2020 BMW M340i xDrive Review | How Fast is the King of the Ultimate Driving Hill?

Sam. Here it is. The all new 2020 BMW m340i xdrive. So a few months ago I got the opportunity to review the outgoing F3340 IX drive. It was great because it had the rev matching manual transmission, which is a nice departure from the usual automatics these days. Rumor has it though that BMW is still going to offer a manual option in their upcoming M3s. But the rest of the lineup looks like it's stuck with the eight speed automatic, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Coincidentally, this also looks like the same exact color as the last 340i I drove, which is mineral gray. Anyways, the 2023 series is a complete redesign, top to bottom, inside and out. The wheelbase is extended by 1.2 inches, the overall car is slightly longer, and it's taller and wider by almost an inch. The most obvious difference is the way it looks. BMW has sort of chiseled out the body. It looks more masculine and assertive than the F30 it replaces. Even if you go with the more economical 330I, you still get a pretty aggressive looking car. The front bumper is squared off and the inlet areas here sort of protrude out a little bit and they make the car look lower, wider and more purposeful. The back end here is nice and simple. I like the large two exhaust outlets, but the taillights sort of resemble Lexus a little bit. Hmm. Now that I think about it, it's not really that drastically different from the outgoing F30 model. I mean, the front bumper here is really aggressive and I love it. The headlights are awesome too. But the rest of the body, like the side profile, it kind of just looks the same. These wheels, these are the factory orbit wheels. They kind of remind me of the E46 M3 style and it looked great on that car. But on this car I much prefer the 10 spoke factory design. Anyway, let's move to the interior. That's where all the changes happened. Anyway. I've always ragged on how outdated BMW interiors were, but ever since I drove the new M850i, my mind has been changed. They really upped their game and the same is true in this car. I really love this new digital dashboard. It's one of my favorites so far and I love the fact that it's standard. The buttons and cabin layout is cleaned up. It looks a lot more hip and less like a retirement home in here. This silver trim is nice. It looks like it's textured like the one from the M850i, but it's not, it's kind of just plain and flat. I forgot what they call it. But it's definitely different than your usual piano gloss or gimmicky looking carbon fiber. The one thing I would have to complain about is the steering wheel. I hate that it's not flat bottom. Like some of its competitors, this is technically a performance offering. And I wish they kept up with the theme here. The seats themselves aren't bad. They don't look that supportive, but they work pretty well. I like the blue stitching throughout the interior. Anyway, the one thing they did keep the same is the power plant. It's still the same B58 engine, but instead of being rated for 320 brake horsepower and 332 pounds of torque, they've upped it to 382 horsepower and 369 pound feet of torque. That's a pretty big bump. But they've also increased the weight a little bit. It now weighs almost 3,950 pounds with this xDrive model. But we found with the last car we tested. BMW tends to underrate their engines. The 340i was supposed to make 320 horsepower, but it actually makes close to 350. So I'm wondering, does this car actually make 382 horsepower or is it even more than that? Let's find out with our 40, 160, 130 test. It's important to note that this car is equipped with all wheel drive. You can also have the option of rear wheel drive, which is nice. It's also got launch control. But this isn't a pressed car, so we'll take it easy on her. So this is obviously my favorite part of the video, finding out how the car stacks up on the fast list. We know that the old 340i with the 320 brake horsepower engine did our 4100 test in nine seconds flat. That's pretty impressive considering it was a six speed manual. So just how much faster could this new car be? Well, the 2020 BMW M340i xDrive with the 8 speed auto did the 4100 in 7.4. That is ridiculously fast for something with supposedly less than 400 horsepower. I mean, look, it's pretty much on par with the Lexus GS F. And that car has 85 more horsepower and it doesn't even weigh that much more either. Plus it destroys its closest competitor, which is the Audi S5. Now here's where things get a little interesting, because we were actually able to get a 60 to 130 time, which means that this is a pretty quick car. But don't get your hopes up because the M340i is the slowest car on that list. It