[tparm]

The experience was first class all the way. Euro delivery is on my to-do list at some point, but PCD is so easy (and no cost) its a must if you buy a new one. From the time you step off the plane and notify the hotel you've arrived you are treating exceptionally well. A new X5 arrives to pick you up, the evening and next day are explained in detail, check in, transportation to downtown Greenville, dinner, etc was all flawless. The staff were all genuine and courteous and also enthusiastic as they shared either their personal Driving School experiences or ones of those they'd heard about.

Once at the Performance Center they don't mess around! Hand in your waiver, go to the classroom and then hit the track. We were assigned Mat Mullins who is a well established racer and instructor, and who I'd met at VIR a couple years back, so he let us have pretty much free reign of the car (set up, speeds, sliding, etc). And even though I have 12 years of track and instructing experience, I had a freaking ball on the handling course and skid pad.

Unfortunately the Museum and factory were both closed so that kinda sucked. We did tour the new CCA Foundation HQ which was cool and then hit the off-road course. Having never done anything of the sort I really enjoyed this part of the day. Honestly 99% of the X5s sold will ever see terrain like that, but it was awesome putting them though their paces. I actually think I giggled a few times....

A couple notes on the pics to follow soon; the grass in the wheel of the 340 was some guy that right after that session puked during the M5 hot lap, poor fella; I wish I could post the full lap of the skid pad (video) of our instructor in an M5, crazy car control (I struggled mightily trying to replicate it in an M4 later in the day); it was way easier to shoot a few pics while Greg was taking his turn on the off-road course versus road course; pics of race car parts at new BMWCCA Foundation NA HQ; and the town of Greenville was beautiful in its own right (couple of pics).

Best of all, after your day beating on their cars you get the keep the one you drive home!

Initial 340i M-Sport impressions - I love it. I've owned and raced several BMWs and the 340 is the best combination of luxury, useable power and daily drivability of all of them. That list includes a 2011 335d M-Sport and an e90 M3. My very first impressions were of my school 340 car and I, along with my driving coach from back in my racing days, we were super impressed with the torque, balance and overall handling (Sport+, no TC).

I disagree with all the BS you read about numb steering, lack of road feel, blah blah blah. Yes a Cayman GT4 telegraphs more through the chassis and the e46 M3 had better steering feel, big freaking deal, this is a bad ass road car / daily driver and is more fun than any Audi a4/S4 or Mercedes C450 I drove. I didn't drive an XE because I won't buy a Jag, personal preference.

In addition, this is the best shifting BMW manual gearbox to date. I actually enjoy the rev-matching on downshifts and I was dead set on hating it. I would on the track I would prefer to heel/toe myself simply because its something I worked tirelessly perfecting over the years (and I'm less smooth not doing it), but on the street its pretty nifty.

The last two days since I've been home much of this still holds true even though I haven't crept (much) over 5,500 rpm per break in. In Sport mode it is still comfortable while fun and I'll admit to loving the exhaust note (OE system). The newest iDrive is super intuitive and the H/K audio system once properly set up (at least for my listening) is killer.

We all want to love our new cars as we just plunked down a chunk of change for them. I can say without reservation the 340 is everything I was hoping for and even a bit more.

I hope all you guys and ladies out there in Bimmerpost world feel the same about your 3s and 4s!

Trevor

[Gingerkid]

Awesome stuff. Beautiful new ride, big congrats.

[NightWriter]

Awesome, congrats and enjoy. I still have great memories of my PCD last year...

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1171417

[piokor06]

Looks like you had a blast and the car looks great!

Were the black trunk badges a factory option?

[cdwyche]

+10 to the OP...

great writeup and I couldn't agree more with everything he said about the experience and the car. Had a big smile reading it and remembering my own fun day.

perhaps because I have 0 prior experience on a track I was giggling practically throughout. My pics are lame compared to the OPs so I won't bother.

At first I was completely bummed out that I couldn't find a 340 6MT without ordering, but when they told me about PCD I felt much better about it. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't live an hour away, but now I heartily recommend it to anyone who can swing it.

