The king makes its case to hold on to the crown
True story: A friend of ours drives a 320i. She loves her car. How much does she love it? Cadillac, trying to woo BMW drivers, offered her an ATS sedan, for a month, for free. Our friend’s response? No thanks. “No thanks” to a free Cadillac for a month! That’s customer loyalty.
A car that does everything as well as this one makes it hard to pinpoint one outstanding thing, but forced to choose something — anything — I’d pick the power band between 50 mph and 80 mph; it’s just spectacular. All it takes is a prod to the gas pedal and off you go! High-speed handling and stability probably ranks second on my list of attributes. The car arguably feels most at home gobbling up freeway miles in a relaxed, fuss-free way. Then again, fling it into a few corners — high or low speed — and you are rewarded with taut body control and tons of grip.
Yes, BMW’s labcoat-wearing engineers really got it right with the 340i. The question isn’t whether you want one, the question is what color should you get.
–Wes Raynal, Editor
First drive: 2016 BMW 340i
Even BMW’s 3-Series needs an update from time to time, capable as it is, and for the 2016 model year the automaker’s best-sized model has received a midcycle facelift. More than …
OTHER VOICES:
Yes, it’s “just” a 3-Series, no M badge, and yes, it’s a positively offensive $ 61,000 3-Series, but holy moly it’s so damn good I forgot what I drove the night before. Frankly, it doesn’t matter; that car is dead to me, as are most other so-called premium sports sedans.
Gushing? Damn straight. See, more years ago than I care to count, having spent all of my driving life in various Japanese and domestic “sporty” cars, I had the opportunity to drive an early E36 325i — just your plain straight-six, five-speed manual sedan. It was a revelation (one to which I suspect many of our readers can relate), and in typical addict fashion, I’ve been seeking that first high ever since.
Much of it had to do with the simple mechanical glory of Bimmer’s tried-and-true I6/stick shift combo, a piece of automotive heaven that lives in the latest 340i. The engine is now 3 liters and gets breathed upon by a twin-scroll turbocharger, but there’s the same silky push in the small of your back while running through the gears, the same unique growl from the exhaust (and underhood) that leaves no doubt there are synchronized metal bits up front working furiously to make you smile. The only other similar car that has this kind of mechanical directness is the Audi S4/S5; as good as that powertrain is the V6 just can’t match the smoothness of an inline six.
Planted in the driver’s seat, you grip a fat leather wheel, put it in gear and go. BMW has fitted the stick shift models with rev matching, but the pedals are so perfectly placed for heel/toe driving it’s largely superfluous. If you want to drive conservatively, you can shift early and enjoy the effortless torque below 3,000 rpm. Or keep it between 5k and redline and see 60 mph flash by in well under five seconds. Either way, the 340 is impeccably surefooted, never harsh, utterly predictable.
Of course, the reason our originally $ 49K 340i stickers at nearly $ 61K is because it has the whole options book thrown at it, including a bunch of stuff you don’t need. Keep the track handling package and the cold weather package and jettison the oyster leather and half a grand worth of red paint, for example. Or don’t. Hell, add another five grand in options if you want. As long as the car says 340i on the back you’re golden.
Note that your opinions may, of course, vary. You may prefer your “perfect” cars bigger or smaller, faster or hairier, and there are fantastic choices from multiple manufacturers that will satisfy. But for balanced, premium sports sedan perfection, I dare you to find a better car than the 2016 BMW 340i.
That doesn’t mean I won’t keep looking…
–Andrew Stoy, Digital Editor
Everything you’d want in a BMW 3-Series is here: your I6, a stick shift and snappy looking interior. A major downside for me is sticker shock, though through the art of financing and leasing, these will probably slip into “acceptable” territory for a lease — effectively making the sticker price dissolve into the ether.
Pricing aside, getting behind the wheel of this thing is ridiculously enjoyable. Riding around the city, you’re welcomed to the I6’s burble as you row through the six-speed, with its scream still there in the upper register. It’s not quite M3 levels of ostentatious, but the point will be heard: You’re in a hot Bimmer.
One thing I noticed when running around, when really pushing this thing hard during acceleration, it hesitates between gears. Not a big deal if you’re not going to track it, and you really shouldn’t — it’s too nice inside to tear apart. If this is the only complaint I can find, maybe this is closer to being an ultimate driving machine than people give BMW credit for anymore.
–Wes Wren, Associate Editor
Of course, the reason our originally-$ 49k 340i stickers at nearly $ 61k is because it has the whole options book thrown at it, including a bunch of stuff you don’t need.
Options: technology package including navigation system, head-up display, BMW online and BMW apps, advanced RTTi and remote services ($ 2,750); track handling package including M sport brakes and variable sport steering ($ 1,700); driver assistance plus including active blind spot detection, active driving assistant and side and top view cameras ($ 1,700); oyster Dakota leather ($ 1,450); driver assistance package including rear view camera and park distance control ($ 950); cold weather package including heated steering wheel, heated front seats and heated rear seats ($ 800); lighting package including automatic high beams ($ 800); rear manual side window shades ($ 575); Melbourne red metallic ($ 550); enhanced Bluetooth and Smartphone In ($ 350)
