Drove a friend’s F30 328i recently, my notes on the F30 328i vs the G30 M340i
BHPian Utsav_199 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
The F30 328i is a precision tool while the G20 M340i is a brute.
Things I liked about the BMW F30 328i vs the G30 M340i:
1. Lighter, darty, sharper front end
2. Better steering
3. 10x better brake feel via hydraulic brakes
4. Analogue dials and buttons
Driving Dynamics:
The F30 – Lighter front end, so much more chuckable and always willing to turn into corners or gaps.
The M340’s heavy 6 cyl B58 along with the extra front driveshaft really add to the weight and take away from the quick willingness to turn in.
While in the 340i I wouldn’t think of darting in a tight gap, in the 328i I just intuitively dart into it. Will not comment on stability or high speed corners as my drive was brief for just half a day.
Brakes and Steering:
The brakes are so much better in terms of feel in the 328i — this alone makes the car gel with me instantly, it had uprated EBC pads which were extremely powerful too, the braking being better than my Cayman which is on older pads and tyres.
Hydraulic brakes are really the gold standard, drive by wire just can’t hold a candle to the hydraulics. Drive by wires brake application of the 340i is in bits (0 and 1) and never progressively smooth.
The steering felt direct and did not gave that slack the G30 had, plus the not that isolated nature of the F30 makes it more involving. Having said that, none of the racks are close to a hydraulic.
Engine:
The 4 pot engine in the F30 328i is no match to the B58, it doesn’t have the punch, creamy smoothness, refinement or the aural delights of the inline-6 B58 – this was expected. Plus the 328i engine is not known for reliability either, so i’d suggest to stay clear of these in the used markets. Coming back to the drive, first few minutes I felt the 328i engine lacking but after a while I really gelled with the car overall and did not feel lacking afterwards. The workaround in the 328i is to carry more speed in gaps and corners rather than applying brute motive force, no stop go but more flow — exactly the way I like it!
Interiors:
The analogue dials in the F30 that are actually legible are such a welcome departure from the G30’s UI/UX nonsense. The F30’s orange backlit dials are warm, make you feel at home and even invoke a bit of nostalgia — the new G30’s cabin is the best example of tech just for the sake of it.
The older platform also has a physical handbrake (images below) and might I add the smell of real leather in the older platform is soooo much more inviting.
The buttons are also a welcome change though I don’t really mind the G30’s controls as even touch ones are well implemented and one gets used to it and can become intuitive. Though some short cuts buttons would be welcome.
I actually preferred the modern G30’s gear flappy thing than the traditionally shaped gear lever in the F30 — I guess one expects the large traditional unit to slot mechanically which it does not leaving one’s mind confused. The flap in the G30 is just that-a flap, and I even preferred the tactile feel of the flap.
Conclusion:
Nothing in life is perfect though somethings come close.
The G30 works much better as a luxury car, it’s better refinement and isolating chassis nature coupled with the creamy B58 translates well to relaxed touring. The F30 is much more exciting and involving — the chassis package I’d pick (I can totally sympathise with a current F30 owner if he finds nothing worth upgrading to, even with the humble 320d).
In around 2015-16, there used to be a F30 with the B58 in foreign markets. Raw gen-1 B58 with a manual RWD in the F30 — perfect but we never got that in India.
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