[Alscoob]

Had my 330d touring into dealers for the EGR matter so while i was there I took the opportunity of testing their 340i touring full M performance body kit - 20" alloys & MPPSK... with the carbon tips, nice looker & a real hooligan machine. I wanted to do that to see really how it compared to my car that has the Steinbauer kit on it and to see if the new bits of updated tech would make any real difference to me if I changed cars for a 340i.

The shadow edition with the dark aluminium sort of carbon dash trim worked well with the digital dash and the heads up display, as the interior was all black without any relief stitching on the seats, the pan roof was excellent in lifting the light levels and making it feel more spacious and airy inside especially for rear passengers. The new i drive version seemed far better in terms of display & functionality with the 'tile' icons. All subtle changes to my 2014 car which did make a good improvement.

For some reason, the dealer had decided to give the car a bad ass look and tinted the front passenger & drivers windows. It actually looked too 'pimped' from the outside, but as it was a sunny day it didn't affect the normal drive. However, from experience, at night time you would be opening the front windows to see clearly.. not a good move in my book and bait for a tug from old bill.

So off we drove for a little test. The route wasn't brilliant, 40mph limits and the some 60 limits, but the outward route gave a chance to get to feel how the car was. Surprisingly enough the 20" alloys shod with Pirelli run flats didn't seem as bad as I expected, with less crashing and banging that I used to get on my 19" Bridgestones, so maybe RFT have improved a bit, but still not as good as non RFT in my book.

I suggested that we take the route to a natural turn point to come back the same way as there seemed little point in continuing on unfamiliar roads which were just more 40 limits, which we did and that was a good move. The sales guy had to grip the seats a bit as full chat in sports mode caught him out where I remembered the open stretches. What I did find when pressing on and using it in manual mode was that at higher revs the gear change was sluggish even if you short shifted in the upper rev range. Maybe it is a trait of higher revs, as I'm used to the oil burner changing what seems to be instantly albeit at 4k rather than 5.5k revs

It was abundantly clear that the standard (non adaptive) M sport suspension has not improved & was still lacking in it's ability to cope with undulating 'B' roads, being bouncy and unsettled, really limiting the cars driveability and potential with the MPPSK and in reality with the runflats was more unsettled than my 330d with non runflats. On smoother A roads of course the 340i had a much better turn in and general feel with less nose weigh by comparison to my diesel.

So we headed back to the dealership with obligatory take off in sports+ mode from the traffic lights 400yards from the garage which did make me smile. Plenty of grunt and off it went popping and banging away as it changed from 1st to 2nd.... and then back to a normal sedate drive. The sales guy said that was good did you enjoy it, this the car for you ? I replied in part...

While it was nice for a bit of fun in sports mode, which I believe bypasses the silencing element of the back box, christ did it drone when crusing, worse than my old impreza with a 4" dia tail end. Think you could get fed up very quickly with that, especially as they get louder as the miles pile on and would certainly be irritating for passengers. In comfort mode it still had enough noise from the rear, more subtle as opposed to 'look at me'! - I'm not 25 anymore so am from the school of - the more you press the pedal the louder it gets and the faster it goes - so think of Aston Martin as opposed to chaved up RS Focus.

So my conclusion on the car is -
excluding the price tag of £42k for the moment. I still like the functionality of the touring and the updated interior features and add on's which improved the car to a good level, (although soon to be out dated by the new model next year).
I would have to update the suspension to ACS sports full kit or similar to improve the driving experience considering the power available.
Loved the engine and it's ability to cruse and howl.
Would be happy to have the power kit but would not have the 'sound kit' part to go with it.
Oh & I wouldn't tint windows forward of the B pillar !

Climbing back into my 330d it felt like an old friend, same colour, same shape as the test drive - I pulled out and stuck my foot down.... it pushed me hard in the back as if to say 'who's the quick one now then'... no high revs screams or pops and bangs.... just woosh and gone
Saying that the X40i engine would be the one for me!

Sales guy, was very nice but this was an '18 reg and 700 mile car... at the outset he started it up from cold into sports mode and revved the nuts off it, said doesn't that sound nice.... i said yip, but for how long... think he missed the point !

[TodmordenLad]

Nice write-up, Alscoob
I had an F31 330D with MPPK and went to a 440i GC at the end of last year, which I've since upgraded with the MPPSK. The petrol took a while to get used to, having driven 6cyl diesels for years. I like both cars a lot, and wouldn't say one is better than the other. That said, the 4GC is better looking IMO and you get more standard kit, and as my tourer was pre-LCI and the 4GC is LCI, the steering has been tweaked to give a bit more weight and the more recent iDrive is better. There’s a tiny bit less body roll too.
Just to address a couple of your points...
The M perf power and sound upgrade can’t be had as a power upgrade only. I looked into this as I was after power only, for less £ of course. Not possible and the remap obviously contains the logic to control the sports exhaust.
There's no drone in Comfort when cruising. That would have killed the decision to go with the upgrade for me. I rarely use Sports mode as I actually prefer the sound of the MPPSK exhaust in Comfort. When I want to press on, I stick the shifter to the left, and all is well

[Rich9600]

Nice write up.

I came from a F30 330d to a F31 340i and don't regret it one bit. My 340i is stock and I personally find the exhaust balance is about right for me. At 17k the stock exhaust has matured nicely and sounds louder than when new.

However, OCD is driving me to consider MPSPP. I really wish that the stock exhaust was configured in a way that allowed exhaust gas from both pipes at all times, but with a loudness bypass in sports mode.

Winter vapour from one exhaust and one dirtier exhaust tip really cheapen the car and make it look like a fake exhaust. But, I suppose it adds to the Q car element of a de-badged and otherwise un-pimped car.

[NotGotABimmer23]

Drones in sport but i dont know why anyone would cruise around at low revs in sport. Sport with gear stick left and the revs dont fall below 2k, no drone.

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by kylemacca01

Drones in sport but i dont know why anyone would cruise around at low revs in sport. Sport with gear stick left and the revs dont fall below 2k, no drone.

Guess in the real world of driving you're right, I was just 'having a go' as they say so playing with the whole spectrum of combinations.

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by Rich9600

Nice write up.

I came from a F30 330d to a F31 340i and don't regret it one bit. My 340i is stock and I personally find the exhaust balance is about right for me. At 17k the stock exhaust has matured nicely and sounds louder than when new.

I'm sure I would be the same and think that I would want a standard car, could then add to it as needed to your own taste. Agree with the noise as the miles come on had that in the wifes last 2 cars.

[Abzynthe]

Nice write up. I have no experience of the F31, but I think on any car, the variable steering and adaptive suspension are what makes it come into its own. I have 20" wheels with runflats, as I did on my old 420d without adaptive or variable steering. And the handling difference is night and day. And may be a reason why I wasn't overwhelmed by the handling of an M4 I took around a track. It was still better, just not as much as I'd expected.

I haven't grown up yet, so I have locked the exhaust valves open. And it does drone a bit if you sit at 2.5k revs, but other than that, I can cope with it. The neighbours haven't complained yet, and my next door neighbours said it doesn't bother them as I don't sit there with it on all the time. My wife doesn't like it much though lol.

[Malone]

Great write up

Unreal that the dealer has tinted the front widows, bearing in mind that it’s both illegal and invalidates any insurance!!

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by Malone

Great write up

Unreal that the dealer has tinted the front widows, bearing in mind that it’s both illegal and invalidates any insurance!!

That'll be the one on the left then...stealth mode