[bri1042]

There have been plenty of reviews of the 340's from plenty of people and I haven't thought of a ton that I wanted to add. On top of that, the negativity has been pretty high lately, or it feels like it has been. I think some of that is from the age of the F30 platform, and some of that isn't (or it isn't more negative lately and I'm misreading the mood).

So here it is, what I decided I could add.

I was never really a BMW enthusiast in the old days (80's and 90's). I liked them, and I thought they were quite pretty, but I don't come from even a middle-class background, much less a wealthy one. I dismissed them as unobtainable in the same way as I dismissed Jags and Mercs when I was a young driver. I dismissed them as something I could never have, so I never really settled on what I would want out of a more expensive car.

I went through a series of horrid, old, rusted, mostly RWD American rust-beasts from the '70's, and then a couple of beat up Japanese cars (ending in an '83 Celica). In the winters I would sit for a half hour before the things would be warmed up enough to be drive-able...hoping I didn't run out of gas.

In 1995 I bought a 1 year old Civic. It was a DX coupe, the lowest trim it could be. No power steering! It was my first car that would START every time I asked it to. My job became a career and my earnings went up. I traded the Civic for a '95 Integra GSR two years later. My first quick car. I followed that with a leased RSX-S in September of 2001,and then bought another RSX-S, which I drove for 7 years.

(Note: I never saw Fast and the Furious until years later, I thought it was terrible when I did watch it, and I never put a nine-foot wing on a Honda)

I drove FWD Honda's from January of 1995 until March of 2013. I liked them. When I bought the first RSX-S, I briefly thought about looking at lower-spec Mercs and BMW's, but the ones that were faster 0-60 than the RSX-S were too expensive for me (and my attempt at test driving a Merc was cut short by a salesman who annoyed me).

If you look down at your nose at the GSR and the RSX-S, so be it, but in 2001, only the WRX was close to the same money for what it could do (without resorting to Mustangs and Camaro's of the day which were not my thing, though I have considered them more seriously in recent years). BMW's that could spank it in magazine reviews were significantly more expensive (328i's were about the same or slower on 0-60 and the quarter mile depending on which magazine you read...I would have had to go to a 330, and I couldn't afford it). If you want to get upset by that, go ahead and post if you need to. I have never been under the delusion of being a race car driver, but I pulled a 6.4 0-60 at PiR in my first RSX-S and something in the high 14's on the quarter. No, I don't have the slip, that was 14 years ago. Never went to the track again. If I could do that, real pro's could do more with that car. They weren't that slow for their day.

If I had actually DRIVEN a BMW at that point, who knows how it would have gone! But I didn't. I stuck with what I knew and was happy with it.

Fast forward to the tail-end of the 2012/13 Winter. I had F*ing HAD IT with torque steer and under steer. I had had it with my back getting hammered by crappy downtown streets. And I was actually tired of rowing a six-speed manual through stop and go traffic every day. I wanted something with modern tech. I wanted something less anime and more...grown-up, or something. At that moment, I actually didn't care if it was fast. At all.

I decided I wanted AWD to help deal with the hills and the fact that when it does snow in Portland, they dust the roads with sand and raspberry juice. Not kidding. Though I actually don't know if they still use the juice, but they did try it at one point. I went straight to the Subaru dealership. I drove three cars: An Impreza, a WRX, and a Legacy, all fully loaded 2013's. I despised the Impreza and the Legacy. I could not deal with the automatic on it, and they felt cheap. I knew I couldn't actually bring myself to buy something that slow. The sales fella was getting tired but I took the WRX out. I really, really liked it..except I hated the manual tranny on it. If you've ever driven the 6-speed on the RSX or the S2k, you know why. The WRX wasn't enough of a meme-change car compared to the RSX-S, so I left.

I ended up at the BMW dealership while they were having a wine and cheese event (hah!). I couldn't find anywhere to park, was about to leave when an older salesman took pity and spent a bunch of time taking care of me. I drove a 2010 328i X-Drive, and because I was tired I thought it ticked all the boxes and I bought it.

It didn't. The 6-Speed Auto was lethargic, and the engine, which was smooth and wonderful in some ways, wasn't responsive enough. The audio was a nightmare and it didn't have iDrive so scrolling through an iPod worth of music was painful. The seats were awful. I thought I could live with it, and maybe I could have but I had endless problems with it. Turned out that the nice salesman hadn't mentioned (and I hadn't asked because you shouldn't buy a car when tired) that the car was from frickin' Jersey and had been through Super Storm Sandy. Headlight washer lines that were destroyed by algae (four service visits to fix that). Drink holders breaking. Two window regulators. Brake wear sensors broke. A/C would randomly quit working. Etc...

