Already got my car, a 2017 340i xDrive, I didn't want to wait until December because the lease on my GS350 ends this month.

 

Love the color! Congrats on the new car.

 

whoops! I didn't page all the way down obviously. Congrats on the purchase.

 

So purdy. Beautiful color. Congrats.

 

Beautiful car!! drove the 340 a few months ago.... much improved since my F30.

We all know that the F30s are underrated but no one knows exactly by how much..
Since you are going to change out those runflats (good choice), are you thinking about going with staggered. it is ok even with X drive. I mean you are not going to have a lot of traction with 225s in the back.

 

Thanks!!!

Yes, I am looking at Konig Rennforms in 19x8.5 (5x120 +35mm offset) and 19x9.5 (5x120 +35mm offset) - I heard the 19x9.5's might not fit - but then others have said they will fit just fine.

I think I'm going to get Michelin Pilot All Season 3 Plus's in 235/40ZR19 and 255/35ZR19s ... $2189 with TPMS, mount and balanced plus the Konig Rennform rims. Dunno if thats a good price or not, but thats what I'm looking at right now.

 

8.5 + 35 will fit fine for the front and you can fit 9.5 in the rear just fine but offset will need to be in the mid 40s.

+35 for the rear is considered aggressive for F30. Can be done but not sure if that is the route you want to go with. Those are typical offset for E9X,
F30 is a lot more conservative.

 

Hmm, might have to keep looking for a different set of rims then - as the Konig Rennforms don't come in any other offset for 19x9.5

 

For your reference

Below is 235/255 with 8.5F +35 and 9.5R +40, you can see where the additional 5mm might cause problems unless you run some - camber.

 

Congrats on the new ride. Best of luck with her

However, I have to disagree with you on the C450. My sisters has great steering feel (in sport+ mode) and excellent turn in. The stock continentals are the weakness. The bark of the exhaust and the power are also perfect for a daily driver sedan with AWD. In terms of interior, the C-class is definitely the king of the segment as well. The "baby S-class" looks are also well executed (more so than the new E-class IMO). The only thing I don't like about the C450 is the harsh ride with the optional larger wheels.

 

Steering feel wasn't my big complaint - it more had to do with the weight of the steering - it always felt the same. Maybe it is just me - but I prefer in Sport mode that the steering is heavier, like when I drove the C450 - I took a highway offramp in Sport mode fast and it just felt boring to me - I was able to do it with no effort to turn the wheel -- it didn't feel engaging to me if that makes sense. It reminded me almost of driving a Lexus ES in the sense that the steering is very light weight and it takes no effort to turn the car -- I didn't think of that as a positive. The 2014 Lexus GS350 that I just returned - I really liked the way the steering was weighted - I think the resistance increased the faster you were going but it also got heavier in Sport+ mode -- almost too heavy.

I did love the exhaust and power on the C450 -- but with the MPPSK, the 340i xDrive feels just as fast if not faster - and the exhaust sounds better than on the C450 - although I'm sure an aftermarket exhaust would make the C450 also sound great.

 

Glad to see some of the OG azine people around.

Congrats! I too am looking at the 340i, and only have had Jap cars.

How are you liking the car!

Going from the GS to the 340i;
1. Size of the car, did you find it a huge downgrade?
2. Road noise do you feel there is a lot more road noise on the 340i?
3. The leather, I can get myself to like the Dakota leather, so damn hard and feels almost fake. From the GS is this a big down grade?

 

Hey - so from a luxury perspective, overall the GS wins big time imho. There are little things the GS does that the 340i doesn't - some of them are stupid things like the GS resets your mpg calculation on the car when you refill the gas automatically, on the BMW, I have to reset it myself. In the GS when you shut off the car, the seat slides back and the steering wheel moves out of the way to make it easier to get out - the 340i doesn't have a power tilt/telescoping wheel and it doesn't move the seat either (although this can be coded in). No ventilated seats in the 340 sucks too.

There are also quite a few hard plastics on the car - like wrapped around the center console, there is some hard plastic that sounds very hollow if you tap on it - this was leather in the GS!

1. Size wise, I don't really notice it that much - except when I had to have a few people sit in the car - my co-workers decided to get out of the back and drive separately If you compare the dimensions - the 340i isn't really that much smaller than the GS or the TLX. The 3-series has grown quite a bit with the F30 generation and the TLX actually shrunk a little bit from the TL (closer to the TSX). Fitting a car seat in the back was important to me because I drive my daughter to pre-school but I don't have any issues. The 340i does feel smaller when driving it though.
2. The road noise doesn't seem that much different. I did change out the runflat tires on my 340 so that probably helped. Surprisingly on edmunds, the 2016 340i is rating at 63.2 dB @ 70mph cruising while the GS350 (6AT not 8AT) is rated at 63.5 dB @ 70mph) - so based on their tests, they are about the same. My GS350 AWD had the 6AT - it is likely quieter at 70mph in the 8AT GS350 RWD.
3. The Dakota leather is rather tough feeling - but it has softened up after sitting in the car for awhile - I doubt it will become super soft. But the M-Sport steering wheel's leather is awesome imho - it feels great and I actually am touching the steering wheel all the time - the leather on the seats - I don't really feel how soft or hard it is all the time. The M-Sport seats themselves are very supportive. The GS350's leather was not exactly super soft either - honestly it felt kind of like fake leather to me, but it is definitely a step up from the BMW Dakota Leather. You could get a 440i Gran Coupe where Merino leather is an option.

