[hermshk]

Hi guys,

So I’ve been doing a lot of reading on here trying to learn more about my car. One common theme I see is people saying that M40is will never handle well because of their higher centre of gravity.

When I was buying my car I had, originally set out to buy a sedan. I had driven a brand new ‘23 Lexus IS 300 AWD and a later model F30 (2017-2018) 330i.

I personally found that the M40i had better handling feel than either of these sedans. This may be because I am a relatively young and inexperienced driver

So I was wondering, has anyone else felt similarly? What should I look out for when judging the handling in the future when I look to replace my M40i?

[deathmetal666]

In regular driving…My x3 m40i in sport mode handles better than my 2015 328i msport.

[Humdizzle]

it depends where you are coming from.

i have a m2 comp and gt3... the x4 m40i i test drove felt pretty bad when being pushed through the backroads i take those cars through regularly. i tried chucking it through some corners at 50-60mph and the steering had no communication at all. zero. i had no idea what the tires were doing or if they were near their limit of grip.

i think alot of people confuse steering weight with feel... 'oh this car doesn't require much effort to turn = it must handling well'.

from car and drivers review of the x3 m40i:

Although the M40i puts on a dynamic showcase at the track, it comes at great cost in daily use. BMW has yet to tune electrically assisted power steering to our liking—it's as if a Porsche or Cadillac product has never graced its benchmark fleet. The steering rack's hyperactive response to inputs from the thick M Sport steering wheel requires frequent midcorner corrections, and there's just no sense of what the front wheels are doing.

[ASAP]

the comparable sedan to an X3 M40i is the G series M340i... it will handle better... with that being said, i still wouldn't buy a non true M BMW sedan

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

it depends where you are coming from.

i have a m2 comp and gt3... the x4 m40i i test drove felt pretty bad when being pushed through the backroads i take those cars through regularly. i tried chucking it through some corners at 50-60mph and the steering had no communication at all. zero. i had no idea what the tires were doing or if they were near their limit of grip.

i think alot of people confuse steering weight with feel... 'oh this car doesn't require much effort to turn = it must handling well'.

from car and drivers review of the x3 m40i:

the m2 comp i had definitely didn't feel good being chucked on the backroads lol...it felt more dangerous than anything... but thats a different story for a different day

[dfc888]

I think in a spirted or aggressive drive (for example faster and sharper turns on a twisty backroad, or when entering a highway cloverleaf, my X3 m40 definitely feels top heavy.

Like it "handles," as in it grips and turns with "some precision," I just have to put in a lot of steering effort when compared to taking the same turns in a few of my older Mini Coopers owned before, and in my current Z3 and G20 330i. In these lower/less heavy cars, I can take the same turns either faster or same speed with much less or no effort at all so I would say my roadster and sedan "handles better."

Where I lose out is on straight line acceleration whenever the road straightens out... so while my roadster and sedan "handles better" they are lacking in performance.

[hermshk]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

it depends where you are coming from.

i have a m2 comp and gt3... the x4 m40i i test drove felt pretty bad when being pushed through the backroads i take those cars through regularly. i tried chucking it through some corners at 50-60mph and the steering had no communication at all. zero. i had no idea what the tires were doing or if they were near their limit of grip.

i think alot of people confuse steering weight with feel... 'oh this car doesn't require much effort to turn = it must handling well'.

from car and drivers review of the x3 m40i:

Understood. I am a little confused by the C&D quote. It said it did very well dynamically, but then also said the steering was not up to par

[hermshk]

Originally Posted by ASAP

the comparable sedan to an X3 M40i is the G series M340i... it will handle better... with that being said, i still wouldn't buy a non true M BMW sedan

just curious, why no non M sedans?

[Flippco]

I went from a 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD to a 2023 X3 M40i and don't miss the sedan at all. I think both get similar skid pad test results and the X3 handles pretty darn good for being a heavy SAV.

I do like the extra cargo room, sitting up higher, and not having to worry about driveway lips or other bumps.

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by hermshk

Understood. I am a little confused by the C&D quote. It said it did very well dynamically, but then also said the steering was not up to par

here is the full article.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...y-the-numbers/

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by hermshk

just curious, why no non M sedans?

strictly personal preference... the m3 and m5 are just all out monsters and i am willing to pay for them

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by ASAP

the m2 comp i had definitely didn't feel good being chucked on the backroads lol...it felt more dangerous than anything... but thats a different story for a different day

i agree with you. BMW EPS is pretty bad. still far behind blackwings and porsches. but the chassis still communicates well and i can sense when the tires are near the limit. there were tons of them at the ring when i went last month

the x3 i had no idea what was going on underneath me.

[bocabimmer]

Jeremy Clarkson once described the IS as a tub of warm wallpaper paste. Enough on that car.

The F30 was a disappointment of a 3 series for its handling. I had one right before the X3 and I would say the X3 feels better in some respects. That’s how much BMW stiffened the G chassis and worked over the suspension and steering feel. But I’m not putting the X3 in a tail-happy slide like I ever could with my 3s. Physics is still physics. There’s a reason my wife is looking at getting an E46 project car… my car just isn’t good enough to scratch that itch.

