[Rob_G77]

Adaptive suspension is a $1000 accessory here in Canada. A 2025 M440i I was kind of looking at hit all the checkmarks, except it's missing this item. And I think that ultimately makes it a hard pass....

I remember test driving several 3 series a few years ago and without adaptive suspension I found the damping very uneven and strange. With adaptive, it was a night and day difference for the better.

Anyhow, am I correct to believe that without adaptive, the suspension firmness is somewhere between comfort and sport?

Maybe it's a sign....

Rob

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Rob_G77

Anyhow, am I correct to believe that without adaptive, the suspension firmness is somewhere between comfort and sport?

Maybe it's a sign....

Rob

No, without Adaptive the stock M-Sport suspension is somewhere between Sport and Cement. It's really firm. People often think that Adaptive M is just an add-on and it's not, it's an entirely different and unique suspension.

The Adaptive M suspension does four things compared to the stock M-Sport suspension:

1. In Sport, it gives you a firmness akin to the stock M-Sport suspension.

2. In Comfort, it's a gamechanger, it gives you softness while still maintaining handling. It's a must-have for the wife or kids who get nauseous easily or if you use the car to commute in traffic.

3. It adds the ability to have the dampers as a variable in Sport Individual mode, so you can be in the stiff Sport suspension if you want and have soft Comfort steering, for example.

4. It's on all the time. Computers read and react to road imperfections hundreds of times per second in both Sport and Comfort modes smoothing out bumps, potholes, etc.

You need Adaptive M unless you drive on mirror-smooth roads and have a family with an iron stomach. I wouldn't buy a 3 or 4 without it.

[chrismia]

While I often chuckle at how doctrinaire our buddy toddwalton can come across when he writes about this subject, the underlying substance of his opinion is accurate for most people. I spent a few weekends driving Turo rentals without the adaptive suspension while I was shopping for my G20, and I'm very glad I did as it made clear to me that I would've tired of a car with standard M suspension. I went with the adaptive and haven't regretted it for a second.

Also (and not to be "that guy"), there are dozens of pages on the forum dedicated to this subject. Type "adaptive" in the search function and you'll find a treasure trove of opinions and information.

To more directly answer your question, I found the non-adaptive M sport suspension to hew closer to the adaptive suspension's sport setting than anywhere down the middle. Particularly at highway speeds, I found it pogo sticking way too much over expansion joints, stretches of older highway that have been sunbeat, etc.

But at the end of the day, the best thing to do is spend some time in one and it seems like you've done that, albeit a few years ago. Try it again and see how you feel, and then decide accordingly. There's no substitute for how YOU perceive the car to be damped beneath you.

[Rob_G77]

Originally Posted by chrismia

While I often chuckle at how doctrinaire our buddy toddwalton can come across when he writes about this subject, the underlying substance of his opinion is accurate for most people. I spent a few weekends driving Turo rentals without the adaptive suspension while I was shopping for my G20, and I'm very glad I did as it made clear to me that I would've tired of a car with standard M suspension. I went with the adaptive and haven't regretted it for a second.

Also (and not to be "that guy"), there are dozens of pages on the forum dedicated to this subject. Type "adaptive" in the search function and you'll find a treasure trove of opinions and information.

To more directly answer your question, I found the non-adaptive M sport suspension to hew closer to the adaptive suspension's sport setting than anywhere down the middle. Particularly at highway speeds, I found it pogo sticking way too much over expansion joints, stretches of older highway that have been sunbeat, etc.

But at the end of the day, the best thing to do is spend some time in one and it seems like you've done that, albeit a few years ago. Try it again and see how you feel, and then decide accordingly. There's no substitute for how YOU perceive the car to be damped beneath you.

I've owned a number of BMW's with adaptive, I don't think I've had one without it. 3 series, 8 series, Z4, X5....

Maybe it's an omission during ordering, but given the relatively low option cost it is really a no-brainer to not have this. I'm annoyed with my sales guy because his reaction is "oh I don't think it makes that big of a difference". I've learned to realize he has common habit of downlplaying things which don't affect him. He's super anal about his own cars though!

Thanks for the feedback... There's no way I'm 'settling' on what's available on the lot if it doesn't meet ALL my requirements.

Rob

[chrismia]

Originally Posted by Rob_G77

I've owned a number of BMW's with adaptive, I don't think I've had one without it. 3 series, 8 series, Z4, X5....

Maybe it's an omission during ordering, but given the relatively low option cost it is really a no-brainer to not have this. I'm annoyed with my sales guy because his reaction is "oh I don't think it makes that big of a difference". I've learned to realize he has common habit of downlplaying things which don't affect him. He's super anal about his own cars though!

Thanks for the feedback... There's no way I'm 'settling' on what's available on the lot if it doesn't meet ALL my requirements.

Rob

Ha - that sounds a lot like my experience! The best one was a sales guy who told me it wasn't that big a deal ... even though when I asked him, he conceded that he had the adaptive on his own M340. All he could do was laugh when I sneered, "do as I say and not as I do, huh?"

[SLGrassoPA]

The quality of the roads in the part of the country in which you reside is a key consideration. If they are lousy, the Adaptive M suspension seems well worth the cost of the option.

https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1984773

[MM70]

Originally Posted by SLGrassoPA

The quality of the roads in the part of the country in which you reside is a key consideration. If they are lousy, the Adaptive M suspension seems well worth the cost of the option.

https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1984773

Am I missing something? It's only $550 or ten tanks of gas or 3 dinners out.

From what I've read by ToddWalton and others, it's a no brainer and a very inexpensive option for a $70K+ car

[hrf]

My previous mistakes were to save on options and I always regretted that. Now I got all I need, even M Performance exhaust, just removed prof driver assistance and leather, just because I like Sensatek more. So get everything if you can, adaptive is the must and if you are not in very cold winther climate or if you will not drive car in snow, get cooling and high performance package.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by MM70

Am I missing something? It's only $550 or ten tanks of gas or 3 dinners out.

From what I've read by ToddWalton and others, it's a no brainer and a very inexpensive option for a $70K+ car

Exactly. There is no downside to Adaptive M. Even someone who likes the ride M-Sport-stiff can appreciate the benefits of Comfort mode when he's driving the wife, kids, or mother-in-law.

Anyone who knows of the option just orders it from the factory with their build. This "you don't need it!" narrative comes from people who bought their BMW's off the lot.

[MM70]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

Exactly. There is no downside to Adaptive M. Even someone who likes the ride M-Sport-stiff can appreciate the benefits of Comfort mode when he's driving the wife, kids, or mother-in-law.

Anyone who knows of the option just orders it from the factory with their build. This "you don't need it!" narrative comes from people who bought their BMW's off the lot.

Looks like two different cars!

[BMWbiker]

My F31 3series wagon had sport suspension without adaptive. It was very firm, bordering on punishing. I liked the car, but it really was too firm.

I test drove a 2025 M440xi GC recently, without adaptive. It was nowhere near as firm as my wagon was.

I haven’t test driven an M440i with adaptive yet. If I buy one, I want adaptive, but at least now I know that non-adaptive isn’t as harsh as on my wagon.