BMW M340i review: The perfect BMW?

Aug 3, 2023

BMW M340i review: The perfect BMW?

Meet the recently revised BMW M340i! So what do you get with this BMW M3 ‘lite’?

In terms of the design, it’s all relatively standard to the previous M340i and the standard 3 Series. Up front, the changes include an aggressive low bumper, a couple of real vents and a hexagonal grille. There’s an all-new alloy design exclusive to the M340i, and around the back, there’s a new rear bumper, a new (fake) diffuser and a new boot lip spoiler.

On the inside, it’s also all pretty similar, but the main change is a huge dual screen on the dash to incorporate the infotainment screen and digital dials. You also get sports seats as standard, an updated digital dial display and a new steering wheel. Otherwise, it’s pretty much business as usual!

Under the bonnet, you’ll find a glorious 3-litre straight-six turbo which can deliver 374hp and 500Nm of torque. Naturally, it comes with BMW’s awesome 4-wheel drive system, and all-in-all it costs £58,000.

So is it worth it? You know what to do by now… Stick with Mat and see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:46 Engine
01:30 0-60mph
01:56 Brakes
02:35 Chassis
03:39 Country Road Driving
05:28 Design
07:18 Interior
08:42 Back Seats
08:58 Boot
09:30 5 Annoying Things
11:23 5 Cool Things
12:52 Daily Driving
14:04 Verdict

