I've finally got some proper seat time in my new M340i RWD and have some driving impressions and comparisons to the E90 335i I drove for the last 7 years. Also my amateur pics, with some "artistry" thrown in
Speeeeeeeed!
Whoa Nelly. I said it before and it becomes more obvious every single time I go out. This thing is FAST! The engine, in full Sports Plus transmission mode shifts way faster and harder than a pure H-pattern manual. It's honestly not just the 380 HP engine that makes it so much faster, it's the additive effect of the power and the engine combined. I need to find some quieter roads and try out Launch Control
The B58 is a beautifully balanced engine, it's got great sound, very smooth when you want it to be and very aggressive otherwise. BMW has long had Jekyll and Hyde cars, this one redefines the balance between the two. Quiet comfortable cruising, flick a switch, complete monstrous animal. Love it!
Now, the E90 N55 wasn't slow but this is in a different league. Obvious win for the 12 year younger car here!
Weight Balance and Cornering
BMW hit a very sweet spot here in that despite the car being about 250 lbs heavier than my E90, it feels just about as sharp to drive. In a funny way, the electric steering does much to disguise the mass of the car. Much as in my previous car, I can feel the confidence of the chassis when cornering, however unlike the E90 I have to trust the car more.
It becomes a game of guessing what the engineers had in mind and trusting that the car can do what you are asking of it. It definitely feels like something is missing (where something is of course some genuine steering feel. I am very curious to hear from the folk who have only driven F-series electric racks, if there is a big difference in the G20?
Feel and Traction
The E90 has steering feel. The G20 doesn't. The end?
Not quite. I'm gonna beg the diversion here and discuss my wife's 2014 Mazda3 steering.
The electric rack in that car is fairly stiff on center and linearly decreases the deeper into a turn you get (the opposite of hydraulic steering). As a front drive car, this leads to a moments in sharp cornering where the car is able to rapidly turn with a flick of the wheel, helped of course by the lightness of the chassis. Even though inverted, this helps tremendously in controlling the nose of the car.
The M340i doesn't have much of this. There seems to be some, but not enough to keep it in Sport steering. All it seems to do is make the steering artificially heavier without the benefits of increased feel the deeper into a turn you go. I found however, in Comfort steering, it seems to have a tinier bit more feedback. I have no canyons around me so my opportunities for proper cornering are limited, but this is an area I will be exploring further.
By contrast, no witchcraft, no thinking, no searching for feel is needed in the E90. It has it in spades. Driving the E90 almost felt like you could do it blindfolded, you could sense the position of the front wheels by the steering feel, you could feel the power through your toes on the accelerator, and modulate the brakes the same way. Your ass in the seat could tell which way the chassis was flexing!
The G20, much like the F30 and F36 I've driven briefly before, doesn't talk to you with all of these sensations. The closest analogs I have found are the chassis flex and the sensitive accelerator in Sports Plus. Both of these are very intuitive and really help this department along. I feel I will need to learn to "read" the M340i more over time.
I haven't had too much experiences with the M-differential but I can feel it working simply from just how much more traction this car has than the E90. It hangs on very well even while putting down 80 more HP than the 335i. It will still swing the tail on corner exit if you hammer the throttle, but you have to provoke it. I'm really looking forward to playing with this (and seeing the benefit in winter will be a bonus!)
Tech and Preferences
I found that the Reduced Mode on the digital cluster plus putting speed, tach, and Sports Display (with shift lights!) on the HUD hugely helps with the constant information overload from the cluster! In this mode, you have Speed on left, and RPM as a dim line on the left. I left the map on in the middle because it actually serves a good purpose here without being overloaded by the rest. Still no substitute for a true analog dash, but much more bearable.
The seats took a few days and now they are fitting me like a glove. Very happy with them!
For those of you with ancient sound solutions. I had an iPod 6th gen video connected to a BMW adapter in the old car, worked flawlessly. Did not work in this car and had no end of frustration using a phone via Bluetooth audio or a USB drive.
I cracked it eventually. I was able to successfully clone my iTunes music library and all playlists and sync to a 128 GB or less USB drive formatted as exFAT. I used iTunesFusion to sync to the USB, and made sure to place all playlists at the root of the device and remove leading backslashes from the list. It works like a dream now! I have the non-HK system and I am completely satisfied with it (but I am also not an audiophile).
That will do for this round, I'll report back in a month!
Now.... who wants some pictures?!
