Ideal for a one-car garage, the M340i Touring is the type of vehicle that can pretty much do it all. Aside from being practical and luxurious, it’s also spacious and quite sporty courtesy of its inline-six engine. At the same time, it’s far more affordable than the M3 Touring and you won’t be forced to live with the G81’s oversized kidney grille.
This isn’t the latest iteration of the M Performance Touring model as we’re looking at a pre-facelift version. Being a 2022 car, it must be among the last pre-LCI vehicles built by BMW before making some small styling changes and installing iDrive 8 later in the year. Painted in Dravit Grey, the M340i wagon is not completely stock since it has been modified by Manhart.
The mild-hybrid B58 engine has been massaged to deliver 470 horsepower, so nearly 100 hp more than the standard version. As for torque, it has risen by 140 Nm (103 lb-ft) to a generous 640 Nm (471 lb-ft), so only 10 Nm (7 lb-ft) less than the mighty M3 Touring. Even with winter tires, it managed to reach 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in 4.1 seconds or 0.4s quicker than a standard long-roof M340i.
The 3.0-liter turbocharged engine stretched its proverbial legs on one of the unrestricted sections of the Autobahn. Flat out, the modified wagon needed a little over 10 seconds from 62 to 124 mph (100 to 200 km/h). With an empty stretch of the road ahead, the M340i Touring hit an electronically capped 253 km/h (157 mph) according to the digital speedometer, although the real speed was slightly lower.
Those who want maximum performance without any aftermarket mods must step up to the M3 Touring. BMW claims it’ll do 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.6 seconds and 0 to 124 mph (200 km/h) in 12.9 seconds en route to 174 mph (280 km/h) provided the super wagon is equipped with the optional M Drive’s Package.
There is a massive price gap between the M340i and M3 Touring models since the latter commands a hefty premium of over €26,000 in Germany. The first-ever M3 in the estate body style starts at €101,300 in its domestic market whereas the M Performance version – be it the M340i or M340d – is “only” €74,900.
Source: AutoTopNL / YouTube
