number of cylinders and displacement aside, M340i vs 2023 C43 AMG, what are you taking? I know this is a biased thread to ask but am interested in opinions. The C43 looks amazing on paper (apart from the engine noise), especially the RWS and MBUX.
I have not driven a C43 AMG but I have driven a C200 and I own an M340i, so hopefully my view is useful.
Firstly I don't think you can put the number of cylinders and displacement aside. The engine in the M340i is a huge part of what makes it so good and for me regardless of how good the rest of the car is, and as you'll see below I think it is really quite good, there is no place for a 2 litre 4 cylinder engine in a car of this type.
If you are looking at a 2023 M340i, then I think the C Class is the better looking car - I don't like what BMW have done with the facelift of the 3 Series. I think the 2019-2022 M340i is one of the best looking cars BMW have made for a long time and the 2022- version is a backward step from that. In this respect the C Class is clearly the winner, it is much nicer looking if you're considering a 2023 M340i. If you're not, then the M340i is as good.
The interior of the C Class is really nice but the user interface isn't as good as the BMW equivalent - the screen is better integrated on the Mercedes when looking at the 2023 M340i, but on the 2022 and earlier I much prefer the dash layout of the 3 Series. That said, the Mercedes system is probably the best system I've ever used that wasn't BMW iDrive, it's very different to the previous C Class which had arguably one of the worst systems around. I therefore wouldn't consider either to be a reason to pick or avoid the other, if that makes sense.
The M340i is also considerably cheaper than the C43 AMG. There are very few used C43 on the market anyway and many more M340i to pick from and if you are buying new the M340i has a lower list price than the C43 and is available with significant discounts from list price, which I do not believe is true of the Mercedes. From my brief research before I ruled it out it looked like a C43 would end up being at least £10k more expensive to buy.
Actually just had a look and there are quite a lot of used ones already at under £50k. That didn't take long!
There is, however, another option. The Coupe version of the C Class, which is just launching, has available in the range a 380bhp 3 litre turbo 6 cylinder engine, with almost exactly the same specifications as that in the M340i. I think therefore, if buying new, this is the car I'd get. It isn't an AMG, but is the C43 really a true AMG car either?
If it has to be a saloon or an estate, then it has to be the M340i. The engine makes that much difference.
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