Estate of the Art: BMW M340i v Audi S5 v Volvo V60 T8

They were popular because they were quick, looked smart, had pleasant interiors and felt secure on the road. But they were never engaging to drive. In large part, though, Audis aren’t really like that anymore. The previous RS4 and RS6, the e-tron GT, even the A6 e-tron and others are far more dynamic than the machines Audi was building a decade or two ago. And the S5 Avant exemplifies that progress as well as any other.

Enough to oust the M340i? On paper, it doesn’t look too promising. The Audi is heavier by 135kg, down on power to the tune of 25bhp with 362bhp, and more than £4000 more expensive. They have much in common, like 3-litre, six-cylinder turbo engines lightly boosted by mild-hybrids, driving all four wheels through paddle shift transmissions. But there are meaningful differences too, like the Audi bunching its six pistons into two banks of three in a V6 and the BMW lining its cylinders up one after another. Moreover, the S5 uses a dual-clutch transmission, the M340i a torque converter auto, and while the BMW features simple MacPherson struts up front, the Audi boasts a more sophisticated five-link arrangement.

The Volvo, as you would hope and expect, does things entirely its own way. It’s a hybrid too, but a full plug-in. And it’s also got four-wheel drive, but there’s no mechanical connection front to back. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine drives the front wheels, the 140bhp electric motor the rears. In total the Volvo’s T8 powertrain develops 449bhp, significantly more than either rival here, and can operate in electric-only mode for up to 40 real-world miles. If you’re buying your fast estate as a company car, the tax savings will be so great that you can basically disregard the BMW and Audi right away.

This particular V60 is a Polestar Engineered with uprated brakes and manually adjustable Öhlins dampers. If you want one of those you’ll be plundering Volvo’s approved used inventory because it’s not been sold in the UK since the summer of 2023, but the very last of the regular V60 T8s are being built right now. You’ll pay £57,605 for one of those, £64,275 for the M340i and £68,475 for the S5.

I already know the Audi inside out, and with limited time available to us I spend most of the day driving the BMW and Volvo. And something very strange happens when I step out of the Audi and into its German competitor – the BMW’s steering feels broken. It’s so light and quick around the straight-ahead, and the response down at road level so sharp, that it feels like something has gone wrong somewhere between my palms and the tread blocks. Except it hasn’t – that’s just the stark difference between it and the Audi exaggerating the effect.

By the time I’ve reached the end of the road and turned back, I’ve adjusted to the M340i’s steering and the impression has faded altogether. But still these two steer so differently, the Audi with plenty of weight in its rack and steady gearing, the BMW with a much lighter feel and more neurotic responses. It’s a neat snapshot of how the two cars differ.

The BMW’s ride is comfortable but there is an edge to it, a slight tension to the way it greets bumps in the road surface, like it needs an hour on the massage table. (Interestingly, this car with its standard-fit adaptive dampers rides far better than my old 320i Touring of the same generation on its passive dampers, and would be a far better long distance companion because of it.) Where the BMW shines, though, is in corners, and when the landscape begins to rise and fall. Come what may, the M340i contains its mass beautifully, while in bends it feels agile, exceptionally well balanced and brilliantly poised.

If you sometimes wonder about the ‘ultimate driving machine’ thing, you need only a few minutes at the wheel of an M340i to know it still applies. This car probably doesn’t need to be quite so good to drive, because most owners are buying into the performance and image rather than the dynamics, but it speaks volumes that BMW went to such lengths regardless.

And now you’re expecting me to say the Audi tries hard but doesn’t come close. Not so. Its ride is a touch smoother, making it more comfortable in normal use and better able to smother the cratered moonscape that passes for our road network these days. There is also a fraction more adjustability in the S5’s chassis, which I was not expecting, be it a tendency to pivot into a corner or exit under power with the rear axle doing most of the work.

The Audi also exhibits fine body control, plus enormous grip and traction just like the BMW, meaning you can zip across the landscape in either at a mighty lick. Sports car drivers – don’t simply assume you’ll drop these at the first squeeze of your throttle pedal just because you’ve got two doors and they’ve got five, plus space in the boot for small items of furniture.

