BMW M240I vs BMW M2

What's the difference?

With a six-cylinder sweetheart of an engine and a thrilling drive experience on offer, there are some seriously good reasons to consider the BMW M240i. But there are a couple of question marks over some of the finer details - none of them are deal-breakers, however.

So, back to the preposition I plotted at the beginning - does it make sense as a more affordable alternative to the M2? The answer is yes... but it's also, no.

I'd spend the extra money and get the M2, but power and presence matters more to me than it might to most. And then again, I'd probably buy a manual M2 Pure, which is not as far a stretch.

As the ultimate form of the current M2, the CS distils the best aspects of what everyone loves about BMW into one tidy little package.

The driving experience is nothing short of divine, even if the manual gearbox shifts could be better, while the firecracker engine kicks things up to a whole new level.

If only BMW offered more equipment and safety to round out the $140,000 pricetag, or maybe they should have leaned harder into the lightweight aspect and ditched the rear seats to make the M2 CS even more special.

At the end of the day though, the M2 CS is still an unbelievably appealing driver’s car, and I can’t wait to see what BMW has in store for the next one.

From most angles the M240i looks fairly sporty, which is precisely the requirements for a driver-oriented two-door car. The styling of the body lends itself to the rear-drive underpinnings, with short overhangs at the front and the rear - but to my eye, it still looks a bit funny side-on, where the bubble top gives away its hatchback heritage (it's based on the 1 Series hatch).

New for the 2018 model are adaptive LED headlights, new L-shaped LED tail-lights, re-sculpted bumpers front and rear, and a new set of 18-inch wheels. On the whole, I think the appeal and appearance of the 2 Series coupe is getting better with age - a bit like a scrawny teen, it's slowly growing into its clothes. I guess that's what happens when you have a muscle man like the M2 for a big brother.

We’re already big fans of the way the M2 looks, it’s just the right size and has the perfect proportions for a sporty coupe, and the CS just takes things to another level.

From the outside, the M2 CS scores a noticeably bigger bonnet bulge, as well as a vented hood to improve airflow.

The front splitter, side mirrors, skirts, bootlid spoiler and rear diffuser are also finished in carbon, and add to the car’s aggressive demeanour.

Filling the wheelarches are 19-inch wheels finished in black, but tucked behind those are massive drilled brake rotors and large calipers painted in red.

To call the M2 CS exterior design sporty would be an understatement, but we do have to point out that the Alpine White of our test car did look a little boring, despite the extra bling.

If we were buying one? We’d option the stunning Misano Blue hero colour with gold-coloured wheels to really turn heads around town and at the racetrack, although they will add another $1700 and $1000 respectively to the already dizzying price.

Inside, the M2 CS is let down a little by a spartan interior, which looks like it’s been lifted from the cheapest 2 Series coupe, due to the lack of climate-control screen.

However, BMW does try its best to spice things up with very tight-fitting bucket seats, an Alcantara steering wheel, CS-branded dashboard and that carbon-fibre transmission tunnel.

It’s definitely a case of function over form , but the lack of interior flare means you focus more on the road ahead than anything else, which is no bad thing when you have 331kW and 550Nm being sent to the rear wheels.

What is perhaps the most peculiar thing about the 2 Series Coupe range is that from the back seat it feels almost more spacious than in the 1 Series hatch. Odd, right? And the access to the second row - by way of a pair of folding-and-electronic-sliding seats - is reasonably easy unless you're a plus-size adult.

If you do find yourself in that category, there's a good chance you won't want to be finding yourself in the back seats very often, as there isn't a whole lot of space - anyone pushing 183cm (six-foot) will find their hair brushing the head-lining and their knees bumping the seat ahead. There are only two seats, but they would be well suited to children or occasional adult use.

Up front is BMW’s 'Navigation System Professional' is standard in the M240i, with its large 8.8-inch screen offering touch capability as well as the clever dial controller between the front seats. The system has the new 'iDrive 6' software, just like you'll find in the new 5 series, and there is Apple CarPlay, which is cable-free in this iteration, but BMW asks buyers to pay $623 for the privilege.

