[Utsav_199]

M340i LCI1 should just call it the B58 with a car around it.

Positives

- Sublime B58 — the reason to get the car
- Competent chassis — remains balanced and unflappable under load
- Smooth and pleasing ZF box that is always in the right gear
- Good GC — current gen C class is worse
- Good noise insulation and refinement
- Great overall package for the price — fast, sporty and luxurious

Negatives

- Steering lacks feedback — shouldn’t complain about it in 2025
- Drive by wire brakes — brake application remains jerky (on/off) and never progressively smooth
- That motor needs a DCT, ZF lacks character and can be slow at low speeds
- Mediocre build quality — my till date rattle-free Laura is built to 2 standards higher. Not kidding!
- Not really emotive or communicative

Engine and gearbox -

The B58 - Enough has been said about the engine. It’s fast, smooth, and sounds decent for the emissions first times we live in (only referring to the natural sound while omitting the artificial piped nonsense). Explosive yet smooth as butter and totally addictive, will never tire of it.

It will spoil you with its pace to the degree that you’ll need either need the M3 or Carrera GTS to go faster, yeah a base 911 won’t feel faster. Nothing below 2.0 crs will feel quick enough. Rowdy M2 perhaps.

It pulls readily in any gear and from any engine speed with the ZF being utterly competent and easily giving you multiple smooth and fast downshifts if required or if commanded via paddles. It is pretty free-revving engine for a turbo and will happily live till its red line. But it is no NA and you will feel a little heaviness in its willingness to rev in certain occasions, but again, it’s amazing and almost NA like for a heavily blown engine.

The gear ratios are well spaced out and not too long. It helps sustain that train like acceleration. (Looking at you Porsche)

While the ZF is pretty obedient, I urge anybody considering this car to not try a good DCT and especially not a PDK—that will soil the car for you. It just lacks the instant crispness of a PDK which contributes to that proper mechanical feel and connect to the drive train. Considering the imperious engine on offer, not giving DCT feels just wrong. But yes, it does add to the relaxing smooth nature of the car.

The first few days were spent wishing how amazing the car and overall engagement would be with a clutch and H-pattern box. Blasphemy to even have such thoughts these days!

But hey, the same engine in the Z4 (please do correct me if i’m wrong) received a manual recently!

Finally on engine sound / exhaust — it sounds decent but the volume is pretty low and I feel there aren’t multiple notes to it, you definitely do not feel much emotion or charisma from the engine. It is no NA flat 6 with it’s multi layered opera or even the 5 pot RS3 - again these are engines from the last decade. But yeah, in keeping with the times we live in, can’t really blame the car, even the 992.2 911 with it’s turbo flat 6 sounds pretty flat for a sports car.

Chassis and handling -

It gets it’s job done to the T without feeling emotive or communicative — the modern way of doing things I suppose.

The chassis balance is sublime and faultless at least under city conditions.

The car remains flat, quick lane changing even under sudden application of throttle do nothing to upset the balance of the car — it remains absolutely flat. Coming out of a corner you can be utterly careless with your right foot. The 4wd along with the unflappable balance will pull you out fuss free at very high speeds — no need to plan or judge or be cautious — just point and shoot. I do prefer such a setup for a daily driver over an overly tail happy rear end.

Chassis communication remains low on the whole, it does come alive under load and at higher speeds but you need to wring the car for that and even then it’s just a low murmur, not a clear, vocal two way chat.

Steering -

Again the same theme.

Direct and precise with some vagueness in the centre. A good system among EPSes of this day and age.

No real feedback, what a car this would be if it had a hydraulic steering. Asking too much in 2025.

Ride -

With OEM Pirelli runflats — Harsh at 39 psi, pretty decent at 35 psi while maintaining the sharp steering responses. Will get rid of the run flats later.

Sophisticated damping with almost no unnecessary secondary re-bound or bounce.

Brakes -

Again, the theme returns.

Powerful and keeps up with the pace of the engine, but that brake by wire system is just not feel some and a big bug bearer for me.

I grew up driving and racing analog cars/karts and being able to perfectly modulate brakes is very important for me, more so than steering feedback. You see I love darting and closing traffic gaps by easing off the throttle and using brakes to smoothly fill in the gaps or even overtake cars on the brakes. While my natural instinct honed during my motorsport days was to always be smooth and progressive with the brakes, with the by wire system I just cannot do that, the 340 braking in bits and in an on/off manner.

