Driving Impressions: 2015 BMW 340i

BMW Blog publishes their driving impressions of the BMW 340i. Here is an excerpt:

But now comes the part everyone’s been waiting for. The handling. BMW did some revising to the chassis and suspension, as 3 Series customers were demanding more comfort with better handling, which is no small task. So BMW set out to give the customers what they wanted. To do so, BMW replaced the three-link suspension setup at each corner with a five-link setup. This stiffened up the chassis a bit, allowing for stiffer springs and dampers without any penalty to ride comfort. BMW also fitted a revised electric power-steering system, which is meant to give better feedback and response.

All of this suspension tuning sounds great, but it seems as if it might have fallen short, just a bit. From the drive reviews we’ve read, many are complaining that it feels to soft in Comfort Mode and too firm in Sport Mode and that the steering feels too light in comfort but artificially heavy in Sport. There are claims that this new 340i just doesn’t have that Goldilocks feeling that all 3 Series’ have in the past. However, they’ve all tested the cars with the optional adaptive dampers and variable ratio steering, so maybe the standard fixed suspension and steering might serve better as a perfect solution. I’ve always been an advocate of making one suspension setting only and do it the right way, instead of having to switch all the time, but maybe that’s just me.

Though, despite the negative remarks, the new 340i still has the moves a 3 Series should. It turns in sharply and corners with the typical 3 Series grace and precision. However, it still rides fantastically and probably better than the pre-LCI. And the engine makes it go like a bat out of hell. So it’s still a 3 Series. It would be interesting to get the pre and post LCI back to back to see the improvements.

So the post-LCI 340i seems to be better in most areas but may have gotten worse in others, like the suspension tuning and steering. But the engine, transmission and chassis dynamics all seem to be a significant improvement over the pre-LCI. Maybe the standard non-adaptive dampers and non variable steering will make this 340i handle and feel like the perfect 3 Series again. Or maybe the lighter 330i will be the better feeling of the two, much like the 328i was to the 335i. One can only hope.