There are definitely aspects of the GS350 that I miss, all of them luxury type features- but the BMW drives a lot better. It handles and corners a lot better with less body roll and yet surprisingly smooth in Comfort mode. There is tons more power (the 306hp versus 320hp doesn't tell the whole story - there is a lot more power under the curve in the 340i) - and the 8AT in the 340i is a lot better than the 6AT in the GS. I also opted for the M-Performance Power and Sound Kit which adds 35hp and 39 lb-ft along with an exhaust that sounds almost stock in Comfort mode but definitely does not sound stock in Sport mode.

I'm definitely not disappointed in my decision so far to go with the 340 - I'm enjoying driving the car a lot. If you want something a little bigger - you might consider the new G30 5-series that should be hitting dealers in February. The new 540i will be very fast (same engine as the 340i) - with a sub-5 second 0-60 time and it also has options for better leather and is certainly bigger. The initial reports are that the new 5-series will handle a lot better than the previous generation which was not generally known for good handling except the M5.

 

Thank you so much for addressing my concerns. What tires did you switch out too? I test drove a 340i with 19s it also had the track handling package, I want neither. I would want the same 18s that you have. The 540i will be overkill for me at this point in life.

I have been looking at the 440i as well do to the merino leather option and I do like the power hatch with the extra room. But the 340i just looks...Classy.

 

I felt the same way after driving a 435. Comfortable with a nice interior but no real emotional connection.

 

I actually bought 19" rims and got Micheline Pilot Sport A/S 3+'s - the tires seem good - but haven't really pushed them hard enough to tell if they're as grippy as they claim (supposedly they are as sticky as summer tires).

Here is what they look like -
Attachment 100920

Attachment 100921

I don't have the track handling package but I have the adaptive suspension - I would recommend it, especially if you're going with the xDrive model since the suspension it comes with is very floaty - and the adaptive suspension helps to reduce some body roll.

I opted not to get the 440i only because it was a lot more expensive for the same options.

 

Good choice on those tires, I put them on my type-s and was extremely pleased with how the car handled afterward. I am debating putting them on my Q as I've read from other owners that they completely transform the car compared to the stock run flats. But with only about year left on my lease, not sure if its worth spending the money.

Let us know how you like them once you get some miles on them!

 

LiQiCE congrats, gorgeous color for the 3 Series...actually I think is the best!

Have fun and do not speed too much!!

 

LOL - one of my "complaints" is that I can go much faster in the 340i than I could in the GS350 on the same roads and it doesn't "feel" fast. I find myself driving 10-15mph faster than normal just because it doesn't feel like I'm going all that fast. The sense of speed in the car is much different - which requires me to concentrate on how fast I'm going a lot more carefully since Virginia is not a speeding friendly state.

 

Congrats Liquid! I'm in Manassas. I mounted A/S 3+s on the M4 a few months ago. I don't think they're quite as grippy as the summers, but still good. I've had them on the 335 and was just fine in up to about 4-5 inches of the white stuff (fresh), and that's with RWD.

Estoril blue looks amazing on the 3er

 

Have you ever driven the 335i?? if you did how noticeable if the power difference??

 

I have never driven a 335i - but I'd expect the 340i would feel faster just based on what I've read (both magazines and people who did back to back test drives of a 2015 335i and a 2016 340i).

Also - I know I'm basically magazine racing here - but these claims are from BMW themselves --
BMW claims the 335xi 0-60 is 4.8 seconds - https://web.archive.org/web/20140820...fications.aspx

BMW claims the 340xi 0-60 is 4.6 seconds - BMW 340i xDrive Sedan - Features & Specs - Specifications - BMW North America

Here is some more info on the B58 engine in the 340i versus the N55 engine in the 335i too - BoostAddict - Technical comparison of the BMW B58 3.0 turbo I6 in the 2016 F30 340i to the N55 engine it replaces - Stock and Stage I Alpha tuned dyno figures

 

It is faster and it is very noticeable. I had F30 335i and I had a 340 loaner for 3 days. The differences can be felt immediately. Not only 340 is faster, actually it feels it is lighter on its feet, suspension is less floaty (Sport vs sport) and Comfort mode (default) is less "lazy". It is just like the F30 335i but improved in every way.

 

Do you want a thread title change?

 

Sure if you don't mind - I didn't intend for this thread to live on after I lease my 340xi - but since it has, maybe change it to "Picked a 340i xDrive after test driving MB C450 AMG" ? Or something ... I dunno

 

I test drove a 340i xDrive before going for the C450 AMG.
The 340i suspension was a good balance. The engine is a gem and iDrive is an industry best.
The steering I would say has less feel and just weight. Weight does not mean good steering. It is just artificial and numb.
The interior is kind of dull and unacceptable at $65k! So much rubber plastic everywhere and a seat of black.

The C450 steering feel is very spot on. I wouldn't say as good as Cadillac's ATS or Jaguar XE but pretty close.
The interior and exhaust noise are amazing. Interior has all the right textures. The matte black wood is great - no fingerprints or smudges. The exhaust on the C450 is a lot better than the 340i.

 

BMW is never about flashy interiors. Even on their most advanced 7 series, it is still "boring" compare to S class.

But you will be surprised how much tech and details you can find as you spend more time in it. BMW just does not like to show it off. I think that has been the case since day one when it comes to Interiors.

 

Nice pickup! I've been in/driven my friends new C-class and from a driver's perspective it's no contest. C-class feels more luxurious, but BMW does a great job of making the driver feel like center of attention. I'd rather be driven in a C-class, but I'd much rather drive the 3.