E92 M3 or M340i? Why?

So my wife has just taken delivery of her X3. I love it. Not exactly fast but enjoyable overall.

i want/need a car for myself. I am up in the air because I've always wanted an M3 but I know the new M340i's are extremely reliable and more new with a lot more tech.

I've always wanted a V8 M3 but on the fence. I definitely enjoy the drive more than the tech. As long as I can connect my iphone via bluetooth to the car. I know the m340i has less of a steering feel but is still fun and balanced. I just can't choose when it comes to what's more enjoyable to live with.

Ideas? Advice?

They’re 2 completely different cars so choose depending on how you will use the car. If it’s a daily you’re keeping around for a few years the 340 will be a better choice. If it’s a weekender you’re planning on driving for a while then the m is a no brainer.

The 340 is probably faster than the m3 but it’ll get boring eventually. All tech will age and in 5-10 years the 340 will be obsolete but the m3 will still be sought after. But if you plan on daily driving the car the m is probably not the best choice. Good luck in your decision.

The M is currently rising in value while the 340 is depreciating. You can upgrade the tech in the e92 for apple carplay and new LCD dash but still have an aged interior. I'd test drive both and then you'll probably end up with the newer car because its nicer but you'll drool every time you see an M drive by.

I definitely want a car to daily drive. But because I work remote, I would drive maybe 3 times a week or so. Not everyday.

Obviously I'm assuming the M3 is more expensive to repair, but when it comes to cars, I care more about the fun factor than the tech.

As an example, I had gotten a 2019 330i brand new and till this day, love how fun it is. Definitely not the fastest and I wish I had gone with the 340 back then, but its still a fun car. There's only two tech I care about....Carplay and Collision avoidance

No contest lol. I think the fact you're even asking means you won't care so much about what the E9x m3 offers versus the latest appliance made by BMW. Go with the 335i turbo vacuum.

Plus, the collision avoidance in the M3 is manual — practice your driving skills and pay attention.

As much as I love my 6 Speed M3, it is not a good daily driver. I much prefer to enjoy it on the weekends then in rush hour traffic. MPG is horrible as well.

The M340 is a much better daily driver with great performance to back it up.

I daily my E92 M3, have done so for 8 years now. I have newer cheaper cars to drive but I keep coming back to the M3 cos it's just so much more fun. Every time I take her out its an occasion. That said, yes running costs are higher, she has a RON97 addiction, and parts are higher. But worth it.

The M340i is probably the more practical car for daily use. Newer, bigger, more tech, warranty. Plus it's not slow and reviewers have given it rave reviews for the driving experience. I've been in an M340i and the one thing that bugged me the most was the interior quality. I did not expect Jap econobox plastic in a BMW. Looks wise I also prefer the E92 but that's subjective.

My opinion is if you're buying a car to drive for a couple years on a lease get the M340i. It'll still be fun to hoon around. But it won't feel as special as the E92 M3 with the S65 V8. If you're looking for a car you intend to keep then it' s the M3 all day, every day.

If you can turn wrenches, you might be able to take the sting off maintenance costs a little but parts are still absurdly expensive for M cars. Also if you drive hard as I expect any turbocharged 3 series owner would, make room in your budget for gas to the tune of anywhere from 11-16 mpg city.

And say good by to that whack of torque you get from the turbo. If you can live without having something under warranty or can find a warranty that isn’t a total rip off for the M, go for it. But like I’ve told many people; the M life is like what I imagine it is to date a stripper. I’m pleasantly surprised I get to be in her, but I’m always scared she’ll have a breakdown and drain my bank account.

M340i will be better in stop and go traffic, have better MPG, and lower maintenance costs if you’re putting on mileage. But they’re sort of boring to drive compared to an e9x m3 imo. (dead steering, characterless engine, isolated, etc…). They’re still fun cars however and if you’re putting on 12k+ miles a year as a daily I would probably lean that way.

