[Tag]

What a day, got a chance to beat the snot out of a bunch of M cars and one M340i. It was beautiful out, high 80's, sunny and perfect for traction.

First jumped into the M340i. The seats and interior were a nice step up from the last generation, but that's not why I wanted to drive the car. I wanted to see how it performed and have to say it was a bit of a let down. The B58 in it is producing 382hp/369lb-ft, but the power felt like it came on late. Couldn't put my finger on it, if it were heat soak, the engine mapping or something else. Once the power hit it pulled strong. Didn't feel any different to me than the last gen F3x with MPPSK. Saw a bunch of reviews touting that xDrive was remapped to be more RWD biased which is why I wanted to experience it. The G8x M3/4 are suppose to have AWD so wanted to see how xDrive felt in the M340i, albeit the G8x will surely be mapped more aggressively. It felt slightly better than the F3x xDrive, but nowhere near as fun as a RWD car, not even close. They better get the next G8x AWD system right, because what I experienced in the M340i needs lots of improvement if it's going to be put in the next M3/4.

Next I jumped into the M2c, the car I've been wanting to drive for a while now for a number of reasons. The main one was comparing the OG M2's suspension to it. The conditions were perfect out, the temperature outside was hot, but not scorching, the car and tires were warmed up. That said, the suspension feel surprised me, it did have a slightly better ride than the OG M2. Nothing drastic, but it did have an edge on comfort and not as much as a jarring ride over certain surfaces. For the record, the suspension is exactly the same as the OG! I attribute this to the stiffer front and added weight of the M2c. Next thing I focused on was turn in, it was more precise than the OG since the front has been stiffened up. It felt really nicely balanced because of this and was very direct. I then turned my attention to the s55. As others have stated, it doesn't have the low end grunt of the OG M2's n55, but once that thing gets going, watch out. It pulls like a motherf'r. I was smiling so damn hard my cheeks hurt. The higher redline compared to the OG M2 was nice to really ring out the s55. I flogged the living sh!t out of it and it kept telling me "you're the hold back, I can do ohh so much more." I was having so much fun I kept the car 10m longer before bringing it back. The whole time I had my foot to the floor! When I came back and jumped out I could feel the car emanating heat and the M Town guy was like 'Looks like you had some fun'.

Took an ice coffee break and then hopped into the M5c. My god that car is an absolute beast! Yes it's too big, yes it's overpriced, yes it's 'insert other comments', but that engine is freaking amazing! 617hp/553lb-ft of pure ecstasy. The exhaust on that thing is hilarious, sounded like 4th of July fireworks coming out the rear. I trolled so many people with that exhaust, it was hilarious. For a car that big and heavy it's mind boggling how it just gets up and goes like nothing. At one point I looked down and was going well over 120mph on a back road before clamping the big CCB and slowing it down like it was nothing. Big sedans are not my thing, but I can see why someone would want a car like this.

Lastly got a chance to drive the X3Mc. I'm not an SUV/CUV person. I like cars, I like to sit low, I can't stand a car with lots of body roll, etc. But, I wanted to test drive the X3Mc, because of the s58 which was putting out 503hp/442lb-ft. Again, I wanted to drive this car to experience the s58 as it will be in the G8x M3/4 and most likely the G87 M2. I have to say the X3Mc was a let down. The exhaust was surprisingly too quiet, I'd say around 60% as loud as the M2c. Then there's the fact that it's an SUV and sits up high. It didn't feel exactly like an SUV, but as much as the car hides this unfavorable feature the high center of gravity is still very noticeable. It was also easy to induce understeer which was an immediately turn off. Then there's xDrive, it zapped any other potential for it to be fun. This worried me, it's supposedly an M car, but didn't feel RWD biased. The M5c has xDrive, but that felt like a RWD car. This however did not and I'm not sure if it was due to it being an SUV or xDrive not being as good. The s58 had plenty of power, but everything else didn't deliver as you'd expect an M car to.

In the end if I were to rate the fun factor of each car it would be as follows. 1st place goes to the M2c! Nimble, tossable, predictable, RWD, it's a never ending roller coaster! 2nd place goes to the M5c, that car defies physics and is an absolute blast. It also scares the F out of you, but you keep coming back for more. 3rd place goes to the X3Mc, because of it's engine. The rest of that cars driving dynamics were not impressive at all, but it's an SUV so that's to be expected. It exhaust was also pretty weak compared to all of the other cars. At least the interior is nice. Last place goes to the M340i, it didn't really deliver any big surprises and it's not an M car anyway.

[ChrisK]

Originally Posted by Tag

What a day, got a chance to beat the snot out of a bunch of M cars and one M340i. It was beautiful out, high 80's, sunny and perfect for traction.

