OVERVIEW Competent sport sedan but a bit lacking in soul department PROSVery fast, handles well, comfy seats CONSStyling is good not great, and HVAC controls are not intuitive VALUE FOR MONEYGood WHAT TO CHANGE?More intuitive HVAC panel and more exhaust tone would be nice HOW TO SPEC IT?As you see it Is it possible for a car to be good at everything but still leave you cold? BMW used to own the sporty sedan segment and dominated magazine comparisons, but the past 15 years have seen new competitors spring up and others get more serious. The naturally aspirated engines are gone, and the M brand has grown to encompass more vehicles like this M340i. The question is: Is it good enough to be good in 2019?The M340i recipe starts out with some very good ingredients. It gets a turbocharged 3.0L inline-six making 382 horsepower, a stout 127-horsepower increase over the base 330is 2.0L turbo-four. It also costs a stout $14,950 more than the base 330i; thats a considerable premium. In addition to the brawny engine, the M340i gives you an M Sport tuned differential and a host of exterior upgrades including distinctive (but fake) exhaust tips, and a unique grill with aerodynamic shutters. Our tester was also equipped with $800 adaptive sport suspension and the comically named Premium Excellence package, which equipped it with niceties like heated front and rear seats, interior ambient lighting, laser headlights, a head-up display, a premium Harman/Kardon sound system, and more. All this premium excellence put the M340i at $72,200 out the door. A lot of money to be sure, but fair for a 382-horsepower sport sedan. On the road, its apparent nobody has told the little M340i its not a real M car. The BMW blasts from zero to 100 km/h in just 4.4 seconds. BMW no longer offers a manual, but the shifts of the eight-speed automatic are crisp and the exhaust note sings that famous BMW song, even if it is running through a turbocharger. The BMW also does a very good job of disguising its AWD layout. The system is a boon for winter driving, but it feels like a RWD car most of the time. Turning circle seems to have been affected by running driveshafts to the front wheels, however. But on a twisting road, the M340i feels nimble, sporty, and capable. It also makes plenty of pops and bangs from the exhaust while in Sport mode.Inside, the 340i xDrive is excellent. BMW has clearly spent a lot of time making this wood and leather cocoon an extremely nice place to sit. The interior dimensions are ample and the front seat room is excellent. I especially liked the so-called Cognac Vernasca leather used throughout; the colour and feel is exactly what youd expect from a premium car. Wood trim is used throughout and while it feels legit, it seems out of place in such a tech-heavy car. The centre console houses the shifter and the iDrive infotainment control wheel. Both of these will feel familiar to previous BMW owners, but will take a bit of getting used-to for those coming from other brands. The infotainment system was housed in a dash-top screen canted towards the driver and while the system is beautiful to look at and quick to respond, its overly granular and can take a while to master. My biggest interior gripe was the controls used for the climate control. They were mostly housed in a small aluminum panel with an equally small screen above it to show fan speed, temperature and air direction. The buttons themselves are small, and in bright sunlight, can be hard to read. Also toggling the A/C on and off requires you dive several layers deep into the touchscreen menu. Theres no reason it should be that difficult. I accidentally proved there was no need to have an X3 when I forgot that the M340i was my only car for the week and needed to move several items of furniture across town. Luckily for my organizationally challenged self, each of the BMWs rear seats folds down individually and while they dont fold flat, they leave a pretty generous pass-through. The trunk itself is also rather large.And thus we seem to have found a car with no real faults. The BMW M340i xDrive is fast, drives well, sounds good, costs plenty but offers good value for the price, and it looks sharp to boot. And yet, it doesnt inspire love in the same way that people adore the E30-generation 3 Series. It just feels cold. Theres no factual reason for it and it is entirely possible that I may just be crazy, but while the M340i is extremely capable, its just not a vehicle that warms your
Origin: Car Review: 2020 BMW M340i xDrive

