BMW M240i xDrive
Well here’s something pretty interesting to play with whilst we wait for the new, full-bore M2 to yell off the launch pad. In an age in which M badging has come to be far more synonymous with specification than something superlative in the engine room, can this 2 Series coupe actually pass muster with a capital M?
On paper, things look promising. An all-wheel drive platform chopped down from that used by the 3 and 4 Series, wedded to a turbocharged straight-six good for 369 bhp and 369 lb ft of torque, the whole shoehorned into a relatively compact not too unappealing bodyshell.
It is colour sensitive though. Dark colours really don’t suit the car, which looks a deal better in a light hue. Then again that does exaggerate the size of the diverse orifices – many, such as the kidney grille, completely blanked out – cut hither and thither in body work that struggles to make a decent fist of of-a-piece presentation as a result.
Still, at least the grille isn’t enormous, unfortunately portrait oriented, and modelled on the nostrils on an angry baboon like other current BMW offerings.
The interior is well screwed together but not, in truth, entirely to my taste: BMW’s awful drivers instrument binnacle with the quasi-analogue dials shaped to ape the outer edges of the kidney grille. And that relentlessly untactile first point of contact; a steering wheel with a Bunter-fat rim and those Bingo wings on the inner circumference at exactly the point where those of us taught to hold the helm at ten to two cannot now do so with any comfort. I actually met a guy the other day who cited the helm rim sizing as the only thing wrong with his M5. And I was beginning to think it was just me… Sensible, thinner rimmed alcantara no-cost option, please.
But the infotainment system’s one of the better offerings out there these days, not only because it’s pretty quick to react to inputs but also because they’ve retained the turny knob by which you can operate it, rather than having to resort to screen stabbing. Another plus; the air-conditioning and radio pre-selects have separate button and knob controls. Hoorah.
That having been said, lane-keeper deactivation is a nightmare, and must be wrestled with ever time you start the engine; an increasingly ubiquitous element of Euro NCAP-sponsored nannying that grown-ups really should be free to make up their own minds about. Once, and once only.
Still, the driving position’s excellent and front seats comfortable enough in that exaggeration-of-individual-cushion-pads manner in which BMW specialises. There’s not much room in the back though.
On the road, the first thing that strikes you is just what a glorious noise the engine makes – a deep-throated, straight-six blare that encourages hunting down the upper rev range in a manner that’s become almost obsolete in the company of today’s four- and three-pot units. OK, it may be somewhat augmented through the speakers, but it still sounds just dandy…
And the second thing that strikes you is: what on earth have they done to the steering? There’s a deal of sneeze factor built into top dead centre, but once you begin to wind in the first few degrees of lock everything instantly gets super quick and pointy. So there’s an acute inconsistency between the gently lazy straight line disinterest and the attack dog initial turn-in that’s quite unnerving, and extremely hard to get to grips with.
The other steering oddity is its distinct disinclination to fully self-centre when you’re unwinding lock from sharper corners. Weird. That’s OK on a wide A road, but when the going gets twistier it’s not much help. Especially since the car steadfastly refuses to shrink around you as speeds rise. It remains bigger in feel than tightly packaged outward appearances would suggest, remaining frustratingly large on you when you get stuck into B roads.
As you’d expect, countless drive modes are available to tweak diverse powertrain and undercarriage elements to your liking. Following an ecstasy of fumbling on your behalf, I suggest homing straight in on Sport Individual, which allows you to tailor pretty much every dynamic variable individually. Unfortunately, however, there’s no Sport+ setting for the helm so you’re stuck with that hemlock numbness top dead centre. If there is a setting amongst the myriad drive modes to rectify this little irritant, I couldn’t find it.
The eight-speed gearbox is somewhat lazy in response to the paddle shifters, even in Sport+ mode. So you have to learn to pre-tug a split second early in order to have the power you’ve asked for at the ready when you want it rather than when the transmission decides you may have it.
Considering the car always feels absolutely, resolutely, delightfully, confidence-inspiringly planted under all circumstances, the ride’s pretty good, yet feels quite firm enough in Sport mode for me not to wish to toughen it further with Sport+. A run up Fish Hill on my Mudfordshire Miglia brought the traction control into play on a couple of occasions, which is hardly surprising; expensive, sticky rubber allied to all-wheel drive does indeed equate to prodigious levels of grip, but at a whisker under 1700 kg the M240i is, frankly, something of a porker pushing for the hedgerows.
Much like the steering and the gearbox, the brakes also leave room for improvement, with the pedal initially feeling somewhat soft yet over servo’d. There’s no questioning the stopping power available, but a top-dressing of finesse wouldn’t go amiss.
In all, then, The M240i is something of a blast; more than quick enough, outstandingly composed, glorious to listen to and a deal of fun to chuck around. It fact, it’s sufficiently forthcoming M2-threateningly good that the suspicious might accuse BMW of holding back on the transmission, steering and brakes merely to be able to fettle a greater distance between this fine machine and what otherwise might not seem to be very much its senior sibling. At all.