2027 BMW M350 xDrive Review: An M3 Lite, Not An M340i Plus

The new BMW M350 xDrive covers a wider range than the M340i it replaces. In its comfort settings, it rides more smoothly than the old car, and in M Sport Plus, it is the closest an M Performance 3 Series has come to an M3. I got to test both on the backroads around Aix-en-Provence, where smooth, empty stretches of tarmac give way to speed bumps and potholes every time the route cuts through a town center. The M350 is an M3 Lite rather than an M340i Plus, and if you wanted an M3 mostly for the road, it makes a strong case for keeping the roughly $13,000 difference.

This was my second time in the car. In September, I drove a camouflaged prototype on BMW’s tracks and test roads at Miramas, also in southern France, and came away convinced it was better than the M340i (read the prototype first drive review). This time the wrap is gone, the roads are still in France, but public, and the questions are the ones buyers actually ask: how it rides through a city, whether a tall adult fits in the back, and whether the extra money for an M3 still buys something you would notice.

The B58 Inline-Six Is Still The Reason To Buy One

Under the hood is the B58 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six with 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance, an eight-speed ZF automatic and xDrive all-wheel drive. It makes 437 hp in the US (443 PS in Europe) and 580 Nm (428 lb-ft). The engineers told me the main mechanical change is bigger turbos, and the rest comes from the hybrid motor, which adds 18 hp and 147 lb-ft (200 Nm). They had no figures for low-end torque but said it should beat the old engine, and on the road a tiny bit of throttle is enough to get the M350 going.

The 48-volt system also makes start-stop smoother, though you might still want it off. I tested a workaround: in iDrive X, a Routine can disable start-stop every time you start the car, although you have to confirm a pop-up each time. The Boost button on the steering wheel readies the car for a short burst of maximum performance, which I used for an overtake on the highway.

The engine is the point of this car, and the M350 is the only gas 3 Series with visible tailpipes, four of them. The European car finally sounds right: the old one wasn’t loud enough and, honestly, sounded lame. This one has a better note despite its particulate filters, and US cars sound even better, as our Instagram clip of a North American car shows. In the M Sport modes, synthetic sound also comes through the speakers. It’s fake, but it sounds good.

The eight-speed ZF is brilliant, shifting so smoothly, on its own or with the paddles, that you barely feel it.

It is quick, too: we timed the M350 at 3.9 seconds from 0-60 mph with launch control on and with one-foot rollout. That matches Car and Driver’s 3.9 seconds for a G80 M3 with the six-speed manual, and it sits in the 3.8- to 4.1-second range magazines recorded for the F80 M3. The launch control takes no manual-reading either: hold the brake, press the throttle, and checkmarks on the central screen tell you when the car is ready to go.

On The Backroads, It Is An M3 Lite And Not An M340i Plus

On the smooth sections of the Aix backroads, the M350 felt like a junior M3 rather than a faster M340i, especially in M Sport Plus. Turn in and there’s almost no body roll, the steering has plenty of weight and a nice feel on center, and the car stays composed with lots of feedback from the road. In one tight corner, the M Sport differential let the rear slip just a little before it gripped and kept the car on line. In third gear, the B58 just pulls and pulls, and I caught a hint of understeer only once (likely by design since DSC was on).

Adaptive M suspension, variable sport steering and the M Sport differential are all standard, and BMW added a front strut brace and a rear V-brace. The optional sport tires bring 245-section fronts and 275-section rears on 20-inch wheels. That staggered setup makes a big difference: with sticky tires and xDrive, it finds a lot of grip, and at the limit the system shifts more power to the rear.

The steering ratio is slightly less direct than the M340i’s, but the response off center is good by today’s standards, and the steering firms up as you move through the modes, now called Personal, M Sport and M Sport Plus. An M Mode button on the wheel jumps straight to your saved setup, and the step from M Sport to M Sport Plus is far bigger than the barely noticeable one on the M340i. M Sport Plus makes the car more aggressive and a little bouncier, the mode you want on roads like these.

In the Comfort setting, the standard M Sport brakes are more progressive than an M3’s, which bite almost instantly. These lean in first and add stopping power as you press harder, and once you’re into the pedal, I didn’t notice a big difference in how hard they stop. Now in Sport modes, the biting point and resistance is more inline with an M car, so a bit more aggressive in its feel.

A Great Suspension For Bumpy Roads

The town centers around Aix are where the M350 separates itself from the car it replaces. The route ran over one speed bump after another and through broken pavement and potholes, and in Personal mode, with the powertrain, chassis and steering all in Comfort, the M350 took them more softly than an M340i. That’s how I’d drive it every day: the steering gets lighter, the car is easy to place on tight streets, and there’s no twitchiness over the bumps.

The softer ride is deliberate. BMW’s engineers told me they could have made the comfort setting stiffer, but customers asked for a better daily driver, so the modes are now spread further apart. Luckily, M Sport Plus goes to a whole new level for an M Lite car. BMW revised the kinematics, the camber and the dampers, and while M Sport Plus almost lifts you off the seat over a speed bump, the rebound is so well controlled that the car never gets unsettled.

