BMW M240i xDrive Coupe 2022 UK first drive

This is the all-new BMW M240i xDrive Coupé, which in terms of on-paper specification is the sort of car that we can get along with, and get along famously with at that.

It’s a machine that BMW’s engineers fought hard to deliver: a compact, low-slung, two-door coupé built on a bespoke platform with a longitudinally mounted six-cylinder engine that’s bolted to a heavily rear-biased four-wheel drive system. 

In many ways, it’s so far removed from recent rush by manufacturers to deliver ever more EVs and SUVs that it’s incredible the car was given the green light by the bosses. Yet we’re very glad they did, because, as we’ve already discovered during a brief drive abroad, the flagship version of the all-new BMW 2 Series Coupé is a bit of a corker. 

The question is, does it stack up on the UK’s more challenging roads?

Well, the initial signs are promising, the M240i giving off all the right vibes even at a standstill. With its muscular haunches and taut lines, it has a real street-fighter swagger, with a squat, wheel-at-each-corner stance that hints at a quick-witted agility. 

The beautifully built interior is good, too, with a hunkered-down driving position that places you at the centre of the action, plus just enough space for four. Better still, the dashboard is lifted straight out of the BMW 3 Series, so you get a nice balance of screens and traditional switchgear. It’s easier to operate on-the-fly than the latest, smartphone-inspired iDrive 8 system that features on the BMW i4 and BMW iX.

By using a cut down version of its rear-drive CLAR architecture, BMW has been able to squeeze in a heavily revised version of the old M240i’s B58 turbocharged 3.0-litre six-pot, helping give it a real underbonnet USP compared with its largely four-cylinder rivals. It’s a punchy old unit too, packing 368bhp, 369lb ft and a 0-62mph time of just 4.3sec. For context, those numbers are pretty much identical to those of the original M2. This, then, is a serious piece of kit. 

It certainly feels it on the move, responding keenly (almost too keenly in Sport driving mode) to the throttle, punching hard from little more than idle, before really getting into its stride above 4000rpm, when the BMW accelerates with nearly the same ferocity as the old M2 Competition, even if it doesn’t sound as good. There’s a decent amount of grit and growl when it’s worked hard, but there’s also a curious synthesised quality that will be familiar to owners of the identically engined Toyota GR Toyota Supra.