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Originally Posted by 23109VC
I have an M340i loaner this weekend. I drive an X5 but have owned numerous sports cars over the years and consider myself an aggressive driver.
I've been in the market for a new car and I've been considering the F80.. I recently did the M driving event where BMW let me drive an M5, M4, and M2 - all of these cars were competition models. After that day I begin searching and researching leasing certified preowned etc. for an M3. Of all those cars and drove I like the M4 at the most but I want to sit down with backseats and four doors so I've begun researching for an M3. This weekend I dropped off the X5 for a minor repair and they gave me a 2019 M340i as a loaner! No complaints here !! It is RWD with standard suspension - NOT adaptive.
My short take on the handling of this car is that it feels slightly too firm for every day driving to the "average consumer". I personally like it - I found it to be a nice compromise between support and comfort with more focus on the sport you definitely feel lots of bumps it is for sure stuff. my wife thinks it's too bumpy and doesn't like it.
While the car handles pretty well it definitely is not as tight as the M4 I drove - there's more body will go into corners.
I think what BMW is trying to do with the M3 40 I is bridge that gap between the base model and the true M3 / M4. They gave it a nice breaks it crackles and pops when you're in sport plus mode which really makes you feel like you're in a fast car and it honestly does have a ton of power it's got to be making more horsepower than the claimed 382 it pulls hard and I was really impressed with the transmission while it's not a dual clutch - it shifts really fast.
if the adaptive suspension would make the car slightly more comfortable and compliant when you're just cruising on the freeway I think that would be a positive but I would want the ability to make the car registered and at least as firm as the standard suspension model perhaps slightly stiff or when I put it into sport plus
If I was going to be on a aggressive weekend rip in the car I would want something stiffer with less body roll then what the standard suspension offers. To me the standard suspension is a great all-around a setting that primarily focuses more toward being it's 40 and firm with just enough comfort but it won't beat you up and drive you crazy but just keep in mind that "non-car" people are going to say "your car is bumpy"... and when you want to drive like a madman it's not going to be stiff enough for you! Hence I can see the appeal of an adjustable or adaptive setup.
has anyone driven both cars back to back and can offer their input?
After living with this car for the weekend I could see it as a viable alternative to buying a certified used F80 M3. It's less raw but it feels newer and nicer inside to me than the F80, much better technology....
It's a sweet ride no matter you configure it !
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I drove both of them back to back this weekend... In downtown Boston. Likely the worst roads in America. The adaptive equipped car had 19” wheels with Michelin runflats. The non-adaptive had 18” with Michelin runflats. The adaptive suspension on sport plus mode was nearly identical to the passive suspension in both spring rates and dampening. The passive dampening seemed slightly better at handing off roading conditions. I could feel the tires bouncing around just a tiny bit less. I am pretty sure that was the 18” tire vs the 19” tire. The difference was almost not notable.
The noticeable difference came in comfort mode. It wasn’t under dampened and squishy feeling like you would expect. It was still very tight and well dampened however, it cut about 2/3 of the road noise out. It was almost weird. Comfort handled the speed bump size raised manholes just a tiny bit better but, on even smooth pavement, the car just got silent. I am left wondering, with such a minimal suspension change in comfort mode, if the comfort mode implements some kind of noise canceling speaker work.
The value add of adaptive seems to be if you need to have a quite car for a sleeping newborn occasionally or have guests in the car that would enjoy talking at a lower level. Ultimately, $700 is not much if you need to cater to those things.