Mat’s Audi RSQ3 choice: https://bit.ly/Mats-Audi-RSQ3-Choice

We’ll help you buy your next car: https://bit.ly/Buy-Sell-WOW

Content

0.42 -> this is the revised BMW m340i and it's a

4.62 -> little bit like Vienna schnitzel because

7.259 -> it's packed full of baby BMW beef being

10.38 -> the m340i and not the whole beefy M

13.62 -> version plus it's got a crispy crust on

16.32 -> the outside look crispiness anyway in

18.779 -> this video I'm going to talk you around

19.8 -> the exterior of this car talk you

21.06 -> through the updates that BMW have made

22.68 -> to it show you the interior I'm going to

24.42 -> take it for a drive and of course I'm

26.4 -> going to launch it to see how quick it

27.72 -> is from naught to 60 miles an hour and

29.58 -> considering it's really Frosty today

30.84 -> that will really be putting this car's

32.34 -> four-wheel drive and traction control

34.44 -> system through its Paces because

37.32 -> I'm Matt Watson only watching Carl Cole

40.26 -> wow shivery Buy sell car wow

45.8 -> let's start this video by talking about

47.94 -> the engine on the m340i not because it's

50.94 -> the most important point of this car

52.32 -> although it is it's because my hands are

54.84 -> freezing and I need to warm them so it's

57.48 -> a three liter straight six turbo that

59.879 -> puts out

60.98 -> 374 horsepower and 500 newton meters of

63.96 -> torque and it drives all four wheels for

65.76 -> an eight-speed automatic gearbox oh and

68.82 -> let's just stay talking about the engine

69.96 -> it says end performance here I've got

71.7 -> BMW bits here that's where you put your

73.799 -> oil in and you've got the BMW logo here

76.799 -> this is actually just a cover which is

79.38 -> really good actually because it gives

81 -> you a nice flat surface to warm your

82.68 -> hands on I wonder if I can just get on

84.479 -> it

86.759 -> oh I've worn my entire body it's too

89.64 -> cold BMW says it's called a note 16 4.4

92.939 -> seconds but what's the reality I'm going

94.5 -> to find out what my specialist timing

95.759 -> gear here

98 -> I can't believe how well that hooked up

100.14 -> considering the conditions that is

101.46 -> insane

103.32 -> it's cold slipper on the road the tires

106.32 -> are cold as well not 60 3.81 Seconds

111.299 -> that's crazy excuse my French

115.74 -> the m340i gets upgraded brace over what

118.619 -> you can get on the normal 3 Series so

120.6 -> you have 348 millimeter discs up front

123 -> grip by four piston colored person at

124.979 -> the back you've got 345 millimeter disc

127.02 -> gripped by a single piston caliper but

129.06 -> how strong are they I'm going to do a

131.22 -> brake test from 60 miles an hour let's

133.62 -> see how long it takes to stop so here we

135.66 -> go for emergency stop

138.54 -> conditions are bad

141.3 -> how long did it take 38 meters

144.02 -> it's not great but I think that's to do

146.34 -> with the conditions I was hoping for

147.84 -> about like 35 maybe 36 but slippery

151.379 -> under Tire

153.42 -> that's even a saying BMWs upgraded this

156.66 -> car chassis over the standard 3 Series

158.64 -> so you get adaptive dampers as standard

161.22 -> different spring rates as well on the

162.78 -> suspension plus the car sits 10

164.7 -> millimeters low to the ground than the

166.319 -> normal 3 Series there's also stiffer

168.239 -> anti-roll bars at the front and the back

169.86 -> to stop the car rolling the Americans

172.62 -> call them sway bars actually I think

173.879 -> that's a much better name sway it's not

175.56 -> be swaying

177.019 -> thanks thanks for joining someone off

179.459 -> camera just having a little bit of a

180.54 -> join in there yeah I thought we were

183.18 -> having a chat rather than me just

184.379 -> actually talking to you

186.239 -> this variable ratio steering which not

188.76 -> only is lighter in turn and then gets a

190.5 -> bit heavier as you go quicker it can

192.239 -> also alter the rate of turn of the front

194.519 -> wheels depending on how much you turn

196.2 -> the wheel

197.879 -> sounds a bit confusing it's designed to

199.62 -> make the car just feel a little bit more

200.819 -> responsive finally you get a limited

202.86 -> slip differential on the rear axle which

204.54 -> will send power to the back wheel with

206.04 -> the most grip to help Corner extreme

208.08 -> traction do you know what you don't even

209.819 -> get an LSD on a McLaren Supercar seems

212.7 -> weird that you get on this normal family

213.9 -> car not on one of those anyway let's see

216.42 -> what all these upgrades do to how this

218.34 -> car drives I reckon a generation or so

221.099 -> ago this could be classed as an M car

222.659 -> it's so good the way it handles it's

224.819 -> good at getting the bumps as well you

226.379 -> know this road is a little bit bumpy and

