Quote:
Originally Posted by joshuastein55
1) Money - M sport costs more and can be built into the base price
2) Type of Buyer - Likely those going for more power are enthusiasts and would prefer M-Sport
3) Sales Distributions - Sales probably had a higher take rate of M-Sport models on the previous 340i than say lower trims (330i, 320i)
4) Other BMWs - Almost every other model has already adapted/will adapt to the top model being an M-Sport trim, so the 3 would as well.
5) Competitors/Branding - Calling something an M340i and putting an M bade is better to market/use for brand appeal than just calling it a 340i. Competitors like Mercedes and Audi already adopted to the system years ago (C43 AMG/S4)
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There's a couple more points I'd add as the owner of an F30 335i m-sport.
With the F30, the m-sport package was almost 100% cosmetic. It added the sport suspension, but you could get the sport suspension in the sport line anyway. So "m-sport" in the F30 era was really almost a misleading poseur label, and you could see it in a lot of reviews where authors said they had "the sportiest version of the F30, the m-sport". Which could actually be something soft, squishy, and non-sporty like an m-sport 335iX. Or slow, soft, and squishy like an m-sport 328iX.
The real go-fast bits like m-sport brakes and dynamic shocks were optional. And the go-even-faster bits were almost secret options from the m-performance product line including suspension, tune, exhaust, etc.
Finally, you could get a 60k 335i m-sport with essentially the same interior as a 35k 320i base. So overall you could end up with an m-sport that was soft, slow, squishy, and with a budget interior. It didn't really make for a premium feel or help with branding.
So BMW wrapped up all the go-fast and go-even-faster bits, and I assume (hope) a nicer interior, into the M340i. So now it's actually a faster car with a more distinctive look and not just a (possible) poseur. The M340i is really what an m-sport should've been in the first place.