The BMW 3-series is no longer the company’s best-selling car in the United States, but it is still the model closest to the formula that earned the brand its success and status with American enthusiasts. The all-new G50 is the eighth generation of 3-series and will be reaching the U.S. next year, with buyers initially able to choose between a four-cylinder 330 and an inline-six-powered M350 xDrive. It’s the latter, in European specification, that’s being tested here. Is this still the heart of the BMW brand?
The Lowdown
Another product of BMW’s Neue Klasse era, the new 3-series gets radical new styling that closely aligns it with the fully electric i3 that will be sold alongside it (which we test separately here). But don’t let the looks fool you—beneath the surface, the two cars sit on different architectures and have subtly different dimensions. The gasoline-powered version is fractionally shorter and sits on a 112.6-inch wheelbase, 1.5 inches less than the EV’s.
The new M350 effectively replaces the previous G20-generation M340i, using a version of BMW’s long-serving B58 turbocharged inline-six that works in conjunction with a 48-volt mild hybrid system. This makes 437 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque, increases of 55 hp and 59 lb-ft over the outgoing car.
Drive is delivered through an eight-speed automatic transmission and an xDrive-branded all-wheel system as standard. The option of rear-wheel drive is no longer available. BMW plans to offer a switchable rear-wheel drive mode, but this wasn’t on the car R&T tested in France, as the company plans to introduce it later though a software update.
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- Vehicle Tested: 2027 BMW M350 xDrive
- Base Price: $67,250
- Location: Aix-en-Provence, France
How Does It Drive?
The presence of BMW’s famous M badge on any model still raises expectations, even knowing that the M350 xDrive is a member of the M Performance range, essentially a diffusion line that sits beneath the fully-fledged M cars that keep single digits. The fact it has more power and torque than the F80-generation M3, which was on sale as recently as 2018, increases anticipation further.
The good news is the new car absolutely delivers on raw performance. BMW claims a 3.9-second 0–60-mph time, one that is almost certain to be substantially bettered with the scientifically applied brutality of instrumented testing. And the car feels every bit as quick as that number suggests, launching with M-appropriate seriousness and with huge, linear urge that barely diminishes as speeds turn extra-legal. It sounds good too, with a snarling exhaust note that proved to be mostly organic even when I deactivated the switchable active noise enhancement, but which wasn’t intrusive or droning at cruising speeds.
At lower revs there is a hint of turbo lag, the hybrid system not bringing enough punch to cancel this out, but the quick-shifting gearbox means I had to hunt this down by using the transmission’s manual mode to keep revs low. But out of the box, it feels like a substantial performance upgrade over the outgoing G20-generation M340i.
All the horses and pounds of twist are delivered to the road with a minimum of drama. On my test route in the south of France, the M350 punched out of tight corners without a hint of slip, only the combination of big throttle openings with high cornering loads creating any sense that the majority of power was traveling to the rear wheels. The M350’s dynamic brain kept everything under tight control, and while the forthcoming Drift Moment mode will doubtless unlock a wilder side to the car’s character, but on dry, smooth asphalt the lateral-g loadings generated by the Bridgestone Potenza tires were high enough that I didn’t feel any urge to go and explore the limits of grip on a tight mountain road.
Of course, the presence of occasional, accessible drama has long been a core part of the appeal of punchier M-branded BMWs, and on first impressions, this definitely felt to be lacking. The different dynamic modes did change the M350’s demeanor, with Sport and Sport Plus adjusting throttle mapping and steering weight. But none turned it into a party animal. This is one of those cars that is all business. The combination of true excitement and a gasoline engine will likely require waiting for the forthcoming combustion G84 M3, which will ultimately sit alongside the EV version.
It’s been a long while since steering excellence came as standard on most BMW models. Although the M350’s slightly ovoid steering wheel delivered crisp, linear front-end responses, actual feedback was muted and only present at all once the firm hand of the active lane-keeping system was turned off. The car felt stable and impressively precise in faster corners, but at lower speeds, the assistance weighting was too soft for my tastes in all its switchable modes.