[JK479]

Originally Posted by Flippco

I went from a 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD to a 2023 X3 M40i and don't miss the sedan at all. I think both get similar skid pad test results and the X3 handles pretty darn good for being a heavy SAV.

I do like the extra cargo room, sitting up higher, and not having to worry about driveway lips or other bumps.

I see why- you went from fwd based all wheel to a rwd awd on the x3.

I see this too on Audi- had to compare a better rwd architecture to a fwd based car.

Sedans will all driven sportier but the best would be the m340i xdrive. Unless you go m3

[COM40]

I find it hard to assess handling on a limited duration test drive. Where I live most of the dealerships are 30+ min from any of the good driving roads so the best case is maybe a cloverleaf interchange. And in that scenario (where you're driving an unfamiliar vehicle, probably cautiously), there's not a huge delta between the M40i and a sport sedan (my cross shops were S5 sportback, G70, and Giulia).


After owning the M40i for a couple years I've realized there's some handling deficits on very twisty roads (e.g. 15-25 mph suggested speed limits). I wouldn't mind if the front end was a little tighter but that probably means compromised comfort (so not worth it personally). On roads that are more open, you reach the limit of what's prudent to do on a public road before you reach the car's limit. I don't really need or want to do 90+ mph on a canyon road.

[Flippco]

Originally Posted by JK479

I see why- you went from fwd based all wheel to a rwd awd on the x3.

I see this too on Audi- had to compare a better rwd architecture to a fwd based car.

Sedans will all driven sportier but the best would be the m340i xdrive. Unless you go m3

I thought about the m340i and then we got a dog and I thought the extra room would be nice. Would love the touring but sadly not available in the US. Trying now to talk myself out of the M5 touring, which should be easy since I believe the minister of finance would say no anyway.

[Leem40i]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

it depends where you are coming from.

i have a m2 comp and gt3... the x4 m40i i test drove felt pretty bad when being pushed through the backroads i take those cars through regularly. i tried chucking it through some corners at 50-60mph and the steering had no communication at all. zero. i had no idea what the tires were doing or if they were near their limit of grip.

i think alot of people confuse steering weight with feel... 'oh this car doesn't require much effort to turn = it must handling well'.

from car and drivers review of the x3 m40i:

A lot of that has to do with which tires you have on. Summer performance tires or even all season performance tires will be a world better than the run-flats that come on it.

[bouchy]

With proper tyres and suspension (BMW are good at it - so far) the ride is very good in X3, as well as in 3 Series.

[M40i4me]

For me being older I needed the ease of getting in and out and the utility for Home Depot trips with my trailer. I also did not want a dog SAV that handled like a boat. It will never handle corners like a sedan, but I have pushed it hard and was quite surprised I did not end up in a ditch.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

i agree with you. BMW EPS is pretty bad. still far behind blackwings and porsches. but the chassis still communicates well and i can sense when the tires are near the limit. there were tons of them at the ring when i went last month

the x3 i had no idea what was going on underneath me.

It had nothing to do with steering or chassis imho... it had to do with the short body that was very snappy and would always oversteer and a very poorly / bouncy setup suspension... i had a hard time keeping up w older mustangs because it felt quite unsafe. I felt 1 more mph more and it will go sideways into a ditch... it wasn't a well put together car at all.

Ironically, I would never drive my X3 in this way and a comparo to a sportier car / sedan is moot... it does feel far more confident on any bouncy roads or highway onramps... it just feels solid with nothing weird going on in the chassis. It may be a combo of the adaptive suspension, longer chassis and awd? I dunno.

[JK479]

Originally Posted by Flippco

I thought about the m340i and then we got a dog and I thought the extra room would be nice. Would love the touring but sadly not available in the US. Trying now to talk myself out of the M5 touring, which should be easy since I believe the minister of finance would say no anyway.

Lol!

[TXGrey]

Originally Posted by COM40

I find it hard to assess handling on a limited duration test drive. Where I live most of the dealerships are 30+ min from any of the good driving roads so the best case is maybe a cloverleaf interchange. And in that scenario (where you're driving an unfamiliar vehicle, probably cautiously), there's not a huge delta between the M40i and a sport sedan (my cross shops were S5 sportback, G70, and Giulia).


After owning the M40i for a couple years I've realized there's some handling deficits on very twisty roads (e.g. 15-25 mph suggested speed limits). I wouldn't mind if the front end was a little tighter but that probably means compromised comfort (so not worth it personally). On roads that are more open, you reach the limit of what's prudent to do on a public road before you reach the car's limit. I don't really need or want to do 90+ mph on a canyon road.

^^^^this right here. M40i is one helluva Jack of All Trades… problem for me is, i like the styling of the X4; not incredibly crazy about the X3… and since X4s are going away, I maybe forced to look at X6s… but I have no idea how those handle compared to a X4. Guess I’ll see when the time comes…