Approaching a corner or a speed breaker, I always try to be smooth on both the application and release of brakes, no jerks or sudden balance tipping — one linear in out movement, just can’t do that here, it is always an on/off jerky thing. There’s a reason Porsche sticks to hydraulic systemsin ICE cars. Maybe BMW can learn something from the Macan Turbo EV — inspite being an EV making hydraulic systems impossible due to regen, its brakes felt natural.

Interior -

Good seats up front, love the under thigh support on offer here. Very adjustable seats and can go seriously low like a sporting saloon should. You feel one with the car — the low position along with the almost roll free chassis make you feel one with the car which remains a hallmarks for me.

Other than that, decent quality inside. Decent sound system, good AC. The backseat is a nice place to be in as well. You do sit low, but the seats are decent enough.

Overall build -

The exterior is built to Korean car to be sold in Europe standards. Flimsy boot panel that just sounds cheap on closing, light doors, bumpers that can’t take a knock.

Again the modern way of things — bumpers are called so as bumpers are meant to take a bump / knock or two, but here they’re just a part of the aggressive-looking body kit waiting to be damaged so that BMW can charge us for a new part. Not just BMW, the new RR’s flush looking units have no place in a SUV let alone one with RR’s capability.

And yeah, the passenger headrest rattles from day 1.

Compared to my 2013 Laura, which still feels tight and shuts like the tank it is, this thing is just nowhere close to it considering the price that it sells at.

Overall -

A great package constrained due to modern compliance and cost cutting necessities.

A sporty muscle saloon that lacks the delicacy and emotion to be considered a sports saloon inspite having the pace.

But for the value on offer, if a comfy fast saloon is the need — go for it eyes closed, you’re buying the best engine - gear combo in the world paired with a competent chassis and good overall refinement.

B58 with a car around it.

Buying process and dealer experience -
Went causally to check 2 used 520ds at the BMW AD, left giving an offer for the M340.

The two 520s after going through their service history did not give me any confidence to go ahead - moreover I would not have the bandwidth for multiple issue/niggles per year.

Downstairs, while leaving the dealership a red dealer M340 was probably just waiting for me, drove it, loved the engine and looks, found no issue with the ride quality and GC - checked tire pressure if it was not under inflated giving me better ride - it was normal. Made an offer (thanks to T-BHP and a good friend I already knew how much dealers would stretch on the 340) and left.

My offer was met in a few days and I booked the car instantly.

Dealer experience was pretty decent, during PDI, the car had a few unwanted body scratches but nothing major. A Dravit Grey unit had just arrived on the PDI day which I was offered but stuck with the Tanzanite blue.

Overall a pleasent AD experience.

Niggles -

- Instrument cluster - I wouldn't hire an intern if he designed the UI/UX of these gauges, let alone pass the design. Red tacho line, next a permanent red line with a red background (in sports mode) and the tacho rising in a red progress bar! What are they thinking?

- No gear indicator - In normal gear mode (not sports) you cannot see the driven gear. Makes no sense to not show it when you do show it in some modes.

- Have made my peace with the lack of gear selector and physical HVAC buttons but what would they cost anyway? Rs 30,000?

[Utopian]

Congratulations on the 340. The LCI updates take the car to a whole new level. Wishing you many miles of sheer driving pleasure! Your garage is drool-worthy. Would love to see more pics of all three of your beauties.

[nerd1200]

Congratulations on the 3, Utsav!!
Must say, you have a PROPER enthusiast garage there, mate. Cheers!!

[ramki.grandhi]

Interesting to see that ZF gearbox managed to made into both positives and negatives.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post Utsav, and also that garage seems like a dream for many.

[Utsav_199]

Originally Posted by Utopian

Congratulations on the 340. The LCI updates take the car to a whole new level. Wishing you many miles of sheer driving pleasure! Your garage is drool-worthy. Would love to see more pics of all three of your beauties.

Thank you, not really a photo person but i'll probably start a dedicated thread for the other cars and be sure to add more photos.

Originally Posted by nerd1200

Congratulations on the 3, Utsav!!
Must say, you have a PROPER enthusiast garage there, mate. Cheers!!

Thank you.
Yes, the cars just came into my life, there was no structured plan or though behind it. All impromptu purchases at different points of life but yeah good ones.

