M340i

Author
Discussion

bad company

18,438 posts

265 months

Monday 19th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
RonnieHotdogs said:
You're lucky, I moved from a 440i to a Giulia Quadrifoglio ... Used to get 27mpg average in the BMW, and I struggle to hit 24mpg driving like a saint in the Giulia. It's only done 900 miles so far though.

The B58 is an incredible engine - easily gives 10mpg more than the Alfa in all situations. My 440i had the MPPSK, so the same amount of torque as the m340i, and about 10bhp off.

The Alfa engine is an animal though - any gear, any revs and it takes off. If I drove it how I drove the BMW I doubt I'd ever see above 18mpg.
Did you have an m340i on order? Out of interest what was the reason you cancelled for the Giulia? I do like the Giulia, although not driven one, but it seems like a step up in performance and on a par with the M3. Shame they don't do an estate version, and am I right saying that the rear seats don't fold?
I had a test drive in a Giulia before ordering my 340. I liked the Alfa very much but the BMW was as good to drive and cheaper to buy, run and insure. Also the Alfa’s CarPlay didn’t work on Bluetooth which is important for me.

RonnieHotdogs

1,001 posts

100 months

Monday 19th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
Did you have an m340i on order? Out of interest what was the reason you cancelled for the Giulia? I do like the Giulia, although not driven one, but it seems like a step up in performance and on a par with the M3. Shame they don't do an estate version, and am I right saying that the rear seats don't fold?
I did have one on order, yeah ... But then I was offered a ridiculous deal on a Giulia Quadrifoglio and I was able to cancel quite easily. As the m340i is in huge demand another buyer was found straight away from what I was told, but I still obviously felt pretty bad for cancelling.

The Giulia is a MY19 so doesn't have the facelifted interior but was still brand new. There were about 30 of them in the country I believe, heavily discounted by ARUK. I got £15k off so it was about another £100/month above the m340i plus another £2k deposit, which I could justify with man maths.

I felt it was my only opportunity to own something special due to the hefty discount, and I'll only keep it for 3 years, when I'll most likely go back to a 6cyl BMW biggrin

It's quite highly spec'd too, and looking at residuals, the price I've paid and the GFMV I'll actually have a few £k left at the end of the term which is unusual for anything on PCP.

Absolute beast of a car, having driven my old MPPSK'd 440i over almost 28k miles and a few drives in the m340i it's definitely another step or two above when it comes to performance and handling. Insanely fast and confidence inspiring. Bogs down a little off the line due to being RWD only with 600NM and having torque limits in lower gears, but in gear it's unbelievable.

The rear seats do fold down, I think it was 2016/2017 cars where it may have been an option.

The infotainment isn't great, (it's not the new version) but it's functional and supports Android auto which is all I need.

RonnieHotdogs

1,001 posts

100 months

Monday 19th October 2020
quotequote all
bad company said:
I had a test drive in a Giulia before ordering my 340. I liked the Alfa very much but the BMW was as good to drive and cheaper to buy, run and insure. Also the Alfa’s CarPlay didn’t work on Bluetooth which is important for me.
The problem they've got is they're putting the Veloce against the m340i price wise.

The Veloce is an incredible car, but the BMW beats it for spec, performance and VFM ... And returns better MPG from the B58 than the Alfa does from a 2.0T.

I've owned a Veloce and a 440i, and the BMW was significantly better on fuel.

JackReacher

2,118 posts

214 months

Monday 19th October 2020
quotequote all
RonnieHotdogs said:
I did have one on order, yeah ... But then I was offered a ridiculous deal on a Giulia Quadrifoglio and I was able to cancel quite easily. As the m340i is in huge demand another buyer was found straight away from what I was told, but I still obviously felt pretty bad for cancelling.

The Giulia is a MY19 so doesn't have the facelifted interior but was still brand new. There were about 30 of them in the country I believe, heavily discounted by ARUK. I got £15k off so it was about another £100/month above the m340i plus another £2k deposit, which I could justify with man maths.

I felt it was my only opportunity to own something special due to the hefty discount, and I'll only keep it for 3 years, when I'll most likely go back to a 6cyl BMW biggrin

It's quite highly spec'd too, and looking at residuals, the price I've paid and the GFMV I'll actually have a few £k left at the end of the term which is unusual for anything on PCP.

Absolute beast of a car, having driven my old MPPSK'd 440i over almost 28k miles and a few drives in the m340i it's definitely another step or two above when it comes to performance and handling. Insanely fast and confidence inspiring. Bogs down a little off the line due to being RWD only with 600NM and having torque limits in lower gears, but in gear it's unbelievable.

The rear seats do fold down, I think it was 2016/2017 cars where it may have been an option.

