2025 BMW M440i xDrive: M Enough for Most Drivers

If you want to spend around $100,000 on a fast two-door BMW, you are faced with a dilemma: do you get the full-fat M4 in base trim, or do you instead opt for the more tame 2025 BMW M440i and go crazy with the options list? Yes, the M440i is about $30,000 cheaper, allowing you to add that much in options to reach the $100,000 mark.

But you can also pocket the difference and still get an excellent handling BMW two-door that embodies the brand’s best qualities. The M440i isn’t as thrilling or extroverted as the M4, but after driving it for a few days, I’ve concluded it’s a superb daily driver and, in this role, a better choice than the M4. Let me explain.

A Lot More Expensive in Europe

The 2025 BMW M440i starts at €73,300 here in Romania, while an M4 coupe starts at €91,100 or €97,300 if you want the more powerful Competition model with an automatic gearbox. Adding xDrive, to give it a similar configuration to the M440i (which you can only get as an automatic with all-wheel drive in Europe), pushes the M4 coupe’s price to over €102,000.

My M440i tester was lent to me by BMW Romania. Being part of the press fleet, it was well-equipped and had a price tag of €91,600. The options don’t define the experience, though; you can enjoy the base M440i just as much. It’s not like the base car doesn’t come with bells and whistles; it gets the M pack as standard, the large curved screens, heated sport seats, an M steering wheel, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential and uprated brakes.

What brought my tester’s price up were the adaptive dampers, the M Sport Pro pack (which turns the calipers red or blue and also gives the seatbelts the tricolor M stripes), a panoramic glass roof that opens, the Harman Kardon sound system (which is a must-have option in any new BMW), the Innovation pack and the Comfort pack. All the options add up to around €17,000, VAT included.

Perfectly at Home Around a Twisty Road

The first thing I did was take it to a nearby twisty forest road. I wanted to see just how lively, playful and controllable the car was at the limit, and it did not disappoint. Even with xDrive, the car doesn’t feel like it’s sending power to the front axle. It eagerly swings its tail out, allowing for some oversteer fun.

Sure, you miss the control that a true M car gives you with its M Dynamic Mode (MDM), which allows you to dial in exactly how much you want the back to step out. But disabling traction control and not the entire stability control system gives you an intermediate setting in the BMW M440i, which allows you some sideways slip in the back but also keeps things in check, and you can easily recover from any slide.

You can definitely feel the electronically controlled limited-slip differential, making rear-end slides both fun and predictable. Once you get comfortable with the car, which didn’t take long in my case, it inspires a lot of confidence to not only push into corners but also swing the tail out by applying more power than needed on corner exit.

Like any current BMW model, the steering is sharp and direct but lacks feel. It has a variable ratio in the M440i, so while it allows you to place the car with absolute precision, it feels a bit artificial. It’s also a bit too light for my taste, even in Sport mode when it firms up.

But it never feels as good as the steering in older BMWs, which required more arm twirling to apply more lock, but it was somehow more rewarding. BMW seems to be tailoring the steering in its newer cars for everyday driving rather than pleasing enthusiasts on a mountain road blast. This also applies to the M4 convertible that I drove recently.

The Interior Is A Mix of Old and New

We’ve covered what’s new in the G22 LCI on many occasions, so I’m not going to do it here. However, getting rid of all physical climate controls and relocating them to the touchscreen makes the user experience worse. As good as iDrive 8.5 may be (and it’s definitely a big improvement over version 8), it’s never going to be superior to having buttons to press and dials to turn to adjust the temperature to your liking.

I’m happy that this car still has the older style buttons around the transmission selector. Having a “My Modes” button, which you press and then you have to tap on the touchscreen to select your desired driving mode, like you have to do in most new BMWs, is not great. The G22 LCI still has dedicated physical buttons for its driving modes, and it’s undeniably a better solution.

BMW seems to be on a mission to eliminate the extensive ambient lighting that we’ve become accustomed to in the last decade. This is evident in the M440i that I drove, which doesn’t have LED strips on the dashboard, and you only get some diffuse illumination in the new central air vents. It looks a bit less fancy than before, and it’s a sign of things to come at BMW.

After driving the M4, most recently without the carbon bucket seats that go even lower than the standard seats, the seating position in the M440i felt noticeably higher. It’s still low by industry standards, but it’s not quite as low as in an M4, and if you’ve driven one before, you will notice the difference.

The revised M steering wheel, which now has a flat bottom and a red center marking, is fantastic, though. It still feels thick and chunky when you hold it, but you can grip it better than the previous helm, and it improves the driving experience.

The B58 Is as Great as Ever

BMW has tweaked the B58 turbocharged straight-six engine under the M440i’s hood compared to the pre-LCI model. It’s still a mild hybrid, and its specs on paper are unchanged, but to me it felt more muscular and eager to pull than before, with more perceived oomph than the claimed 374 hp and 368 lb-ft (500 Nm) output would have you expect.

The facelift has certainly improved the design, particularly at the front, where my tester’s blacked-out grille is now more subtle. Part of that effect comes through the use of horizontal rather than vertical bars, a design element that it borrowed from actual M models. My tester also had the optional laser rear lights, which look really good from some angles, but from a distance all you see is the larger part that lights up and not the delicate laser-lit strands that should be the focal point.

The redesigned grille signals a change in how BMW positions its sub-M performance models. They used to fall into the M Performance category, but BMW has done away with that, and it now designates cars like the M440i as M models. BMW now refers to cars like the M4 as “M high-performance” models. This is why you see an M logo on the grille in the M440i, which wasn’t there on the pre-refresh model.

The M440i LCI is unquestionably an accomplished performance six-cylinder coupe, which has a great long-legged character that gives you the impression it could cross a continent with ease. It’s great to drive, its interior oozes quality and luxury and to enforce its continent-crossing character, it’s good on fuel too. Cruise at 56 mph (90 km/h), and it will use under 33 mpg (7 l/100 km), which is fantastic for a car that’s this powerful and has permanent all-wheel drive.

Is The M4 The Better Buy?

I’d still pick the M4 for its more hardcore character. The M4 also comes with a manual gearbox, which may make it a bit slower, but it elevates the level of engagement to heights that the M440i simply can’t match. The eight-speed automatic transmission is just as great as ever in both vehicles, though, and it fits the M440i’s muscular cruiser character better.

While I haven’t driven the 2025 BMW M440i without xDrive (since it’s only available with all-wheel drive in Europe), I would say it’s the setup to have on this car. When driving spiritedly with the nannies turned down or disabled, the M440i still feels like an oversteery BMW. However, it also accelerates with remarkable gusto even in lower grip conditions. The addition of xDrive enhances the car’s usability year-round, particularly if you plan to take it to the Alps in winter for skiing.