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If you want a minimalist rear-wheel-drive European coupe, the 230i is your best—and only—option.

BMW should have picked a name and stuck with it. After our David E. Davis Jr. sang the praises of the 1968 2002, BMW might have said, "Okay, henceforth our overachieving compact sports coupe will be called 2002 and eventually become an iconic brand unto itself." But no. BMW kept building cars in the 2002 idiom, joyful little rear-drive coupes, but the names were erratic—3-series, 1-series, 2-series. The 1987 325is could have been a 2002. Ditto any of the E36 coupes, the 2008 135i, and now the 2022 BMW 230i. If BMW never stopped building the 2002—and it basically didn't—this would be the latest model, and we'd all understand what to expect, which is to say understated style girded with surprising performance and a dash of four-passenger practicality. The 230i, redesigned for 2022, is an everyday car with a secret rambunctious side.

Not that it looks dowdy, but the 230i's styling is exceptionally restrained compared to almost anything else in the BMW lineup these days. The long-hood/short-deck proportions recall the 1-series, and the grille is about half the size of that on the 4-series, with movable vanes to optimize cooling or aerodynamics, as needed. The triangular vents at the lower front corners are functional, BMW says, reducing turbulence around the front tires. Otherwise, the optional M Sport brakes, with their blue or red calipers, are the only real peacocking going on. BMW stuck to a theme of restraint on this one, including the dimensions, which are within a couple inches of an E46 3-series coupe (that's the early-2000s one, if you don't speak BMW model jargon).

HIGHS: Deceptively quick, outstanding brakes, throwback dimensions.

Though BMW rates the 230i's turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four at just 255 horsepower (the M240i xDrive gets a 382-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six), these are BMW horses, meaning a good number of them escaped the count. As such, the 3554-pound 230i rips to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, an impressive number for a car that doesn't bill itself as a drag racer. The quarter-mile time—13.7 seconds at 101 mph—is also solidly in rowdy territory. With numbers like that and a base price of $37,345, the 230i could plausibly score a few converts coming from a Subaru WRX or a V-6 Chevrolet Camaro.

Unlike those two cars, the 230i is automatic only, employing the ubiquitous and capable ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic. And you know what? That's all right. The BMW 2.0-liter four is plenty powerful, but it's not the kind of engine you wind out to redline just to hear it sing. And the automatic does offer a couple of neat tricks, such as launch control (which isn't the quickest way to 60 mph) and a "sprint" function on cars with the Shadowline package—pull the left shift paddle for at least a second and the transmission will drop to the lowest possible gear while all other engine-management systems set themselves to max-attack mode. But essentially, this engine and transmission are a means to an end, generating enough speed to showcase the chassis and brakes.

LOWS: No manual transmission, options quickly run up the price, nobody knows what "230i" stands for.

Of the 2002, David E. wrote, "I learn not to tangle with the kids in their big hot Mothers with the 500 horsepower engines unless I can get them into a tight place demanding agility, brakes, and the raw courage that is built into the BMW driver's seat as a no-cost extra." The same could be said of the 230i. You wouldn't want to mess with a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat on a straightaway, but get down into a canyon and the BMW will run away. Wearing staggered Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer tires, 225/40R-19 up front and 255/35R-19 in back, the 230i generated a healthy 0.92 g of skidpad grip and showed off the kind of balance that comes with a nearly 50-50 front-to-rear weight distribution (50.4 percent front, 49.6 percent rear). With fully defeatable stability control and the optional electronically locking differential, the 230i would be blast on an autocross course.

Its brakes, too, are up for diving deep into corners all day long. Not only did the 230i stop from 70 mph in just 152 feet (within a yard of the Maserati MC20's performance), it did so time after time with no fade. Even repeated stops from 100 mph elicited consistent results and more than 1.0 g of deceleration.

Since this is a BMW, all manner of options are available, but the 230i works best with minimal adornment—no need to kill that throwback vibe with the color head-up display and Tacora red leather. The standard SensaTec faux leather is believable enough, and if you're careful with the options, you might build a 230i that costs less than a Toyota Supra 2.0, which uses the same powertrain. Perhaps those two machines don't seem like natural competitors, but the 230i delivers near-Supra performance along with a back seat and less extroverted styling. It even returned 38 mpg on our highway fuel-economy test.

Yes, we've compared the 230i to a lot of cars that aren't really its competitors. Because at this point, what is? Minimalist rear-wheel-drive European coupes aren't exactly thick on the ground these days—the Mercedes C300 Coupe has a base price about $11,000 higher than that of the 230i. Only one company stuck with this formula and developed it over decades. And though we may wish for, say, a manual transmission or more feedback through the steering wheel, let's look at the big picture: This car still exists, and it still delivers performance that can surprise a muscle car or two when you get it in its element. The fact that we can take that for granted is a testament to why we shouldn't. Regardless of whatever else BMW rolls out—electrified, bombastic, hypercomplicated—we're glad somebody in Munich still has their hymnal turned to page 2002.

2022 BMW 230i Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe

PRICE Base/As Tested: $37,345/$48,520 Options: M Sport package (Shadowline exterior trim, M steering wheel, variable sport steering, M Sport suspension, aerodynamic kit), $3250; Premium package 2 (ambient lighting, Adaptive LED headlights, heated steering wheel and front seats, keyless entry, moonroof), $1950; Dynamic Handling package (M Sport differential and brakes, summer tires, 155mph top speed limiter), $1900; Oyster leather interior; $1450; Harman/Kardon stereo system, $875; Shadowline package (red brake calipers, M Sport Pro package, M Shadowline lights), $850; Brooklyn Grey Metallic paint, $550; lumbar support; $350

ENGINE turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection Displacement: 122 in3, 1998 cm3 Power: 255 hp @ 6500 rpm Torque: 295 lb-ft @ 1550 rpm

CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink Brakes, F/R: 13.7-in vented disc/13.6-in vented disc Tires: Pirelli P Zero PZ4 F: 225/40R-19 93Y ★ R: 255/35R-19 96Y ★

DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 107.9 in Length: 179.0 in Width: 72.4 in Height: 54.8 in Passenger Volume: 88 ft3 Trunk Volume: 10 ft3 Curb Weight: 3554 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 5.1 sec 100 mph: 13.4 sec 1/4-Mile: 13.7 sec @ 101 mph 130 mph: 26.1 sec Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec. Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.1 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.1 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.8 sec Top Speed (mfr's claim): 155 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 152 ft Braking, 100–0 mph: 309 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.92 g

C/D FUEL ECONOMY 75-mph Highway Driving: 38 mpg Highway Range: 520 mi

EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/City/Highway: 29/26/35 mpg