Here’s How The BMW M350 xDrive Compares To The M340i

Is there anything better than a fast 3 Series? Comfort, speed, style—it’s the perfect daily driver. While performance always falls a little shy of the full-blown M3, the big-motor 3 Series has always been a favorite, especially for budget-minded enthusiasts. With BMW’s introduction of the G50 3 Series, we finally get a peek at what follows up the admittedly excellent M340i. The M350 xDrive is a lot more than just a fresh coat of paint, with serious changes to design, technology and more—let’s dive in.

Exterior Design

One glance immediately tells you everything you need to know about the M350 xDrive: it’s the new kid on the block, sporting Neue Klasse styling from head to toe and grille to tail. The G50 makes a huge design jump, changing much more than recent 3 Series iterations (i.e., F30 to G20 chassis). The new front end is a love it or hate it affair, like most new BMWs. In M350 xDrive guise, the 3 Series dons the styling well, featuring a wide and horizontal grille complete with M badging, unique lighting signatures (including yellow lights), and M colored details on the wing mirrors. From the side, the M350 looks unquestionably more aggressive, featuring an almost notched rear window slope and an aggressive wheel design that calls to mind the current generation’s M3 wheels.

Like the outgoing model, 19-inch wheels are standard. Around back, four individual exhaust outlets replace the former model’s trapezoidal finishers. A higher beltline and much narrower taillights give the rear a lot more verticality, and the little spoiler on the trunk comes standard. Unsurprisingly, the M350 xDrive represents growth in a more literal respect, too. The G50 grows by around two inches (50 mm) in length and one inch (24 mm) in width. It stands half an inch (12 mm) taller, too, and wheelbase grows by 0.4 inches (10 mm). We’ll get to weight in the performance section, but consider this effective foreshadowing. Overall, the M350 xDrive looks much boxier than the G20 it replaces.

Interior Design

Inside, the M350 xDrive is just as radical a departure from the G20 M340i as the outside. A new steering wheel retains the red 12 o’clock marker, but just about everything else changes—shape, layout, spokes, and more. The driver display is no more, replaced by the Panoramic Vision display running the width of the windscreen. Fewer buttons than ever appear, although some nice new trim and materials appear on the dashboard and to the left of the steering wheel. Trunk capacity actually shrinks from the G20; the M350 xDrive offers 450 liters (15.9 cu ft) of space, while the M340i offered 481 liters (17 cu ft). Thankfully, materials seem to stay on-par generation over generation. The new 3 Series offers Veganza, PerformTex, and Merino leather.

Performance

Performance is, naturally, the core draw of any M Performance offering. The M350 represents a healthy power bump from the M340i. The new car retains the B58 inline-six, now making 437 hp (326 kW) and 428 lb-ft (580 Nm) of torque. That’s up from 386 hp and 398 lb-ft in the current car. BMW claims zero to 62 mph occurs in 4.1 seconds for the M350 xDrive, identical to the M340i xDrive’s U.S. 0-60 mph time. It’s not even that far off from the European quoted 0-62 mph time of 4.4 seconds. Why not quicker? Weight, of course.

The M350 xDrive weighs in at (DIN) 1860 kg / 4101 lbs; the M340i xDrive tipped the scales at 1670 kg / 3682 lbs. While actual curb weights may differ depending on where you look (DIN, European and U.S. weights all follow different parameters), the key takeaway is that the new car is markedly heavier than the old one. The larger dimensions, additional weight, and increased power will likely make the M350 xDrive feel more like an Autobahn-crusher (akin to powerful 5 and 7 Series models) than ever before.

Technology

The Neue Klasse era is here. One look out from behind the driver’s seat of the M350 xDrive will remind you of that in short order. A new steering wheel integrates haptic buttons and, arguably more importantly, overall screen real estate shrinks to 17.9 inches, all coming by way of central touchscreen. It’s a clean look, to be sure. The most important information for drivers now moves to the Panoramic Vision display along the windshield. However, at the core, a lot stays the same. The G50 offers Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, built-in maps, a tremendous arsenal of voice commands, and lots of My BMW app functionality. The new operating system promises some additional customization, and the optional 3D head-up display will likely be a welcome addition to tech-forward shoppers.

The M350 xDrive brings a slew of changes to the hot-rodded 3 Series. But it bears mentioning that the car has big shoes to fill. The M340i and M340i xDrive remain among the best-loved cars in the BMW catalog, receiving acclaim from hardcore enthusiasts and critics alike. Neue Klasse styling has its pros and cons, and we definitely look forward to meaningful seat time to experiment with the new iDrive and displays. Nearly 440 hp on tap doesn’t hurt the car’s case, either. How do you think the M350 stands up to the M340i?