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BMW M240i XDrive Coupe
To drive a fast, compact, driver-focused
BMW coupe, what do you buy today?
In the past, your answer could have been
the 1 Series Coupe or even further back
in time, the 3 Series Coupe. Today, it is
certainly not the poised, large, and complex
4 Series and not the GT-sized 8 Series
either.
The answer is The All-New M240i xDrive
Coupe.
The M240i xDrive Coupe, which is allwheel
drive and more modestly powered,
is probably the sweetest-driving car of the
lot for regular people. It does manage to
capture the essential feeling with more
violence and flamboyance.
The car is considerably larger than
before in all areas, but still manageable and
relatively small at 4.5-metres, in an age
where a 3 Series is 4.7-metres.
The 3.0-litre inline
six – also found in the
M340i and various X
‘M40i models – finds a
home under that long
bonnet, and driving
enthusiasts should note
that this is the smallest
six-cylinder BMW you
can currently buy.
I n t h e M
Performance model,
the equipment list can be read out as a
constant hum. M has developed/branded
the: adaptive suspension, sport differential,
transmission, brakes, steering wheel, sport
seats, 20-inch wheels, and a lot of other
things.
The car drives brilliantly. Firstly it is wider
and longer, but the car does not feel too
huge. Secondly, the steering and chassis
response is very much that of a small car,
direct and communicative. Third, it rides very
well for a small, sporty coupe.
That sets it up for driver popularity. Unlike
some cars, whose mode shifts engender a
scary, schizophrenic personality change, as
you shift from Comfort to Sport, the M240i’s
character stays the same but it simply goes
harder and faster in a pleasingly analog way.
To go fast in some cars you need to build
it up slowly. The M240i is happy to take you
along the route to Faster, letting you know
what it needs or does not along the way,
and it is communicative. An incisive car can
sometimes mean it is twitchy, and not easy
to drive, but all-wheel drive certainly helps
here. The inline six cylinder’s petrol engine
285kW of power and 500Nm of torque on
any coupe of these dimensions would be
quite a handful.
It rides bumps very sweetly, remains unfussed
over fast undulations, and cruises
quietly and effortlessly thanks to a fair
amount of low-end torque (max torque of
500Nm is on tap from just 1,900rpm).
And when the tarmac starts to meander,
the car is very keen to change direction,
even with the adaptive dampers at their
softest. Thank the M240i’s near-perfect
50/50 weight distribution and low centre of
gravity for that.
The nose responds eagerly to
the quick, linear steering, welljudged
steering weight, and
generous feedback through the
rim to keep you clued in on the
road surface below and the state
of the tyres’ grip.
Dial things up to Sport
Plus mode and things get
commensurately more grinworthy.
The car’s considerable
heft appears to be of no
SAMEWAY ISSUE 665 | P. 20 26.08.2022