[Dan203]

So it's been a year since I got my 340i xDrive and I thought people might be interested in hearing what I think of it.

Prior to this I owned a 135i for 8 years. I loved that car. I really only got rid of it because I was lusting after some of the newer gadgets in modern cars and because it was starting to have some minor mechanical issues I didn't want to deal with. I decided to jump up to the 340i because I wanted something with a usable back seat and a bigger trunk. After a year of driving the 340i I'm regretting that decision.

Transmission... My 135i was a manual. For the 340i I decided to get an automatic because I had read it was faster and because I wanted the automatic cruise control feature. Huge mistake! I hate the auto transmission. It has a weird lag when you take off and just never seems to be in the gear I want, even though it's constantly shifting. (8 gears feels like too many) I've tried using the manual mode, but that seems like more of a gimmick without the left pedal.

Handling... Even in sport mode the steering is just not as tight as my 135i. I'm not sure if this is due to the adaptive steering feature or just a flaw of the cars design. The xDrive also makes it under steer pretty badly. In my 135i I could take a 90 degree corner at 40mph and it felt like I was on rails. If I try the same in the 340i the tires squeal and I can feel the under steer pushing me into oncoming traffic.

Build quality... Some of the pieces used in the car, like the door handles and plastic bits feel cheaper then my 135i. I'm also already starting to hear creeks and rattles that I didn't hear in my 135i until year 4 or 5. (all cars get these eventually, but this seems too soon)

Automatic cruise control... It's not that great. It's very aggressive about breaking and even the shortest follow distance is too far. So regularly I'll be driving along with it on and someone will change lanes to fill the gap between me and the car in front of me (because it's so big) and it will slam on the breaks to get back to it's set distance. It's actually quite annoying.

Edit: One more annoying bit about the cruise control... if it gets too much snow or dirt built up on the sensor the whole cruise control feature stops working until you clean it off. There is no way that I can find to make it revert to standard, non-automatic, cruise control mode.

Color... I got Mediterranean Blue and it's miserably hot in the summer. My 135i was also blue but it was a lighter shade (Motego) so it wasn't nearly as hot, even though it had a black interior. (this one is tan)

Positives...

The HP boost is nice, even though the transmission ruins it a little.

The gadgets are nice.

The heated steering wheel is nice in the winter and my passengers seem to enjoy the heated rear seats.

The bigger trunk and four doors are also nice, but I'm not sure they were worth the other trade offs.

xDrive is really nice in the snow. My old car was scary to drive in the snow. This thing is a tank.

In all likelihood I'm going to trade this in within the next 2-3 years and get something more sporty. Not sure what yet, but my experimentation with a bigger more practical car has failed. I just don't enjoy driving it like I did the 135i and for $60K I should enjoy driving it right?

[ouengineer]

You need better tires. Get a set of the same high performance all seasons all around and set the tire pressure up right (equal all around is a good place to start) and you'll gain some road feel back and eliminate understeer.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Dan203

So it's been a year since I got my 340i xDrive and I thought people might be interested in hearing what I think of it.

Prior to this I owned a 135i for 8 years. I loved that car. I really only got rid of it because I was lusting after some of the newer gadgets in modern cars and because it was starting to have some minor mechanical issues I didn't want to deal with. I decided to jump up to the 340i because I wanted something with a usable back seat and a bigger trunk. After a year of driving the 340i I'm regretting that decision.

Transmission... My 135i was a manual. For the 340i I decided to get an automatic because I had read it was faster and because I wanted the automatic cruise control feature. Huge mistake! I hate the auto transmission. It has a weird lag when you take off and just never seems to be in the gear I want, even though it's constantly shifting. (8 gears feels like too many) I've tried using the manual mode, but that seems like more of a gimmick without the left pedal.

Handling... Even in sport mode the steering is just not as tight as my 135i. I'm not sure if this is due to the adaptive steering feature or just a flaw of the cars design. The xDrive also makes it under steer pretty badly. In my 135i I could take a 90 degree corner at 40mph and it felt like I was on rails. If I try the same in the 340i the tires squeal and I can feel the under steer pushing me into oncoming traffic.