2019 BMW X2 M35iJil McIntosh OVERVIEW A hot little hatchback with beautiful balance PROSGreat engine, sharp handling CONSFirm ride isnt as much fun for passengers VALUE FOR MONEYA fair starting price but options add up WHAT TO CHANGE?Improve the rear visibility HOW TO SPEC IT?Premium Package with M Sport Seats Power is always fun, but there’s more to a good car that just stuffing more horses under the hood. It has to be nimble and balanced if it’s going to be a satisfying ride. At its base level, the BMW X2 isn’t a showstopper in the premium-compact-crossover market. But then, it was handed over to the M Performance department, which gave it back as the X2 M35i — and now, all is well. Now, the 2.0L turbo four-cylinder smashes out 302 horsepower and 332 lb.-ft. of torque — a considerable step up from the 228 ponies in the base X2 28i. The all-wheel-drive system includes a BMW-first sport differential up front, doling out power when and where it’s needed for optimum front-end traction, and it also includes launch control if you want to really show off what this little car can do. The transmission is an eight-speed automatic, but don’t twist up your nose: the shifts are quick and it keeps the engine smack in its sweet spot when left to its own, and reacts immediately when you use the wheel-mounted paddles in manual mode. Yes, three pedals would be more fun, but automakers build what’s currently selling. Those who want to “save the manuals” have to buy brand-new cars that have them; it isn’t enough just to slap a sticker on the back of a 1985 GTI. Despite the M in the name, and on the liftgate, front fenders, and the blue brake calipers, BMW stresses — somewhat confusingly for the uninitiated — that this is an M Performance, vehicle not a full-on M. That letter all by itself indicates a track-intended car you can drive on the street, but M Performance’ sits halfway between that and a regular BMW, upping the fun factor without going flat-out all the way. So the X2 M35i has a performance suspension that’s stiffer, and 10 millimetres lower than its regular X2 sibling, giving it a tight ride that’s far more fun for the driver than for the passengers. The run-flat tires harshen it even more, and you’ll appreciate that rapid-response steering when you’re trying to avoid potholes that are just longing to bend up a lower-profile-tire wheel. That said, since the designers didn’t account for a spare, there’s a useful multi-level cargo floor that you can open up for extra space, or close to hide valuables. The genius of this car is that everything is just right for it, and it’s integrated so well. Hit the throttle and it pushes you back in the seat, but it’s not overpowered for its size; that front differential slots the torque just right for the curves you’re taking, the steering communicates everything the tires are doing, and it’s flat into the corners and quick back out of them. This thing is simply fun on a stick. Of course, there is a price for driving pleasure. The base X2 begins at $44,345, while the M35i starts at $49,200. There are option choices, of course, and my car had an Enhanced Premium Package at $5,650, adding in a whack of items such as a panoramic sunroof, head-up display, a heated steering wheel and auto-dimming mirrors, plus extra-charge wheels, seats, and a wireless charger — there’s a clever sliding holder to accommodate various phone sizes, though — that brought my ride to $56,650 before freight and taxes. That’s a lot of money, but on the other hand, it’s $53,100 to start building a Mercedes-Benz AMG GLA 45, and while that model is impressive and far more powerful, I still like the more-well-rounded feel of the BMW. I would check off the $950 box for the M Sport Seats, although I’d probably go with all-black leather, rather than my tester’s eyeball-burning Magma Red Dakota scheme. They’re very comfortable and supportive, and the bolsters keep you on keel but aren’t so high that it’s tough to get in and out. This car is, after all, primarily meant for daily use. Front-seat room is decent, while the rear seats quickly remind anyone back there this is a compact. Those seatbacks fold flat for extra storage space, in a 40/20/40-split configuration for poking skis or other long items through, while plopping a passenger on either side. I think the X2 is a handsome, well-proportioned beast, but that small back window combines with the rear head restraints to steal any semblance of rearward visibility. As with most BMWs, the stark interior design, with its rows of plastic buttons, looks a touch downscale for the price. I’ve also never bought into the electronic shifter — which, sadly, infests too many cars these days — where you have to push forward for Reverse, instead of PRNDL as the driving gods intended. And the iDrive system that operates the infotainment system gets incrementally better every few years, but it’s still not the most
Origin: SUV Review: 2019 BMW X2 xDrive M35i