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      06-25-2019, 03:30 AM   #1
jmg
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Drives: G82 M4C X-Drive
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M Town Tour - Impressions, disappointments, and surprises

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I was able to attend a M Town event near me today! Overall a short but fun event if you want to test drive the current M lineup shotgun style.



The advertised lineup was:

M340i
M850i
X3M Competition
M5 Competition
M2 Competition


I took some photos and came away with some very surprising impressions including some disappointments!

Background:

I currently drive an F80 M3 CS and an i3 REx. I also used to own an F30 328i, F30 340i, and an F80 M3. I attended this even mainly to get a good feel for the M340i since it will be a good indication on what the G80 M3/4 might be. The M2 Competition was also on my radar. I also really love how the M850i looks both inside and out.


Arrival:

I checked in at a table in the lobby easily enough. They confirmed my reservation for the M340i and X3M Competition. I was waitlisted for the M5 Competition, M850i, and M2 Competition. No matter, since most people don't show up despite making a reservation I was able to drive all of them with little to no wait time. My reserved time didn't matter too much either, I was just shoved into a car and sent off as soon as I walked up!

The Route:

The route was programmed on the NAV for us to follow. It consisted of a 3 mile loop around the local area. No freeways, no backroads, no parking lot autocross courses. Just city driving. There were a few straights to open up, but nothing crazy. I was alone in each car save for the M850i, in which I had a representative ride along to make sure I didn't do anything irresponsible,


First drive: M340i






The exterior styling has grown on me. I like it. I think the rear looks great, Lexus lights and all. The grill is a bit shocking, I still prefer the vertical slats, but over time it will be fine.

Driving the M340i was very important to me. I wanted to see how the new G20 platform performs. How will it compare to the F80 platform? Being an M340i instead of a 340i I figured it might be even closer to the G80 M3/4 will be.

Well, it is a definite improvement over my old F30 340i. Faster, more refined, solid. The X-Drive and extra power helps a lot. The burbles are much louder, and it's overall a nicer place to sit in. However, there is a strong distinction between the true M cars like the M5, M2, and X3M, and the M performance models like the M340i and the M850i. More on that later.





The interior is clean, but admittedly boring. Maybe because it is black and there isn't a lot of textures. It's different than the outgoing F30/80, which some people might see as an improvement. To me it just looks different.



The iDrive integration into the dash is much nicer than in the F30/80. It now flows as its own element out of the dash, but still cohesive.



The instrument cluster is fine. It's a huge improvement over the awkward in-between phase over the digital dash on the newer F30's. Overall it works well, but I need more seat time to make a better conclusion. The flopped RPM gauge doesn't bother me. The HUD is much improved, and now includes a tachometer, although it's much smaller than even the F80's tachometer and the ones in the M5 and X3M.

M340i HUD:


M5 Competition HUD:


X3M Competition HUD:



I found a keycard in the glovebox. I'd love to not have to carry a fob.





The M5 Competition: A RETURN to form!















The interior is understandably nicer in the M5 over the M340i, commensurate with price. The flat carbon fiber weave looks great and the mode toggles for suspension, chassis, and steering for a true M car look great. The red M1 and M2 buttons are a very nice touch on the steering wheel. Don't tell them, but I was able to find a way to switch the car to 2WD mode! DSC has to be completely off, so I don't think that was encouraged. In fact, it was for VERY good reason, if not for the M5, but for another car in the lineup. Again, more on that later...












WOW, what a machine. Such a beast! It's big, it's fast, it's loud! It's scary! It's no V10, but it still a brute. I've dragged raced an M5 Competition at the M Track Day, so it was no surprise.



Never Meet Your Heros



The M850i wasn't the most disappointing aspect of the day, and I wouldn't necessarily say it was a bad car, or that BMW made a mistake with it. I think I expected something different. I love the styling, it screams speed. My biggest gripe was how SOFT it felt. Like the M5, it was fast, and it was big, but unlike the M5, it also FELT big. Maybe I was expecting too much from the M badge. Even in Sport + the suspension was way too soft and I cold feel all the mass and weight even in the most pedestrian of maneuvers. I wanted so much to love the car, and in a way I still do, but for not the reasons I wanted to love it.
It wasn't the sports car disguised as a grand touring convertible, it's a grand tourer with sporty appointments. But what a grand tourer! The interior, at least to me, is spectacular. I still think it's a great looking car. Perhaps being the only car that required a chaperone really hurt the driving experience. I'm willing to give it another chance with a real test drive, but I was kind of disappointed. Still, it wasn't the most disappointing thing about this day, but more on that later.


















The X3M Competition Surprised Me in EVERY Way








I was never a huge fan of the X3M Competition. I liked the X3 as a utility vehicle, but it never excited me. I scoffed at the idea of a "Competition" model-since when is an X3 going to compete in any type of road race anyway?! It's for groceries and kid hauling. Boy was I wrong. This is a true M car/SAV. I was throughly impressed not only by the driving characteristics, which was much more fun than the M340i by the way, but the interior as well. The M340i interior is boring in comparison. Why can't the flagship 3 series have the nice quilted two-tone interior of the X3M? Is it even an option? You can get this type of attention to detail in a $35k Hyundai nowadays, there is simply no excuse anymore. I'd argue that he X3M seats are as nice or nicer than the M850i. The alcantera bolsters work really well to keep you in place, it's something I wish my M3 CS had.


















The M5 and X3M Competition have identical instrument clusters and steering wheel. I guess consistency has it's place, but for how much the M5 Competition costs, I'd expect some distinction.

X3M Competition:




M5 Competitoin:







The BIGGEST Disappointment of the day: The M2 Competition






Before you crucify me, hear me out. The M2 Competition was the biggest disappointment because it actually wasn't there. It got totaled earlier in the tour when someone turned off DSC and decided to wrap it around a tree. Instead, I got to drive a vanilla M2:




I have driven an M2 on the track extensively over the course of the years attending the 2 Day M School, 1 Day M School, and M Track Day pushing the M2 to the absolute limit and so far beyond that DSC has surely saved me more than a few times. I had a very low interest in going out on a city street with traffic and speed limits, but I decided to take it out nonetheless.





The digital display looked even more archaic and awkward after witnessing the updated versions in the X340i and M5 Competition, but something very very surprising happened on my 3 mile loop: I had a lot of fun. In fact, I had more fun in the vanilla M2 than in any of the other cars that day, including the M850i that I needed a chaperone for! The interior was boring and cheap by comparison, the pedal placement was strange, the instrument cluster was ugly, but damn, what a car! I still prefer the DCT over all the fancy ZF8s in the other cars, I don't care how you tune it. There is a reason the M2 is considered one of the purest and most fun current M cars, and I really do agree.

In the end the X3M and M2 proved to be the real stand-outs in this company. I'm not sure what that says about the upcoming G80 or where BMW is headed. Time will tell.
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Last edited by jmg; 06-25-2019 at 01:21 PM..