Ultimate driving machine
The BMW M340i is proof the German marque still knows how to make a fun family car that doesn’t cost over half a million Ringgit
BMWS were once hailed as being the ultimate driving machine. Thanks in part to a hugely successful marketing campaign that positioned the marque as a purveyor of everything related with performance.
While its competitors focused on luxury and comfort, BMW focused on delivering performance with just a sprinkle of luxury, enough to ensure its customers did not lose out on bragging rights at the bistro.
But this has unfortunately changed over the years. Thanks in part to the global tree hugging movement, electrification and local assembly that watered down models to make them more cost effective to produce.
But though there are BMWs among us today that are far from what the brand once was, BMWs like the M340i prove that the Bavarian marque has not forgotten its roots, and still knows how to make a car that “ticks all the boxes”.
Some say the M340i is a “throwback” to how BMWs once were, powerful and fun to drive without sacrificing on comfort and passenger space. And that is basically how the M340i can be summed up.
It may look like your regular run of the mill 330i, but there are subtle hints to what lays underneath. Hints such as the bigger wheels, laser headlights, coloured callipers and side view mirrors and a tiny M spoiler on the booth.
While the trapezoid exhaust pipes are the biggest giveaway, it is the laser headlights and the mesh kidney grille with active flaps that distinguish it from its lesser siblings.
There are also subtle hints inside, such as the Vernasca leather upholstery, the Mspecific
leather steering wheel, pedals and floor mats, and the unique aluminium Tetragon finished in pearl chrome that stretches across the entire dash.
It must be said that while the interior of the G20 3-Series has been criticised for being too mellow when compared to interior of the C-Class, the interior of the M340i feels upmarket and expensive, thanks in part to that luxurious brown leather. Though still not as high tech as the CClass, but there’s a newer 3-Series on the way to battle the Benz.
And while BMW still makes you pay a RM1,299 subscription fee to get access to wireless Apple CarPlay (brands like Toyota give it to you for free), there’s a brilliant 16-speaker Harman Kardon Logic 7 sound system to make up for that atrocity.
That sound system comes in handy for when you want to take it slow and easy, but this writer reckon’s that the real treat and aural pleasure lays under the bonnet in the form of BMW’s legendary B58 3.0-litre inline-six engine that has been upgraded to the latest
B30O1 form.
The engine powering the M340i is one of the most highly rated in BMW’s stable without going into the S-Series engines that power BMW’s M cars. And when it comes to making a straight-six engine, BMW is arguably the best at it.
Power is rated at 387hp at 5,800rpm and 500Nm of torque from just 1,800rpm. The engine utilises a single turbocharger that features twinscrolls. This does a brilliant job at eliminating turbo lag.
In fact, the character of the engine feels very much like that of a naturally-aspirated unit, such is the efficacy of its response to the driver’s right foot.
Being an all-wheel-drive (AWD) machine, power is sent to all four wheels and this practically eliminates any wheel spin, allowing the M340i to catapult from 0-100kph in just 4.4 seconds.
If you have not already figured it out by this point, the M340i is designed for power and driving pleasure. And it is most alive in Sport mode, BMW might as well have rename it to Beast Mode because that’s what it is.
In Beast mode, the gearbox automatically downshifts, anticipating a need for instant power. There are
pops and bangs that can be heard from the cabin, a subtle but menacing hint that the powertrain is ready for what comes next, to put down power.
As that happens, the steering wheel gets heavier to give the drive better control and the M Adaptive Suspension stiffens up to eliminate body roll in corners.
In Sport mode, the BMW M340i is at its finest, at just a press of a button it transforms into the Ultimate Driving Machine without forking out close to a million ringgit for a BMW M model.
The car feels at home in corners, it allows the driver to dig deep and fast into corners with no threat of understeer. It also lets you get on the power early as the AWD system pulls and pushes the car out of the corner and slingshots it to the next one.
But it is not all about power and performance, in Comfort and Eco mode, the M340i calms down and cocoons its occupants from the world outside. The suspension system becomes softer, absorbing humps and ruts rather than rolling over them, doing a brilliant job at keeping passengers disconnected from the road.
The sound system is serenading and the 10.25inch touchscreen system provides clear, crisp readouts, letting you explore your favourite music or podcast without so much as a flicker.
The M340i has the ability to feel like a regular 3-Series and therein lies its charm, its connection to how BMWs once were. It is big and comfortable enough for a family of
four, and it has the ability to keep the driver engaged for some corner carving fun or for some “Bahn storming” runs on the highway.
Priced at RM391,000 with the Sales and Service Tax, the locally assembled BMW M340i is not cheap, but it is bargain considering that the only other BMW that is better is the M3 and that is priced at RM641,000.