BMW M240i review

Many modern cars try to be sporty, or pretend to be, but they’re about as entertaining as a week-old salad. The BMW M240i is the real deal. A farm-fresh crunchy Romaine lettuce, if you like.

The M240i sits at the top of the regular BMW 2 Series coupe range, above the lesser-powered petrol engines but below the swollen, standalone BMW M2.

We worried that it might feel like you’d only get the M240i if you couldn’t afford the M2 but, actually, the M240i is one of the best sports cars you can buy. Besides, the M2 will take another £20,000 out of your bank account, and its gym bunny aesthetic has been somewhat divisive.

Some details might be a bit fussy, but we reckon the M240i gets the styling spot on. It’s subtly sharper looking than a regular 2 Series M Sport, with exclusive touches like reshaped wing mirrors and a red noon marker on the steering wheel setting the tone.

But it’s the engine that really marks this out as something special. Under the long bonnet is BMW’s 'B58' lump, a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine producing 374hp and a muscly, throaty sound. With so much power and grippy four-wheel drive, the M240i just goes and goes.

We never found ourselves wishing for the M2 in our time with the M240i, and it doesn’t suffer for being four-wheel drive where the 230i and M2 are both rear-driven. It’s still entertaining, and avoids feeling cold and numb – unlike most four-wheel-drive German performance cars. In fact, the M240i is a bit of a hidden gem within the BMW lineup.

Just like its driving experience, the M240i’s interior mixes modern and traditional. The steering wheel is circular, unlike many new cars with a flat-bottomed or slightly squared off wheel, and there are still a few physical buttons.

Earlier versions get physical climate controls too, but more recent models see these integrated within the touchscreen – which isn’t an improvement.

In fact, the latest touchscreen is pretty frustrating to use. The numerous drive profile modes add nothing to the experience, and the app menu is far too busy to read while driving. At least the home screen is quite configurable so, once you’ve set it up, it’ll be easy to use. It’s responsive and glossy, and you can use the iDrive controller in the centre console instead of prodding the screen if you wish.

The interior quality is pretty strong, with leather in well-chosen places and a feeling of solidity throughout. We love the sports seats you get in the M240i, which are comfortable and supportive in all the right places.

Because the 2 Series coupe shares its platform with the larger 4 Series, it’s quite practical for a coupe. The boot is really usable – at 390 litres it’s more than you get in a Volkswagen Golf, and it’s long and wide.

The shape of the boot opening means it shouldn’t be too difficult to load a large suitcase, but awkwardly sized items might not fit. However, you can increase the load capacity by folding the rear seats down from the boot.

You probably wouldn’t want to use the rear seats everyday, but they offer just enough space for a pair of average-sized adults. Taller passengers will be butting up against the roof.

The 4 Series underpinnings help legroom, too. It's pretty good for a small coupe although, again, tall adults will struggle.

The M240i uses a same-sized engine as the M2, albeit with a bit less power. Still, 374hp is plenty, and the M240i never feels as though it’s a poor relation to the M2. On twisty, traffic-clogged British roads, it often feels too fast for its surroundings. You still get the frustration of being stuck on a road among less powerful or slower moving vehicles.

With the engine transferring its power through BMW’s xDrive four-wheel-drive system, the 0-62mph sprint takes just 4.3 seconds. That’s as fast as a Porsche Cayman, and not far off a basic Porsche 911. It’s a proper sports car.

Running costs are high, as expected. The allure of the engine's power means we’d never get close to BMW’s quoted 34mpg, while insurance is going to be a fairly chunky cost. A list price of over £40,000 means an M240i will cost £620 in tax every year until it’s six years old, too.

The M240i will still be a bit cheaper to run than a fully fledged M2, though, not to mention significantly more affordable per month.

Don’t get confused between the M240i and the M235i, either. The M240i is a proper sports coupe, whereas the M235i is a four-door saloon based on the 1 Series with 300hp.

BMW’s M Performance models, which sit halfway between the standard lineup and the M Competition flagships, aren’t often particularly exciting to drive. Fortunately, the M240i breaks the mould.

The steering is quick and direct, and you can just about feel the connection to the wheels if you concentrate. We’d like a bit more feel and a much slimmer steering wheel if we were to be picky – it feels like you’re steering with a circular pool noodle.

A slimmer steering wheel would also make it a bit easier to reach the paddles when you want to take manual control. Mind you, the gearbox is pretty good when left to its own devices – the shifts are smooth and lightning-quick.

The brakes are positive and strong, and the throttle response is perfectly calibrated. In the sportier driving modes, the response is near enough instant.

So many modern cars have contrived driving modes that do little besides add artificial weight to the steering, but the M240i has a noticeably different character in each mode. Knock it into the Eco Pro mode and the car is calm and approachable; engage Sport+ mode and put the gearbox into its sport mode and the M240i has the aggression of a hungry tiger. Sport+ is a revelation when the road opens up. It’s soundtracked by some very subtle pops and bangs, which feel genuine and add another layer to the experience.

The M240i manages to be exciting and entertaining, but it could perhaps be a little more playful in its sportiest driving mode. Just a little bit of slip before the traction control intervened would increase the connection to the driving experience even more, and it’d make an average driver feel like a good one.

Because the M240i is low and lithe, it doesn’t roll in corners. It doesn’t get caught out by quick direction changes, and feels like it’s ready to attack a bend. The suspension is firm but the harshness of a pothole or speed bump is smoothed out for the most part.

The M240i feels like a much more serious performance car than the M135i or M235i, and much more fun. But those cars are better cruisers – they settle down more on the motorway and are quieter at speed. We’ll take the extra engagement of the M240i, thanks, because it’s still a capable mile-muncher. It’ll cruise at triple figures far too easily.