Enthusiasts ahoy! A locally assembled BMW M is now available at BMW dealerships near you. Yes, BMW has launched the M340i xDrive in India. Unlike the M 330i/320d, which only gets the M styling package, the M340i is a full-blown M Performance car, a halfway house between the regular 3 Series and the M3. The M340i is the first M car to be locally assembled in India and will be available at a starting price of Rs 62.9 lakh.
From the outside, it’s hard to distinguish the M340i from the regular 3 Series. It gets BMW’s signature kidney grille, LED headlamps with laser lights and hexagonal DRLs. The M340i xDrive is equipped with the 18-inch alloys as standard while you get an option to upgrade it to 19-inch alloys as well.
On the inside, the M340i xDrive gets Alcantara upholstery, M steering wheel with paddle shifters, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, door sills with M340i xDrive lettering, ambient lighting, automatic three zone climate control system, 10.25-inch infotainment system with integrated Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (Yes! Finally a Bimmer with Android Auto). And lastly, thanks to the standard Harman Kardon surround sound system, music enthusiasts will have a gala.
The junior M3 under the hood gets an in-line six cylinder engine that produces 382bhp and 500Nm. The engine comes paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission and can sprint from 0-100kmph in just 4.4 seconds. xDrive AWD is standard on the M340i.
Vikram Pawah, President, BMW India said, “We are excited to launch the first-ever BMW M340i xDrive, the quickest car to be locally produced in India - a completely novel high-performance product that the Indian auto enthusiasts have been waiting for eagerly. It is a unique car because it has the thrilling soul of the BMW 3 Series, the amplified power of M and the driving dynamics of BMW xDrive. With the addition of the BMW M340i xDrive, the BMW 3 Series offers the most powerful and diverse range giving our customers the valuable ‘Power of Choice’. This car also marks an important milestone of local production of high-performance BMW cars from the house of ‘M’.”
The local manufacturing of M Performance cars in India comes in the wake of Mercedes-AMG starting the local assembly of the GLC 43 AMG, and this indeed is great news for enthusiasts as local production hugely helps bring the costs down. Moving on to rivals, the M340i has the Mercedes-AMG A35 in its crosshairs. That said, we’ve already driven the M340i, watch our full video review here.