For more than four decades, one nameplate has represented has defined the sports sedan segment – BMW 3 Series. Whenever an automaker enters the compact premium sedan segment with a model that has even remotely sporting pretensions about it, the first question asked by reviewers is inevitably, “is this finally the 3 series killer?” As good as the competition has become over the years, the 3 series is still here, still widely regarded as the class benchmark and I just got to spend a week with 340i variant.
Now in its sixth generation, the 3 Series like almost every vehicle on the market has grown with each succeeding iteration, but the 2016 340i is still by no means a large car. For comparison it’s about four-inches longer than a Ford Focus sedan and but nine-inches shorter than a Fusion. It’s also no coincidence that the Cadillac ATS and Lexus IS also happen to be four-door sedans with comparable performance and almost exactly the same dimensions.
With the exception of the third-generation E36 models, BMW has always taken a relatively conservative approach to designing the 3 series and even the E36 could hardly be considered radical. This iteration continues that trend with gradual refinement of the classic BMW design cues, the four round headlamps, the ever wider and flatter twin-kidney grille and of course the Hofmeister kink. It’s a handsome if not exactly thrilling design. At least there isn’t anything terribly off-putting about it and while it’s not going to attract huge attention, it won’t be derided either and will probably continue to look stylish 20 years from now.
Click here to compare the 2016 BMW 340i to its competition
The latest 3 retains the classic longitudinal front engine, rear wheel drive architecture and with it the relatively long-hood proportions that tend to evoke performance and athleticism. Despite getting bigger over the years, there is nothing about the looks of this car that hints at bulk. The long hood of course is there to accommodate what BMW fans would call the definitive BMW engine architecture, the inline-six and that’s exactly what this 340i was packing.
Aside from the M3, the 340i is the highest performance 3 series variant currently available. The 3.0-liter inline-six known internally as the B58 is a new engine with a classic layout. It’s fitted with direct-injection and a twin-scroll turbocharger to crank out 320-horsepower and 330 lb.-ft. of torque. Like most GTDI engines, it generates a broad, flat torque curve that makes for excellent driveability and easy acceleration under all conditions.
The default for most American buyers will likely be to use the eight-speed automatic transmission, but the bright red example I drove was equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox. While I’m always a fan of shifting for myself, the shift-linkage in this car while not terrible by any means, was less precise than any I can remember in a previous BMW. It’s pretty clear that BMW as a company has shifted its focus to self-shifting gearboxes in response to the realities of the market and fuel efficiency rules and compromises are being made to the manuals.
One feature of the 340i I was not initially aware of was the rev-matching function on downshifts. As a result when I blipped the throttle while shifting, I ended up overshooting several times until I realized what was happening. Once I just released the throttle during shifts, the system automatically matched the engine speed to the gear every time and things smoothed out considerably.
Like other modern BMWs, the 340i also has an auto stop-start system to shut down the engine when the car comes to a stop. There is a button above the engine start button on the dashboard to disable the fuel saving feature but it also gets cancelled if you set the drive mode to either Sport or Sport+. Shutdowns and restarts were quick enough with the engine firing as I depressed the clutch pedal and always ready to go by the time I had selected first gear. There was some vibration but not nearly as much as I recall from some early implementations of the technology by BMW or even as much as the last-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class. That said, the Cadillac CTS I drove recently was smoother.
With its responsive torque curve, the new N58 engine makes passing maneuvers a breeze and acceleration at highway speeds is surprisingly effortless even without a downshift. Despite the plentiful performance offered by the new engine, the 340i was surprisingly fuel efficient. The EPA rates the manual at 20 mpg city, 30 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined. In highway cruising it’s actually easy to get over 30 and in a week of mixed driving I averaged just shy of 27 mpg, not a bad figure for a car that regularly inspires you to put the hammer down.
While hitting the same rural roads that the locally based car magazines use for their handling evaluations, the 340i always maintains the absolute composure even over broken pavement that makes German cars so effortless to drive even at autobahn speeds. While not quite as supple as some of the best of the current breed of sedans, the ride quality never veered into discomfort.
One of the traits that made the 3 series the long-running favorite of many drivers is the steering feel which always let you know exactly what was happening at the wheels through your fingertips. When the current generation of 3 series arrived, BMW had transitioned it from old-school hydraulic assist to a more modern electric steering assist which more often than not means severely degraded feedback. It’s hard to calibrate electric steering and some do it better than others. While the feedback on the current 340i is not as precise as 3 series of yore, it’s still very good, especially if you switch to sport or sport+ modes.
It’s now been about 15 years since BMW introduced iDrive on the fourth-generation 7 Series sedan and while it elicited many complaints in the early years, I’ve actually come to really appreciate the central control knob approach over the years. In fact, I much prefer the control precision of this type of interface to touch screens. I’m still not fond of BMW’s graphical look on the central display, but at least it was responsive and stable. The current generation iDrive controller also features a touch surface on the top that lets you write letters with your finger to enter addresses for the navigation. While it works, this is actually a fairly slow approach and the voice navigation is now much more reliable than in the past. I also prefer to just twist the knob back and forth to select letters and numbers.
While the 3 series has grown larger and more sophisticated over the years, it’s still playful at heart. Today’s 2 series may be closer to true successor to those earlier generations but I actually really like the size of this one, compact enough not to be overwhelming, yet with enough space to carry an extra couple in the back for a night out without feeling cramped. In 340i form, it also matches the performance of an M3 of just a dozen years ago without feeling quite as hardcore. I think it’s a great balance of everything except perhaps price. At $58,420, it’s not inexpensive but it’s not wildly more than competitors either. Now that all 3 series here in the U.S. market have GTDI engines, even the base 320i with its 2.0-liter turbo four should deliver much of the pleasure of the breed at prices starting in the mid-30s. Now that the competition from Germany, America and Japan has gotten so much better, the 3 is probably not head and shoulders above anymore, but there is something about this machine that still gives it an edge.
Click here for full specifications of the 2016 BMW 3 Series
