- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
3.0T, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
285kW, 500Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (98) 8L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4WD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2022 BMW M240i review
There are more potent M-badged cars in BMW's stable, but Rob Margeit argues the 2022 BMW M240i xDrive is all the 'M' car you will ever need.
- Punchy inline turbo six with commensurate growl
- Crisp and slick eight-speed auto transmission
- Beautifully balanced chassis and commendable suspension set-up
- Four-star Euro NCAP safety rating
- Digital driver display not as good as some in the class
- Slim three-year warranty
Is the BMW M240i a good car?
The badge on the boot lid might read M240i, and in profile it might look like the first-generation 2 Series (2014–21) it replaces, but the all-new 2022 BMW M240i xDrive bears little relation to the car that came before.
For starters, its $89,900 (plus on-road costs) sticker price is around $8000 more than its M240i predecessor. Now, while that might seem like a dramatic jump in dollarydoos, you get a lot more M240i for your money.
The biggest change is to its platform. Whereas the old M240i was exclusively rear-wheel drive in Australia, this all-new 2 Series coupe sits on an updated version of BMW’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform. And that means the M240i is now all-wheel drive.
The new 2 Series is also bigger than its predecessor – 96mm longer, 64mm wider, yet 4mm lower in height. Its wheelbase, too, has increased by 51mm over the car it replaces.
Those new dimensions make for a more muscular-looking coupe, appearing lower and wider than previously, and with more pronounced wheel arches, both front and rear. The bonnet, too, has a more defined power bulge, while BMW’s traditional kidney grille has survived the stylists’ obsession with bigger is better. It all adds up to a meatier and meaner-looking M240i.
The equipment list is generous too. LED head- and tail-lights, adaptive dampers and selectable drive modes, adaptive cruise control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, an electric sunroof, a premium 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, 19-inch alloy wheels, head-up display, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital driver display, rain-sensing wipers, and three-zone climate controls are standard highlights. For a full run-down on specifications and equipment, click here.
Our test car came with just two options – the $2000 M Sport seats out front, while that striking purple Thundernight metallic paint added $1700 to the bottom line. All up, our test car was priced at $93,600 plus on-road costs.
That places the M240i in some rare air in terms of rivals. The most obvious candidate is the Toyota Supra, which shares the same turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder as found under the snout of the M240i. But the Supra is rear-wheel drive against the Beemer’s all-wheel drive. It does start at a slightly more affordable $87,303 for the GT and stepping up to $97,303 for the GTS.
If all-wheel drive is your thing, there’s the Mercedes-AMG A45 hyper hatch, priced from $99,895 plus on-road costs under Mercedes' new non-negotiable pricing structure. Similarly, the Audi RS3 in either sedan ($94,700) or Sportback ($92,200) sits on an all-wheel-drive platform.
Key details | 2022 BMW M240i xDrive |
Price (MSRP) | $89,900 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Thundernight metallic |
Options | Metallic paint – $1700 M Sport seats – $2000 |
Price as tested | $93,600 plus on-road costs |
Rivals | Toyota Supra | Audi RS3 | Mercedes-AMG A45 |
What is the BMW M240i like inside?
The cabin exhibits BMW’s usual hallmarks of quality and solidity. Our test car was liberally sprinkled with faux-aluminium garnishes with a textured weave, although piano-black flourishes are an option.
The $2000 optional sports seats – finished in black leather with contrast blue stitching – are well bolstered, and finding the ideal driving position is a cinch thanks to electric adjustment. The side bolsters can be inflated, too, for extra support.
The M240i’s steering wheel follows the BMW ethos of being round (as opposed to the proliferation of flat-bottomed found elsewhere in the auto landscape) and chunky. It feels like a steering wheel should, sitting in your hand with a reassuring heft.
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A nod to BMW’s M division on the door cards – the M tri-colour – feels a little garish and overwrought, and if anything detracts from the sober atmosphere of the rest of the cabin. Some will, arguably, love it.
What isn’t garish is the overall layout of the cabin and dash, with BMW’s interior design team not straying too far from the broader range. Everything is laid out thoughtfully with the most commonly used features – such as climate control – falling easily to hand.
