The 2002 is the most popular model in BMW's seminal 02 Series, which was lauded repeatedly from it's introduction in 1968 to it's final production in 1976, and continues to garner rave reviews, positive comparisons, and a cult following to this day.
Probably the most famous review of the 2002, or any automobile for that matter, was authored by the legendary David E. Davis, Jr. for Car & Driver magazine upon the 2002's inaugural launch in the US.

Enjoy this full transcript that I recreated from the original article.

(I hope sharing this amazing prose with my fellow 02 fanatics is OK - but if there's any copyright concerns I'll be happy to remove it.)