The infotainment isn't great, (it's not the new version) but it's functional and supports Android auto which is all I need.
Sounds like you got a great deal, and should be more of an event to drive than the BMW! Fingers crossed you got a good one, hopefully it's been out long enough for them to sort some of the issues on early ones. A great car from most reviews I have seen.

bad company

18,438 posts

265 months

Monday 19th October 2020
quotequote all
RonnieHotdogs said:
bad company said:
I had a test drive in a Giulia before ordering my 340. I liked the Alfa very much but the BMW was as good to drive and cheaper to buy, run and insure. Also the Alfa’s CarPlay didn’t work on Bluetooth which is important for me.
The problem they've got is they're putting the Veloce against the m340i price wise.

The Veloce is an incredible car, but the BMW beats it for spec, performance and VFM ... And returns better MPG from the B58 than the Alfa does from a 2.0T.

I've owned a Veloce and a 440i, and the BMW was significantly better on fuel.
I’d add that I could add an electrically retracting tow bar on the 340. That was also important for me.

RonnieHotdogs

1,001 posts

100 months

Tuesday 20th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
Sounds like you got a great deal, and should be more of an event to drive than the BMW! Fingers crossed you got a good one, hopefully it's been out long enough for them to sort some of the issues on early ones. A great car from most reviews I have seen.
Yep, I couldn't have afforded or justified it as a factory order and thought this was my only opportunity.

I think they've solved a lot of the earlier issues - they were mostly software based or sorted by a few tweaks to parts.

It's definitely an event to drive, it's just incredible how much fuel it uses compared to my 440i biglaugh ... I'm hoping it doesn't make me resent it. Still adapting to it after about 900 miles, and realistically I don't think it's costing a huge amount more in fuel.

Just shows how incredible that B58 engine really is, and I'll definitely be coming back to one next time around.

MarkJS

1,513 posts

146 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
RonnieHotdogs said:
bad company said:
I had a test drive in a Giulia before ordering my 340. I liked the Alfa very much but the BMW was as good to drive and cheaper to buy, run and insure. Also the Alfa’s CarPlay didn’t work on Bluetooth which is important for me.
The problem they've got is they're putting the Veloce against the m340i price wise.

The Veloce is an incredible car, but the BMW beats it for spec, performance and VFM ... And returns better MPG from the B58 than the Alfa does from a 2.0T.

I've owned a Veloce and a 440i, and the BMW was significantly better on fuel.
I went from a Giulia Veloce to a BMW 440i. The Giuila was very good in a couple of areas, But overall, the BMW is a league (or 2) above.

RonnieHotdogs

1,001 posts

100 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
MarkJS said:
I went from a Giulia Veloce to a BMW 440i. The Giuila was very good in a couple of areas, But overall, the BMW is a league (or 2) above.
Can't argue with that at all ... I felt the Veloce was more fun to drive, but the BMW was easier to live with on a daily basis and a better car overall. Plus getting things sorted / serviced for the BMW was far easier.

The Quadrifoglio is it's own case I think, it's a very special car (IMO) and I'll enjoy the few years I have it.

Due to the retained value and discount even if I sold it now to WBAC I'd still walk away with 3/4 of the deposit ... so if I don't get on with it long term I should be able to move it on without a massive financial hit, and go into an M340i as I was originally going to.

JackReacher

2,118 posts

214 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
quotequote all
Just thinking that there is a lack of photos in the thread, owners please feel free to post pics!

Has anyone receiced the android auto update, and if so how do you find it and functionality? It looks good in the carwow m440i video, and hopefully my November delivery should have it.


JackReacher

2,118 posts

214 months

Sunday 25th October 2020
quotequote all
So a couple of observations from the m440i videos that have come out in the past few days.

Firstly, the mild hybid tech seems more beneficial than I would have thought, both from a performance perspective, and making the stop start much smoother. Seems like a very good addition to the MY21 m340i and a shame my car won't have it.

Secondly, the M seats look very good!

Burwood

18,709 posts

245 months

Sunday 25th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
So a couple of observations from the m440i videos that have come out in the past few days.

Firstly, the mild hybid tech seems more beneficial than I would have thought, both from a performance perspective, and making the stop start much smoother. Seems like a very good addition to the MY21 m340i and a shame my car won't have it.

Secondly, the M seats look very good!
It’s always painful -tweaks every 6 months. I’m sure you’ll love the car. It’s an evolving animal with cars smile

JNW1

7,696 posts

193 months

Monday 26th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
So a couple of observations from the m440i videos that have come out in the past few days.