The gentler side of the M350’s personality earns unstinted praise. Ride quality has improved markedly over the M340i, with the new car’s adaptive dampers dealing with every road surface I could find to throw at them. Beyond the engine noise—which is definitely a plus—the cabin stayed impressively quiet for a sports sedan, one area where BMW had clearly transferred learning from its well-insulated EVs. And the Highway Assistant system, a hands-off Super Cruise–style enhanced cruise control, kept the car centered in its lane, reacted to other vehicles intelligently, and even executed lane changes in response to a turn signal input. I did only a few kilometers of high-speed French Autoroute, but it was enough to show the M350 will be a relaxed, high-speed cruiser.
What’s It Like to Live With?
While the combustion 3-series isn’t an EV, it has an EV’s interior. Barring minor details the cabin architecture is identical to that of the i3, and while that means an abundance of technology it has also brought compromises.
BMW’s new “Panoramic Vision” is front and center. Literally, the narrow projection band that sits between dashboard and windshield goes the whole width of the cabin, serving as an elongated gauge cluster. The shape of this showstopping display is not naturally suited to the needs of a combustion car, with a tiny fuel gauge all the way to one side and the M350’s rev counter being a narrow strip in front of the driver where two graphic bars move away from each other as the engine spins faster. This lacked the simple clarity of a conventional rev counter, and while it is possible to place a rendered tacho into one of the panoramic screen’s reconfigurable slots, the display’s lack of height means this was small and hard to see.
Other elements that can be added include images of some of BMW’s classic Art Cars and a rendered M badge. Which is cool but emphasizes how much more room is on the display than there strictly needs to be. Making full use of the commendable lowness of the new car’s seating position also meant the top of the rim obstructed the part of the Panoramic Vision display unless the wheel was adjust to be a little low.
The primary touchscreen is the same diagonal-edged 17.9-inch one that we’ve already seen in the iX3 and the new X5, this running the latest BMW X operating system. This generally worked well, making it pretty easy to find more commonly used functions, although with the need to go mining through submenus and scrollable pages to reach minor ones. There is a permanently rendered line of heating and ventilation controls at the base of this display, but the temperature controls are small and fiddly to operate. And, like the iX3, the angle of the new 3’s air vents need to be adjusted using the touchscreen, making something that should be simple needlessly complex.
Interior space has been improved compared with the previous generation, with ample head and shoulder room up front and plentiful seat adjustment, along with a more obvious upgrade in the back, where occupants enjoy more legroom. This isn’t a car many would choose for regularly transporting full-size adults over long distances, but a six-footer could sit behind another six-footer, with both in reasonable comfort. Trunk space is 11.3 cubic feet, only fractionally less than the Mercedes C-class.
The M350’s M badge also earns it the M Sport steering wheel rather than the strangely styled four-spoke wheel that will go into the regular car. This looks better but still has a heavily thickened rim on each side, which makes it look like a halfway-evolved yoke. It was a little unwieldy when making inputs requiring more than a turn of lock. Some hidebound traditionalists might prefer their steering wheels to be, you know, round.
Should I Buy One?
The existence of a nearly visually identical BMW i3 asks the most obvious question for those considering the gasoline-powered version. In its basic 50 form, the EV is slightly less expensive—$62,850 to the M350 xDrive’s $67,250, both of those including destination. Admittedly, the forthcoming i3 M60 is probably the closer comparison, but BMW hasn’t released pricing for that one yet.
Direct combustion rivals are thin on the ground at the moment. The Audi S5 is no longer, technically, a sedan, and is down on power compared with the BMW. And we’re still waiting for details on how AMG is planning to replace the C43 in the freshly revised lineup.
But anybody arriving at M350 ownership directly from an M340i is going to feel like they have received a substantial upgrade, that delivered in terms of performance, technology and practicality. We will get used to BMW's radical new direction in time, and the basics are all solid.
Highlights and Lowlights:
We Love:
- Significant performance upgrade over the M340i.
- Ride quality and refinement.
- Larger cabin is almost adult-size.
We Don’t Love:
- Better delivery of speed than driver involvement.
- Some fiddly controls within the UI.
- Panoramic Vision screen feels much better suited to an EV.
Favorite Detail:
A welcome return to the quad exhaust tailpipes that BMW lost by hiding the M340i’s exhaust within shaped finishers integrated into the bumper. Even a junior M car deserves to have its pipes standing loud and proud.
