Still trying to figure out the climate control as it doesn't seem to try too hard to reach the desired temperature. For example, if i set it at to 16 degrees and its warm outside, I'd generally expect the fans to go up to max until the desired temperature is reached, however the fan speed seems to stay the same regardless of the temperature its set at. It's definitely capable of getting up to max as it does so when I press the max air con button. There's also the mystery red/blue dial in between the middle vents which seems to drastically change the air temperature depending on the setting. Not sure where to set this dial as the desired air temperature is surely dependant on whether I want the car warmed up or cooled down, which is the whole point of climate control
I guess it depends how warm it is outside, if its boiling I want to be cooled down quickly. There is the option of the max setting but I was expecting less user intervention
Some 2 Series do not have proper climate control. I am going to make the assumption yours has - ie, you have a digital temperature display for the climate. If you don't, then you've not got climate control which is why it doesn't work as you expect.
The BMW system is actually brilliant when you get used to it and then key to why its brilliant is that mystery red/blue dial.
First, set the temperature to your desired temperature. 20-21c is probably the right setting. Then ensure everything, inc fan speed, is set to auto. Then never touch the fan speed or cabin temperature setting ever again in the entire time you own car.
The blue/red wheel is an override for temperature out of the face level vents. So, if you want it particularly cold or particularly hot then you use this wheel to do that. If you just want it to do its own thing, leave it set exactly in the middle.
The car will automatically increase the vent speed to rapidly bring the temperature down if you've left it in the hot sun - manually reducing the temperature to 16 won't speed this process up. If it's 21 in the car and you change it to 16 it won't unleash a torrent of noisy air, it'll bring the temperature down using a balance of speed and noise to keep the cabin pleasant. The reason it does this is because it isn't responding to a request for instant cold air - that isn't what the temperature setting is for.
For things like making it cold when you fancy it to be colder than normal, use the dial. For rapidly cooling the car if its been parked outside in the sun, either be patient or use the Max AC button to speed the process up a bit.
Don't try to effect rapid temperature changes by changing the cabin temperature setting - it's a thermostat.