[455bhp]

Hi all,

I had a BMW M340i as a loaner car and it was damn sweet! Curiously, the M340i reminded me of a Camaro SS once I started pushing hard. No, the M340i doesn't sound as good, and there's no manual. But like the SS, the M340i has great chassis balance and a real affinity for kicking its tail out with a punch to the gas. The B58 engine (same as in the Supra) is not as powerful as the LT1, but it still delivers a wallop!

I love the Camaro SS, but if I needed four doors, I could see getting an M340i for similar thrills.

(My full writeup is here.)

Have any of you driven the new Cadillac CT5-V? (Not the Blackwing.) That seems to be the truest sedan sibling to the Camaro SS. I'd love to try one, and see if the lukewarm reception the press gave it is justified. Somehow, I don't expect it would stand up to the M340i, mostly because the BMW I6 usually trumps GM V6s.

Cheers!

[JKSully]

And at least they haven't put that godawful new grille on it. Probably only a matter of time, though.

You'd think they'd have learned to listen to their customers' initial reaction to radical styling changes after the Bangle era, but that gaping bucktooth front end they've gone with across the model range is proof that they didn't.

[6spdhyperblue]

Does it have a lsd?

[455bhp]

Originally Posted by 6spdhyperblue

Does it have a lsd?

Yes, it has an electronic LSD. It seemed like the M340i would work well on a track. (They even have a track cooling package you can option.)

[455bhp]

Originally Posted by JKSully

And at least they haven't put that godawful new grille on it. Probably only a matter of time, though.

That's a great point! The 3 series looks so much better than the 4 series.

[6spdhyperblue]

Originally Posted by 455bhp

Yes, it has an electronic LSD. It seemed like the M340i would work well on a track. (They even have a track cooling package you can option.)

What is an electronic lsd? Pulsing the brake pads?

IMO that’s not a lsd or e-lsd if that’s the case

[s346k]

Originally Posted by 6spdhyperblue

What is an electronic lsd? Pulsing the brake pads?

IMO that’s not a lsd or e-lsd if that’s the case

i think "elsd" is literally electronic lsd.

[6spdhyperblue]

Well that’s good at least

[WhyUMad1LE]

CT5V reviews well in RWD. The AWD reports were lackluster.

[M0dnar]

Originally Posted by JKSully

And at least they haven't put that godawful new grille on it. Probably only a matter of time, though.

You'd think they'd have learned to listen to their customers' initial reaction to radical styling changes after the Bangle era, but that gaping bucktooth front end they've gone with across the model range is proof that they didn't.

I finally saw one in person driving through my neighborhood. That new grill actually looks REALLY good in person in movement. Very aggressive looking and not at all dorky like the pictures seem to suggest.

[JKSully]

Originally Posted by M0dnar

I finally saw one in person driving through my neighborhood. That new grill actually looks REALLY good in person in movement. Very aggressive looking and not at all dorky like the pictures seem to suggest.

Have to disagree with you, I've seen them in the wild and they're just as butt-ugly to me as the pictures. Just my opinion, of course, but as a former BMW owner, that's one of the reasons I steered away from a new one and into a Camaro

[Hops]

Doughnut media makes a decent argument the grill shape is motivated by function. The car needs extra cooling, and can't disrupt the side airflow (for mpgs), thus the cooling is stacked and centralized. If BMW led with that argument for the front grill i think it would be somewhat more accepted.




I've seen a few in real life, and i think it looks a little better than what we've seen online... but how the grill extends further below makes it look almost suv-like from the front..... not a good look.

[455bhp]

Yeah, the big M3 grill is simply terrible in my book too. I have seen it in person, and it's not much of an improvement.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by 6spdhyperblue

Does it have a lsd?

I believe it works like this for BMW: anything with X-Drive doesn't, but anything RWD does.

Originally Posted by M0dnar

I finally saw one in person driving through my neighborhood. That new grill actually looks REALLY good in person in movement. Very aggressive looking and not at all dorky like the pictures seem to suggest.

While this happened to me with the facelift Camaro (which is why I bought one), it's not the case whatsoever on the G80/G82 M3/M4. It's just as hideous as it is online.

Originally Posted by Hops

Doughnut media makes a decent argument the grill shape is motivated by function. The car needs extra cooling, and can't disrupt the side airflow (for mpgs), thus the cooling is stacked and centralized. If BMW led with that argument for the front grill i think it would be somewhat more accepted.




I've seen a few in real life, and i think it looks a little better than what we've seen online... but how the grill extends further below makes it look almost suv-like from the front..... not a good look.

Not really. If you look very closely at the buckteeth grille, you will see there is a little black bar dividing the upper and lower portion. It's very apparent in this image.



So realistically, these two designs won't differ much in terms of airflow rate and thus, cooling. The one on the right looks so much better, though.



The worst part is, BMW thinks this is actually fine and wants this to become part of their design language. All I can say is, it's okay, BMW, we all know Kia has managed to steal every single last one of your capable designers.