than the E46, but it isn't so I shan't be going there. Now to be a grown up... If you want something to get you from A to B the 2 series or 3 series (not the E46 be serious) are both sensible options, both are economical, reliable and (just about in the 2 series' case) have room for four. But if you want to get from A to B and look good doing it the 2 Series is the car for you, unless of course you enjoy the colour beige, in which case buy the 3 Series. I truly have spent a long period of my life not appreciating BMWs best consumer car in their pretty bad (sorry) line-up. Writing this I truly believe the 2 series in its mid tier 2 litre diesel form is not only a better but is also more interesting car than both aforementioned 3 Series. If you're a car enthusiast that (like myself) can't afford to buy and run an M car the 220d seriously is a car you should consider. (All stats provided by ultimatespecs.com and RAC.co.uk)