Build quality... Some of the pieces used in the car, like the door handles and plastic bits feel cheaper then my 135i. I'm also already starting to hear creeks and rattles that I didn't hear in my 135i until year 4 or 5. (all cars get these eventually, but this seems too soon)

Automatic cruise control... It's not that great. It's very aggressive about breaking and even the shortest follow distance is too far. So regularly I'll be driving along with it on and someone will change lanes to fill the gap between me and the car in front of me (because it's so big) and it will slam on the breaks to get back to it's set distance. It's actually quite annoying.

Color... I got Mediterranean Blue and it's miserably hot in the summer. My 135i was also blue but it was a lighter shade (Motego) so it wasn't nearly as hot, even though it had a black interior. (this one is tan)

Positives...

The HP boost is nice, even though the transmission ruins it a little.

The gadgets are nice.

The heated steering wheel is nice in the winter and my passengers seem to enjoy the heated rear seats.

The bigger trunk and four doors are also nice, but I'm not sure they were worth the other trade offs.

xDrive is really nice in the snow. My old car was scary to drive in the snow. This thing is a tank.

In all likelihood I'm going to trade this in within the next 2-3 years and get something more sporty. Not sure what yet, but my experimentation with a bigger more practical car has failed. I just don't enjoy driving it like I did the 135i and for $60K I should enjoy driving it right?

135 --> 340 is a HUGE leap. Vastly different cars to me, but I guess you're realizing that too. Do you think having a manual would have helped? What's next? M2?

[tturedraider]

Get a manual. Get proper winter tires for driving in winter conditions. Don't get xDrive, so you get a proper sport tuned suspension. Adaptive drive mitigates xDrive. It doesn't replace a true sport tuned suspension.

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by Dan203

Transmission... My 135i was a manual. For the 340i I decided to get an automatic because I had read it was faster and because I wanted the automatic cruise control feature. Huge mistake! I hate the auto transmission. It has a weird lag when you take off and just never seems to be in the gear I want, even though it's constantly shifting. (8 gears feels like too many) I've tried using the manual mode, but that seems like more of a gimmick without the left pedal.

I think BMW lengthened the gearing on the B48/B58 8AT for better MPG and that hurt acceleration. I would rely on the manual mode, but yes, it does feel like a video game if you're used to the 3rd pedal.

Originally Posted by Dan203

Handling... Even in sport mode the steering is just not as tight as my 135i. I'm not sure if this is due to the adaptive steering feature or just a flaw of the cars design. The xDrive also makes it under steer pretty badly. In my 135i I could take a 90 degree corner at 40mph and it felt like I was on rails. If I try the same in the 340i the tires squeal and I can feel the under steer pushing me into oncoming traffic.

Yup, there's a big dead center spot so you don't really get the car to react much until you're steering lock to lock. There is a lot of weight upfront and the F30 set up is for slight understeer.

Originally Posted by Dan203

Automatic cruise control... It's not that great. It's very aggressive about breaking and even the shortest follow distance is too far. So regularly I'll be driving along with it on and someone will change lanes to fill the gap between me and the car in front of me (because it's so big) and it will slam on the breaks to get back to it's set distance. It's actually quite annoying.

I heard a lot of complaints of the F30 adaptive cruise. Sorry to hear you got it.

Good to hear your feedback on your car

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by anotheran

I think BMW lengthened the gearing on the B48/B58 for better MPG and that hurt acceleration. I would rely on the manual mode but yes, it does feel like a video game if you're used to the 3rd pedal.

Yup, there's a big dead center spot so you don't really get the car to react much until you're steering lock to lock. There is a lot of weight upfront and the F30 set up is for slight understeer.

I heard a lot of complaints of the F30 adaptive cruise. Sorry to hear you got it.

I love ACC. Every time I drive the 335, I miss it.

[insanecoder]

Itd help to know what options/specs/config you bought ya know..

