[Flying Clog]

Been offered what looks like on paper not a bad swap but having never driven an M4.0 - I thought I'd ask here.

Currently I have a 2019 3.0, white with red leather and absolutely love the car. Has all the options I need and and really happy with the car and the colour combination.

I've been offered in exchange, a 2021 M4.0, red with black leather, similar options to my current car although does not have the heated steering wheel but does have the HK stereo.

But is the M4.0 worth a swap ?

[23109VC]

Originally Posted by Flying Clog

Been offered what looks like on paper not a bad swap but having never driven an M4.0 - I thought I'd ask here.

Currently I have a 2019 3.0, white with red leather and absolutely love the car. Has all the options I need and and really happy with the car and the colour combination.

I've been offered in exchange, a 2021 M4.0, red with black leather, similar options to my current car although does not have the heated steering wheel but does have the HK stereo.

But is the M4.0 worth a swap ?

The only way to know if that makes sense to you is to go test drive one.

I've never driven the four-cylinder version but I recently drove the M 40 I had it for a couple of days as a loaner car I have driven four-cylinder three series which is essentially the same motor from your car in a sedan all I can say is there is a huge difference between that turbo charge for and the turbo charged in-line six and the M40.

If you're the kind of person that just cruising around in your car and you rarely push it maybe you wouldn't notice a difference if you're an enthusiast driver I think the difference would be night and day.

If I were to buy one of these cars I wouldn't even waste my time driving the 4 banger. I would be depressed always wanting the extra power of the six but that's me I'm sick about speed and stuff like that

[Westside Guy]

I test drove the sDrive30i and loved it and then ordered the M40i without hesitation. The first time I ever drove a M40i was the day I picked it up and have absolutely no regrets opting for the more powerful engine. I love driving it and it is my DD.

If you gave any doubts find a used M40i at a dealer and go for a test drive.

[Flying Clog]

Thanks for your replies both.

[StefLag67]

From a pure performance standpoint, there is no question that the M40 is ahead:
https://zeperfs.com/duel7494-7970.htm

As far as I'm concerned, I've been driving the M40 for a whole week-end, but went ahead and bought a s30.
There are a few reasons for that.
1) quite honestly, if you're looking for a real sports car, you wouldn't go for a G29. I had a Porsche 981S (6 cylinder naturally aspirated) and it's a totally different world - brakes much better, much more agile and balanced. I would never drive as fast in a mountain pass with a G29 as I have with the 981 (I live in France and drove thousands of km in the Alps).
2) given the above, I consciously made the choice to have a car that is not a sports car but a very nice-looking, modern, comfortable and satisfying car to drive. Therefore power is not everything and 260 is more than enough.
3) there is 100Kg difference between the M40 and the S30 and it's only about the engine. Meaning that you have 100Kg more on the front wheels, and personally I have really felt the difference. I found the S30 more agile and precise than the M40.
4) although a 4 cylinder would never sound as good as a 6, I found the s30 pretty satisfying. My company car is a G21 330i, so the exact same engine, and I've been really surprised how better the sound is in the G29.
5) finally, as I buy my car in Germany and import it in France, CO2 numbers matter a lot - there is almost 6000€ difference between the 2 cars for me in taxes, so given the extra cost of a M40, I end up with 15 to 20K€ difference between the 2 cars, which doesn't make sense to me.

The bottom line is that I made a choice based on test drive, money, and usage - very personal criteria. I'd advice you to do the same!

[spbonzo]

I tested both a 40 and a 30 and went for the 30 as despite the better sound of the 40 and the higher performance I felt the 30 was more than enough performancewise. I didn't experience any difference with the handling but some reviews have mentioned that the 30 is more enjoyable.

Also, the 30 looks no different than the 40, was cheaper to buy and better fuel consumption.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by spbonzo

I tested both a 40 and a 30 and went for the 30 as despite the better sound of the 40 and the higher performance I felt the 30 was more than enough performancewise. I didn't experience any difference with the handling but some reviews have mentioned that the 30 is more enjoyable.

Also, the 30 looks no different than the 40, was cheaper to buy and better fuel consumption.

Interesting, the sound was never a factor in my decision to select the M40i.

[ZMcruiser]

I drove both and while the 3.0 was peppy, there is no substitute for power. More is good and good is more. Thankfully here in the US we don't have the suffocating taxes that you Europeans do, so tax differences weren't even part of the decision process. Everyone has their opinion on what a sports car is and that is fine.

