[psmalley92]

I'm going to add a twist to this thread.

My M2 went into BMW Northlake here in Charlotte, NC for some warranty work. The rear end diff servo failed and some interior trim pieces had come loose. Nothing that I'm too worried about and BMW is handling it perfect.

They have me a loaner while my car is down. It's a 2020 M340i with 2300 miles on it and honestly I'm so excited to have a chance to basically do a week long test drive in it! This car is intriguing to me and here's why.

Back in October 2016, young, dumb me sold my Cadillac ATS 2.0T, and then wrecked my C5 Corvette within a week of each other, leaving me with no car. I panicked and went to the BMW dealer and they talked me into a lease on a 2016 F30 340i M-Sport. I actually got an okay deal on it and it was a pretty nicely optioned car but I would've been way better off buying a 12/13 335i at the time because I didn't truly know what I wanted and that would've bought me some time in a car I wasn't going to lose my rear end on.

I owned a 08 N54 135i that I loved. The 340i got the B58 and to be honest I loved the car. I just didn't love leasing and the payment, Lol. I paid someone to take over my lease and bought my E90 M3 shortly after that (after a bad experience with a E39 540i/6 that was not maintained, yikes). That E90 M3 made me truly fall in love with M cars and that's how I ended up in my M2.

I say all of this to say, I know that the M340i is a very important car for BMW. It's the car that is much more obtainable NEW for MOST buyers.

Here are my thoughts after my first day with the M340i, about 100 miles.

Appearance (6/10): Again, Subjective for sure. Because it's not a true M car, it doesn't have the fender fares and all the cool stuff that all us M guys love. But it's pretty good looking. I think, like many new BMW's. It looks kinda big. Well I mean it is. 6 might be a bit low but eh. I don't love it. To me, it looks kind of bland. I think the F30 335i and 340i M-Sport cars were so much sexier.

Chassis (7/10): I'm not entirely sure about the G Series chassis yet, from what I can tell its really good. But man I won't lie, it's hard to "feel it." Then again, its not an M car. So I'm sure the M3 will be a 9.5/10. If we're just comparing this to a typical everyday sports grand tourer family sedan. It would be like a 9/10. It handles very well. But the Fxx Chassis felt, feels more connected to me.

Steering (6/10): For a non-M car, steering is pretty good. Not a ton of feel but man it does go where you want it to. Actually, no feel but again it is direct.

Engine (10/10): B58 is an AMAZING engine. I SO wish they would've put it in the M2. 382hp out of this motor in the M340i and it MOVES and pulls so so so hard. I can't believe you can buy this car for under $60k and I can't believe this isn't a true M car. I don't care how over the top you think I'm being, the B58, especially in this car is a great engine.

Sound (8/10): Much like the N55, the B58 is very good sounding motor. Lots of burbles and pops in Sport Plus mode. I think the motor itself sounds just as good as the M2 N55 intake wise, the exhaust on the M340i is nearly as good but it's not a true M car either. Well done here by BMW

Transmission (9/10): I won't judge it negatively for not having a manual option, even if I want to. Another great ZF box, tuned by BMW. It's better than ever before. Only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because I mean, can I really give both the motor and trans a 10/10?

Brakes (4/10): Not great. All the way around. Feel is meh, power is meh. I think my F30 340i brakes felt better. Again not a M car, so for most people that will buy this car and not track it, they are fine I guess. But blah, not great.

Electronics (iDrive, Sound System, etc) (7/10): At first I thought I would rate this higher. Everything looks really good in the interior and the electronics look the part and for the most part I have no issue with them. But... uh, I don't know. The new iDrive is kinda strange to me. For like 10 years all these systems kind of worked the same. This one is very different and I don't really like it. I'm sure I would get use to it. But I'm not sure the older style iDrive's were broke enough to change it? My loaner isn't very loaded up options wise and has the base audio and it is so bad. Lol Like, SO bad. Apple Car play on the whole screen is cool. Screen is nice and clear. I miss the old climate control set up, the new one feels cramped. I mean really non of this stuff is bad but I feel like they almost tried to hard on some the electronics in this thing.

Interior (8/10): The interior overall IS a step up from the Fxx series cars but the new Benz and Audi stuff is still better in my mind. I don't hate the interior and it wouldn't keep me out of the car but for an all new platform it doesn't really feel special.

Other Features (Lights, etc) (7/10): My car seems to be a pretty base example and it's pretty loaded with tech and safety and it all works decent for sure. The lights are great and overall I do think the car offers a ton of features for the money.

Final Thoughts (7.5/10): I've got to be careful and not compare this to an M car or be mad at it for not being a M car. But wait, then why the hell do they call it the M340i? I know this is BMW's new naming system but WHY THE HELL CAN"T IT BE A BMW 340i M-Sport STILL! That's what it is and that's what it should be called. It's a great sport touring sedan. Honestly at under 65k for a pretty well optioned one, it's a STEAL. It's a VERY nice car. But it's not an M car and honestly besides the power numbers, it's not really even close. It doesn't turn in like an M car, it doesn't react like one, and it doesn't feel like one. It feels like a car with M-sport bits, which it is and should be called so. Also, its to big. It feels like a 5 series, its basically the same size, weight and power as a E39 M5 with less feel and specialness. It's a great car for the guy that has a family, needs a new car with a warranty but can't afford an M car. It'll be me some day and I'll be happy with it (I guess). Lol

But seriously, as a sport sedan, daily driver for under 60k new. You aren't going to do better, if you can get over not having the best interior in the class because the motor, trans, and chassis are the best in the class IMO.