Originally Posted by Dan203

So it's been a year since I got my 340i xDrive and I thought people might be interested in hearing what I think of it.

Prior to this I owned a 135i for 8 years. I loved that car. I really only got rid of it because I was lusting after some of the newer gadgets in modern cars and because it was starting to have some minor mechanical issues I didn't want to deal with. I decided to jump up to the 340i because I wanted something with a usable back seat and a bigger trunk. After a year of driving the 340i I'm regretting that decision.

Transmission... My 135i was a manual. For the 340i I decided to get an automatic because I had read it was faster and because I wanted the automatic cruise control feature. Huge mistake! I hate the auto transmission. It has a weird lag when you take off and just never seems to be in the gear I want, even though it's constantly shifting. (8 gears feels like too many) I've tried using the manual mode, but that seems like more of a gimmick without the left pedal.

Handling... Even in sport mode the steering is just not as tight as my 135i. I'm not sure if this is due to the adaptive steering feature or just a flaw of the cars design. The xDrive also makes it under steer pretty badly. In my 135i I could take a 90 degree corner at 40mph and it felt like I was on rails. If I try the same in the 340i the tires squeal and I can feel the under steer pushing me into oncoming traffic.

Build quality... Some of the pieces used in the car, like the door handles and plastic bits feel cheaper then my 135i. I'm also already starting to hear creeks and rattles that I didn't hear in my 135i until year 4 or 5. (all cars get these eventually, but this seems too soon)

Automatic cruise control... It's not that great. It's very aggressive about breaking and even the shortest follow distance is too far. So regularly I'll be driving along with it on and someone will change lanes to fill the gap between me and the car in front of me (because it's so big) and it will slam on the breaks to get back to it's set distance. It's actually quite annoying.

Edit: One more annoying bit about the cruise control... if it gets too much snow or dirt built up on the sensor the whole cruise control feature stops working until you clean it off. There is no way that I can find to make it revert to standard, non-automatic, cruise control mode.

Color... I got Mediterranean Blue and it's miserably hot in the summer. My 135i was also blue but it was a lighter shade (Motego) so it wasn't nearly as hot, even though it had a black interior. (this one is tan)

Positives...

The HP boost is nice, even though the transmission ruins it a little.

The gadgets are nice.

The heated steering wheel is nice in the winter and my passengers seem to enjoy the heated rear seats.

The bigger trunk and four doors are also nice, but I'm not sure they were worth the other trade offs.

xDrive is really nice in the snow. My old car was scary to drive in the snow. This thing is a tank.

In all likelihood I'm going to trade this in within the next 2-3 years and get something more sporty. Not sure what yet, but my experimentation with a bigger more practical car has failed. I just don't enjoy driving it like I did the 135i and for $60K I should enjoy driving it right?

[Dan203]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

135 --> 340 is a HUGE leap. Vastly different cars to me, but I guess you're realizing that too. Do you think having a manual would have helped? What's next? M2?

The 135i was the first BMW I ever owned, so I naively assumed all BWMs drove like it. Now I realize they don't.

I do think having a manual would have helped as my biggest issue with the car is the transmission. But I've never actually driven a 340i manual so I can't say for certain.

The M2s are nice, but from what I hear they're hard to get and often sell for more then MSRP, which is already quite high. Not sure I'd be able to afford one. I might just have to jump to a different brand. One thing I'm going to do for sure is shop around a bit more and take more test drives. I bought the 340i after just one 5 minute test drive and assumed that the issues I had with it, like the transmission, were things I'd get use to over time. I wont make that mistake again.

[Dan203]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

Itd help to know what options/specs/config you bought ya know..

Maxed out.

Only thing I didn't get was the technology package 2, the one with things like speed limit info and lane departure. I thought those would be more annoying then helpful.

Edit: That technology package I didn't get was "Driver Assistant Plus".

[insanecoder]

Originally Posted by Dan203

Maxed out.

Only thing I didn't get was the technology package 2, the one with things like speed limit info and lane departure. I thought those would be more annoying then helpful.