First jumped into the M340i. The seats and interior were a nice step up from the last generation, but that's not why I wanted to drive the car. I wanted to see how it performed and have to say it was a bit of a let down. The B58 in it is producing 382hp/369lb-ft, but the power felt like it came on late. Couldn't put my finger on it, if it were heat soak, the engine mapping or something else. Once the power hit it pulled strong. Didn't feel any different to me than the last gen F3x with MPPSK. Saw a bunch of reviews touting that xDrive was remapped to be more RWD biased which is why I wanted to experience it. The G8x M3/4 are suppose to have AWD so wanted to see how xDrive felt in the M340i, albeit the G8x will surely be mapped more aggressively. It felt slightly better than the F3x xDrive, but nowhere near as fun as a RWD car, not even close. They better get the next G8x AWD system right, because what I experienced in the M340i needs lots of improvement if it's going to be put in the next M3/4.

Next I jumped into the M2c, the car I've been wanting to drive for a while now for a number of reasons. The main one was comparing the OG M2's suspension to it. The conditions were perfect out, the temperature outside was hot, but not scorching, the car and tires were warmed up. That said, the suspension feel surprised me, it did have a slightly better ride than the OG M2. Nothing drastic, but it did have an edge on comfort and not as much as a jarring ride over certain surfaces. For the record, the suspension is exactly the same as the OG! I attribute this to the stiffer front and added weight of the M2c. Next thing I focused on was turn in, it was more precise than the OG since the front has been stiffened up. It felt really nicely balanced because of this and was very direct. I then turned my attention to the s55. As others have stated, it doesn't have the low end grunt of the OG M2's n55, but once that thing gets going, watch out. It pulls like a motherf'r. I was smiling so damn hard my cheeks hurt. The higher redline compared to the OG M2 was nice to really ring out the s55. I flogged the living sh!t out of it and it kept telling me "you're the hold back, I can do ohh so much more." I was having so much fun I kept the car 10m longer before bringing it back. The whole time I had my foot to the floor! When I came back and jumped out I could feel the car emanating heat and the M Town guy was like 'Looks like you had some fun'.

Took an ice coffee break and then hopped into the M5c. My god that car is an absolute beast! Yes it's too big, yes it's overpriced, yes it's 'insert other comments', but that engine is freaking amazing! 617hp/553lb-ft of pure ecstasy. The exhaust on that thing is hilarious, sounded like 4th of July fireworks coming out the rear. I trolled so many people with that exhaust, it was hilarious. For a car that big and heavy it's mind boggling how it just gets up and goes like nothing. At one point I looked down and was going well over 120mph on a back road before clamping the big CCB and slowing it down like it was nothing. Big sedans are not my thing, but I can see why someone would want a car like this.

Lastly got a chance to drive the X3Mc. I'm not an SUV/CUV person. I like cars, I like to sit low, I can't stand a car with lots of body roll, etc. But, I wanted to test drive the X3Mc, because of the s58 which was putting out 503hp/442lb-ft. Again, I wanted to drive this car to experience the s58 as it will be in the G8x M3/4 and most likely the G87 M2. I have to say the X3Mc was a let down. The exhaust was surprisingly too quiet, I'd say around 60% as loud as the M2c. Then there's the fact that it's an SUV and sits up high. It didn't feel exactly like an SUV, but as much as the car hides this unfavorable feature the high center of gravity is still very noticeable. It was also easy to induce understeer which was an immediately turn off. Then there's xDrive, it zapped any other potential for it to be fun. This worried me, it's supposedly an M car, but didn't feel RWD biased. The M5c has xDrive, but that felt like a RWD car. This however did not and I'm not sure if it was due to it being an SUV or xDrive not being as good. The s58 had plenty of power, but everything else didn't deliver as you'd expect an M car to.

In the end if I were to rate the fun factor of each car it would be as follows. 1st place goes to the M2c! Nimble, tossable, predictable, RWD, it's a never ending roller coaster! 2nd place goes to the M5c, that car defies physics and is an absolute blast. It also scares the F out of you, but you keep coming back for more. 3rd place goes to the X3Mc, because of it's engine. The rest of that cars driving dynamics were not impressive at all, but it's an SUV so that's to be expected. It exhaust was also pretty weak compared to all of the other cars. At least the interior is nice. Last place goes to the M340i, it didn't really deliver any big surprises and it's not an M car anyway.

Nice write up!

[MystroX5]

I agree with your take away. I was getting a M car to replace my 911C4S and I test drove the M850i, M5 and M2C. The M2C felt so light and a track athlete like it could do no wrong. Needless to say I purchased a M2C. I also just purchased a X5 50i M-Sport and it covered the big luxury beast category in my garage so the M2C filled the hole in my fleet. It’s scalpel like handling is so damn fun every time I drive it.