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Interesting to see that ZF gearbox managed to made into both positives and negatives.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post Utsav, and also that garage seems like a dream for many.

Great to see fellow members enjoying the post.
The ZF - it is perfect for a TC, faultess, it does everything to the T. But there are moments where you miss a DCT, DCTs provide that crisp and engaging shifts that make you feel more involved in the driving process.

So while I do appreciate the creamy ZF TC, a crisp DCT would have elevated the experience higher.

But I guess, 95% of buyers including all non enthusiast people I know prefer the imperceivable shifts of the ZF TC in normal mode so can understand BMWs decision and also the small matter of saving a few hundred dollars by omitting the DCT to boost that bottom line by a few points - all on the altar of driving pleasure.

[mobike008]

Congrats on the new M340i and welcome to the forum.

I own a B58 from the last 4+ years (51 months to be precise) and have clocked 43,000 miles (~70,000kms) and a massive fan of this engine. Touchwood, it has been an absolutely rocking ownership with zero issues with the car.

Here is my ownership report if you wish to check it out :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post5957415 (2021 BMW X3 M40i - My "Blau Rakete" completes 42,000 miles / 67,000 km in 4 Years of ownership)

By nature, I am a person who gets bored pretty quickly and change cars quite often but, ever since a B58 entered my garage, I just don't feel like moving away from it.

I grinned like a small kid when I test drove this car 4 years ago and the same grin is still plastered on my face every time I get into this car even after 51 months, that's saying a lot considering my inherent nature of moving on in life.

B58 will stay with me for at least a couple of years till something more exciting can replace it which in its price range is "non existent". If I want better thrills then I will have to shell out some serious money on a M3 Comp/Cayman GT 4.0/X5M etc.

I see you slotted the ZF in both positive and negatives. I have gone through the gearbox mostly using paddles in the several of my drives in mountains/hills and it is downright fast and never slips, hesitates or slows down in any gear at any speed.

Also, the build quality is rock solid and everything feels solidly put together. 70K kms done and I'm yet to hear a single rattle in my car.

Also, the exhaust note from LCI model onwards has been toned down. The loudest was the Gen 1 B58 (2018), Mine is Gen 2 B58 and you are driving the Gen 3 B58 with a mild hybrid which is the most silent from all versions.

IMHO, Any car with a B58 becomes automatically special and I like your title " B58 engine with a car built around it " which is apt as there can be no other feature as good about a car with a B58 except that glorious engine.

Cheers & Enjoy your B58 !!!

[Utsav_199]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Congrats on the new M340i and welcome to the forum.

I own a B58 from the last 4+ years (51 months to be precise) and have clocked 43,000 miles (~70,000kms) and a massive fan of this engine. Touchwood, it has been an absolutely rocking ownership with zero issues with the car.

Here is my ownership report if you wish to check it out :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post5957415 (2021 BMW X3 M40i - My "Blau Rakete" completes 42,000 miles / 67,000 km in 4 Years of ownership)

Thank you for the great wishes, comforting to know it is reliable and wishing you many more miles miles of reliability and fun! Will check out your thread, thank you!

I grinned like a small kid when I test drove this car 4 years ago and the same grin is still plastered on my face every time I get into this car even after 51 months, that's saying a lot considering my inherent nature of moving on in life.

Same here, the first jab on the throttle and I told the SA "If we're gonna buy anything, this is it". I'm sure that grin will stay forever, I'm still addicted to the diesel turbo torques of CRDI engines of past decade so I suspect for this motor it will never go for me as well -- just gotta stay away from those performance EVs.

B58 will stay with me for at least a couple of years till something more exciting can replace it which in its price range is "non existent". If I want better thrills then I will have to shell out some serious money on a M3 Comp/Cayman GT 4.0/X5M etc.

Yes, exactly, the B58 in a cost effective package like this has us spoiled. I doubt any ICE motor will ever exist in a similar price range that can better this, ever! I suspect ICE will be relegated to upper echelons of $150k+ sports machines.

I doubt the GTS 4.0 will feel faster at-least not in the low and low-mid end, inherent nature of NA vs Turbo. Though if I was in a country where that GTS was still available new, I'd buy it in a heartbeat - a future classic. Used 1-2 year old ones are trading for north of 1.8cr here in India (0 depreciation)

I see you slotted the ZF in both positive and negatives. I have gone through the gearbox mostly using paddles in the several of my drives in mountains/hills and it is downright fast and never slips, hesitates or slows down in any gear at any speed.

