The Best BMWs You Forgot About Are Getting More Power

Lots of BMW news of late has focused either on full-fat M cars like the beefy new M5 or the company’s incoming range of all-important Neue Klasse models, kicked off by the reveal of the new iX3 earlier this month.

The company, though, is still showing some love to its older and less headline-grabbing models, with three of the best cars it makes that you might have forgotten about – the M240i, M340i and M440i – all getting a light boost in power as we head into the end of 2025.

That’s coming via a fettled version of the 3.0-litre turbocharged B58 straight-six, complete with a small electric compressor, shared by all three models. It sees the power bumped up from 369 to 386bhp and torque from 369 to 398lb ft, which, in the 3 and 4 Series, drops a tenth off the 0-62mph time. The M340i will now do the sprint in 4.3 seconds – that’s as quick as the standard F80 M3 managed a decade ago.

Despite the extra grunt, the engine’s also becoming more fuel efficient. In the M240i, the quoted economy jumps from 32 to 35mpg.

All three cars retain standard xDrive all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic gearbox, so they should only serve to further improve some of the most quietly talented cars in BMW’s range. We remain particularly enamoured with the idea of the rapid but subtle M340i Touring, which still remains one of the best do-it-all cars on the market, despite getting on a bit now.

The improved engine debuts later in the autumn in the M240i coupe, plus M340i saloon and Touring, before arriving at an unspecified later date in all three body styles of M440i – coupe, Convertible and low-slung four-door Gran Coupe. No word yet on pricing, but don’t expect too much of an increase over the outgoing versions.