I have both! A e90 M3 which I purchased from the dealer 15 years ago, it is modified and a track day/weekend car now. I also have a 2020 M340i as my daily.

The M340i is much faster than the M3 in a straight line and probably cornering if you install the right wheel/tire combo. That said, the steering is pretty dead and you don't feel much behind the wheel. It has the potential to make a good track car although the M3 is better out of the box if track is your thing. My M3 is manual so that is much more fun to drive as well.

For every day driving the M340i is better in every day. It's quieter, better MPG and lower maintenance costs. It also sounds great in sport mode with the valves open. It has a nice roar and aggressive exhaust sound (and burbles) stock. If you want to accelerate fast, it has you covered. With a just a flash tune, you will be keeping up with supercars.

The M3 is great for a weekend car and something you can savor when you have time to seriously go drive for the sake of driving. You can feel the car beneath you and you are working with both hands and both feet. I would not want an M3 without a manual for a weekend car. The DCT is clunky compared to newer cars and IMHO not worth it if you like driving.

I'm fortunate to have both although my wife complains why I have 2 sedans which in her eyes are pretty similar.

I do not mention the tech as that will age poorly in the M340i as it did in the M3. Both had the latest tech when new but the features get dated fast. My M340i has the executive package and can drive itself on the highway with lidar and 6 cameras all around the car. It'll park itself and you can control it all in the BMW app. It's all great now but these things are only for today - not for tomorrow. The M3's voice assistant was state of the art then but can barely do anything. Then the super old navigation that no longer gets updates and lack of bluetooth audio... it goes on and on. Carplay? Good luck... no one makes one that works flawlessly yet. I just use my phone for navigation in the M3.

kirr89 wrote

I definitely want a car to daily drive. But because I work remote, I would drive maybe 3 times a week or so. Not everyday.

Obviously I'm assuming the M3 is more expensive to repair, but when it comes to cars, I care more about the fun factor than the tech.

As an example, I had gotten a 2019 330i brand new and till this day, love how fun it is. Definitely not the fastest and I wish I had gone with the 340 back then, but its still a fun car. There's only two tech I care about....Carplay and Collision avoidance

Adding carplay to 2009+ e9x m3 is trivial. Collision avoidance you're not going to get. As far as daily driving relative to other sedans, down sides to my m3 are... Gas mileage.

M340i..... the retarded model designation is enough for me to look away

Greetings,

Sounds like you may drive the car (whether M3 or 340i) sporadically. In that case, I would definitely go with the M3 (6-speed for sure).

I have my 2012 M3 ZCP MW 6-speed M3 , which I purchased pre-owned in November of 2013, it's a 2012 and had about 9K miles when I got it. It was the most expensive car (new or used) I ever bought at the time.

I now have the M3 and a 2008 335i E90. I had another 2008 335i E90 but last fall one of my family members hit a deer, so it was totaled:cry:

My very good friend bought a 340i with a 6-speed from Carvana about a year ago. He said the whole buying experience was flawless and would do so again. He said it took a while to find a proper 6-speed and in the color, he wanted (white).

I believe the B58 is the engine in my friend's 340i, and yes it will for sure beat an M3 in straight-line acceleration. But, the roar and scream of the V8 at near redline are sublime and a pleasure to your ears and soul.

Cheers,
Merlin

You want the V8 my man, buy the V8

To me, the M3 is the more special car, due to its badge, high revving V3, balanced chassis and reasonably communicative steering. However, if you like torquey engines, then the M340i has you covered. Basically, if you like smashing the throttle and spinning the tires, it's easier in the M340i!

I was at a track day a few weeks ago and got to run with another M340i owner at Sonoma raceway. His car was stock with 225/255 staggered PS4S tires. After the track session we spoke and I was curious about his car as I have a M340i as well. I wasn't driving it that day though.

I've only ran Sonoma 1/2 a dozen times over the span of 20 years so I'm not very fast there. Compared to my 15 year old M3, we were keeping pace for a few laps. The M340i definitely has the power and torque advantage but on corners I'd catch up because the M3 is lighter with more grip. Unlike the M340i, my M3 is not stock. Also, shifting manual loses time compared to automatic.