It is perfect, the only thing is that a DCT would have added a few more layers of engagement (not speed).

Also, the build quality is rock solid and everything feels solidly put together. 70K kms done and I'm yet to hear a single rattle in my car.

India CKD I suppose lacks a bit, had to get something in the sunroof changed as well under warranty. But yeah, great to know that overall, it is solid.

Also, the exhaust note from LCI model onwards has been toned down. The loudest was the Gen 1 B58 (2018), Mine is Gen 2 B58 and you are driving the Gen 3 B58 with a mild hybrid which is the most silent from all versions.


IMHO, Any car with a B58 becomes automatically special and I like your title " B58 engine with a car built around it " which is apt as there can be no other feature as good about a car with a B58 except that glorious engine.

Mine is August 2024 LCI1 and not the latest LCI2, so I guess it is a bit better than the latest one but not as good as the OG one launched in India. Does mine have mild hybrid?

Couldn't think of a better one line summary for the title!

Cheers & Enjoy your B58 !!!

[AbhiJ]

Got my M340i in October '24 and cant agree more with majority of your points. But honestly most of them are fixable.

1. The stock brakes suck. I changed my Brake Pads and they have make a world of a difference. Most of your complaints will be gone.

2. If you arent liking the gearbox, get the XHP TCU Tune. You wont need any fancy unlock and a Stage 1 OTS tune will make you forget what a DCT is. Its a simple DIY upgrade.

3. Not liking the interface? You can change to the M interface. Its possible with a mod and I might be doing it soon.

4. My car is running Stage 2 ECU, Stage 2 TCU. I spent a total of 4.5 lakhs for all the power mods - parts/unlocks/tunes and as of today, my car can give a stock M4 a run for its money in a drag race. The B58 is truly a cheat code to insane power.

DM me if you need any help with the above. Disclaimer: No commercial interest.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

My car is running Stage 2 ECU, Stage 2 TCU. I spent a total of 4.5 lakhs for all the power mods - parts/unlocks/tunes and as of today, my car can give a stock M4 a run for its money in a drag race. The B58 is truly a cheat code to insane power.

Did you send your ECU to FEMTO to unlock it or there is a bypass solution?

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

Thank you for the great wishes, comforting to know it is reliable and wishing you many more miles miles of reliability and fun! Will check out your thread, thank you!

Thank you. There is a fellow BHPian here with me in Seattle who owns an exactly same car as mine including the color and his is the first-gen B58 and boy his car is loud. He has clocked more than 65,000 miles ( 100K + kms) and his ownership is also trouble free.

B58’s are rock solid reliable and can go on till 150K miles with no issues.

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

Same here, the first jab on the throttle and I told the SA "If we're gonna buy anything, this is it". I'm sure that grin will stay forever, I'm still addicted to the diesel turbo torques of CRDI engines of past decade so I suspect for this motor it will never go for me as well -- just gotta stay away from those performance EVs.

Similar feeling. I used to love the torques of diesel engines in India and never liked any petrol engine available (Reference to common man cars) and I had a plethora of diesel car engine ownerships in India but, when I experienced the B58 then I realized how beautiful is this petrol motor. I don’t think I ever loved an “ engine” so much in my life which is pretty strange and hilariously, I don’t like to talk anything else about this car except its engine.

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

Yes, exactly, the B58 in a cost effective package like this has us spoiled. I doubt any ICE motor will ever exist in a similar price range that can better this, ever! I suspect ICE will be relegated to upper echelons of $150k+ sports machines.

Exactly. I have been thinking of upgrading my B58 since over a year and I test drove so many cars but, not impressed with any car. Even the Porsche Macan S (not GTS) didn’t impress me from a “power" point of view. It's handling and suspension is next level.

I think only an M3 Competition, M4 Competition, GTS 4.0 can satisfy or thrill me more than the B58 but, they are double the price. I need to hock my kidneys as they are super expensive to buy and maintain.

