– Detroit, Michigan

I drove the plucky BMW 230i xDrive at the tail end of last year (hence the ‘17 model year), but wanted to be sure the review didn’t get forgotten about – the 2 Series is too good an enthusiast car for that fate.

What’s more, I think the 230i – perhaps slightly ignored by other car media thanks to the brilliance of siblings like the M2 and M240i – could be the gem of the lineup… at least when you start really factoring for dollars and sense.

In all-wheel-drive xDrive trim, the 230i starts at a very reasonable $35,150; meanwhile my test car was tastily optioned to over fifty g...