7 months in I took it to an Audi dealer because I had lost all faith. I was about to sign for a new A4 Prestige when I noticed that terms of the deal had changed from one version of the paperwork to the next. Bait and Switch, off I go. I went back to my BMW dealership. Original Sales guy wasn't in, his buddy helped me out and I traded in my nightmare car for a new 328xi.

It was a good car. It wasn't great. I've said a lot about it over the years so I won't rehash it much. I didn't in the end feel like it had enough power unless you were deep into the accelerator. I still didn't like the Auto, but I didn't hate it like I did the Subaru or the 2010's 6-spd auto. It rattled a lot (which I foamed and taped into silence over the years). In the end, it was a bit problematic and not perfect but it was the best over-all performing car I'd ever owned. When I was done with it, though, I was done with it. I would never have gotten another 328. I know that's a bit schizophrenic, but that's what it comes down to. Best car I'd had, wouldn't have bought another one.

Remember, I've never driven an e46. I don't know what that holy grail drove like. I really don't. All I know is what I've owned, test driven, borrowed, rented, or whatever. I do know what the x-Drive e90 drove like. The problems I had with it never affected the way it drove (affected everything else, though).

I test drove SO many cars in the last year of owning my F30 328. I've posted about some of them. They all did something great and failed in some ways. None of them were perfect. The cars I liked the most was a 335 and a 435GC. Both were sport Auto. I loved the auto in them in a way I never did in my 328. I almost went the way of the M235i-x and almost went to an S3 (but it wasn't good enough in a lot of ways). The 2 was the only real competition to the 340ix in the end and it got vetoed by my SO for silly reasons.

So, long story long, how's my 340i X-Drive M-Sport with Adaptive Suspension, 403m wheels, tech package, driver assistance, cold weather, leather, and a ton of magic by MusicarNW for the stereo?

OMFG. I love this car. It's hard to believe that this transmission wasn't born just to serve this magnificent engine. I finally DO NOT miss my Acura's 6-spd manual. I got lucky on the rattle-lottery, too. The Adaptive Suspension really is a must for the X-Drive. Yes, the F30 platform will always have some body roll, but so very few cars fully escape it. In Sport Mode I'm entirely happy with how the car handles. In comfort mode, a bad day at work just slips away as I listen to the tunes and wander my way home. Accelerating even a bit hard makes me giggle like a 10 year old. I need reading glasses, so the NAV info in the HUD is a gift from the tech gods. I adore the brakes. I finally have seats that are nice to sit in again (F! the base seats in both of my 328's).

This was what I was trying to find in 2013. I didn't know HOW to find it at the time. I hadn't driven the right cars. I did a crap job hunting for a car that year. I learned, though. I feel like this is the first car in 15 years that I've bought with full awareness of what it is and what it is not. I know the Camaro SS is faster and, having sat in one I couldn't care less about a few 10ths of a second. I walked away from that test drive having no desire to buy the car, and I can't entirely explain why. My car, though. I had to have it as soon as I saw it. I would buy it again tomorrow. I have no idea how I'll actually be ready to let her go in 3 years when the lease is up.

No idea at all. Maybe I won't...or maybe it'll be time for an M2. I love this car. It is exactly the balance between power and luxury that I've spent three years looking for.

This is my Black BMW. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

[englishguy84]

Great read. Glad you found the car for you!

[Beek]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, my story would be very similar. Loving my 340xi

[insanecoder]

Took the 340 over the Jag XE (a worthy opponent).. never looked back
it just is the complete package..
Its the segment leader dont believe otherwise.. maybe not by as much as before but still

[tuco44]

Thanks for the story.
The 340i xDrive is my 19th BMW and it could be the best one yet (only 1 month in but loving it).
It really is the complete package.

[Prossx]

My last "beater" was an '83 Celica GTS 5 spd manual. 192k when I "traded" it. Also had an 81 Celica GT and (briefly) 84 Supra (both 5 spd). Those were great cars and really the halcyon days of lightweight, RWD manual small GT coupes with steering feel and fantastic ergonomics. No airbags, traction control, stability, etc. Okay maybe not all good.

