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Saw a new 330i in Sunset Orange on the drive in to work this morning. Looks better in person, than in photos, IMO, for what I think was a base/lux model.
Saw a new 3 series and I did a double take because the new tails look like Lexus so much with being dark on top and just a small swoop of red below. Also didn't like the small DRL lines. Doesn't make it seem as luxurious. The new design is going to take some time to get used to.
Saw a new 3 series and I did a double take because the new tails look like Lexus so much with being dark on top and just a small swoop of red below. Also didn't like the small DRL lines. Doesn't make it seem as luxurious. The new design is going to take some time to get used to.
The world is a troubling, vexing place to live at the moment. So take solace in a glimmer of hope from BMW, who’s confirmed the next-generation M3 and M4 will retain a manual gearbox as standard. Phew.
M Division boss Markus Flasch spoke to Top Gear at the Frankfurt motor show, confirming the next generation of his team’s core products will continue with straight-six power, nabbed from the latest X3 M and X4 M SUVs.
“This S58 engine will of course be the base for M3 and M4,” he said. “It’s our strongest ever straight-six and it’s already capable of 510 horsepower as basic, but it has not reached its fullest potential yet.”
A hint that the power output for the top-spec X3 M Competition might be a mere starting point for the M3 and M4 ranges, then. But that’s not the news to get most excited about.
“There is no point for us putting a manual gearbox into an SUV, but we will continue with a manual in the M3 and the M4. It’s a small percentage of sales – with the biggest community in the United States – but it’s something very specific that sets us apart from our competitors, because not everybody is capable of doing it. Even more so in future.”
So a DCT paddleshift transmission will remain optional, and the number one choice in most markets. But the old-fashioned among us can still indulge in doing things ourselves. “It adds a lot of character, and while it may not be the more competitive variant, people like it,” adds Flasch. “That’s the crucial thing about our business: we have huge heritage. People love M and recognise the three stripes, everyone knows what they stand for. So why make good things worse?”
It’s a sentiment vehemently rejected by Flasch’s counterpart at Mercedes-AMG, Tobias Moers, who almost spat out his coffee when we asked if he’d ever think about a retro-tastic manual in one of his future sports saloons.
“The manual gearbox is done. Yes of course, there’s the Porsche GT3, Aston with the Vantage… I know. But in the world of emissions, it’s a niche that needs a completely different calibration. Good luck with that. It’s a lot of work for not many sales.”
Only drove it back home about an hour, and was messing with stuff the entire time, so not a great feel for the car yet - the exhaust is definitely quieter than my 2017 340i with MPPSK, but I've driven other M340i's that are louder, so I expect over time as the car breaks in the exhaust will liven up.
The car has some really cool automation features, like being able to take full control of the car and back into a space or parallel park for you (it even engages reverse or drive for you, you don't need to do anything except hover over the brakes incase it makes a mistake). The radar based cruise control is much improved over my F30 too and they've added in auto-steer and a Tesla-equse looking display that shows you cars in front, behind and next to you on the dash. It also has the ability to fully control the car, hands free up to 37mph but I haven't tested that yet.
No tests with the headlights yet either, only driven the car during the day so far.
The interior quality is a big step up over my F30, iDrive 7 has a ton more features and options too compared to iDrive 5.
The M340i xDrive is definitely more rear biased and will let you hang the tail out a lot more. It caught me by surprise today, I was fooling around and took a 90 degree right hand turn with traction control off (M Dynamic Mode on), hard on the throttle through the turn -- on my F30 doing that same thing, the car slides a little and then xDrive catches the car and points it straight again. On the M340i, it let me hang the tail out and slide through the turn - much more like a RWD car would behave.
Need to figure out how to turn off Active Sound though - it is really annoying!
Only drove it back home about an hour, and was messing with stuff the entire time, so not a great feel for the car yet - the exhaust is definitely quieter than my 2017 340i with MPPSK, but I've driven other M340i's that are louder, so I expect over time as the car breaks in the exhaust will liven up.
The car has some really cool automation features, like being able to take full control of the car and back into a space or parallel park for you (it even engages reverse or drive for you, you don't need to do anything except hover over the brakes incase it makes a mistake). The radar based cruise control is much improved over my F30 too and they've added in auto-steer and a Tesla-equse looking display that shows you cars in front, behind and next to you on the dash. It also has the ability to fully control the car, hands free up to 37mph but I haven't tested that yet.
No tests with the headlights yet either, only driven the car during the day so far.
The interior quality is a big step up over my F30, iDrive 7 has a ton more features and options too compared to iDrive 5.
