![]() The back seats are a bit of a squeeze for tall adults, but they are absolutely fine for most people on short journeys, and much better than the near-useless Audi seats. ![]() It adds up to a car that, of this trio, would make for the greatest continent crosser.Īlthough things such as legroom and boot space won’t be towards the top of most sports car buyers’ priorities, in this company the M240i is the only one to have if you ever intend to carry more than one passenger. There’s little to choose between the different modes on the adaptive dampers, so whichever you go for, the BMW feels relaxing yet controlled. The BMW achieves this while still managing to deliver a compliant ride. Despite the fact that the engine’s torque is distributed to all four wheels, the M240i still offers a distinctly rear-driven balance in its overall behaviour – unlike the Audi, which feels a bit nose-heavy in comparison. We’d like it to give a little more detail through the rim when the tyres are reaching their limits of grip, though. The steering plays a part, too the rack is fairly quick, and is well matched to the roll response of the body. It might feel more substantial than the other two – especially during quick direction changes – but that by no means makes it seem lazy. The centre of mass feels centred around the driver’s hips, and it means there’s little inertia when turning into a corner. Through the corners, the M240i puts its fabled 50:50 weight distribution to brilliant effect. Aluminium suspension arms reduce unsprung mass, and the M240i’s state of chassis tune is distinct from that of the rest of the 2 Series Coupe range. However, the roofline has dropped by 28mm which, combined with track widths that are up by 63mm at the front and 35mm at the back, gives the newcomer a more powerful stance on the road. The new model is 105mm longer than the old car, with 51mm of that distance between the front and rear axles. In addition, it results in pronounced growth. It also enables the implementation of improved tech – in terms of both safety and infotainment systems. According to the brand, the move to CLAR brings with it “a clear improvement in agility, steering precision and cornering dynamics”, and increases torsional rigidity by 12 per cent compared with the previous model. It now moves on to BMW’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform, which aligns it more closely with its 3 Series and 4 Series stablemates – and is totally different from the front-wheel-drive 2 Series Gran Coupe and Active Tourer models. While the name remains the same as that of its predecessor, there are big changes under the skin of the M240i. This is the entry point to Porsche’s coupe line-up, but experience has shown us that won’t be reason enough to count it out. The third competitor comes in the unmistakable shape of the 718 Cayman. It’s the fastest car here – but is that enough against two legendary performance marques? Next down the capacity list is the Audi TT RS. ![]() The newcomer sits at the top of a wider 2 Series range, which has taken a big step forward from its predecessor. The BMW M240i has the largest unit of the three. Just consider the engines these sports cars have four, five and six-cylinder powerplants, with 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0-litre capacities respectively. Here, we have a trio of cars that take three wildly different approaches to achieve the same goal. Even which wheels to drive is up for debate. Then you need to decide which engine to use to get that essential shove. For a start, there’s the question of where to draw the line between speed and practicality. Make it fast, make it exciting and make it handsome, and everybody will throw you cash to get behind the wheel, surely?Īs it turns out, there’s more to it than that. On the face of it, you could think that creating a sports coupe is easy.
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