The multimedia system also includes BMW ConnectedDrive capability, with emergency calling if you happen to have an accident, and real-time traffic information. When I was driving in to the office, I was alerted of a particularly bad snarl caused by a break-down, which I wouldn't have known otherwise. Clever! And the M240i has a 12-speaker harman/kardon surround sound system, which is good - but not great.

The red leather trim of our test car mightn't be to all tastes, but it certainly is eye-catching, and the quality of the 'Dakota' trim (I always wonder, was that the name of the cow(s)?) is excellent quality. There are front seat heaters, too. Height-adjustable seat belts would be nice, as would seat belt presenters - it's a bit of a reach back to retrieve your clicker, particularly for shorter drivers.

There is good storage on offer, with large enough door pockets for a bottle, though they aren't sculpted as such. There are cupholders in the front, but not in the back - between the two seats is a small storage tray, and there's no flip-down centre armrest between those rear positions, either.

The boot is a sizeable 390 litres, 30 litres larger than the 1 Series hatch, and because there isn't a spare wheel (the 2 Series, like all BMWs, uses run-flat tyres, and tyre pressure monitoring is fitted) there is no penalty to pay for boot depth. The rear seats fold down by way of triggers mounted in the cargo area, but if the headrests have been up on the back seats, they may snag when you drop them down.

Measuring 4461mm long, 1871mm wide, 1414mm tall and with a 2698mm wheelbase, and just two doors, the M2 CS isn’t exactly the last word in practicality.

Of course, front passengers are afforded plenty of space, and the electronically adjustable bucket seats allow you to get into the right position to row through the gears and eat up the road.

Storage is limited, however, with average-sized door bins, two cupholders, a small wallet/phone tray, and that’s it.

BMW is generous enough to include a single USB port to charge your device, but its location, where the armrest should be, means you’ll have to get creative with cable management to make it really work if you want to keep your phone in the tray under the climate controls.

Predictably, the two rear seats are less than ideal for anyone tall, but there is plenty of leg and shoulder-room.

A small centre-storage tray is fitted back there, as well as Isofix points for the seats, but there isn’t a whole lot to keep rear occupants entertained. They'll probably be too frightened to care.

Opening the boot reveals a small aperture that will swallow 390 litres, and is shaped in such a way that a set of golf clubs or some overnight bags will fit in nicely.

There are some luggage tie-down points and netting to keep your belongings from rolling around, and the rear seats fold down to accommodate longer items.

Pricing for the 2021 BMW M2 CS starts at $139,900 before on-road costs for the six-speed manual, with the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic bumping up to $147,400.

Let’s not mince words here, the BMW M2 CS is not cheap.

Compared to the M2 Competition , the CS adds about $37,000 to the bottom line – the equivalent of a well-specced small SUV – and sits perilously close to the new-generation M3 and M4 ($144,900 and $149,900 respectively).

For the price , buyers are getting exclusivity, with just 86 examples available in Australia out of a total global production run of 2220 units.

The engine is also tuned for a higher power output, but more on that below.

Standard equipment in the M2 CS also eschews luxury for sportiness, with carbon-fibre exterior highlights, a new exhaust, lightweight 19-inch wheels and Alcantara steering wheel.

The front seats are borrowed from the M4 CS, and trimmed in Alcantara and leather, but that’s about all you get for equipment.

The multimedia system shares the same dimensions as the rest of the M2 line-up, measuring 8.8 inches and including satellite navigation, digital radio and Apple CarPlay (no love for Android owners, sorry).

The climate controls do differ slightly, with the slender screen replaced with basic buttons and knobs.

Seat heating? Nope. Rear air vents? Sorry. How about keyless entry? Not here.

Also noticeably absent is a wireless smartphone charger, and centre armrest, as the usual transmission tunnel has been swapped out for a carbon-fibre piece.

