[Venkatesh]

BMW M340i xDrive bookings open for a token amount of Rs. 1 Lakh. Customers can now book the car online at BMW Online Shop



BMW M340i will be launched in India on March 10, 2021 and will be sold in limited units

BMW has stated that the first 40 customers who book the car will enjoy a specially curated Driver Training at a popular racetrack in India. It will offer customers a thrilling opportunity to master the racing line skills with the help of BMW Certified trainers and get the most out of their BMW M340i xDrive.

Source

[Shreyas]

Fantastic review, Akshay1234.

I have a question. Can we toggle between AWD and RWD, just like in the M5?

[travelwriter]

Great review, Akshay.
But, oh! the ugly grill. The ugliest looking grill!!

[RakishRam]

Brilliant review, Akshay- was waiting for this for days, now more and more making up my mind to get this.
Couple of questions
a) Colour options are already known? I am so black loving a person and need black ☺️
b) Somewhere in this thread, I saw 340i in India will be sold in limited numbers? Any idea on this or it’s going to be a regular anyday go-and-buy car?

[RajBajwa]

I am a person who likes sedans purely because I like cars which go fast and have the least body roll on twists and turns. I am also a BMW fan and I drool over the M cars. I lust for the M3. The 2021 G80 M3 Competition will get launched later in the year. That car will be manufactured in limited locations and if we want it in India we’ll need to import it. My guesstimate is that it will cost upwards of 1.6 crores on road in India after paying all the taxes on a CBU. It may also be more.

The looks of the G80 M3 are polarising. Some hate the large grille. I initially was shocked by the design but slowly the design has grown on me.

The reason I am mentioning that car here is because I was thinking that although I would like the 2021 M3 Competition, practically it makes a lot more sense to get the M340i.

The true distinguishing advantage of the M3 will be felt on a track but how often does one take his/her car on to the track in the car ownership lifetime? May be a couple of times and it costs a tidy sum to take it there considering the total sum of track fees, insurance and more importantly the reduction in life of the car parts.

So far all practical purposes it is better to get the M340i at almost 50% the price of the M3. (My estimate is that the 340i will cost around 80 - 85 lacs on road in Bombay).

One can have 80 - 90% of fun of the M3 in a 50% cheaper car.

M3 Competition will touch the ton in 3.9 seconds.
The M340i gets the job done in 4.4 seconds in the stock car.

0.5 seconds is 12% of 3.9 Seconds. I look at it this way that I’ll have 88% of the fun at half the price of the M3. With a remap the difference will be even less. Yes there is lot more than 0 - 100 timings for judging a car and that difference can be felt on the track and hence I started my post by stating that it will be very few occasions that one takes their performance car to the track.

Congratulations @Karan561 and @Dieselite. I am looking forward to your ownership reviews.

@Akshay1234, as always you know your BMWs very well and that is evident from your review.


Cheers,

Raj Bajwa

[motorotor]

Awesome review guys. Apart from the looks, I think there isn't much NOT to like about this car. If BMW prices it sensibly I think this will definitely make the numbers (limited) that BMW has planned.

[dragracer567]

I think the modern M340i is the epitome ICE car engineering. It's as fast as the previous gen M3 and generally hard to fault!

I hope the BMW M-sport and Mercedes AMG-sport cars succeed in India so that Mercedes and BMW will assemble more such vehicles locally in India. Infact, the full-blown BMW M and Mercedes AMG have a performance that is neither usable nor necessary in India.

[ramsi]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Interior

The all-black interior definitely looks sporty. Blue stitching and alcantara/leather combo is great:
A closer look at the materials used. Notice Also, the leather is not proper leather, it's sensatec (artificial). So, it's a heat magnet when parked in the sun:

Fantastic Review and detailed analysis of the new beast from BMW lovely to see a badly needed in AWD from BMW in a 3 series.
I cannot fault BMW for the machine they have delivered however to skimp on leather on a car of this spec (subject to price) seems a poor decision.

In my past had the pleasure of driving a 325i back in 1985/86 a car that was effectively a death trap having a 2.5L inline 6 with 170+hp without the current AWD tech to keep it firm on the road except for a bit of adverse camber.
It was a thrill a minute ride and this new offering will bring that same thrilling experience to retiring old petrolheads like I am looking forward to testing one soon.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by androdev

The unique thing about this car IMO is the ZF transmission. a feel of DCT is very sporty by nature.

From my own experience with past M4 that had 7 speed and the newer M5C that gets ZF, you will not miss anything on the ZF. Rather, I find the ZF much more smoother and always in correct gear.

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

there is hardly justification to blow your money on a true blue “M” car unless of course

No Sir, an M3/ M4 or an M5 will be totally different. Can assure you on that. Do get one for an extended drive on weekend.