The 10.25-inch touchscreen similarly is positioned close to the driver, making for easy on-the-fly inputs. Or, if you prefer, BMW’s iDrive multimedia rotary controller is fast and responsive to commands. We prefer the more intuitive touchscreen experience.
Access to the second row is surprisingly easy thanks to front pews that slide forward electrically. It’s easier to get in than out. Once plonked back there, space is acceptable for shorter trips, and certainly behind my 173cm driving position.
Unusually for a smaller car such as the BMW M240i, back seat passengers are treated to separate air vents and climate controls, as well as a pair of USB-C plugs. Nice.
Still, this isn’t a grand tourer, so any thoughts of heading out on the wide open road four-up for a week-long road trip should be banished from mind. The second row is for occasional use only.
Boot space is rated at a generous 390L. Don’t look for a spare tyre and wheel under the boot floor, however, not even a space-saver. There isn’t one. Instead, a puncture repair kit should get you out of a jam. Or call roadside assist.
2022 BMW M240i xDrive | |
Seats | Four |
Boot volume | 390L |
Length | 4548mm |
Width | 1838mm |
Height | 1404mm |
Wheelbase | 2741mm |
How big is the screen in the BMW M240i?
BMW’s iDrive 7 operating system that anchors the M240i’s infotainment is a minefield of configurability. Everything from interior lighting to BMW’s digital key, which turns your smartphone into a, well, key, allowing you to control functions such as climate controls remotely and ahead of actually stepping into your car – handy on cold winter mornings or hot summer afternoons.
There’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration as standard, as well as satellite navigation, DAB+ digital radio, as well as a premium 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.
A wireless charging pad in the front storage cubby doubles as an obvious place to stow your smartphone. If you prefer, there’s a sole older-style USB-A connection in front of the cupholders or a newer USB-C plug inside the generous central storage bin.
The touchscreen responds beautifully to inputs, with fast swiping through menus and sub-menus. Wireless Apple CarPlay integration is seamless, too, while the screen itself offers crisp graphics in sharp resolution.
A head-up display is standard and offers vital driving information, while BMW’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster continues to confound. It seems a missed opportunity from BMW to not provide more configurability from what is a pretty large amount of digital real estate.
Mapping inside the instrument cluster is rudimentary, while trying to find any meaningful driving or trip data proved difficult. Too much real estate and graphic processing are given over to radio station settings and Spotify song selection, and not enough to data that might actually be useful. It’s a misstep, for sure.
Is the BMW M240i a safe car?
The 2022 BMW M240i remains untested by Australia’s independent safety authority, ANCAP. It should be noted, however, that Euro NCAP (the sister organisation to our own ANCAP) awarded the 2 Series Coupe – specifically a BMW 220d – a four-star safety score in 2022.
It scored the 2 Series at 82 per cent for adult occupant protection, 81 per cent for child occupant, 67 per cent vulnerable road user and 64 per cent for safety assistance systems. The Euro NCAP rating applies to the 2 Series Coupe range including the M240i xDrive.
BMW has thrown its full bag of safety technologies at the sleek two-door. Standard technologies include low- and high-speed autonomous emergency braking with cyclist and night-time detection, front and rear cross-traffic alert, a 360-degree camera, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, and adaptive cruise control.
A suite of six airbags covers both rows.
For those with small kids, there are a pair of ISOFIX child seat anchors in the second row.
2022 BMW M240i xDrive | |
ANCAP rating | Unrated |
Report | Euro NCAP report |
How much is the BMW M240i in Australia?
BMW steadfastly continues to lag behind its rivals with its standard three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Five years’ surety is the new normal in today’s automotive landscape.
Servicing intervals are unspecified and dependent on driving conditions. The car will alert owners via the infotainment system when a service is due.
BMW does offer prepaid service packages for either three or five years (or 40,000km and 80,000km). The three-year/40,000km Basic plan is priced at an exceedingly reasonable $830, while the five-year/80,000km Basic plan asks for $1700.
At a glance | 2022 BMW M240i xDrive |
Warranty | Three years / unlimited km |
Service intervals | Condition-based |
Servicing costs | $830 (3 years), $1700 (5 years) |
For $4460 prepaid, you can nab the five-year/80,000km Service Inclusive Plus Pack that adds in replacement brake pads, brake discs front and rear, clutch replacement and windscreen wiper blades.
