Why the new BMW M340i is an automotive landmark for the Indian car industry

Few cars have had me as excited about the prospect of driving them, as the new BMW M340i. There’s something about usable performance that’s far more enticing than having a tarmac-scraping, trouser-dropping torpedo in the driveway. I recall being giddy at the prospect of driving the Abarth 595 Competizione when it had launched in India, only to find my spirits crushed at the sight of that awful Magneti Marelli AMT gearbox which completely ruined the car.

Then came the Volkswagen Polo GTI, which was wonderful but terribly overpriced for a hot hatch. The Octavia vRs really hit the spot too, and still remains one of the most road-friendly performance cars in the country, but it came via the CBU route and quickly sold out.

So, it’s with some trepidation that I approach the BMW 3-Series M340i. On paper at least, it is leagues ahead of any power-sedans we’ve had that haven’t carried an “M” “AMG” or “RS” badge. And despite falling in the “relatively unobtainable” price bracket, it remains a very important car for the Indian market. This is because it’s the first M Performance car to be locally assembled, a fact that bodes well for India’s growth story, industrial prowess and the maturity of its price-conscious, utility-driven automotive market space.

 Performance Sedan

The M340i, while not a bonafide “M” car like the M3 or the M5, is still an absolute Bahn-stormer of a performance sedan, with a 3.0-litre, straight-six, turbo-petrol which hasn’t been spotted outside of an M3 ever since the fifth-generation (E90) 3-Series went out of production. The modern M3’s straight-six is, obvious, twin-turbocharged, but the single turbo unit on the M340i does much of the heavy lifting, giving this car 387hp – just under a 100hp less than the all-new, buck-toothed-yet-bonkers M3 that’s yet to arrive in India. The question arises, is it more 3-Series or M3?

I’m driving up a surprisingly empty mountain road heading towards Nasik. For once, the truck traffic that takes up the width of the road seems to have relented, revealing a winding section of tarmac that's perfectly flat and therefore ideally suited to the M340i’s arguably stiff suspension setup.

It’s been set to ‘Sport Plus’ mode that’s sending most of the power to the rear wheels, so the M340i is sufficiently rear-biased to make sharp turns, and comfortingly all-wheel driven so that you don’t find the nose pointing in the wrong direction. Essentially, BMW have equipped this with their ‘xDrive’ AWD system that gets increasingly rear-biased based on how sedated its electronic nanny is. No, you can’t make it rear-wheel-drive only, like you can some of the M-badged cars, but you can get the tail out without things getting hairy.

The straight-six is just effortlessly smooth, preferable perhaps, even to a V6. The steering feels incredibly well-weighed, getting heavier as the car goes faster, like all servotronic steering wheels do. The growl is a muted one, but it’s still there, with the exhaust never failing to pop on the overrun. This isn’t rear-wheel-driven like enthusiasts would hope it would be, but it is sharp nonetheless.

There isn’t any understeer to grapple with, just a simple point-and-shoot ability that’s the hallmark of any good BMW. The screaming tires suggest that the AWD might be a good idea, especially for the uninitiated, since M cars famously don’t suffer fools. In ‘Comfort’ mode the M340i is a very tame animal. Gear Shifts are quicker, suspension feels softer and the car switches to its executive sedan avatar at the click of a button.

Given that we’re dealing with a lot more torque (500Nm), BMW has chosen to outfit the M340i with an 8-speed automatic instead of a dual-clutch one. This along with the car’s ‘xDrive’ system and launch control help it accelerate from 0-100kph in 4.4 seconds. Not surprisingly then, it’s the quickest BMW that’s locally assembled, and quite possibly the fastest locally assembled car in the country.

The M340i, while not a bonafide “M” car like the M3 or the M5, is still an absolute Bahn-stormer of a performance sedan, with a 3.0-litre, straight-six, turbo-petrol which hasn’t been spotted outside of an M3 ever since the fifth-generation (E90) 3-Series went out of production.

What About Design?

On the design front, this is still very much a 3-Series. The raised brows it encountered did suggest that even a lay person can differentiate it from a standard 3-Series, but BMW have gone with the understated approach here. The bumper and the front-grille give away its performance credentials, as does its hunkered stance. Unlike the Audi S5 which has an overtly sporty visual language, the M340i looks like the souped-up 3-Series that it is.

On the inside there aren’t too many differentiating aspects either. Inside out, the car is almost identical to the 330i M Sport version. What it has is sharper looking daytime LED lamps, alcantara layered seats and a nifty heads-up-display unit which allows you to cycle through your music playlist, among other things. That 16-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system is the business, but that’s not central to the appeal of this car. No, that would be its price tag.

At Rs 62.9 lakh (ex-showroom), this is by no means an inexpensive car. But it still offers the best INR/bhp value than anything else in the market. Its closest competitors don’t match up to it, quite as well. The Audi S5 and the C 43 AMG costs nearly 20 lakh more (given that it isn’t locally assembled), while the locally assembled GLC43 AMG (also more expensive) doesn’t possess the same dynamism or the low centre of gravity.

Is the M340i flawed? In some respects. It doesn’t have adaptive suspension and so, it feels like the suspension is trying its best to alternate between being a corner-carver and supple enough for Indian roads. For the most part, it succeeds. This is a car that can be used for the school run, for the family vacation before heading for the local race track or a winding mountain road. It’s a car that sounds terrific, looks stately, and when needed, goes like hell.

BMW has chosen to outfit the M340i with an 8-speed automatic instead of a dual-clutch one.

The 3-Series is arguably the best sports sedan out there. The M340i is a fully realised version of that car.