228.659 -> uneven yet this car is just doing a

230.76 -> great job of dealing with that and the

232.379 -> steering is precise that four-wheel

234.54 -> drive system is really good so most of

235.98 -> the power goes to the rear and it only

237.36 -> sends part of the front when you need

238.92 -> that extra traction you can really get

240.48 -> on the power nice and early and the

242.34 -> engine is just so lovely loads of torque

245.519 -> pulls really well from low down I think

247.62 -> it pulls better lower down than the

249.9 -> engine in the M3 absolutely love it the

253.379 -> body stays nice and flat through the

254.64 -> bends gives you loads of confidence

255.959 -> surprising really considering editions

258.54 -> it's just got so much grip and you can

261.6 -> feel it sometimes stepping out on the

263.16 -> throttle but it's easily controllable

264.9 -> all very predictable all very safe and

267.3 -> all very good fun

268.86 -> just do a quick U-turn here so the

271.02 -> Turning circles it's under 12 meters

272.82 -> which isn't terrible I should make it

274.979 -> round once this guy

276.96 -> in the Suzuki he's looking at me like

279.12 -> I'm mad what you doing

280.699 -> what you're doing you're mad you're

282.72 -> turning around in a road while you're

284.4 -> turning around in a road that's crazy

286.02 -> why would you do that ever

288.72 -> anyway let's get back to it the gearbox

292.38 -> even though it's not a dual clutch it's

294.12 -> a eight-speed torque converter Auto it's

296.16 -> very very fast on the gear changes I can

298.44 -> also hear

299.58 -> the exhaust pop up popping when I lift

301.68 -> off the accelerator which is nice there

304.38 -> are fake sounds played through the

306.12 -> speakers on this car to make it sound

307.68 -> more sporty you can dial them down a bit

309.72 -> but to be fair I won't bother they add

312.9 -> to the experience I'm not going to

314.46 -> complain too much like some other

315.419 -> motoring journalists might especially

316.86 -> when the rest of this car is just so

319.199 -> very good in the way it goes down a

321.54 -> quick country road I gotta say the

323.759 -> chassis upgrades on this car definitely

325.56 -> have a positive effect it's good fun to

327.539 -> drive to make sure that the m340i stands

330.419 -> out next to normal 3 Series BMW is

333 -> giving it a more aggressive lower front

335.759 -> bumper and they've actually tweaked the

337.38 -> design compared to the pre-facelifted

339.12 -> version with the events and just looking

340.5 -> slightly different and these vents they

342.9 -> are real look as I'll illustrate with

344.16 -> the combine sticker truth no fakery

346.02 -> there the m340i also gets this higonal

349.38 -> Grill effect here rather than on

351 -> the standard 3 Series plus the surround

352.68 -> is black for a moodier appearance

355.32 -> speaking of which the headlights are now

357.18 -> thinner than the pre-face lifted version

359.16 -> to just make it look meaner more

361.08 -> aggressive moving down the side there

362.82 -> are some new updated alloy wheel designs

364.86 -> and the m340i has unique Wheels you get

367.68 -> them as 18 inches of standard there you

369.3 -> can upgrade to 19s which is what these

371.22 -> are and no extra cost most people are

373.5 -> probably going to do that another thing

374.639 -> that the m340i now gets is Festival door

377.34 -> mirrors like a proper M car

379.919 -> weird you've also got frosted blue paint

381.9 -> on this particular car not just talking

383.58 -> about this Frost it's got a matte effect

385.199 -> to it looks really really nice at the

387.36 -> back the m340i has a more aggressive

389.4 -> rear bumper and once again it's slightly

392.16 -> different to the pre-face lifted version

393.9 -> got a diffuser in there which is

395.34 -> completely fake doesn't do anything and

396.9 -> we've got some huge exhaust around and

399.66 -> the real tailpipes are actually in there

401.46 -> much smaller but at least there are some

403.139 -> real tailpipes which is a good thing the

405.24 -> n340i also gets a little boot loop

407.22 -> spoiler and then your m340i badging now

410.639 -> obviously all these upgrades do come at

412.56 -> a cost so the m340i starts at just under

416.88 -> 58 000 pounds however you can save an

419.46 -> average of just under 1 700 pounds on a

422.28 -> 3 Series through car wow now if you want

424.5 -> to check out the latest deals on BMW 3

427.5 -> Series through car wire click on the

428.759 -> pop-out band up there or for the link in

430.56 -> the description below if you want to do

432 -> that a later date just simply Google

433.259 -> help me car while my team will help you

435.24 -> choose the right car for you and get it

436.44 -> for a fair price from one of our trusted

