Focused Performance.
From the onset, BMW has designed the new 2 series coupé to be the leader in dynamic performance in its class and you would be silly to bet against them. So what exactly have they put together here?. Starting with the chassis which is now 12% stiffer than the previous model as well as riding on a wider track. Coupled with the two-joint spring strut front axle and a five-link rear axle should make for a sporty yet compliant ride. I haven’t had the chance to sample it yet but historically I trust them. The dynamism is also aided by the standard-fit M sport brakes and beautiful, in my opinion, 19″ M alloys. Included as well is the M Sport differential at the rear. Overall the new M240I was designed to be a great handling package.
Powertrain.
Beneath that lovely sculpted bonnet, you will find BMW’s silky smooth B58 3.0L twin-turbo inline 6. This beefy unit has done duty in other BMW’s already and is pretty well known. In this state of tune, the unit pumps out a healthy 275kw/374HP which is 25kw more than previously. The 500Nm of torque is pretty substantial and available from as low a 1900rpm. The torque so low down should make it extremely tractable especially out of slow corners. It is also fairly easy to extract some extra horses from the engine with a couple of relatively cheap and simple mods. Common ones are, cold air intake, chip/software and downpipe should see over 400HP comfortably.
The cog swapping is managed by the 8-speed Steptronic gearbox which can be found in a few various BMW models. It is known for being strong and well-programmed so as to not hunt for the correct gear. The power is sent to all 4 wheels via the xDrive 4WD system which is specifically tuned to favour the rear wheels. The rear-drive bias should make the car better to drive but it’s nice to know that 4WD is there to save your bacon. We can all be a little over-enthusiastic sometimes. All this power and grip equates to a claimed 0-100km\h time of 4.3 seconds. The combined fuel consumption for the M240i in the WLTP test cycle is 8.8 – 8.1 litres per 100km.
Styled to perfection.
In my opinion, this has to be the best looking BMW in a while. The proportions are spot-on, the shape is aggressive but not over the top. Oh and that purple colour is just perfect and for those of you wandering the colour is called Thundernight metallic. It is a modern design but you can clearly see BMW heritage in it with hints of BMW 2002 flavour. My only gripe would be the size. It’s 4537mm long and 1800mm wide and hits the scales at a hefty 1690kg. Just for reference, the E36 M3 was 4433mm long and 1710mm wide and only weighed 1460kg. Now I know it’s not really fair to compare but it’s still scary to see how much cars have grown.
Limo-like
The inside is also somewhere I don’t really have much to complain about, I mean these days most car interiors are so good we end up just nitpicking at silly things. Often it’s like there are not enough physical buttons for things like AC, or the menus are too complicated and I get that but in most cases, once you have been living with the car for a while you get used to it. I personally not a big fan of how the digital display looks and feel most of the competitor brands do it better. This is however subjective and some of you think it’s the best looking. When it comes to the infotainment system the BMW iDrive system is one of the best and has been for a while. As far as creature comforts go it pretty much has everything you could possibly need.
The only option I would select from the option sheet would be the Harmon Kardon surround sound system. In the US its starts at $48,500 before options which I think is pretty fair for what you get.
