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WATCH: BMW M240i reveals its inner beast on drag strip
Four-wheel drive version still a fast compact coupe, but with much better manners.
The BMW M240i will get your pulse racing.
In the not too distant future, driving an internal combustion engine (ICE – aka a petrol-powered car) will be considered a niche. Trees will be hugged, cows will be massaged and vegans will continue to murder vegetables.
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Thankfully, for now, we can still drive cars like BMW’s M240i Coupe. The M240i runs a petrol only, turbocharged, 3.0-litre straight-six engine which punches out 285 kW of power and 500 Nm of torque. There is no assistance from anything other than boost.
Sadly, the next one will probably run a 650-cc engine from BMW’s GS range of motorbikes with electric motors on each axle to produce 350 kW, and the one thereafter will be fuelled by Superman-friendly kryptonite and produce 550 kW.
Sure, I have no doubt they will be fast, but just like electric cars of today, they will lack a bit of soul. And driving the M240i is all about the mechanical and aural experience. Am I in love with the fact that M240i now comes in xDrive as the only option? No.
BMW xDrive
I do wish BMW would offer a 2WD (two-wheel-drive) button on all their performance xDrive models for those times when you didn’t take your meds in the morning and want to leave long black Pirelli PZero-sponsored lines all over North Rand Road in Boksburg.
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Because you can’t switch to 2WD, this means you have all the grip in the world off the line, courtesy of the eight-speed automatic box and the M240i’s launch control function.
This, in turn, makes this BMW M240i the second-fastest 240i we have tested. It is a fraction quicker to 100 km/h than the rear-wheel driven M2 and the M2 Competition, but a bit slower than the 331 kW M2 CS.
Unfortunately, what the car gods give with one hand, they take with the other. The addition of xDrive grip not only makes you look uncool on the East Rand, it also adds weight, and this M240i is the heaviest by some margin. So, what it gains off the line, it loses the longer the road is.
On the inside M Performance means you get Alcantara/Sensatec trim alongside other specific design features such as an M leather steering wheel, M Sport seats with integral head restraints.
Outside you get M Sport suspension, M Sport braking system, M Sport differential at the rear, and high-performance mixed size tyres on 20-inch rims as fitted to our test car.
The BMW M240i xDrive comes in at R1.1-million and has much better manners while still being a very fast compact coupe.
Road test data
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic transmission
Engine: 3.0-litre Turbocharged
Power: 285 kW @ 5 500 – 6 500rpm
Torque: 500 Nm @ 1 800 – 5 500 rpm
Licensing Mass: 1 655 kg
Power to Weight: 172 kW/Tonne
Power to Capacity: 95 kW/Litre
0-100 km/h: 4.39 Seconds
1/4 Mile (402.34 m): 12.60 Seconds @ 180.32 km/h
1/2 Mile (804.68 m): 19.80 Seconds @ 218.77 km/h
1 km (1 000 m): 23.21 Seconds @ 229.93km/h
60-100 km/h: 2.35 Seconds (in Drive Sport)
80-120 km/h: 2.84 Seconds (in Drive Sport)
100-200 km/h: 11.68 Seconds (in Drive Sport)
Claimed Top Speed: 250 km/h
Fuel Consumption: 8.0 L/100 km Claimed by BMW (10.6-litres Test Average)
Fuel Tank Size: 52 litres
Fuel Range: 650 km Claimed (491 km on Test)
CO2 Emissions: 185 g/km
Vehicle Odometer: 8 861 km
Test Temperature: 13 Degrees
Tyres Size: 225/35 R20 Front & 255/30 R20 Rear
Tyres Make: Pirelli PZero
Warranty: Two-year/Unlimited km
Maintenance Plan: Five-year/100 000 km
Priced from: R1 100 000
Test date: 20 July 2022
For more information on the BMW M240i and the latest pricing visit the manufaturer’s website.