Where the S5 and M340i differ most is also where the Audi falls furthest behind – steering response. It’s not just that the BMW has quick and sharp steering, and the Audi more measured responses; there is a fundamental shortcoming in the way the S5 steers. You turn the wheel and wait a split second before you sense the message reach the road, like there’s a momentary approval process. The BMW just does as it’s told.

And the Volvo? It doesn’t behave like either of them. It has the lightest, loosest steering of the bunch, and on these Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport tyres (a new breed of sporting winter rubber) it is far more likely to wash out at the front end as you really commit to a bend. But all the while you are made aware of the difference between a set of well-tuned adaptive dampers and fixed-rate items with genuine motorsport pedigree. These manually adjustable Öhlins dampers feature 22 settings and here they’re set more or less down the middle for an even blend of control and comfort. There is plenty of scope to shove the trade-off slider in either direction, but this is how I would keep my V60 Polestar Engineered configured for daily use.

The Volvo rides well with just a hint of resilience over lumps and bumps, and while the considerable weight of the car is allowed to shift outwards in corners and rise and fall over crests, it is never permitted to get away from you. That’s what these dampers give you – excellent control without needing to tie the car down so firmly it feels wooden. The V60 seems to breathe underneath you, like a dance partner, but it behaves essentially like a front-wheel drive car with none of the balance or adjustability of its competitors.

It is the quickest here, though, especially from low speeds. The electric motor that drives the rear axle gives the Volvo much of the instant, forceful accelerative response of a full EV. Its four-cylinder engine is by the far least tuneful, and if there is a strange disconnect between the thrashing sound that comes from the other side of the front bulkhead and the indecent rate at which you’re being launched along the road, that’s just part of the Volvo’s charm.

Less so its automatic gearbox, which only allows you to switch ratios using the stubby little lever down on the transmission tunnel. You thumb it left to shift down, right to shift up, but because it’s a strange way to change gears, in practice you probably won’t. That means the transmission must do its own work, so you’ll often find yourself braking for a corner, turning in, throttling-on somewhere after the apex and feeling the gearbox shift down just as you want to power away.

They might lack its raw speed or electric range, but the BMW and Audi both have far more enjoyable powertrains. The Audi is the slowest with the least power by a distance, but it’s still plenty brisk enough, while the engine itself is responsive, energetic and eager to be worked hard. The S5’s dual-clutch transmission is easily the sharpest, but it’s a pity such a needless thump has been engineered into upshifts in Dynamic mode.

The BMW does feel faster than the Audi, as it should, but more meaningful is its sweeter, more tuneful soundtrack. An authentic straight-six howl is your reward for keeping your right foot buried gear after gear, and while those shifts aren’t as quick as the Audi’s, I didn’t once find myself longing for a DCT while driving the M340i.

Nor did I find anything particularly wrong with the BMW’s interior in isolation, but drop into it after a stint in the Audi and it does suddenly feel the better part of a decade old. Despite the 2022 facelift that introduced the vast main display, this cabin is now feeling its age, while the materials and overall sense of wellbeing fall a mile short of the S5. In fact, on interior quality alone you would swear the Audi should cost half as much again.

The Volvo can’t get close to the Audi on those terms either, but it leads the way for space. Taller rear seat passengers will be far happier in the V60 and it has the biggest boot. So there are good reasons to choose the Volvo, not least its ability to cover meaningful ground without burning a single hydrocarbon. It is the best estate here, but the least rewarding sporting estate by far.

In many ways the Audi is the most desirable. It would be the best everyday companion of the three, as I’m learning with each new day, thanks to its serene ride and sumptuous interior. But the BMW is the most rewarding car to drive, the most pure fun on a great road, and it manages that without feeling compromised elsewhere.

Let’s get back to the question of the moral victor. Is it the Volvo for offering something so different to its German rivals, a character all of its own and a skillset the others can’t match? Actually, I think it’s the Audi. In years gone by there has been a gulf between comparable machines from Ingolstadt and Munich as it relates to driver enjoyment, but here that gap has been reduced to a space so small only the individual’s preference will fit between them. This is the best and most complete S-badged Audi in years.

Nevertheless, present me with 10 miles of winding country road and I would choose the BMW without hesitating. By the narrowest of margins, the M340i wins. It is quite remarkable that all these years later, and with retirement just months away, it remains the very best car of its type.

Photography by Malcolm Griffiths