BMW 240i M Sport

[Boggy]

Any experience anyone ?

Thinking about ordering one as no delivery date on an M2

Boggy

[130R]

I've got a 235i and like it a lot. It's not an M car but for a daily driver it's great IMO. Fast enough and very reasonable to run if you get BMW to chuck the service pack in. Maybe try and get a test drive in a 235 if the 240 is not available because they're probably very similar.

[greghm]

So it will be a V8 engine ?

[DVandrews]

It will be a straight six turbocharged 3 litre, the B58, successor to the N55.

Dave

[Sohlman]

I took delivery of my m235i two weeks ago and have just completed the 1000 mile run in process.

Mine is leased and is a basic spec, but despite this has everything I need. Nav is good, sound system is not terrible, Bluetooth and iPod connection is easy and different modes on the flappy padels etc are fun. It fits my son in the back, and black metallic with red leather looks great.

It's comfortable on a run and when you open up the taps it is very quick. Steering is direct and a small movement get the car turning rapidly. Suspension is firm and can feel a little bouncy at times. This is the only thing I can really critique.

Mpg general is around 28-30mpg and on a run I have achieved 36mpg. I exspect it to improve a bit once it's loosened up.

I can't see the m240 being that different.

[Boggy]

Thanks guys

For what we want at the moment sounds like the right car. I'd love the M2 however I'm not waiting for 2 years

Boggy

[ratty6464]

The deals are so much better on the M240 than the m2 as well. I think you'd have to really really want an M2 if you didn't opt for the much cheaper M240 (coast to coast offering £7k off list) or an M4 for very similar money and not the massive waiting list

[CarsOrBikes]

Saw a pre reg 235 in Halliwell Jones Chester today, can't remember if M235 or 235 M Sport, but thousands off because it has a plate on already, they had a few, nicest was the M3, 47 ish I think

[Boggy]

M3 is the other option however looking at the finance deals on a new car makes it a complete No No

Boggy

[GTEYE]

CarsOrBikes said:

Saw a pre reg 235 in Halliwell Jones Chester today, can't remember if M235 or 235 M Sport, but thousands off because it has a plate on already, they had a few, nicest was the M3, 47 ish I think

To avoid confusion, the correct and only designations are M235i and M240i - they are not referred to as M Sports (evn though you might argue that is what they are).

Sorry, just my OCD creeping in! :-)

[shikari83]

GTEYE said:

To avoid confusion, the correct and only designations are M235i and M240i - they are not referred to as M Sports (evn though you might argue that is what they are).

Sorry, just my OCD creeping in! :-)

Exactly!

You should be aiming for about 7-8k off a brand new factory order depending on spec. Spec one up on C2C or go and speak to "TRL" on BabyBMW to find out how much, or little, these (or the M135i) actually cost.

[VerySideways]

Sohlman said:

I took delivery of my m235i two weeks ago and have just completed the 1000 mile run in process.

Mine is leased and is a basic spec, but despite this has everything I need. Nav is good, sound system is not terrible, Bluetooth and iPod connection is easy and different modes on the flappy padels etc are fun. It fits my son in the back, and black metallic with red leather looks great.

It's comfortable on a run and when you open up the taps it is very quick. Steering is direct and a small movement get the car turning rapidly. Suspension is firm and can feel a little bouncy at times. This is the only thing I can really critique.

Mpg general is around 28-30mpg and on a run I have achieved 36mpg. I exspect it to improve a bit once it's loosened up.

I can't see the m240 being that different.

Ditto to pretty much all of the above - but we've had our matching pair of M235i's (work cars!) since April and the suspension becomes much more compliant after a few thousand miles... although still not as compliant as the M135i.

[moffat]

Boggy said:

M3 is the other option however looking at the finance deals on a new car makes it a complete No No

Boggy

Why?

There are some great deals on the M3 and M4?

I think the APR is a bit high at 5.9% this quarter but that will drop again.

I enquired about a used M3 CP and the price was much more for a used car than a new car.

[daemon]

CarsOrBikes said:

Saw a pre reg 235 in Halliwell Jones Chester today, can't remember if M235 or 235 M Sport, but thousands off because it has a plate on already, they had a few, nicest was the M3, 47 ish I think

It would need to be cheap saying as it's about to be replaced.

