Anthony’s Analytics: 2022 BMW M240i xDrive

by  Anthony Fongaro  - Photos via BMW- 08/01//2022 

If you think about it, there really aren’t a lot of small sporty coupes anymore. As we get further into electrification and electric vehicles, these are definitely becoming more sparse. Now, the one manufacturer that still makes good coupes is BMW. There are their 2-series that come in a few flavors, but the mid-spec coupe just is the one that you want. That is the BMW M240i.

Before anything else, I have to address the paint. What’s funny is that in almost every review of the BMW two series, it’s usually in this purple paint called Thundernight Metallic. Driving around, you do get a lot of attention because of this paint. Would I get it in this color? Absolutely not, but it does stand out. As does the silhouette and some of the design features. When you go to the front, you’ll see that the traditional BMW kidney grill looks a little off. That is because the grill opens and closes. When the car is off, the grill is closed. When it is on, the grill is open. 

 There are some design features that I really like including the bulging hood and some of the black and silver trim pieces. Along the side, there are some 19-inch wheels along with silver side mirrors and an almost flush door handle. Getting to the back, you see the taillights that, at first I didn’t like in pictures due to how they bulge out, but they definitely grew on me. There is a little spoiler on the trunk, and what looks to be a fake diffuser. All in all, this is a very sporty-looking coupe and definitely can write checks that the exterior tries to cash.

 When you open the door, you will see the familiar BMW layout. That means that everything is where you would expect it to be and it is quite simple to use. This M240i gets a head-up display that displays many functions including your speed, speed recognition, navigation, and a few other things such as media. The seats and the steering wheel are heated, and you do get a digital driver's display. While using the navigation system, I found it to be extremely easy but a little annoying because the songs would take about two seconds to go from one to another so it seemed like it was playing the songs a little slower. 

 The seats themselves are very comfortable with a good amount of lumbar support and they really hold you in when you’re taking those corners. The same cannot be said for the backseats which are so cramped and difficult to get into that I would only put very small children in for a very small period of time. This BMW also comes with a Harman Kardon sound system which sounds quite good.

 Now let’s get to the soul of this car which is the 3-liter  turbocharged in-line six engine. It produces 382 horsepower/281 kW and 369 lb-ft/518 Nm. Since this is an xDrive model, it comes with all-wheel drive with this particular car having an eight-speed automatic transmission. When you combine all of those, it has the M240i go from 0 to 60 in 3.6-seconds. This is a very quick car in almost all driving modes but eco-mode. That’s not very surprising. The few different driving modes you have include sport, comfort, eco-pro, and adaptive. The thing that brought the biggest smile to my face was not the paddles, but the steering wheel. 

 This car corners so well that you’ll be taking corners far quicker than most people will be taking them. It’s great that this is quick in a straight line and threw out some good twisty bands. If you drive it in a more sedate manner, it will still get you 26 MPG. You don’t really buy this type of vehicle for fuel economy, but it actually does quite well. Of course, being a small coupe, the trunk is very small.

 Let’s get to pricing. This BMW M240i xDrive starts under $50,000, but my fully-loaded model was closer to $60,000. For that price, you are getting a very well-made vehicle that is good-looking, very quick and has some really good technology. I would even say that this is probably better than the old M2 from a few years ago. Saying that I can see the vast appeal of this vehicle. Especially if you have it as a primary vehicle, this can daily drive with the best of them. There really aren’t too many flaws, which is why I think this is such a fantastic car. Not just being a sporty coupe, but being a sporty vehicle in general. If the M240i xDrive is this good, imagine how the next M2 will be. It’s really an easy choice if you’re looking for this particular type of vehicle. Go and look at a BMW M240i xDrive. Definitely shouldn’t disappoint you.