[BMW340guy]

I'm three months in on my 340 xdrive (MT, adaptive M, track package, white with 398 orbit grey). It is a head turner and a BLAST to drive. The MT is easily the best I've owned - have had four 3 series, a Saab 9-5 and a SHO - though ... I drove a friends Porsche 911 MT a few years ago and that was just incredible. I have two major complaints about my current car. First, BMW does itself a major disservice by not working harder with tech companies to improve its smartphone integration (esp iPhone) and nav. Second, I definitely lost the bag-of-mice squeak lottery and for a car approaching $60k MSRP this is just not ok. I'm wondering what winter will be like as far as the mouse stampede.

[bri1042]

Prossx - mine was also an 83 GTS 5-Speed, with 247k on it at the end. The clutch died as a I pulled it into the Honda dealership, and it was leaking every fluid (including windshield washer fluid).

BMW340guy - Good luck! Buy some weather stripping foam tape and hunt down the squeaks. The last one I killed in my 328 was the trim under the iDrive controller. The passenger foot-well plastics were a big source of squeaks. I spent too much time living with them before I started hunting them all down.

[JamRWS6]

Congrats on the car. While I haven't had the experiences of futility across brands you have I can certainly relate to the 340 being a fantastic machine. Enjoy it!

[Big Nodge]

Loving mine as well. My only beef with your story: how could a car guy not see and love the original Fast and the Furious in the early aughts??? In all its cheesy glory?

[bri1042]

I saw the trailer. "I live my life a 1/4 mile at time." Ouch. It was just not a tempting trailer at all.

Also, I was very busy.

[435MSport6Speed]

What did you have Musicar do?

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by paulff3

What did you have Musicar do?

A lot. Most of this was in my 328, too.

Hybrid Audio Mids with Morel Tweets and X-overs in the front doors. Morel 402 Center Channel. Jehnert Underseats. A happy trunk sub in their custom enclosure. Mobridge DA1 running TOSLINK to the Alpine DSP with JL and Helix amps.

All of it tuned to run Dolby Surround so it sounds happy from both of the front seats. The Morel 402 Center was added on this go-around. It sounds almost as good from the driver's seat as it did in my 328 when it was just tuned for one seat. I'm OK sacrificing a bit for my passengers (but not too much).

It's not really a standard MusicarNW package as I bought some of the equipment used.

[Big Nodge]

Originally Posted by bri1042

I saw the trailer. "I live my life a 1/4 mile at time." Ouch. It was just not a tempting trailer at all.

Also, I was very busy.

Well you missed out on a whole arsenal of cheesy lines you could use ironically with your car guys friends. "Amateurs don't use nitros oxide" and the like.

[bri1042]

Probably not wrong. Perhaps we were too old for it. Not sure.

[spuntyb]

Totally understand the frustration associated with building a modern BMW properly. I wasn't into them back when you could walk on the lot and just pick out what color 3 series you wanted without having to worry too much about which options it had. With the e9x and even more so the f3x generations, if you didn't tick the right option boxes, you would likely be really unhappy. Not to mention, as you put it, the rattle lottery. I was very lucky with both my e90 and more so the f31, but even they had niggling rattles that had to get fixed by the dealer (no issues since). I've read of plenty of horror stories here on the forums though and it's such a shame, since it can completely ruin an otherwise great car.

Glad you're enjoying your ride. Cheers!

[bri1042]

I should note that my subwoofer did find some bits to rattle. The Fuel door has been dealt with, as has the center brake light housing.

[.BMW.]

Great read.

And a beautiful F30!

[goj]

[435MSport6Speed]

Originally Posted by bri1042

A lot. Most of this was in my 328, too.

Hybrid Audio Mids with Morel Tweets and X-overs in the front doors. Morel 402 Center Channel. Jehnert Underseats. A happy trunk sub in their custom enclosure. Mobridge DA1 running TOSLINK to the Alpine DSP with JL and Helix amps.

All of it tuned to run Dolby Surround so it sounds happy from both of the front seats. The Morel 402 Center was added on this go-around. It sounds almost as good from the driver's seat as it did in my 328 when it was just tuned for one seat. I'm OK sacrificing a bit for my passengers (but not too much).

It's not really a standard MusicarNW package as I bought some of the equipment used.

What piece creates the Dolby Surround? Alpine DSP?

I have a MusicarNW system, too. It's the nuts.

[Versipellis]

Now THIS is an honest-to-god consumer review.

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by paulff3

What piece creates the Dolby Surround? Alpine DSP?

I have a MusicarNW system, too. It's the nuts.

Yep! Ken did a tremendous amount of tuning on it. He's a wizard.