That's why they've registered it now. Probably registered with bmw as a demo for extra bonus

[NelsonM3]

Doen't think anyone actually own one of these yet. I thought the first deliveries would be in June but i've seen no reviews or owners on the net so far

Seems to be allot of performance for the money and sounds like a great replacement for the M3 (M2 is out of budget now thanks to a change in circumstances )

[msej449]

I've had my M235i Convertible for a couple of months now and am very happy with it.



I'd say give one a test drive. If you're ordering, it'll be an M240i now, with the newer engine. I'm a fan of six-cyl engines and this one is turbocharged. I'd echo that this is powerful enough for public roads, and can be driven as a commute / motorway cruise / cross-country fun car. It's a different car to (a) M240i coupé and (b) M2 - so be sure of what it is you want.

Not everyone is a convertible fan, but I'd recommend taking one out on a nice day and if that doesn't convince you then perhaps this isn't for you. The M235i is arguably defined as much by what it isn't as what it is: it isn't a poor man's M2 / Cayman; it isn't a Golf R; it isn't an M140i with the top removed; etc.

For me, it's a more practical Lotus Elise (I had one back in 2000-2004) where you can actually have a conversation at 60 mph with the roof down; put the roof up in 30 secs without having to stop the car and being an expert in origami; have safe performance RWD; fit two people in the back; and still take it on a 4 hour motorway slog up the M25/M40/M6 and arrive fresh for a business meeting.



The only thing I don't like about it are the odd silver mirror trims (I've replaced these with carbon fibre) and the occassional failure to connect automatically to my iPhone Bluetooth.

Oh, and the other thing I really like about it are the door pockets - much greater capacity to hold stuff than on my previous 330d Touring.

Decide for yourself: there are so many good reviews out there that it's suffering from the 'we have to say something different' syndrome from motoring hacks. Latest criticisms you'll see are that it's not as rigid as the M2 (no convertible ever is, even a RR Dawn vs Wraith - and no one claims it is); 228i handling is better (??? this in a couple of US reviews but I simply disagree); rear seats aren't easy to access (then don't get a 2-door car). Perversely, some recent US reviews conclude there's no point in getting anything more powerful than a 4-cyl engine and the extra weight of the 6 unbalances the handling. I've nothing against someone concluding they don't need the more powerful engine but the 6-cyl in the M235i/M240i is significantly better.

I would concede that there are unreasonable limitations on a couple of things: summer wheels - those shown are the only ones available from the factory (there are others, but only as retro-fit); and interior colours/trim - basically black, red or oyster seats and mainly rather naff light metal trims. The wheels actually are very easy to clean and the grey ferric doesn't show brake dust. The Black Gloss trim looks better than the light metal options. There's a £500 retro-fit carbon fibre trim replacement kit which looks good. Our loan car was all-black and look super-cool, but experience with previous black cars is they're a pain to keep clean and all-black interiors can get depressing in winter months, but that's just my bias.

Edited by msej449 on Monday 8th August 23:33

Edited by msej449 on Monday 8th August 23:37

[S3_Graham]

I've got a 140 and can confirm that the engine is great. Good slug of torque makes it a quick car.

Also good mpg and cheap to tax.

For prices talk to TRL on Babybmw. He's a BMW main dealer but smashes out some brilliant deals. I got £8k off of a 35.5k list.

[rosino]

I have an m135i and despite the engine being good (would not define it great), gearbox also good on fill attack mode if a little sluggish in changing down in normal mode, I think the biggest let down is the chassis. Mine has the adaptive and it's still wobbly and unsettled when pushing on. You never get that tied down feeling you get from good chassis. My old V8 M3 was another world in that respect. And mine has LSD whic should improve things already.

I think they should have worked on the chassis for the m140i as opposed as just swapping engines IMHO. An m-sport package with LSD and proper suspension would have been a good optional extra to add. Not sure why they didn't bother.

[Fazzaa]

I just finalised my order for an M240i today previously owning a 120d, 325d coupe, and a 420i. Borrowed an M235i for a day about 6 months ago and was so impressed with it that decided to take the plunge. Never been so looking forward to getting a new car as this one! It's going to seem like a long wait although I started the process 2 weeks ago and just finalised a couple of options today.