did 61:30 in 13.45 seconds. Yeah, it's, it's really not that quick here, but hey, still impressive that I was able to make it on this list at all. I find this really interesting because I expected a mid 12 second time based on the way it accelerates, but it looks like the car really starts to lose steam in the high end. Maybe a rear wheel drive M340 I would be a little faster up top. Alright, let's take this thing back out for a spin. BMW's motto has always been the ultimate driving machine. And this car reinforces that statement. I say this because I've driven all three German offerings in this segment and the M340i is by far the most dynamic, most engaging and most fun. The boost comes on early and hard and pulls all the way to its 7,000 rpm redline. The way the car shifts is immediate and firm and there's no sense of delay. It feels slightly digitized, almost like a video game, but it's. It gets really addicting to shift after a while. It feels faster than some dual clutch cars I've driven. Then there's the exhaust note, it sounds great, especially with the windows up. It's leagues better than the old 340i. And I'd say it sounds better than the Audi S5 as well. You can hear the turbo spool, the backfires on the downshifts and the roar of the inline six. But then you have to ask yourself, is any of it real? It's almost like meeting a slim but voluptuous woman at the bar. You often catch yourself wondering, are her bosoms a result of scientific augmentation? But once you get into the action and put your foot down to the floor, you'll quickly realize that none of that matters. That's just how awesome this car sounds. Just don't put the windows down. It's hard to describe the handling. If you took the X drive badge off the trunk, you could easily fool me into thinking that this was a rear wheel drive car. It's just that good at hiding it. It's only at the limit where you start to realize the car isn't going into immediate oversteer, that you have two front wheels receiving power as well. A lot of it has to do with the steering. It's amazing. BMWs have always had a pretty heavy steering feel. Obviously it's electronic, but it feels so direct and responsive. Your inputs as a driver are immediate, which translates to confidence when you're doing high performance driving. And if you watched my M850i review, you'll know that this dashboard is among my favorites so far. It's responsive, it gets the point across, and it's easy to read. I wish they had more themes and options, but. But I'm okay with the default, which delivers performance data in an easily digestible way. Okay, so the paddles. This has become a big thing for me because less and less cars are coming in stick. I don't like where they put the paddles in this car. You have to really reach for them and when you hit them, it's sort of hard to be sure that you got it. Nothing else is really wrong with them. I just wish they were in a better position. The seats hold you surprisingly well. They don't look that supportive, but I found them to do the job just fine for the street and perhaps the occasional track day. Okay, if I keep driving around in circles, I'm bout to run out of fuel, so let's go home. I feel like I've driven enough BMWs to tell you that they really did this car right. There's a lot to like about it from a driver's standpoint. It defies every law of physics when it comes to handling and acceleration. It just feels so surreal. I love the interior as well, minus the steering wheel and paddles. But those are easy fixes. If it really bothers you, a not so easy fix is the exterior. I know this isn't really a full fledged M car in that it's still just a run of the mill 3 series, but it's just not as attractive as a C43 or an S5. And you know what? I'm okay with that because that makes this the perfect sleeper car. Let's talk about mods. If the last two generations of 340s and 335s were any indication, then this car would be the perfect M3 alternative. You can easily see over 500 horsepower in just bolt ons alone. And honestly, after seeing the way this car puts down 382 horsepower, 500 could almost be overkill. So at the time of this video, the M3 for this generation is still under wraps. But seeing how this car is already almost on par with an M2, the new M3 should be one hell of a car. If you're in the market for a sedan that does it all, then look no further than the new M340i. It'll do everything you want and more. And yes, you can fit a full sized Doberman in the back. If this is your first time on the channel, be sure to watch some of my other stuff. I produce cinematic content for all sorts of performance cars, so if that's your jam, consider subscribing and ringing that bell icon for new episodes every Thursday. Thanks for watching.