Originally Posted by Shreyas

I have a question. Can we toggle between AWD and RWD, just like in the M5?

Nope, that’s currently reserved for M5 and I think now available on M3/ M4 too.

Originally Posted by RakishRam

I saw 340i in India will be sold in limited numbers?

48 is what I hear.

Originally Posted by RajBajwa

The 2021 G80 M3 Competition will get launched later in the year. My guesstimate is that it will cost upwards of 1.6 crores on road in India after paying all the taxes on a CBU.

If the recent pricing of model like X3M or Z40 is an indication, we can see a large drop on prices. Around 1 Cr will be my guess.

I would like the 2021 M3 Competition, practically it makes a lot more sense to get the M340i. So far all practical purposes it is better to get the M340i at almost 50% the price of the M3. One can have 80 - 90% of fun of the M3 in a 50% cheaper car.

Well, there is no practicality in buying either of these cars

If anyone thinks that they are saving 50% or 100% by buying this over an M3/ M4 with only marginal difference in performance than it will be wrong in my opinion. On paper it may look closer but if you drive an M car as your daily drive, you can make out in first few minutes.

340 is a better 330 but not the same as an M3 or M4.

[GTB]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

No Sir, an M3 or M4 or M5 will be totally different. Can assure you on that. Do get one for an extended drive on weekend.

340 is a better 330 but not the same as an M3 or M4.

100% agree with you. I was comparing my M140i with M2Competition, thinking M2C has only 70 PS more. Once I drove it, I realised it is totally a different animal.

[Reesnat]

Strongly agree with the comments above that convincing yourself of the 340i being 90% of an M2C or 70% of an M3 is totally missing the point of these M cars.

Too much emphasis is on judging a car’s performance by quoting 0-100 but in reality for 99% of the people this is the most pointless number as how many are lunching these cars on a daily basis? If you are a tuner or into drag racing then yes.

But otherwise the drama that the M cars bring, the engagement that they offer and that focused, sharp driving dynamics all come together to give you true driving enjoyment. And no you don’t always need a race track to enjoy them. Drive these back to back on any highway also and the difference is dramatic.

Having said all of the above, the 340i is a great value proposition and an easy entry for anyone to tap into this amount of power thanks to Xdrive. It’s a much easier car for everyone to go fast if they want and enjoy fairly safely. On the contrary, something like the M2C will require a lot more driving skill and is a hairy car to deal with, and there-in also lies it’s charm, if that thrill is what you seek.

[EP.]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

What will really drive you up the wall is BMW's 80 / 120 km/h warning system which is indisputably the worst in India. It's loud and it interrupts the music playing. Enthusiasts will surely go to a tuner and get this disabled.

Can this be tuned out? Please give me more info about this. I was under the impression that the Speed warnings cannot be tuned out!

[R2D2]

A fantastic review of a fantastic car. Thanks @Akshay1234!

I thought the 330i was the hottie on the block and here comes a bombshell. Total "drool maal" as they say in Hindi. BMW has really hit the mark with this one. Don't think a German Big 3 gets better than this for this amount of money.

I look forward to Karan's review after he gets his car

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

340 is a better 330 but not the same as an M3 or M4.

Very well said. That's exactly what I and my friend realized after the test drives and talking to fellow drivers in the M Club.

Originally Posted by Reesnat

Strongly agree with the comments above that convincing yourself of the 340i being 90% of an M2C or 70% of an M3 is totally missing the point of these M cars.

Having said all of the above, the 340i is a great value proposition and an easy entry for anyone to tap into this amount of power thanks to Xdrive. It’s a much easier car for everyone to go fast if they want and enjoy fairly safely. On the contrary, something like the M2C will require a lot more driving skill and is a hairy car to deal with, and there-in also lies it’s charm, if that thrill is what you seek.

I think the engine being shared is one of the main causes for the M340i and the M3 being compared. It doesn't help when reviews mention that the M340i makes as much power as some previous generation M3. A regular family sedan may make the same power output as a sports car from 15 years back but that doesn't make it rationale to equate them.

I'm eager to know how BMW prices the 340i so we can confirm it's value proposition.

Excellent review.

BMW was smart enough to provide the TD and media cars in the Blood Orange color to differentiate it.

[Reesnat]

Originally Posted by kiku007

I think the engine being shared is one of the main causes for the M340i and the M3 being compared. It doesn't help when reviews mention that the M340i makes as much power as some previous generation M3. A regular family sedan may make the same power output as a sports car from 15 years back but that doesn't make it rationale to equate them.

The B58 that’s used in the 340i was never used on any M car to my knowledge. It’s the standard motor for all 40i cars the world over and also used in the Z4 and given to Toyota for the Supra.