[B58.Sam]

Hi!

It's @B58.SAM on IG here. Some background behind me, I work for a massive automotive retailer, which leads me to experience mostly every car out there, mainly Normal Economical Cars - Luxury Vehicles & Rarely Exotics. So when writing this review I have driven over 80 cars as company/work cars in the last 2 years.

I leased a 2021 330i xDrive at the beginning of the "chip-shortage" era last February for $400/mo $3k DAS. I came from Dinan Stage 1 BMW X1 (E84) and wanted something more professional and modern.



I fell in love with the G20 Series, the platform, comfort, and everything was AMAZING, even though mine was a complete base model with just the cold climate package I call it.

Due to my job of driving a ton of cars and experiencing them, (Would Work With V8 Range Rovers & Acura's Most Of The Time) I got bored of the car super quick just after 8 months, I ended up turning my lease in and ordering a '22 M340i.

Major Differences From 330i: Braking & Passing Speed, My M340i just bites super hard compared to my G20 330i, I even noticed this during the BMW Ultimate Driving Event I took 2 months after leasing my 330i. The M340i just does everything you're looking for, I've noticed I'm more into passing people when hoping on the on-ramp or don't have to worry about slowing down to pass, the car just glides in my opinion and with the perfect sizing of this generation 3-Series it's nimble and quick. Also, the car sounds gooood, I'm not much of a loud-burble tune guy but I appreciate the M340i having a nice subtle tone to it, something like a V6 F-Type.

Major Gripes I Have:
- This may only carry over due to having a 2022 but, my major two gripes with the car are, the deletion of the auto-stop-start button, I drive downtown in the city a lot, and yeah that just explains it, hate that I have to code this in.

- They got rid of the little cubby-hole on the bottom left of the dashboard, which used to be a perfect spot for a toll-responder or sunglasses, why was that taken away? No idea.

Overall TDLR: Definitely worth it, not FOMO'ing not buying an ugly G80 M3 instead as the M3 Lineage has always been my dream car since growing up. Hoping Dinan will make a tune for the 22's and so I can transform my M340i into an OEM+ Dinan Build. Make it the F80 predecessor it should've been and not that ugly fat nosed G8X creature they made.

[BullitX]

Great! Love it!
I wished i could get a M340i in my country… but they are awfully expensive… 105k fully loaded… its absolutely ridiculous…

[spb]

Congrats!

Funny enough just today I briefly explored the idea of upgrading. But I feel like the car prices are way up right now. Bought my car used a year ago. A cursory search shows that if I was buying it today it would be 11k more.
Seems like M340i went up even more than that.

[prototype222]

Nice write-up. I'm 8 months into my ownership of a 330ix and itching to upgrade to an M340i so badly. Too bad they are so hard to find at the moment and I really don't like the G20 LCI so not going to buy new.

[wdc330i]

I do have the much maligned front grille on my 4 GC, but I also have that little cubby you miss.

I was not a fan of the grille, either. But in my black car, it’s slightly easier to overlook. Plus, once I’m inside, I just have a great, fun, practical, small family car.

I agree that the G platform is much improved over the E and F series BMWs I’ve had. It’s a phenomenal car.

[B58.Sam]

Originally Posted by spb

Congrats!

Funny enough just today I briefly explored the idea of upgrading. But I feel like the car prices are way up right now. Bought my car used a year ago. A cursory search shows that if I was buying it today it would be 11k more.
Seems like M340i went up even more than that.

Wait it out. As someone who watches dozens of transactions daily, I've already seen lease dealers/dealers offer 3-4% off MSRP on a 340I compared to me paying MSRP 5 months ago when ordered.

The drop is coming.

[B58.Sam]

Originally Posted by prototype222

Nice write-up. I'm 8 months into my ownership of a 330ix and itching to upgrade to an M340i so badly. Too bad they are so hard to find at the moment and I really don't like the G20 LCI so not going to buy new.

I canceled my 23' order as soon-as I saw the rear end of the LCI G20, got lucky and found one of the last new 22's delivered at MSRP.

[B58.Sam]

Originally Posted by BullitX

Great! Love it!
I wished i could get a M340i in my country… but they are awfully expensive… 105k fully loaded… it's absolutely ridiculous…

Let that be motivation for you to work harder. I used to work at McDonald's 2 years ago for minimum wage, and now here I am. Turn that wish into a reality if anyone can do it, so can you!