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

I doubt the GTS 4.0 will feel faster at-least not in the low and low-mid end, inherent nature of NA vs Turbo. Though if I was in a country where that GTS was still available new, I'd buy it in a heartbeat - a future classic. Used 1-2 year old ones are trading for north of 1.8cr here in India (0 depreciation)

Never drove the Porsche GTS 4.0 (Driven a few older Porsches) but, I like its spec and is the cheapest true Porsche a common man can aspire to buy.

Yup, I know one of the first GTS 4.0 owner in India was the famous Autocar Editor-Hormzad.

If I sell my B58 now, I can make a cool $10K profit on it as these versions have become double hot after the M50 was released as majority people still prefer the X3M40i over the X3 M50. It takes people time to get used to a complete redesign and radical one at that.

Btw, search the forum, I drove the new X3 M50 as well recently and was not too impressed. But, I would buy it if I want to continue on the B58 platform.

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

It is perfect, the only thing is that a DCT would have added a few more layers of engagement (not speed).

I concur.

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

India CKD I suppose lacks a bit, had to get something in the sunroof changed as well under warranty. But yeah, great to know that overall, it is solid.

Mine is August 2024 LCI1 and not the latest LCI2, so I guess it is a bit better than the latest one but not as good as the OG one launched in India. Does mine have mild hybrid?

CKD’s will have some build related issues.

US based X3M40i or M340i’s--I don’t see anyone even talk about build issues as everything is fine including my car.

In India, you drive about 50% of time on terrible roads and you throw the car into potholes, speed breakers, cobble stone roads so the build quality is gonna break one day or other.

Yup, your car has a mild hybrid. Upside, it adds a few horsepower, downside, it won’t be louder like its predecessors.

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

Couldn't think of a better one line summary for the title!

I got attracted to your thread just because of the title…lol!

[vp_morpheus]

Congratulations Utsav_199 on owning this beauty. Given your buying experience and past chats with members here, what was the offer that you made? How much discount were you able to get on the ex-showroom price? Thanks in advance

[Utsav_199]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

Got my M340i in October '24 and cant agree more with majority of your points. But honestly most of them are fixable.

Thanks there, and really appreciate the inputs.

Will connect with you in a few months as I have my hands full with my other cars. Need a few months of clear air to touch the 340.

I Googled the gear box flash - it looks very appealing.

Does the brake feel improve with different pads?

[Utsav_199]

Originally Posted by vp_morpheus

Congratulations Utsav_199 on owning this beauty. Given your buying experience and past chats with members here, what was the offer that you made? How much discount were you able to get on the ex-showroom price? Thanks in advance

Around 7.5 lakhs of OTR, plus I got an extended year of warranty and 50K of accessories. Could have haggled further by not choosing their insurance but as my offer was more or less matched, choose not to. But remember mine was a August 2024 LCI1 purchase, newer LCI2s may not have similar discounts.

[vp_morpheus]

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

Around 7.5 lakhs of OTR, plus I got an extended year of warranty and 50K of accessories. Could have haggled further by not choosing their insurance but as my offer was more or less matched, choose not to. But remember mine was a August 2024 LCI1 purchase, newer LCI2s may not have similar discounts.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing this. Just as an update, I spoke to my SA in Mumbai recently on the LCI2, without much haggling was offered ~5.0 lakhs on ex-showroom. Given where the economy and market is, hoping there are better deals available by year end, fingers crossed.

[ssjr0498]

Are you able to get your car serviced at the ASS, does it not lock the ecu again? If yes, how did you manage to bypass this?

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

Got my M340i in October '24 and cant agree more with majority of your points. But honestly most of them are fixable.

If you arent liking the gearbox, get the XHP TCU Tune. You wont need any fancy unlock and a Stage 1 OTS tune will make you forget what a DCT is. Its a simple DIY upgrade.

My car is running Stage 2 ECU, Stage 2 TCU. I spent a total of 4.5 lakhs for all the power mods - parts/unlocks/tunes and as of today, my car can give a stock M4 a run for its money in a drag race. The B58 is truly a cheat code to insane power.

DM me if you need any help with the above. Disclaimer: No commercial interest.

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by Utsav_199

Does the brake feel improve with different pads?

Massively.

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

Are you able to get your car serviced at the ASS, does it not lock the ecu again? If yes, how did you manage to bypass this?

If they update the software/ECU, I ll be locked out again. I have to make sure to tell them NOT to.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Did you send your ECU to FEMTO to unlock it or there is a bypass solution?

Femto is the only reliable way as of now.