Hello fellow BMW drivers. I own a M440i Gran Coupe 2022 with Adaptive M suspensions for quite some time now and I've been playing around with it...
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The original was posted on /r/bmw by /u/eluryan on 2025-10-08 10:42:59+00:00.

Hello fellow BMW drivers. I own a M440i Gran Coupe 2022 with Adaptive M suspensions for quite some time now and I’ve been playing around with it to understand how each driving mode affects driving, what are the myths, what is disinformation, and which are facts. So if you are trying to find relevant answers about the driving modes, look no further.

Driving modes overview

There are 4 variables that define each driving mode:

  • steering - comfort / sport
  • dampers - comfort / sport (only with Adaptive M suspension)
  • engine - comfort / sport / sport +
  • transmission - comfort / sport / sport +

Each driving mode is a permutation of the 4 above. There is also the Sport shifter transmission mode when the shifter is engaged to the left (M/S). Will get into this one later.

Nota Bene: Will use sport transmission to refer to the transmission mode set in the driving mode, and sport shifter transmission to refer to the shifter being put in M/S mode.

Comfort Mode

Default mode of the car. Everything set to comfort. Engaging sport shifter transmission provides some boost for overtaking (just allows the engine to be rev’ed higher and keeps the rpm up for longer).

I use this in city, so basically urban driving, high traffic areas, in places where roads are so and so, places where is a constant need to brake. Usually paired with Driving Assistant mode. If need to perform any manoeuvre that requires power (like a sudden overtake or lane switch), I suggest engaging sport shifter transmission to mitigate any potential lag.

Eco Pro mode

Good for boosting mileage, but significantly guts the power of the car. Everything above set in comfort, unless changed in Eco Pro Individual. I recommend against using this in city or high traffic, since the engine and throttle response are significantly limited, and the drivetrain will work overtime for any kind of situation that somewhat demands power. I only use this on highway, if there is a car in front of me and I am already at cruising speed, or I do not feel to get way over the speed limit and I set a speed limiter.

Sport mode / Sport + mode / Sport individual

This is where the fun part is. I don’t use neither Sport nor Sport +, but a combination of both, via the Sport Individual configuration. Given the nature of roads in Romania, which are mostly bad, I steer away from having dampers in sport. Therefore I have the following permutation set up:

  • steering - sport
  • dampers - comfort (only with Adaptive M suspension)
  • engine - sport +
  • transmission - sport

I use this mode whenever the road is clear and there are twists, corners or I feel like having fun and there is no one to be endangered. I really feel this brings the car to life in ways the comfort mode cannot.

I do not like sport mode because of the dampers set to sport and the engine set to sport, so there is some more power that could be squeezed.

I also do not like sport + because of the dampers, again, but also because of the sport + transmission. I feel that sport + transmission is too brutal and keeps the revs high for far too long. This is most noticeable on upshifts, where, unless you are on a track, you don’t really need to upshift close to redline, but also on downshifts, where it tends to skip 2-3 gears just to keep the revs high.

I feel that sport transmission paired with sport shifter transmission is the best of both worlds. It keeps the revs high, if I need, especially on twisty roads and corners, but it upshifts right in time, and also does not brutally skip gears when downshifting.

If you do not own Adaptive M suspension, you can still customise the steering, engine and transmission. I suggest use the combination from above.

A common misconception I saw online is that sport + mode / any sport + setting in sport individual will make the car lose its DSC and switch to DTC, will make you lose control, you will spin, yada yada. I do not think this is true at all. Based on my experience, these are the findings:

  • engine in sport + offers the highest sensitivity for the throttle action. Therefore, it’s more likely to apply too much power to the car, if not paying attention
  • M performance cars (like mine) come with M Sport differential by default. This can be fitted in non M performance cars, as an addition. This eLSD sport differential will react to the demands of the engine and will become RWD biased to comply with the extra power sent to the wheels. This is different to disabling DSC / enabling DTC
  • the reason you could lose control easier in Sport + / Sport individual with engine in sport + is not because the DTC is enabled, but because there is much more power sent through the drive train and the M Sport differential reacts to it. Needless to say, if you know how to control your car, how to apply power, and how to drive around corners and twisty roads, you won’t spin.

With all the above said, do not be afraid to try the sport + setup. I would recommend doing it on summer, with good summer tires, when the pavement is dry to get a grip of it (pun intended). I, for one, use the Sport + individual settings above also when it’s raining and whatnot, but I know how to drive my car and how to control it. I haven’t managed to drift / powerslide / lose control of it once, but yes, I do feel the slip angle more in corners and I feel the car more willing to lose control if not properly handled.

Bonus, Adaptive mode

The adaptive mode is present in pre-LCI models, for people that have Adaptive M Suspension installed. It works by dynamically changing the parameters from above, to react to driving scenario. I feel this is a gimmick, but it works really well paired with BMW Navigation. I use this when I am driving on national roads, outside the city, and I have the BMW Navigation open. However, I am mostly using Waze for navigation, so this is a rarely used mode, albeit cool one, if you are willing to use BMW Navigation. I would fit this between Comfort and Sport (the basic, not the + or individual variant) based on how it feels.

Thank you for reading this far! I hope this information is useful to anyone still in doubt about how BMW driving modes work. Enjoy your car. Cheers!