Overall the M340i would be faster if set up for track. That said, I enjoy driving my M3 more.

Here's the video

Did he have anything done at all? Race pads? He didn’t have any cooling issues?(the m340i owner).
I’ll admit I like the m340i. Now that it has LSD and fixed calipers it is more appealing. I just don’t like the weight and skinny tires it comes on.
Would you say an advanced driver would be content with an m340i? Maybe with race pads, square wheels , and alignment only?

Golddots wrote

Did he have anything done at all? Race pads? He didn’t have any cooling issues?(the m340i owner).
I’ll admit I like the m340i. Now that it has LSD and fixed calipers it is more appealing. I just don’t like the weight and skinny tires it comes on.
Would you say an advanced driver would be content with an m340i? Maybe with race pads, square wheels , and alignment only?

This white one is pretty much stock. He just added the PS4S tires - they are not what the car originally came with. He did not have any heat issues. As you say M340i comes stock with LSD, Brembo calipers, hard subframe bushings and is pretty performance oriented compared to past non M cars. Stock to stock, it will go head to head with the last gen F80 M3.

The new Supras are dominating in time attack battles and the M340i is basically a big fat Supra as it shares the same engine, brakes and drive train. Even the stock Supra wheels and 255/275 tires are direct bolt on and fit with no issues. That would be a inexpensive upgrade in grip. Coilovers and camber plates are also pretty easy as a bolt on.

My M3 has a 275 square wheel/tire set up, KW coilovers with camber plates, a Recaro bucket seat but otherwise a mostly stock M3. I want to try my M340i on track one of these days just to compare... but the M3 has many things that make it more fun to drive that is not measurable such as the manual transmission, feedback through the steering wheel and its low torque makes it more friendly to drive on track as the rear end doesnt snap out on throttle.

There is a guy in Northern California that has a M340i track oriented set up. He's running 3-4 second faster laps than I have run in my car with the below bolt on mods.

255/35-19 Bridgestone RE-71RS
19x9.5 ET25 Apex VS-5RS
CSG Spec CP pads
CSG carbon weave brake lines
Ohlins R/T w/ Eibach springs (575/900)
SPL F/R endlinks (F80 front, A90 rear)
Dinan front arm bushings
Megan racing rear control arms
Sparco Pro 2000 QRT
CSF front and aux radiators

Here's one of his track videos:

I spent a day beating the absolute snot out of M340i's (among other cars) at the performance school recently and although they are fast and capable there wasn't a single moment I thought "Wow, I'd really like this instead of my M3". For any activities that involve turning or stopping it's OK at best. Interior is nice, seats are nice, engine is nice and the ZF is very good. Other than that, it's fine. Steering is numb and too light. The brakes slow you down but it's tough to get any feedback. The throttle response is very digital. Not just boost lag but there feels like a lack of connection between how hard I was hitting the throttle and what I was actually getting back.

An M340i is probably a very capable daily but there's no chance in hell it replaces the feedback you get from an E9x M3. If you care about dynamics then this is not a substitute.

Honestly, I think e9x M3 as a weekend car and then M340i as a daily is the move.

So hard to find a m340i specced the way I want. They are holding their value really well too. The b58/zf8speed combo is perfect for a daily.

Not a fan of the updated dash in the 2023 models.

2020 is the only year without mild hybrid as well. I have my doubts about the long term reliability of the mild hybrid system.

We're all biased here. For daily use or much urban/traffic driving, even I would take the M340. E9xM mileage/tank size, running costs, ride quality, torque curve, tech, etc make it not ideal for that kind of use, you're giving up quite a bit without getting out of it what makes these cars special. Now if it's semi-daily use or if you live in an area where roads are open and smooth and you don't get stuck in traffic much, the M is far more exciting and special.

But for anybody that has to ask, I suspect the M340 is the better car.