3.0L, B58B30O0, 24V DOHC inline 6 cylinder (twin-scroll turbocharged, VVT), 340 HP, RWD, 6-speed manual

Term driven: 2018 – 2018

This is the car that I walked out of the showroom with having never even known about it’s existence 24 hours prior. If it wasn’t for my friend recommending a brief visit to the dealership, I would have never seen it. This particular car is limited production–one of 65 of its kind in the United States. It just barely beat out the top model I was angling towards, a WRX STI. It beat out the Nismo Nissan 370Z. Lastly, it beat out the newly released Honda Civic Type R (due to absolutely ridiculous dealer markups prevalent at the time). I even played with the idea of driving back to one of these Honda dealers in this new car just to rub it in their faces–I was very upset with them. I believe I acquired this vehicle around March-April 2018 timeframe.

By this time in my life, this is the first 6 cylinder car I had ever purchased, although not the first inline I had ever driven given my experience with the Toyota Cressida. It is, however, the first manual (6 speed) 6 cylinder I had experienced, and the first car I ever drove with forced induction with a two-for-one deal! The pull in this car is incredible.

The CEL on this car frequently pops in and out, and I suspect it has to do with the aftermarket Dinan package I purchased for it. Additionally, the rear blinker light appears to malfunction sporadically, and it may correlate with rain (potentially due to improper draining of water). Aside from this, the car is replete with technology including wireless CarPlay, full navigation, and a smartphone app that lets me review car status and location. The app even allows me to arm and disarm the locks remotely. I will also note that I upgraded the exhaust (from the dealership) to M Performance Exhaust with a deeper, throatier note than factory.

BMW’s inline 6 is masterful here. This motor is solid, although I did find that it somehow loses coolant over time. The dealership indicated to the effect that this was normal activity. It is my understanding that this B58 line of 3 liter straight six design is used in a number of BMW models–the successor line of the N55 line.

I drove and enjoyed this vehicle for a number of months before I ultimately succumbed to the fact that I missed my Subaru BRZ. Also, unbeknownst to me at that time, I really just dig the variety of experiencing different cars–primarily sports cars. Lastly, I just find it exceedingly difficult to leave the allure of the Japanese sports car, especially if its a 4-cylinder.

After a number of conversations with my better half, the decision was finalized around August of 2018–I would swap daily drivers with her: she would take the BMW M240i and I would take the Subaru BRZ. As of the writing of this article, February of 2021, my wife’s daily driver is the BMW M240i. It was bought brand new (no mileage) and as of today has approximately 33k miles.

I anticipate that my wife will drive this car while I continue the maintenance activities for it. Eventually (when push comes to shove) I may help her upgrade to the next vehicle of her choosing, but for now, the car really is wonderful. I’ve been pulled over for speeding at least twice now with this vehicle even though she is the daily driver!