Edit: That technology package I didn't get was "Driver Assistant Plus".

Gotta agree w/ ya on those squeaks I'm starting to get some while cornering
and the smaller models are just tighter and more fun.. loved the M240 fit like a glove

[donkey]

If you prefer manuals then no auto or even DSG will satisfy that craving.

Yes auto will be faster but how often are you doing a high-stakes 0-60 run vs. just driving and trying to enjoy the car.

[Dan203]

Originally Posted by drive

If you prefer manuals then no auto or even DSG will satisfy that craving.

Yes auto will be faster but how often are you doing a high-stakes 0-60 run vs. just driving and trying to enjoy the car.

Yeah I've come to that realization now. Every car I'd ever owned before this was a manual, so I didn't really know how I'd like an auto. Turns out I hate it.

[HFW003]

You do know you can actually turn the distance thingo on the ACC off

[Buzzo]

Coming from a mk5 GTI I share your sentiment, and the 6-speed did not make entirely make up for it. The combination of the transmission, 6-speed and sound is glorious, but the steering is pretty woeful. Handling is ok, but the weight is quite noticeable going into turns at speed. MPSS instead of stock RFT's did improve things considerably.

I had several back-to-back test drives in a 335ix with both transmissions and with and without adaptive suspension. Without the adaptive suspension it was too floaty for me and whereas I like a DSG transmission, the ZF8 didn't do it for me at all. Not crisp enough and just too many gears to make manual mode palatable.

We're keeping the car because my wife is very pleased with it, but I got myself a 6-speed V70R for a dd and enjoy it a lot more.

[Dan203]

Originally Posted by HFW003

You do know you can actually turn the distance thingo on the ACC off

How?

[HFW003]

Originally Posted by Dan203

How?

Once cruise is activated, push and hold the button you change the distance between car in front.

A message will come up on the dash stating it has been disengaged.

Unfortunately you have to do it every time you get in the car.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Buzzo

Coming from a mk5 GTI I share your sentiment, and the 6-speed did not make entirely make up for it. The combination of the transmission, 6-speed and sound is glorious, but the steering is pretty woeful. Handling is ok, but the weight is quite noticeable going into turns at speed. MPSS instead of stock RFT's did improve things considerably.

I had several back-to-back test drives in a 335ix with both transmissions and with and without adaptive suspension. Without the adaptive suspension it was too floaty for me and whereas I like a DSG transmission, the ZF8 didn't do it for me at all. Not crisp enough and just too many gears to make manual mode palatable.

We're keeping the car because my wife is very pleased with it, but I got myself a 6-speed V70R for a dd and enjoy it a lot more.

"6-speed V70R for a dd and enjoy it a lot more."

You sir, have good taste.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Dan203

The 135i was the first BMW I ever owned, so I naively assumed all BWMs drove like it. Now I realize they don't.

I do think having a manual would have helped as my biggest issue with the car is the transmission. But I've never actually driven a 340i manual so I can't say for certain.

The M2s are nice, but from what I hear they're hard to get and often sell for more then MSRP, which is already quite high. Not sure I'd be able to afford one. I might just have to jump to a different brand. One thing I'm going to do for sure is shop around a bit more and take more test drives. I bought the 340i after just one 5 minute test drive and assumed that the issues I had with it, like the transmission, were things I'd get use to over time. I wont make that mistake again.

Sounds to me like you need an M240i. I'm not sure what brand you'll go to and have a six cylinder motor and a manual transmission, much less an inline six cylinder. And I'll say it again, don't get an xDrive. That's one of several ways you shot yourself in the foot. BMW designs and builds rwd cars. They make awd cars to satisfy people who live in places where they are must haves, like certain areas of Canada. They expect people who don't absolutely have to have awd to put proper winter tires on their car when winter comes around. That may not line up with the way BMWNA sells BMWs, but it is the point of view that BMWAG has when designing their cars.