438 -> dealers the main change is on this

439.86 -> Facebook version of the m340i compared

442.199 -> to the previous version is the fact that

443.699 -> you get this massive dual Bank of

446.099 -> screens really really good latest

448.56 -> infotainment system plus you've got some

450.84 -> slightly redesigned air vents and a new

453.12 -> design for the gear selectors little

454.8 -> switchy here now the m340i get some

458.22 -> other upgrades over the standard revised

460.139 -> 3 Series such as a sport steering wheel

462.12 -> with the M logo on it I've also got an M

465.36 -> little trickler on the is that white

467.819 -> German tricolor

471.139 -> anyway the three color M logo on the

474.599 -> seat belts you've also got an m340i logo

477.66 -> on the kick plates and you get sport

479.819 -> seats as standard that you can upgrade

481.259 -> to the M sport seats which has lots of

483.18 -> ribs in them these are quite nice seats

484.86 -> though but really those the only

487.08 -> upgrades for the m340i oh and the dials

489.479 -> you get M dialed up with M logo on them

491.58 -> little M trickler and the special design

494.699 -> like weird design oh

499.979 -> do you know I would put into reverse

502.08 -> when I was like doing the um gear

503.639 -> selector without knowing because I

504.78 -> thought was on the break anyway

506.28 -> that was interesting and you have let's

508.919 -> just continue like that never happened

510.3 -> so you get these slightly different

511.82 -> speedometer and red counter design

514.52 -> that's it are you okay A bit worried

518.94 -> yeah that wasn't good was it let's move

521.039 -> on here in the back of the m340i just

523.68 -> like with the normal 3 Series the

525.12 -> sufficient space though you do get some

527.22 -> of the sporty accoutrements like you get

529.44 -> in the front such as the sport seats

530.82 -> with the contouring and the M3 color

534.42 -> stitching on the seat belts

537.06 -> and that's about all you need to know

538.38 -> the boot capacity of the m340i is also

540.839 -> unchanged over the normal 3 Series so

542.54 -> 480 liters and it is reasonably

545.279 -> practical however if you'd like a sporty

548.1 -> car with a more useful hatchback

549.839 -> tailgate earned from another brand you

551.94 -> could check out the Audi RS Q3 because

554.64 -> it's about the same price as this and

556.56 -> it's a proper RS model now if you want

558.6 -> to see the same that you can get on one

560.279 -> of those three cars I've actually

561.36 -> configured one my favorite trim level

563.339 -> click on the pop-up banner up there for

564.959 -> the link in the description below to see

566.399 -> that car that I've configured through

567.6 -> the carbide configurator and you can

569.22 -> also see the saving anyway that brings

570.779 -> down to five or nine things about the

572.22 -> BMW

573.14 -> m340i this is the top of the range for

576.42 -> the normal 3 Series if you exclude the

578.58 -> M3 yet it doesn't come with lumbar

581.339 -> support as standard this card does have

583.26 -> it fitted but it's an option which costs

585.44 -> 265 pounds to make matters worse if you

588.48 -> want adaptive cruise control which I

589.98 -> would do if I bought this car you have

591.42 -> to buy as part of the technology pack

592.92 -> which costs 3 800 pounds the listed

596.399 -> weight of the BMW blue m340i is 1725

600.12 -> kilos which is 55 kilos more than BMW

603.72 -> listed for the pre-facelift version we

607.019 -> asked for him to be why in fact this

608.339 -> chap did over there what did they say

609.72 -> this didn't give a reason brilliant this

612.48 -> carbon fiber trim looks nice but it's

614.1 -> very shiny and therefore very reflected

617.1 -> so when you're driving along you get

618.66 -> reflections of what you're driving past

619.98 -> just flickering away in there and it

621.6 -> just catches any peripheral vision and

623.339 -> it distracts you somewhat which is an

625.26 -> ideal we all know that Toyota uses the

628.08 -> three liter straight six BMW engine from

630.6 -> this very car in their Supra and they've

632.94 -> made that car way more fun to drive by

635.22 -> fitting it with a manual gearbox

636.959 -> unfortunately though you can't get this

639.12 -> BMW with a manual gearbox which is a

641.88 -> shame I have a solution right put your

644.88 -> water bottle there then you can just

646.079 -> pretend look that you're changing gears

648.48 -> in fact there's actually a more precise

650.459 -> gear shift than most BMW manuals

653.72 -> with the pre-face lifted version of the

656.459 -> BMW 340 IIT disengage traction control

659.16 -> you would press this button here once to

662.04 -> put it into sport traction modes and

663.6 -> then press and hold it to turn the

665.04 -> stability all the way off but that isn't