[BullitX]

Originally Posted by B58.Sam

Let that be motivation for you to work harder. I used to work at McDonald's 2 years ago for minimum wage, and now here I am. Turn that wish into a reality if anyone can do it, so can you!

One day might go for the M3! But for now my dream is already coming true, have a 3 series LCI on order, expecting delivery in february

[madpistol]

It's a great car! Hope you enjoy it!

[bavarianride]

Congrats on the new ride! Both G20's models are great casr, glad to hear that u like them both.

BTW, is that 2021 330i Gravit Grey?

[Schantin]

Nice review. I toyed with the idea of buying a 340 instead of the 330i. I would definitely like the power, however, I'm putting about 25K miles a year on my current BMW for my work commute. Seemed criminal to buy the 340 or M3 and then rack up mileage on it. So far I've been happy with the 330i. Gets amazing gas mileage and is just fast enough to avoid being bullied by the SUV crowd on my daily commute.

[j luke]

Originally Posted by B58.Sam

...
- They got rid of the little cubby-hole on the bottom left of the dashboard, which used to be a perfect spot for a toll-responder or sunglasses, why was that taken away? No idea.

...
Attachment 2975309

This is also my biggest gripe. Why do away with it? Its where I kept my sunglasses in my F30.

[SubmarineSonar]

Originally Posted by BullitX

Great! Love it!
I wished i could get a M340i in my country… but they are awfully expensive… 105k fully loaded… its absolutely ridiculous…

Originally Posted by BullitX

Great! Love it!
I wished i could get a M340i in my country… but they are awfully expensive… 105k fully loaded… its absolutely ridiculous…

Time to move. Is that 105k in your local currency, or USD?

[BullitX]

Originally Posted by SubmarineSonar

Time to move. Is that 105k in your local currency, or USD?

Thats in Euro's. But nowadays Euro's and Dollars are almost the same value.
We pay a whole lot of taxes on cars here. 6-cylinders are actually rare, since the tax on 6-cylinder cars are extortionate high compared to the 4-cylinder cars.
We pay VAT tax 21% + car tax which is around 19% on the purchase of a car… so i will be paying 40% taxes on a car, and this is not even the 6-cylinder version

[SubmarineSonar]

Originally Posted by BullitX

Thats in Euro's. But nowadays Euro's and Dollars are almost the same value.
We pay a whole lot of taxes on cars here. 6-cylinders are actually rare, since the tax on 6-cylinder cars are extortionate high compared to the 4-cylinder cars.
We pay VAT tax 21% + car tax which is around 19% on the purchase of a car… so i will be paying 40% taxes on a car, and this is not even the 6-cylinder version

Originally Posted by BullitX

Thats in Euro's. But nowadays Euro's and Dollars are almost the same value.
We pay a whole lot of taxes on cars here. 6-cylinders are actually rare, since the tax on 6-cylinder cars are extortionate high compared to the 4-cylinder cars.
We pay VAT tax 21% + car tax which is around 19% on the purchase of a car… so i will be paying 40% taxes on a car, and this is not even the 6-cylinder version

That makes sense. I lived in the UK (Newquay, Cornwall) and remember the ridiculous taxes (VAT, car tax disc, a tax to watch tv.) That seriously sucks. Gotta love universal healthcare.

[billnchristy]

It's odd that the 4 has the cubby and the 3 doesn't when it's practically the same car.

[springerdrive]

Originally Posted by B58.Sam

They got rid of the little cubby-hole on the bottom left of the dashboard, which used to be a perfect spot for a toll-responder or sunglasses, why was that taken away? No idea.

Originally Posted by billnchristy

It's odd that the 4 has the cubby and the 3 doesn't when it's practically the same car.

Indeed! The injustice of removing that cubby! I would LOVE to have that in my 2022 M340xi! My previous Acuras all had a nice glasses holder above the rear-view mirror. I have to use a clip-on thingy for my reading glasses and my "driving" glasses live in the little space behind the console.

[Bmoney2K4]

That's one sweet ride. Portimao on Oyster. How much did you pay for it?

[TruthOne]

Originally Posted by Schantin

Nice review. I toyed with the idea of buying a 340 instead of the 330i. I would definitely like the power, however, I'm putting about 25K miles a year on my current BMW for my work commute. Seemed criminal to buy the 340 or M3 and then rack up mileage on it. So far I've been happy with the 330i. Gets amazing gas mileage and is just fast enough to avoid being bullied by the SUV crowd on my daily commute.

These cars are meant to be driven . They aren't exotic collectibles .