The still-secret BMW M2 is one of the most eagerly awaited cars of 2022. But maybe you don’t need to wait. Car & Driver just tested the M240i you can buy right now and it blew last year’s M2 into the weeds.

On sale in the U.S. now, the 2022 M240i is currently only available in all-wheel drive xDrive form (a rear-drive version comes later), and starts at $49,545. For that you get a 382 hp 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six that sends its 369 lb-ft of torque through a compulsory eight-speed automatic transmission.

If the lack of a manual option is disappointing, the performance definitely isn’t. Car & Driver’s tester exploded to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.6 seconds and 100 mph (160 km/h) in 9.1 seconds, beating the 4.3- and 10.3 second times it laid down with a rear-wheel drive M240i automatic in 2017, despite carrying 307 lbs (139 kg) of extra weight.

But never mind the improvements over the old M240i – it’s the gains over the old M2 we’re interested in. In 2019 C&D tested a pair of M2 Competitions, which back then started at $59,895 before options. One had its 405 hp/406 lb-ft six mated to a six-speed manual while the other was backed by a seven-speed DCT. The auto needed 4.0 seconds to hit 60 mph, making it half a seconds slower than the new M240i, while the manual M2 fared little better with a time of 3.9 seconds.

Related: Here’s What We Know About the 2023 BMW M2

M240i has piled pressure on 2023 M2 seen testing here

It was a similar story over the quarter mile. The M240i xDrive devoured those 1320 ft in 12.1 seconds, while both M2s required 0.3 seconds more. The only place the M2 Competition managed to topple the M240i was in the in-gear figures, but the gains were minimal. We’re talking a tenth of a second ahead over a 20 mph (32 km/h) span during a passing maneuver.

The M240i also bests the M2 for economy thanks to its longer gearing, and while you might expect the AWD car’s extra weight up front to blunt the poise, C&D’s team has plenty of praise for the handling, if not the muted steering feel.

We don’t doubt for a second that the next M2 will be even more fun to drive, plus it’ll have that coveted manual option. But driving an M240i xDrive would be a pretty neat way to pass the time until it does arrive.