BMW claims the M240i will use 8.0 litres per 100km on the combined cycle. Our week with the Thundernight-hued coupe saw an indicated 9.6L/100km, which isn’t too shabby against the maker’s claim. It drinks 95RON unleaded as a minimum.
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Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 8.0L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 9.6L/100km |
Fuel type | 95-octane premium unleaded |
Fuel tank size | 52L |
What is the BMW M240i like to drive?
All gripes about interior quirks and foibles take a back seat to the true test of the mettle of the M240i, which lies in how it behaves on the road. And the news here is good.
It's powered by BMW’s turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder making a healthy 285kW at 6500rpm and 500Nm between 1900–5000rpm.
Those outputs are sent to all four wheels via BMW’s eight-speed M Steptronic transmission, fancy BMW-speak for automatic. And yet, despite weighing a hefty 1690kg (kerb), BMW claims the squat coupe can launch from 0–100km/h in just 4.3 seconds. We didn’t test that claim empirically, but we can confirm the M240i is a jet fighter off the line.
It starts with the satisfying rumble emanating from under the bonnet and the tailpipes at the push of the starter button. This might not be a fully-fledged M car, but the emotional response isn’t diluted once that straight six starts singing.
Acceleration is meaningful if you need it to be, docile and sublime if you don’t. There’s an easy manner to the way the M240i navigates the urban landscape at socially acceptable levels, feeling neither too unwieldy nor lightweight.
Several drive modes tailor the driving experience. Ranging from Eco to Sport Plus, and with Comfort and Sport in between, the M240i can transform from comfortable suburban daily to capable corner-carver with aplomb.
We’ve driven plenty of full-fruit M cars over the years, and as good as they are, they’ve always felt cumbersome when driven sedately, wanting to be let off the chain. This M240i isn’t like that. It’s the mature person’s M car, and all the M you’ll ever need.
Find a nice stretch of road and let the straight-six growl to its inevitable conclusion, and the M240i responds with a purpose and a menace that’s hard not to love. The 3.0-litre is happy to sing out to redline, the eight-speed auto transmission even more so.
It’s almost uncanny how intuitive BMW’s Steptronic transmission is, always plucking the right gear for the situation. Better yet, throw it into manual mode and use the steering-wheel-mounted paddle-shifters, and there’s a deliciousness to the way the engine holds onto revs until redline, growling with M-intent as you hurtle towards the horizon. It’s sharp, it’s slick, it’s the stuff of automotive dreams.
Thanks to the M240i’s xDrive AWD underpinnings and nicely balanced chassis, the little coupe hugs the road and corners with aplomb. The mechanical rear differential plays its part in apportioning power and torque, the rear bias keeping things playful without being silly. This is a car that can be driven with gusto without over-stepping sensible limits.
The adaptive dampers play their part, too, especially in the sportier drive modes where things firm up a touch. It’s not bone-jarring firm by any stretch, but the work they do in keeping the M240i flat through harder cornering is commendable.
Even more commendable is how cushioning the ride becomes when softer drive modes are chosen, the Adaptive M Suspension isolating all but the most aggressive road rashes from the cabin. This is a car that can be comfortably driven every day – not something every full-fruit M car can claim.
The brakes are impressive too. Four-piston callipers up front and a single floating caliper out back providing reassuring and consistent retardation of speed, even under more dynamic driving. It all adds up to a package that, while not as brutal as full-blown M cars, is enough for even the most ardent enthusiast to enjoy.
Key details | 2022 BMW M240i xDrive |
Engine | 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo petrol |
Power | 285kW @ 6500rpm |
Torque | 500Nm @ 1900–5000rpm |
Drive type | All-wheel drive |
Transmission | Eight-speed torque converter automatic |
Power to weight ratio | 169kW/t |
Weight (kerb) | 1690kg |
Turning circle | 11.6m |
Should I buy a BMW M240i?
The M240i makes a case for itself from the moment the starter button is pressed. Its deep rumble offers the first hint that this car is pretty special – a feeling only amplified once the driving starts.
Yes, the price increase over the outgoing model seems steep on face value, but you get a whole lot more M240i for your money.
A more potent M2 is likely coming in the future, but really, the 2022 BMW M240i is all the ‘M’ car you’re ever likely to need.