667.2 -> working there because for some reason

668.64 -> BMW have added an extra step you have to

671.459 -> press this button to bring up the

672.899 -> traction menu then use the iDrive to

675.48 -> select which mode you want which if

677.519 -> you're driving along quickly or maybe

678.72 -> you're on track and you just want to

679.98 -> have a particular corner with the

681 -> stability off you're going to be faffing

682.5 -> around longer than you need to be

683.76 -> however it's not all bad here's five

685.92 -> cool things about the BMW m340i and I've

688.68 -> got to say the fact that you can still

690.48 -> turn the stability control all the way

692.399 -> off if you want to do some drifts is a

694.5 -> good thing and this car despite being

696.06 -> four-wheel drive because it's rear drive

697.74 -> biased will actually drift the m340i

700.86 -> gets a sports exhaust as standard and

703.019 -> the good news is there is no stop limit

705.06 -> to read that so you can rev it all the

706.92 -> way up or stationary as well it is

708.54 -> straight now go and start the car

712.32 -> so you get into sports mode

719.88 -> or straight six of loveliness

725.779 -> and one thing I've noticed is look

729.24 -> it won't Auto change up that's really

732.06 -> good some sporty model will Auto change

734.04 -> up this doesn't as well as a normal

735.899 -> Sport and Sport Plus preset modes you

739.2 -> can go into individual and configure it

741.72 -> exactly as you want it the main thing is

743.94 -> that it gives you the option to alter

745.92 -> the stiffness of the damper so in the UK

749.22 -> with the bumpy roads I'd like to have

750.72 -> everything in sport apart from the

752.76 -> suspension which are going to comfort so

754.44 -> it just Glides in the bumps about you

756.54 -> get launch control yeah and it actually

758.94 -> says launch control on The Dashing

760.56 -> lights of other cars

762.56 -> which don't let you know whether it's

764.399 -> actually properly engaged because they

765.6 -> don't say launch control but anyway look

767.36 -> launch control is active I'm not going

770.04 -> to launch here because it's on grass be

771.66 -> messy thing is though this car needs to

774.06 -> be good as a daily driver as well as

776.279 -> being fun to drive so let's see what

777.839 -> it's like on a cruise on the motorway

779.16 -> I'm doing footballs now in Comfort mode

780.66 -> throwing the throttle

782.7 -> yeah kickdown's really good and we are

785.279 -> up to speed

787.44 -> link up and I and then when you're just

789.6 -> cruising around actually it's really

791.7 -> relaxing it's really quiet traveling

794.22 -> seats are comfortable there's very

796.56 -> little to complain about really economy

798.839 -> this particular car is averaging about

800.279 -> 29 miles per gallon which considering

802.139 -> the performance isn't awful this car's

804.48 -> also good to drive when you're just

805.68 -> pooting about in town the automatic

807.42 -> gearbox Blends the gears together really

809.22 -> well the brakes are progressive they're

810.839 -> not grabby at all also the suspension

813.48 -> even though it's got a sporty setup it's

816.42 -> still good over bumps you don't feel

818.04 -> them too much such a great old Roundup

820.32 -> do you know what if I didn't do this job

822.06 -> as a motoring journalist where I was

823.44 -> constantly and out of other cars and had

826.019 -> the luxury of being able to just buy

827.459 -> performance cars for my own dailies I

830.639 -> would have one of these I used to be a

832.32 -> chartered accountant and if I still

833.7 -> attracted accountant I can imagine that

835.98 -> my family car would be a BMW m340i

839.78 -> [Music]

843.2 -> so then what's my final vote it's on the

845.7 -> new BMW m340i should you avoid it should

847.92 -> you consider it should be shortlist it

849.12 -> or should it just go right ahead and buy

850.56 -> it well I reckon you should just go

852.42 -> right ahead and buy the BMW m340i just

855.48 -> like a plate of schnitzel it's a great

858.36 -> all-round choice no actually I'll

860.579 -> probably go for the estate version

861.54 -> rather than this Saloon but anyway the

863.82 -> same boat IT Supplies I hope you'll

865.2 -> enjoyed the video if you did give it a

866.279 -> like let me know if you agree with my

868.139 -> verdict in the comments below if you

870.12 -> want to watch more videos click on those

871.44 -> windows there and if you click on that

873.18 -> box there you can go to Carlow to sell

875.22 -> your current car just upload some photos

876.899 -> give a brief description then do this

878.399 -> from all over the country we'll bid on

879.899 -> your car stead easy thanks for watching

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InRCXcRADh0