To be fair, you do get a premium Harman Kardon sound system, push-button start and single USB port, so at least BMW does offer a way to charge your phone on the go.

Perhaps most egregious of all though – at least to me – were the rubber pedals fitted to our manual test car.

For $140,00 you’d expect a bit more in terms of convenience features, and before you make the argument that ‘it’s all about saving weight’, don’t bother, because the M2 CS and M2 Competition both tip the scales at an identical 1550kg.

The 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine is good for a stonking 250kW of power and 500Nm of torque, which is well good for a car of this size. So good, in fact, that BMW claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.6 seconds - just 0.3sec slower than the M2. Sounds like money well saved - you'd have to spend quite a bit more on other German coupes to get this sort of performance.

Shifting gears is an eight-speed automatic with a sport mode, manual mode and paddles, with drive being sent to the rear wheels.

Powering the BMW M2 CS is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo ‘S55’ six-cylinder engine, developing 331kW/550Nm.

With drive sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, the M2 CS can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 4.2 or 4.0 seconds respectively.

Peak power is available at a heady 6250rpm, while maximum torque comes on stream from 2350-5500rpm.

The M2 CS actually put out as much grunt as the outgoing M3/M4 Competition, because it uses the same engine, and to say the amount of performance on tap is explosive would be to talk up explosions. This is a serious amount of bang for your buck.

The M2 CS easily outclasses the likes of the 280kW/460Nm Jaguar F-Type V6, 306kW/410Nm Lotus Evora GT410 and 294kW/420Nm Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0.

I do have to draw attention to the manual gearbox of our test car, though, which was great, but not excellent.

With such engaging shifters fitted to the Honda Civic Type R, Toyota 86 and Mazda MX-5, I expected rowing through the gears would be nirvana, but it was merely OK.

The throws are a little too long for my liking, and it takes just a bit too much effort to slot it into the right ratio. Still, we should all be glad to see a manual offered here, and I'm betting it is still a better option for purists than the auto.

BMW claims fuel use of 7.1 litres per 100km, with emissions rated at 163g/km. I didn't quite get that, with my mix of highway, stop-start and spirited steering returning a consumption number of 8.1L/100km. I'm going to call that better than fair, considering the grunt on offer.

You'll need 52 litres of 95 RON premium unleaded to fill the tank.

Official fuel-consumption figures for the M2 CS are pegged at 10.3 litres per 100km, while our week with the car yielded a more realistic figure of 11.8L/100km.

Engine start/stop technology is included to keep fuel consumption down, but our week with the car was spent mainly in Melbourne’s inner-city streets, with three trips out of town looking for some winding country roads.

No doubt if we were more restrained with our throttle application, we could have kept that fuel consumption figure down, but a sub-12L/100km result is still great for a performance car.

If you want to feel on edge, you really ought to take a no-holds-barred spin in the BMW M240i. I mean, ideally, you'd want a closed road or a race track - but a quiet twisty road could be enough to entice your inner enthusiast.

The 3.0-litre turbo six is superb, with plenty of push - you've got to keep an eye on the instruments to make sure you're not moving too quickly: it's that fast. What a shame that those outside of the car get to hear more of it than those in the cabin, though: there is a nice chortle and some crackle on the overrun, but you only get to really hear that if you have the windows down, or you're standing to the side as the car drives past you.

The automatic transmission can be a little tentative in its most sedate mode, but the paddles can fix that, allowing you to bounce off the rev limiter without overriding your choices, bad as they may be.

No doubt this is a brilliant driver's car.

It has staggered width Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres - 225/40 up front and 245/35 at the rear - around the 18-inch wheels (7.5-inch at the front, 8.0-inch at the rear), but to be honest it could do with even more at the back, because when the engine's 500Nm of torque comes on from 1520rpm all the way up to 4500rpm, you'll be asking a lot of those rear rubbers to keep a grip on the road.