Originally Posted by Buzzo

Coming from a mk5 GTI I share your sentiment, and the 6-speed did not make entirely make up for it. The combination of the transmission, 6-speed and sound is glorious, but the steering is pretty woeful. Handling is ok, but the weight is quite noticeable going into turns at speed. MPSS instead of stock RFT's did improve things considerably.

I had several back-to-back test drives in a 335ix with both transmissions and with and without adaptive suspension. Without the adaptive suspension it was too floaty for me and whereas I like a DSG transmission, the ZF8 didn't do it for me at all. Not crisp enough and just too many gears to make manual mode palatable.

We're keeping the car because my wife is very pleased with it, but I got myself a 6-speed V70R for a dd and enjoy it a lot more.

Originally Posted by spuntyb

"6-speed V70R for a dd and enjoy it a lot more."

You sir, have good taste.

It may be good taste, but one of the main things this says to me is that the manual transmission is the biggest influence. There's just no way a V70R handles better than a proper rwd 340i with a proper sport suspension.

[eluded]

Sorry about your mistake of not buying one with a manual transmission.

[kern417]

you need an m240i. bmw is the only option for manual trans since audi just pulled it from everything except the new a4/a5, and only the base models have it as an option. lexus, benz, infiniti all only offer autos.

or just save up and get a cayman. that'll beat the driving feel of everything else in the list.

[sygazelle]

Sorry you are not happy with your car. 135 is hard to duplicate in a larger car.

You might try suspension mods and go-flat tires. If you have adaptive suspension, consider Dinan Shockware.

Regarding the weird lag you mention with your AT: A weird lag is not normal. There is something wrong with your car. You should have it fixed.

[skier219]

These are some fair observations from the OP.

The steering/handling on the current generation just isn't as good as BMWs of old, especially the steering. They made some improvements to this with the LCI, and it's better but still not great. This is possibly the biggest weakness of the cars in my opinion. Sad to say, but the electric power steering on my big dumb GMC pickup is actually better than what BMW is putting on the 3/4 series right now.

Regarding the transmission -- I have always owned sports cars with manual transmission, and avoided automatics like the plague. They tend to kill the car and remove any joy. That said, I got a loaner 3-series with automatic a couple years ago, and was pleasantly surprised. Still not as fun as a manual, but it was the least offensive automatic I had driven in a long time, and was good enough to make me think I could live with that transmission (especially in sport mode, which has nice upshifts and also downshifts when braking). When I traded my Z4 (manual) for a 4-series recently, I got the automatic mainly so my wife could drive the car if needed. I am fairly satisfied with the automatic, but am also not deluded into thinking it's a true sports car. I know some folks who think the manual mode of an automatic transmission is the same or just as good as a real manual, but that's pure ignorance.

BTW, aside from a couple M-cars that had semi-decent shifters, I have never thought BMW offered a good manual transmission. Shifting nirvana for me was on the two Honda S2000 roadsters I owned, which easily had the best manual transmissions of any vehicle from any company in the last 20-30 years (even car magazines shared that notion like it was the gospel truth -- talk about the S2000 transmission with an experienced car guy and he'll know). Compared to that benchmark, nothing I've driven from BMW comes close. So when comparing a manual transmission BMW to an automatic transmission BMW, I think the gap is somewhat narrower -- it's comparing a fairly mediocre manual to a fairly good automatic.

I don't have adaptive cruise on my BMW, but we have it on my wife's Honda Pilot, and it ranges from OK in light traffic that is spread out, to downright sucky and unsafe on a busy highway. It's way too aggressive at both acceleration and braking, and wastes a lot of momentum and fuel by not having the judgement or common sense to coast while adjusting following distance. The system will slam on the brakes with the slightest interruption up ahead, and then floor the gas to get back up to speed. Completely idiotic. I think it's due to lousy software and logic. They should be envisioning the distance to the vehicle up ahead as big spring that can compress and stretch with some coasting, but instead it's interpreted as a rigid space with almost no give/take. I am convinced somebody smart could do this better, but it's apparently not the Honda engineers, or the BMW engineers from your description. The systems are clearly lacking the "man in the loop" judgement real drivers provide.