One thing though... I was surprised on the track with how much throttle lag there was coming out of that tight corner... ...pretty much every time. I don't experience it at all on my own 340 thankfully.

[goj]

Originally Posted by piokor06

Looks like you had a blast and the car looks great!

Were the black trunk badges a factory option?

+1! I would get those decals and the black grill if those are BMW OEM black insignia

[tparm]

Originally Posted by piokor06

Looks like you had a blast and the car looks great!

Were the black trunk badges a factory option?

No sir, got those from Bimmian and stuck them on myself. If you de-badge your car when new the OE badges come right off, no heat, no residue.

[.BMW.]

Congrats on a beautiful car!

Great choice with 6MT.

[tparm]

Originally Posted by cdwyche

+10 to the OP...

great writeup and I couldn't agree more with everything he said about the experience and the car. Had a big smile reading it and remembering my own fun day.

perhaps because I have 0 prior experience on a track I was giggling practically throughout. My pics are lame compared to the OPs so I won't bother.

At first I was completely bummed out that I couldn't find a 340 6MT without ordering, but when they told me about PCD I felt much better about it. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't live an hour away, but now I heartily recommend it to anyone who can swing it.

One thing though... I was surprised on the track with how much throttle lag there was coming out of that tight corner... ...pretty much every time. I don't experience it at all on my own 340 thankfully.

Thanks! Interesting on the lag, haven't experienced that either. Had the car set to Sport+ (traction off) on the handling track, maybe that made a difference?

[tparm]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

Awesome, congrats and enjoy. I still have great memories of my PCD last year...

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1171417

Very cool! Great pics.

[AndDown]

@tparm and nightwriter, thanks for sharing and the great pictures! Envious that you guys are close enough to do a PCD, wish we had one closer to the left coast. I could, of course still do a PCD, but we're about 2500 miles away and a 4-5 day drive back (great way to see the country though!)

[tparm]

Originally Posted by AndDown

@tparm and nightwriter, thanks for sharing and the great pictures! Envious that you guys are close enough to do a PCD, wish we had one closer to the left coast. I could, of course still do a PCD, but we're about 2500 miles away and a 4-5 day drive back (great way to see the country though!)

I believe there is a PCD option in CA?.....

[tparm]

Originally Posted by goj

+1! I would get those decals and the black grill if those are BMW OEM black insignia

Not sure I understand? They are simply painted OE plastic numbers/letters, not decals.

[otay]

Sounds like a damn fine time! Thanks for the write up. If I order my next, I'll definitely do the same...

#savethemanuals

[AndDown]

Originally Posted by tparm

I believe there is a PCD option in CA?.....

BMW only has the Performance Driving School in CA at Thermal, CA which is about 1 ½ hrs drive from where I live. It's a one-day experience but costs almost $800. They also do have a 2-hr driving experience of various models (for $300) but don't do any kind of a new car delivery experience like the Spartanburg PCD. I didn't think they charged extra for a Spartanburg PCD delivery, AFAIK.

[cptcrunch]

Originally Posted by AndDown

BMW only has the Performance Driving School in CA at Thermal, CA which is about 1 ½ hrs drive from where I live. It's a one-day experience but costs almost $800. They also do have a 2-hr driving experience of various models (for $300) but don't do any kind of a new car delivery experience like the Spartanburg PCD. I didn't think they charged extra for a Spartanburg PCD delivery, AFAIK.

They do not charge for the PCD at Spartanburg because BMW takes the MACO (training) fee and pays that to the Performance center. I recently did the 2 day car control course (amazing) and the hotel was $129 a night fo r my rate.

PCD and Euro Delivery are amazing. Highly recommended.

[spuntyb]

Fantastic write up and pics. I can't wait to do a PCD!

[bri1042]

I really wish they would come up with a PCD program in CA. It's 1700 miles closer to Portland than Spartanburg is.

[tsbrown]

Sweet ride and great write-up! PCD is a great experience...highly recommended. Enjoyed this 6 years ago with my M3 but will take delivery at the dealership of my 340i 6MT when it arrives next month due to schedule constraints.