[wknddrivr]

Had almost the same experience and drove the cars in the same order except I drove the 850 instead of the x3m.

I mostly agree with your assessment, although the M5c was the weakest link for me. Yes it’s the quickest, but it’s completely numb, drama free, and doesn’t feel special in any way. It feels pretty much the same as my 530 except it’s a hell of a lot faster and the handling is better but the ride sucks. Even with the dampers in comfort it’s jarring. The M2c is more compliant, more engaging and more fun at half the price.

I was also disappointed in the M340 and noticed the same sluggishness the power delivery you note. I drove the RWD version. The ride was softer than the m2c but less compliant. It crashed over bumps while the m2c did a better job of damping then out. The b58 sounds and feels like a cute toy compared to the s55. The M340 interior is better than the f30 but still looks and feels cheap. Overall the M340 isn’t luxurious enough to be a luxury car but it’s not sporty enough to be a sport sedan either. It does neither sport or luxury very well, and I found the m2c to offer way better performance and a more comfortable ride at the same time

[Poochie]

Surprising you had such a negative experience with the M340i, I've only heard good things..

As far as the 'low end torque' goes, I'm pretty sure it wasn't heat-soaked, as the 340i has a similar cooling set up as the M2C.

It's just the B5801 in the 340i is tuned to have more mid-range grunt, instead of being mapped front-heavy and blowing its load early by just spinning tires.

It caters to the sort of audience who wants a sporty vehicle but not necessarily a sports cars. The potential power is definitely there and I would love to have one as a daily, if it didn't cost 70k fully quipped...

[Tag]

Originally Posted by Poochie

Surprising you had such a negative experience with the M340i, I've only heard good things..

As far as the 'low end torque' goes, I'm pretty sure it wasn't heat-soaked, as the 340i has a similar cooling set up as the M2C.

It's just the B5801 in the 340i is tuned to have more mid-range grunt, instead of being mapped front-heavy and blowing its load early by just spinning tires.

It caters to the sort of audience who wants a sporty vehicle but not necessarily a sports cars. The potential power is definitely there and I would love to have one as a daily, if it didn't cost 70k fully quipped...

I too had high expectations, but was not impressed. For the record I didn't use launch control on any of the cars. I drove them all very aggressively and to their limits. To me the best way to get a feel for a car is to push it hard and see what aspects of the car hold up and which fall short. I didn't hate the M340i, but I was not looking at it as a potential DD. I was analyzing its performance and as you have heard mostly good things about it. It was a big car, felt much bigger than the previous F30. The steering felt slightly better, but not enough to tell someone in an F3x to upgrade. The power felt the same as an F3x with MPPSK. I thought this new generation of xDrive would give you better off the line acceleration, better handling due to the revised xDrive etc. while still feeling as a RWD drive. It did not, xDrive was maybe 10% better in this car than the F3x, but it still didn't feel as exhilarating as a RWD car. I'm sure this car will make a great DD, but don't expect it to punch above its weight.

[JustChris]

Nice write up. Surely the M5 gave you more insight into M XDrive and the M340i Drive was almost irrelevant, standard XDrive fare there.

[wknddrivr]

Originally Posted by Tag

I too had high expectations, but was not impressed. For the record I didn't use launch control on any of the cars. I drove them all very aggressively and to their limits. To me the best way to get a feel for a car is to push it hard and see what aspects of the car hold up and which fall short. I didn't hate the M340i, but I was not looking at it as a potential DD. I was analyzing its performance and as you have heard mostly good things about it. It was a big car, felt much bigger than the previous F30. The steering felt slightly better, but not enough to tell someone in an F3x to upgrade. The power felt the same as an F3x with MPPSK. I thought this new generation of xDrive would give you better off the line acceleration, better handling due to the revised xDrive etc. while still feeling as a RWD drive. It did not, xDrive was maybe 10% better in this car than the F3x, but it still didn't feel as exhilarating as a RWD car. I'm sure this car will make a great DD, but don't expect it to punch above its weight.

Aside from having more space than the m2c, the m340 didn't hold up for me as a daily. It was less compliant than the m2, and the m2c was more comfortable while also performing significantly better. The seats in the m2c are much more comfortable and supportive than the 340, and the ergonomics are better especially the HVAC. The buttons to change the temp on the G20 are a huge step back from the dials on the m2c. Aside from more space, the only positive I can say about the m340 over the m2c is that the interior is a fresher design. I'm truly surprised how disappointing the m340 was. My hope was that it would be the second coming of the e39 540 given the similar proportions, but it's more like a slightly improved f30

I'll also add that none of the cars were heatsoaked for me...I was either the first or second driver of the day in all of them. The m340 I drove was rwd with the track package (additional radiator, Michelin pilot sport 4s)