[Flying Clog]

Originally Posted by StefLag67

From a pure performance standpoint, there is no question that the M40 is ahead:
https://zeperfs.com/duel7494-7970.htm

As far as I'm concerned, I've been driving the M40 for a whole week-end, but went ahead and bought a s30.
There are a few reasons for that.
1) quite honestly, if you're looking for a real sports car, you wouldn't go for a G29. I had a Porsche 981S (6 cylinder naturally aspirated) and it's a totally different world - brakes much better, much more agile and balanced. I would never drive as fast in a mountain pass with a G29 as I have with the 981 (I live in France and drove thousands of km in the Alps).
2) given the above, I consciously made the choice to have a car that is not a sports car but a very nice-looking, modern, comfortable and satisfying car to drive. Therefore power is not everything and 260 is more than enough.
3) there is 100Kg difference between the M40 and the S30 and it's only about the engine. Meaning that you have 100Kg more on the front wheels, and personally I have really felt the difference. I found the S30 more agile and precise than the M40.
4) although a 4 cylinder would never sound as good as a 6, I found the s30 pretty satisfying. My company car is a G21 330i, so the exact same engine, and I've been really surprised how better the sound is in the G29.
5) finally, as I buy my car in Germany and import it in France, CO2 numbers matter a lot - there is almost 6000€ difference between the 2 cars for me in taxes, so given the extra cost of a M40, I end up with 15 to 20K€ difference between the 2 cars, which doesn't make sense to me.

The bottom line is that I made a choice based on test drive, money, and usage - very personal criteria. I'd advice you to do the same!

Thanks for this balanced approach. You make some good points.

A few years ago I was always looking for more noise and more power and often overstretched my finances with cars.

Honestly in most usual conditions my current 3.0 is plenty quick enough for me now, although sometimes I would like to have just a little more "va va voom".
The noise of the 4 cyl motor is not comparable to the 6 cyl for sure and I'm sure that I would code "sport plus" to be permanently on to get the pops from the exhaust.

Also as you suggested about living in France, I live in the Netherlands and also taxes are high, insurance costs are high, road tax is high and petrol although decreasing is still high.

My current 3.0 is white with red leather and fully optioned (except for DAB and HK stereo). I love the colour combination, the tech, all the warming comforts for winter top down driving.
The M40i is 2 years younger, red with black leather and has everything except seat memory & steering wheel heating.

I'm just struggling to think if the M40i is really what I want and do I like it more than the 3.0.

Maybe I need to go test drive.

[Westside Guy]

This discussion of the pros and cons of the sDrive30i vs. the M40i reminds me of a famous saying, "The difference between men and boys are the price of their toys"!

[Amadeo]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

This discussion of the pros and cons of the sDrive30i vs. the M40i reminds me of a famous saying, "The difference between men and boys are the price of their toys"!

6.000€ difference in Spain, same equipment but different engine.Probably same in France.
No big reason to not buy one or the other.
I got a full equipped 30i in 2020 for some of the reasons you explained before,and nowadays with new European environmental restrictions on driving in cities, by the end of 2022 I would off have to trade an M40 for a 30i to get home.
Years ago, I would off buy the M40, no doubt.

[Kwajtrader]

As everyone has said, this is a personal decision based on what is important to you and there is no wrong answer. I was coming from a 2014 650i convertible and looking at the 840i. To me, driving the 840i had approximately the same performance feel as the 650i, but I couldn’t order the options/color combination I wanted and wasn’t going to spend that kind of money to not get exactly what I wanted. I decided to test drive the Z4. I drove the 30i and it was nice, but for me didn’t have enough performance relative to what I was coming from. I drove the M40i and thought “This will work”. I’ve been extremely happy with my choice. I’ve also driven the Z4 with all of the “real” M cars several times at the Performance Center in SC on their closed track, and although there is a clear distinction between how the M850 competition and several others cornered and braked on the track, I was pleased with the Z4 M40 performance and I don’t ever see me pushing my Z4 to the point where I would make all the other necessary trade offs to buy one of the other cars.

[Karnidge]

It's worth noting that the M40i in the US is faster than the Euro version. So, in the US the difference between the 30i and the M40i is pretty substantial.

Someone mentioned the Porsche 981S (Boxster/Cayman). I owned a Porsche Cayman S in the past and it was a great car. Beautiful to look at and a pleasure to drive a mid-engine car. But it wasn't as fast as the M40i. 325 hp and 0-60 in ~ 4.5s. In my opinion, having owned both, I think the M40i is every bit as exciting to drive.

If you are asking "is it worth it", I think the answer is yes if you are looking for performance. The 30i looks nice but it is not fast. The M40i has 127 more hp and a lot of M performance upgrades. I highly suggest test driving one and then let us know what you think.

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by Flying Clog

Thanks for this balanced approach. You make some good points.