The traction control system does a decent job of keeping things under control - if that's what you want - but the Sport+ setting allows a bit more slip at the back, making for a pretty fun experience in corners. The brake pedal is a little soft under foot, but pulls the car up pretty well.

The adaptive M suspension is changeable based on the drive mode chosen, with Sport and Sport+ setting the chassis up for corner carving over comfort, while Comfort is, er, more comfortable. That isn't to say it is plush, with the rear-end in particular still offering some abrupt reactions to sharp-edged bumps.

No doubt this is a brilliant driver's car - one you won't find the limits of, nor appreciate the abilities of, unless you find yourself on a race track or a closed road. But it also doubles as an amenable commuter, dealing with the droll days of driving to and from work without much hassle at all.

Let me be clear; driving the M2 CS is a simply sublime experience.

The M2 was always close to the top of the best modern M cars, and the CS simply cements its position as the king.

Step inside and the bucket seats and Alcantara steering wheel make sure you know you are in something special.

Push the red starter button and the engine comes to life, with a racy growl from the new exhaust system that immediately brings a smile to your face.

Out on the open road, the adaptive dampers fitted to the M2 CS do a good job at soaking up bumps and road imperfections, but don’t expect it to suddenly become a comfortable and cosseting cruiser.

The ride is firm in all settings, but dial it up to ‘Sport Plus’ and comfort really takes a hit, especially on the uneven inner-city roads of Melbourne, with its criss-crossing tram tracks.

Escape the unkempt roads of the city for the smooth blacktop of the country, though, and the M2 CS really flexes its handling prowess.

The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres fitted as standard also help in this regard, and while the rear end will step out with 331kW pushed through them, if you want to stick to the racing line and clip that apex, the M2 CS is a more than willing participant.

The suspension isn’t the only thing that can be changed, however, with steering and engine adjustments also available.

We found the best setting to be maximum-attack mode for the engine and suspension, while keeping the steering in its lightest setting, and even with the steering weight turned way down, the feedback and feel from the road is enough to communicate exactly what the M2 CS wants to do.

BMW has definitely nailed the feel of the M2 CS, which almost eggs you on to go faster and faster.

When things get a bit too furious, it is also comforting to know that the massive 400mm front discs and 380mm rear discs with six- and four-piston callipers respectively are more than up to the task of scrubbing speed.

I only wish I could have explored the capabilities of the M2 CS in the more controlled environment of a racetrack, because out on the open road, the M2 CS definitely still feels like it has so much more to give. And everything about this car just screams Race Track Time. Loudly.

The BMW M2 CS has not been tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP and as such does not have a crash rating.

The car it is based on, the 2 Series, is also unrated, although the M2 CS differs wildly from the rest of the small coupe range.

Safety systems include front and rear parking sensors, automatic headlights, a reversing camera and cruise control.

Don’t expect autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep assist here, let alone rear cross-traffic alert or traffic-sign recognition.

Sure, the M2 CS is a track-focused special, but its also lacking some crucial safety features you’d expect out of any new car, and particularly one at this price point.

BMW's standard warranty program spans three years/unlimited kilometres, with the same period of cover for roadside assistance. There's a basic five-year/80,000km service plan available for $1340, which covers annual vehicle checks, oil changes, filters and plugs, and labour costs. The car's condition-based service system will tell you when it thinks it needs maintenance.

Like all new BMWs, the M2 CS comes with a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which falls short of Mercedes’ benchmark five-year/unlimited-kilometre offering.

Scheduled service intervals are every 12 months or 16,000 kilometres, whichever comes first.

Buyers can opt for a ‘Basic’ or ‘Plus’ service plan that covers the car’s first five years, priced at $2995 and $8805 respectively.

The ‘Basic’ plan covers oil changes, air filters, brake fluids and spark plugs, while the ‘Plus’ service adds replacement brake pads and discs, wiper blades and clutch.

With an annual cost of $599 or $1761 for maintenance, the M2 CS is actually pretty affordable to service.