Is the BMW M340i the 3-series sweet spot?
The new straight-six-powered M340i is a genuine M car, but aiming much lower than the next M3
Can’t afford a BMW M3? Don’t want to wait until 2021 for the new one? Or maybe you just fancy something a little more restrained and nd rounded? Whatever your motives, there’s a new junior performance 3-series on the block and it’s called the M340i xDrive.
As ever with current BMWs, it’s worth decoding that badge before jumping to conclusions. The upfront ‘M’ speaks volumes: this fast four-door was developed by the M division gang who add the fizz to Munich’s range of full-fat performance cars – it’s the first time there’s been a sub-M3 model in the range to warrant the badge (earlier efforts being limited to the likes of the 320si). Don’t forget the 330i is nowadays a 2.0-litre four-pot, while you’ve got to climb the ladder to a 340i to get a 3.0-litre straight six – but our car’s M prefix signifies its wick has been well and truly turned up.
If, like me, you value discretion and restraint, this car takes on extra appeal. The M340i xDrive looks pleasingly under-the-radar as we spy it beneath harsh strip lights in the Garching lock-up outside Munich for an early drive. There are no wild spoilers or wings or skirts here. Just a more muscular front air dam, blue flashes marking the four-piston brake calipers grabbing engorged discs, and chunky twin rear exhausts. People who find the M3 a little outré may well prefer this more sober brute-in-a suit aesthetic.
If the exterior is a model of moderation, the oily bits are a little more ambitious. The 2998cc inline six has a newly developed turbocharger whose vanes spin with 25 per cent less inertia for more rapid throttle response, building boost more quickly; combined with revised injectors operating at a scarcely believable 350 bar, the M340i makes an extra 47bhp and 37lb ft over a common-or-garden 340i. That’s a wholesome 369bhp and a matching torque figure in good old-fashioned pounds feet.
No wonder this car is so quick. Munich claims 0-62mph in just 4.4 seconds, helped by the standard-fit xDrive sending drive to both axles. It feels this rapid on the road, with instant shove at any speed. This makes sense when you see the flat torque curve that stretches peak pulling power from a lowly 1850rpm to a rather busier 5000rpm. It can feel like the ultimate lazy man’s express.
It sounds more cultured than the outgoing M3’s rattly football-studs-in-abiscuit-tin soundtrack, but this is hardly an emotional engine. The tuneful naturally aspirated straight-six of yore has been muted by those exhaust-driven turbines, although all six cylinders do take on something of a bark if you really rinse them out to the 7000rpm redline, especially in Sport+ mode. A rival MercedesAMG C43 will provide more fireworks, if snap, crackle and pop’s your thing.
There’s a sublime polish to the way the M340i goes about its business. The eight-speed auto ’box is a familiar, and fine, way to slush through your gearchanges in day-to-day driving: oleaginous and treacly smooth around town or on a motorway, eager to fire home the next cog if you up the ante in Sport mode. And, yes, you can finger-tap through the gears by paddle if you want to play F1 driver on your favourite back road. ⊲
Our car was fitted with the larger optional 19-inch wheels, wearing low-profile 255/35 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres at the rear. The ride is remarkably composed, retaining that welljudged balance of ride comfort and sporting poise that the 3-series has made all its own in recent years.
Where an outgoing M3 can crash, bang and wallop across a crumbling back road, the M340i floats somewhat better over the worst road acne. (Caveat alert: we haven’t driven one in the UK yet and have only sampled cars with the adaptive M dampers, which allow you to preselect Comfort, Sport or Auto responses.)
Traction is simply not an issue in the dry, although those upgraded 19-inch tyres will chirrup on damp roads, despite the addition of the M Sport differential, which progressively locks to shu£e drive from side to side on the rear axle, and ensures the wheel that can make best use of the engine’s potential is given what it needs. It’s another example of M3 tech filtering down to lesser models – and lends the M340i decent agility through tighter corners.
Without the bothersome bodykit of a full
M car, the 340 can mooch around all day with something of a laid-back Q-car vibe. It’s peerless on the autobahn, monumental overtaking thrust just a toe-tickle away, and its GT credentials become apparent on a longer cruise. It’s telling this car was unveiled at last year’s LA auto show; America will be its biggest market by far. There’s a certain US-centric quality to it.
Where it gets interesting is that you can order an M340i xDrive in estate spec too, a bodystyle denied to M3 owners. So although it won’t actually be an M3 Touring, it will offer many of the qualities that you – and your dog, and your family – would hope to find in one.
Some of the cosmetic detailing feels a little bit Cupra-inspired – not a compliment – in particular the bronzed Cerium Grey finish to the M340i’s door mirror caps, kidney grille edges and model lettering. A nice discreet matt black or repmobile chrome would do just fine for our Q-car mores.
Elsewhere, the M340i shares everything that makes the 3-series so damn good that it walked our mega-test against every which rival (CAR, May 2019). Build quality is firstrate and we could spend hours admiring the knife-sharp creases that give the bonnet such crisp-edged contours; the technology in the cabin is frankly staggering; and we applaud BMW’s decision to let buyers talk, gesture, press or swirl the infotainment controls, depending on their technological skills and preferences. We happen to think iDrive is the best multi-controller around.
So is the M340i a genuine starter M3 at a more attractive price? It’s aimed squarely at the likes of the Audi S4 and Mercedes-AMG C43, rather than RS4 and C63, and on this evidence BMW’s hit the target market pretty accurately. If anything, it feels more rounded, less showy than some of the high-falutin’ entry-level performance saloons from German rivals. And that’s probably a good thing for most buyers.
But if you want that extra dose of sporting DNA, that adrenaline kick only a proper sports saloon can deal, you’d best hang on for the fully fledged M3 due to be unveiled in autumn 2020, with UK sales starting the year after.
It’s aimed squarely at the Audi S4 and Mercedes-AMG C43, and BMW’s hit the target pretty accurately
First verdict
M-enhanced 3-series is a great Q-car, but might be too polished for its own good. The estate will make a lot of sense for many #### #