The M340i xDrive is definitely more rear biased and will let you hang the tail out a lot more. It caught me by surprise today, I was fooling around and took a 90 degree right hand turn with traction control off (M Dynamic Mode on), hard on the throttle through the turn -- on my F30 doing that same thing, the car slides a little and then xDrive catches the car and points it straight again. On the M340i, it let me hang the tail out and slide through the turn - much more like a RWD car would behave.
Need to figure out how to turn off Active Sound though - it is really annoying!
Let us know how the headlights compare to the F30... I am more interested in that than how to car drives
Saw someone with a courtesy car M340i this past Monday. Very nice looking package. I’ve only driven the 330i version of the F30 while at a BMW event and totally enjoyed it. I can only imagine how much better the 340i would be.
I will definitely keep an eye out for these in the used market as my TLX lease comes to a close in a couple of years.
Saw someone with a courtesy car M340i this past Monday. Very nice looking package. I’ve only driven the 330i version of the F30 while at a BMW event and totally enjoyed it. I can only imagine how much better the 340i would be.
I will definitely keep an eye out for these in the used market as my TLX lease comes to a close in a couple of years.
F30 330i is shit in terms of BMW... it sucked balls in every aspect. If you enjoyed that... you will fall in love with the G20 ... 330i or M340i.
F30 340i is obviously better but that is also yesterday's news.
The new Gen G20... even the 330i is brilliant, M340i is 1 full level + some above the F30 340i...
But the taillight is still debatable to me
Last edited by oonowindoo; 09-19-2019 at 12:32 PM.
I finally drove at night yesterday. @oonowindoo I know you've been wondering about the lights
I have the laser lights -- the normal LED (non-highbeam) is brighter than on the F30, but I didn't notice a huge difference in the reach of the light. When the Laser Light high beams are ON though - it was significantly better than the F30's Adaptive LEDs with Auto-highbeam. It looked like a torch light with a beam of light being sent forward - and the distance the light reaches is significantly greater than the F30 - I'm not sure how much further, but it was noticeable. There unfortunately isn't a clear way to turn on the full adaptive high beams that selectively turn on the high beams to prevent blinding people. It can be coded with Esys (someone on bimmerpost is willing to do it if you pay him) - but I'd rather do it myself, so waiting for instructions or an app like Bimmercode to support it.
um... since I live in LA, the chance of using high beam is next to none.
Kinda disappointed to hear that the reach is not better cuz F30's adaptive LED without projectors sucks and that is supposed to be the best version among all F3X LEDs.
I finally drove at night yesterday. @oonowindoo I know you've been wondering about the lights
I have the laser lights -- the normal LED (non-highbeam) is brighter than on the F30, but I didn't notice a huge difference in the reach of the light. When the Laser Light high beams are ON though - it was significantly better than the F30's Adaptive LEDs with Auto-highbeam. It looked like a torch light with a beam of light being sent forward - and the distance the light reaches is significantly greater than the F30 - I'm not sure how much further, but it was noticeable. There unfortunately isn't a clear way to turn on the full adaptive high beams that selectively turn on the high beams to prevent blinding people. It can be coded with Esys (someone on bimmerpost is willing to do it if you pay him) - but I'd rather do it myself, so waiting for instructions or an app like Bimmercode to support it.
I had my M5's lights re-coded to use the anti-dazzle feature; it's pretty slick.
All things being equal, you have to pick the BMW M340i here. It’s significantly quicker, its powertrain is more refined, and it has the richer interior, larger back seat, and bigger trunk. But all things aren’t equal. Our BMW test car cost the price of a new Nissan Versa more than the Genesis, and it’s the G70 that rides better and has more than enough performance and handling for 90 percent of drivers 95 percent of the time. Compared to the M340i, the G70 3.3T Sport represents an incredible value. It does everything nearly as well as the BMW, and it even manages to do a few things better. And you won’t be disappointed when hustling it around or when put your right foot down. It convincingly does both speed and luxury at a discount that the M340i, good as it is, struggles to overcome.
Here's the thing with that review - they only compare MSRPs and don't take into account what people are actually paying. If you look at lease rates for the G70, the residuals are terrible. BMW Finance may be boosting residuals to increase leases - but who cares? You can lease a M340i for less than a G70 right now because of the huge difference in residuals (M340i is at 61% for 36m/10k, 2020 G70 is at 53% for 36m/10k).
Because of this, a $51k MSRP G70 leases for more than a $60k MSRP M340i using actual lease residuals and money factors for October 2019 and you should get more equipment from a $60K MSRP on the M340i.
But holy crap - 3.8 second 0-60 is impressive on a RWD M340i that Card and Driver tested! I wonder if they tested with xDrive what would they get?
08-23-2019, 11:20 AM