Firstly, the mild hybid tech seems more beneficial than I would have thought, both from a performance perspective, and making the stop start much smoother. Seems like a very good addition to the MY21 m340i and a shame my car won't have it.

Secondly, the M seats look very good!
Sorry if I've missed something earlier in the thread but normal practice would be for BMW to build MY21 cars from September 2020 onwards; therefore, if your car hasn't been built - or was built in the last few weeks - I'd have thought it will be a MY21 car and have the mild hybrid system?

JackReacher

2,118 posts

214 months

Monday 26th October 2020
quotequote all
JNW1 said:
Sorry if I've missed something earlier in the thread but normal practice would be for BMW to build MY21 cars from September 2020 onwards; therefore, if your car hasn't been built - or was built in the last few weeks - I'd have thought it will be a MY21 car and have the mild hybrid system?
I thought that as well, but dealer said it was 1st November builds onwards. Arrives next week.

JNW1

7,696 posts

193 months

Monday 26th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
JNW1 said:
Sorry if I've missed something earlier in the thread but normal practice would be for BMW to build MY21 cars from September 2020 onwards; therefore, if your car hasn't been built - or was built in the last few weeks - I'd have thought it will be a MY21 car and have the mild hybrid system?
I thought that as well, but dealer said it was 1st November builds onwards. Arrives next week.
In that case I can only assume Covid has affected when BMW have moved to producing the new model year cars; worry not, though, the M340i is still a great car even without the mild hybrid system! smile

JackReacher

2,118 posts

214 months

Monday 26th October 2020
quotequote all
JNW1 said:
In that case I can only assume Covid has affected when BMW have moved to producing the new model year cars; worry not, though, the M340i is still a great car even without the mild hybrid system! smile
Well exactly! Hopefully he was wrong and it has it, but I shall find out when it arrives. I'm sure it adds some more weight which is never good anyway.

david-j8694

479 posts

47 months

Tuesday 27th October 2020
quotequote all
Amazingly useful conversation to stumble upon in the last page or so, given I've always loved the Giulia, and was considering a Giulia Veloce or even a Quadrifoglio, but ended up in a 440i. I watched a 3 way drag race on carwow between an RS5, M4 and Quadrifoglio. The RS5 rinsed them both off the line, but on the rolling start from 50mph, the Quadrifoglio was an animal.

ratty6464

627 posts

209 months

Tuesday 27th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
So a couple of observations from the m440i videos that have come out in the past few days.

Firstly, the mild hybid tech seems more beneficial than I would have thought, both from a performance perspective, and making the stop start much smoother. Seems like a very good addition to the MY21 m340i and a shame my car won't have it.

Secondly, the M seats look very good!
Any idea if the mild hybrid adds power from a standing start or provides torque fill for turbo lag?

RonnieHotdogs

1,001 posts

100 months

Tuesday 27th October 2020
quotequote all
david-j8694 said:
but on the rolling start from 50mph, the Quadrifoglio was an animal.
I can attest to that. Lots of torque limiting going in low gears, so it's not that great off the line.

In gear its absolutely ridiculous, it just takes off quicker than I thought possible. I'm always having to watch the speedo after an overtake as it's easy to get carried away without realising.

JackReacher

2,118 posts

214 months

Wednesday 28th October 2020
quotequote all
ratty6464 said:
Any idea if the mild hybrid adds power from a standing start or provides torque fill for turbo lag?
BMW state the following on their website:-

The mild hybrid technology serves to recuperate the kinetic energy during braking and supports the combustion engine during acceleration. This reduces fuel consumption and emissions while giving you a dynamic advantage. The mild hybrid technology also makes the Automatic Start/Stop function much faster and much more comfortable.

So my question for those with cars without it, is the stop start uncomfortable? Presumably it can be switched off. Is there hesitation elsewhere when driving and putting throttle down?

RammyMP

6,726 posts

152 months

Wednesday 28th October 2020
quotequote all
JackReacher said:
ratty6464 said:
Any idea if the mild hybrid adds power from a standing start or provides torque fill for turbo lag?
BMW state the following on their website:-

The mild hybrid technology serves to recuperate the kinetic energy during braking and supports the combustion engine during acceleration. This reduces fuel consumption and emissions while giving you a dynamic advantage. The mild hybrid technology also makes the Automatic Start/Stop function much faster and much more comfortable.

So my question for those with cars without it, is the stop start uncomfortable? Presumably it can be switched off. Is there hesitation elsewhere when driving and putting throttle down?
My cars got this mild hybrid malarkey but it’s a diesel so different kettle of fish but if you’re coasting it turns the engine off completely to save fuel. I can go from the top of the hill at junction 22 of the M62 down to Rochdale with the engine off which is maybe 2.5 miles.