BMW GTI
 

https://s.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dim...rototype-2.jpg

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/09/16/bmw-128ti-revealed

I know there are still some BMW fans on this website but man are most of them ugly nowadays

How is this any different from the X2, which we do have here and comes in a more spritely engine and front LSD? And is just as homely...

Ha - BMW seems to have a thing against making hatchbacks look good. Ever since the e46 compact they've all been pretty ugly.

Ugh. BMW just makes me sad.

It's not good. But proportionately, it's better than most current models and better than some previous entry-level hatches by BMW.

I always hated this one - especially seeing it in person in Germany:
https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/ima...0h-57685-7.jpg

I drove some kind of x2 shuttling from one place to another during a bmw event. Other than being somewhat peppy and the roundel plastered everywhere, it was entirely forgettable and not that pleasant. Essentially an "any-car" from our current boosted 4-cylinder fwd/fake-awd CUV era.

The actual GTI may have VW faults, but it comes together and is a "real" car, the way a 911 or 3-series is, it's been 40-years+ in the making.

Yeah, the X2 I had as a service loaner was boring af. It was mostly fine, but your description of it being a forgettable anycar slathered with BMW logos is spot on.

I'll bet, like most BMWs, that the X2 M35i with LSD is a chunk better. But still, ugly, slathered in excessive logos, and FWD-based AWD.

Edit: And I'm not sure the BMW GTI, as we are calling it, looks any worse than the Mercedes GLA...

No, they're both ugly, and if you're going to buy a GTI, you should just buy the original.

It's the new ultimate compromise machine