That’s the one trade-off: if you want a twitchier, more nervous car, the M340i is the better choice. If you want a Swiss Army knife for imperfect roads, the M350 will impress you.

It has the daily-driver tech to match which is quite impressive for an entry-level sedan. The motorway assistant lets you go hands-free up to 130 km/h (80 mph), and when it offered a lane change, I glanced at the left mirror and the car changed lanes. If the speed limit warning annoys you, say “BMW, turn off the speed limit warning,” confirm it on the screen and it stays off until the next start. Or you can also add it to the start-up car routine. But don’t forget to confirm it on the pop-up due to regulations.

The Extra 300 Pounds Never Show Up From The Driver’s Seat

The M350 is not light: BMW lists it at 1,860 kg (about 4,100 lb) unladen (DIN), roughly 135 kg (300 lb) more than the M340i xDrive it replaces. Some other ways of measuring the weight put the difference a bit higher, but we won’t get into what number is right. The idea is that on the road you don’t feel that mass and it’s unlikely you’ll feel it unless you really push hard the car. I’m not saying it’s not there and it magically disappears, but it’s not noticeable in “normal driving.” Could a really good driver feel it in tight and sharp corners and high speeds? Probably but you need to be closer to the limit.

Why the extra weight? The engineers gave me three main reasons: the 48-volt hybrid system, a body, doors and panels reinforced to meet new crash regulations around the world, and the standard panoramic glass roof, which weighs a lot more than the steel roof on an i3 M60. Even the brakes have to meet new brake-generated particulate matter regulations.

What the M350 doesn’t have yet is Drift Moment. It works like the rear-drive setting on an M3 with M xDrive under a different name: at the push of a button, DSC switches off and 100 percent of the power goes to the rear wheels. It arrives through an over-the-air update in 2027 for every M350, including cars already delivered.

Lots Of Screens Inside And Less Buttons

The cabin comes straight from the i3: Panoramic iDrive across the base of the windshield, a 17.9-inch central touchscreen running BMW Operating System X, and no rotary controller or physical climate controls. That’s a lot of screen for a driver’s car, but you can switch off the head-up display and set Panoramic iDrive to show only the essentials on the left. Is this what I dreamed of seeing in an M350? Probably not, but at least it drives really well.

The M350 also gets only one steering wheel, and it’s the good one: spokes at 4 and 8 o’clock with a red 12 o’clock marker, instead of the quirky 12 and 6 o’clock design.

The M Sport Seats Beat The M340i’s, And The Audio Has 16 Speakers

The M Sport seats are extremely comfortable over long distances and still supportive when you drive hard, and you can tighten the backrest width in iDrive X under My Modes. Seat comfort is subjective, but having sat in an M340i very recently, I prefer these: you don’t slide around as much, and the side bolsters hug you in place, which at my age I appreciate.

Our test car had the Harman Kardon system with 16 speakers and 625 watts: a subwoofer under each front seat, seven midrange speakers, five tweeters and two speakers in the A-pillars.

Can A 6’7″ Passenger Really Fit In The Back Seat?

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Yes: a 6’7″ “basketball player” – an inside joke with our very tall friend Tom – sat in the back of our M350 and fit. Part of the credit goes to the fixed panoramic glass roof that comes standard on the gas 3 Series, which frees up headroom compared with a sliding sunroof. But also because of the angle of the rear bench.

Is The M3 Worth $13,000 More Than The M350?

The M350 xDrive starts at $65,900 before destination in the US, only $250 more than the 2026 M340i xDrive it replaces, and at €80,900 in Germany. A base G80 M3 costs about $13,000 more, and for that you get the S58 twin-turbo inline-six with 473 hp, rear-wheel drive and a six-speed manual, the only way left to get three pedals in a US-market 3 Series. If you want the M3 that matches the M350’s automatic and all-wheel drive, the 523-hp Competition xDrive, the gap grows past $20,000.

Will an extra $13,000 buy you more car in an M3? Absolutely: more power, M-specific hardware and a rear-drive chassis from day one. But the current M3 sits on the previous-generation 3 Series, so you also get an older cabin. Even though that might be what some buyers want. The M350 also puts real pressure on the G84 M3, which will need a big step up to leave room for it.

Skip The M3, Wait For The Next One, Or Buy The M350 Now?

Buy the M350 if you want a fast 3 Series to drive every day. It’s better than the M340i, closer to an M3 than any M Performance 3 Series before it, and more comfortable over the speed bumps and potholes most owners deal with, while leaving some good amount of money in your account. If I had about $66,000 to spend today, this is the car I’d buy.

If you want an M3 and have the money, buy one: it’s still the more capable car in every respect, and the only one with a manual. If you want the latest, the six-cylinder G84 M3 is about two years away. For everyone else, I’m not calling the M350 an M340i Plus. It’s an M3 Lite.