A few years ago I was always looking for more noise and more power and often overstretched my finances with cars.

Honestly in most usual conditions my current 3.0 is plenty quick enough for me now, although sometimes I would like to have just a little more "va va voom".
The noise of the 4 cyl motor is not comparable to the 6 cyl for sure and I'm sure that I would code "sport plus" to be permanently on to get the pops from the exhaust.

Also as you suggested about living in France, I live in the Netherlands and also taxes are high, insurance costs are high, road tax is high and petrol although decreasing is still high.

My current 3.0 is white with red leather and fully optioned (except for DAB and HK stereo). I love the colour combination, the tech, all the warming comforts for winter top down driving.
The M40i is 2 years younger, red with black leather and has everything except seat memory & steering wheel heating.

I'm just struggling to think if the M40i is really what I want and do I like it more than the 3.0.

Maybe I need to go test drive.

I have 21 M40 and does that car have the executive package? If not, you are missing out on a few other options besides the heated steering wheel. If you have your heart set on a M40 get a new 2023 with the options you want. My 2 cents.

[StefLag67]

Originally Posted by Karnidge

It's worth noting that the M40i in the US is faster than the Euro version. So, in the US the difference between the 30i and the M40i is pretty substantial.

Interesting! Why is that?

[Karnidge]

Originally Posted by StefLag67

Interesting! Why is that?

"It's so rare for Americans to get more power than Europeans and it's now becoming clear that that was due to lax European emissions rules.

Now, though, as European automakers wrestle with Europe's new VW-imposed WLTP standards, America is finally getting a more powerful BMW than Germany.

As we previously reported, the Z4 M40i, first introduced at Monterey Car Week this summer, with 382 hp, 40 more than the European model."

[stlcdr]

Shouldn’t the situation be that the European model gets less than the standard model, based on an arbitrary governmental requirement?

[Flying Clog]

Just to close this off - I've decided to keep my current car for the moment.
Got back to the airport Sunday night and the valet parking people had lowered the roof.

The red leather interior set off by the shiny white paintwork, and a drive home with a smile on my face.

Why do I need bigger bills, slightly higher costs (petrol, roadtax, insurance etc) just to get me home a few mins quicker in a country with so many speed cameras.

For the moment at least - I'm quite content.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Flying Clog

Just to close this off - I've decided to keep my current car for the moment.
Got back to the airport Sunday night and the valet parking people had lowered the roof.

The red leather interior set off by the shiny white paintwork, and a drive home with a smile on my face.

Why do I need bigger bills, slightly higher costs (petrol, roadtax, insurance etc) just to get me home a few mins quicker in a country with so many speed cameras.

For the moment at least - I'm quite content.

If you are happy, so are we!

[hilld]

I was debating the exact same thing. I ended up buying the 4 cyl, black with cognac interior. Lovely combination. I needed the car quickly due to the cratering value of my iX (losing about $6k week for the past 3 weeks). If I want to go really fast in a straight line, I have my Rivian for that, but as I get older, I find the 258HP of the 4 banger is more than sufficient.

My previous convertible was a 2015 F83 M4 6 speed with 425HP, but that car was much heavier with the folding hard top, extra seats, etc. I feel that the 258HP, while not equivalent, is more than adequate. Now if they offered a manual transmission......

[DM6]

I got into this conversation late, but I may be one of the few that has actually owned both a 30i and 40i. Owned a 2020 30i for two years and sold it to upgrade my wife's car situation. Just got my 40i two months ago.

I can say they are both great. I was happy with the power in the 30i, but I often wondered how awesome it would be to have a bit more power.

To me, the difference was more about the lackluster options I had in my 30i. I found that the base sound system and black leather were absolutely horrid and so with my choice of 40i I took care of both of those problems. All that being said, I would choose 40i any day, optioned exactly how I want it.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

I make a lot of highspeed interstate runs, M40 has the right now power for safe passing in that environment. Good brakes & better than average agility.

As for the its not a sports car if you go from a 3.0 to a 4.0 I take that as a non argument. That implies the 3.0 is a sports car.

Personal opinion, everybody has one.

Mine is based on driving a pure sports car now with Manual Steering, Manual Brakes, Manual Transmission, Only ECU in the car manages the Fuel Injection & Ignition Timing.

Also having owned 2 Porches, 2 Corvettes, 2 Triumphs TR-3', 1 Morgan+4SS & 1 Fiat 124.

I view the 3.0 as a slower GT car than the 4.0.

At the end of the day I would suspect we drive what we like & can afford.

Have lived in the UK with 4 liter Jaguar & 3 liter Mercedes cars I think a lot of the 2.0 3.0 4.0 decisions are forced on people by government taxing by displacement.