The BMW M240i xDrive proves the spirit of the ultimate driving machine is alive and well. We get behind the wheel
Words: Neil Briscoe
Theories are wonderful, aren’t they? They can explain the birth of the universe, the way in which chemicals bond together, or the ups and downs of the stock market. A straightforward mixture of equations and explanations that can pretty much tell you how the entire world works. Moving from theory to practice, though? That’s rarely so simple.
Take the whole theory of the BMW product hierarchy. In theory, there are regular BMWs, then there are BMWs with the M Sport package sitting one rung higher. Above those, you find the M Performance models, and at the theoretical pinnacle, the mighty M cars themselves. There should be quite a big gap between the M Performance models and the full-fat M cars. Well, at least that’s the theory…
This is not the first time that this theory has been put to the test. If any of you have driven the current M550i, you’ll know that the gap between it and the non-Competition version of the M5 is, well, pretty theoretical. Yes, the M5 is that bit harder, that bit faster, but it’s hard to imagine that anyone could actually want to go any faster in the real world than the M550i allows you to.
Which brings us neatly to the new M240i xDrive Coupé. If the theory holds, this is a lesser car. Lesser than the next-generation M2, at any rate and with its four-wheel drive (there’s no rear-drive version of the M240i) and its auto-only gearbox (only the M2 will be given the option of a manual), this should be the softer, easier-going, less frantic choice for those for whom an M2 would just be that bit too spicy. At which point the theory falls apart a bit.
Let’s come back to that in a minute, though, because this M240i is also our introduction to the new 2 Series Coupé. Note, that’s entirely separate to the 2 Series Gran Coupé. The Gran sits on the front-wheel-drive UKL1 chassis, which is shared with the 1 Series hatchback and various MINI models. Decent car though it is, this 2 Series Coupé proper is more of a traditional BMW, being based on the same CLAR setup as the 3 Series and 4 Series.
It also looks dramatically different to the 2 Series Gran Coupé, and the similarity in names be damned. In fact, according to the 2 Series Coupé’s designer, José Casas Pena, it actually draws its inspiration from the classic 2002.
“I have a very personal attachment to this car because it’s actually our first car that is exclusively produced in Mexico and I’m from Mexico as well. So that was a very cool coincidence,” Pena tells BMW Car. “We wanted something very sporty, something very loud somehow. It has been highly inspired by the 2002. When you see the car, when you approach to it, you can see that it’s a bit boxy on its corners, and it has a little bit of more ‘box’ in the greenhouse or roofline. Here in the front, we can see that we only have one-module lamps instead of two, and that’s also coming from the rounded inspiration there on the lights from the 2002.”
The 2 Series Coupé, certainly in this M Performance form, positively bulges with intent — it appears to be made almost 60 percent of just wheel arches from some angles — and Pena has thankfully given it a traditional horizontal grille, rather than the more, shall we say avant-garde, upright grille of the 4 Series. It also looks fantastic in the brilliantly-named ‘Thundernight Metallic’ purple paint job — all cars should be purple, it’s just a scientific fact.
Could it have been as good looking a car if it had been based on the front-wheel-drive platform, though? Pena artfully dodges the question: “As designer you always have to find the right approach for each platform. Obviously, in this case a rear-wheel-drive platform, allows you to do other things. I think we just have to be sure that every car we do has enough excitement. For example in this car you see that the character is more towards the back of his back. For a front-wheel drive where the bonnet gets shorter, then we could have figured out another gesture, and maybe the inspiration will have been another car or another thing, in order to support that concept. I mean every car is unique and I’m pretty, pretty happy with the results on this one.”
It’s a slightly larger car than the outgoing 2 Series Coupé — 105mm longer, 64mm wider and 51mm longer in the wheelbase. It’s more aerodynamic than before, with an impressive 0.26 coefficient of drag, helped by the active shutters in the grille. The extra size makes for a little extra space in the back seats, although as with the two-door 4 Series Coupé, it’s only a four-seater — there’s no option of a centre-rear seat. The boot has also grown a little, to 390- litres and folding rear seats are now standard, rather than being on the options list.
Up front, the dashboard, instruments and iDrive 7.0 infotainment system are all lifted wholesale from the current 3 Series and 4 Series. Does that make the layout over-familiar? Yes, but equally there’s a noticeable jump up in quality, fit, and finish from the old 2 Series Coupé, which stylistically and in its interior fixtures was very much a 1 Series with notions. The mix of screens and physical buttons also makes for a better control setup than the screen-heavy layout of some rivals. Not that BMW isn’t ladling on the tech – there are more connectivity and online service options now, as well as more ways to control and communicate with the car through the MyBMW phone app.
In a car with an M badge, even a lesser M badge, such electronic gewgaws are mere frippery though. This car ought to be about the driving.
The mechanical specification makes for enjoyable reading. The B58 3.0-litre straight-six turbo engine arrives with 374hp — essentially the same power as the first-generation M2 — and 369lb ft of torque that kicks in from a lazy 1900rpm. That power runs through the expected eight-speed automatic gearbox, albeit without the fuel-saving 48-volt mild-hybrid system that you get in the identically-engined M440i. The xDrive four-wheel drive is not merely rear-biased, it’s effectively rear-wheel drive most of the time, until the computers detect that the rear tyres are starting to break traction at any rate. Nestling between those rear wheels is the brilliant M Differential, which allows you to play more in the way of enjoyable tunes in corners.
Thumb the start button down on the centre console and the B58 idles as smoothly as you’d expect of a BMW straight-six. Pull out into light mid-morning Munich traffic, and it’s as easy-going and tractable as a 330d, albeit with more venom in its veins if you tickle the throttle pedal past the quarter-open mark.
Which is exactly what you’re going to want to do. A 4.3-second 0-62mph time can’t match the new M3 or M4, of course, but sitting up slightly higher in the M240i as you do, it doesn’t subjectively feel much slower, and the xDrive chimes in to parcel out the punch to the wheels that can best handle it, making sure that you’re moving forward no matter what the grip levels are like. As the revs rise, the engine – augmented in Sport mode through the stereo speakers – sounds utterly fantastic, with a rich, deep snarl that sounds like someone covering an angry badger with double cream. Be warned — the noise alone will tempt you into licence-losing actions.
Through corners, the M240i is quite different to an M440i. The 4 Series is all languid and GT-ish, but the M240i feels more like a runaway rally car, attacking each corner with a series of leaps and starts, as if it’s finding extra apexes within each curve. You can, of course, bring the rear end into play, but on dry surfaces that’ll take effort. Nonetheless, the M240i manages to feel more rear-drive than four-wheel drive, with exceptional agility, a feeling that’s magnified by the fact that the car feels so tight and compact around you. It has, of course, fantastic steering but the ride quality is worrying. Even with the optional adaptive dampers fitted, it felt really quite firm even on smooth roads, and even a touch jumpy in Sport mode.
Even so, the M240i xDrive puts in a top-drawer performance. Clearly, the days of big-six engines are drawing to a close, so the chance to drive something as rapid, as balanced and as musical as this feels ever more like a special treat.
The next M2 will doubtless be yet faster, and yet more furious, but for now this M240i does a pretty good job of upending the theories of model lineups.
