BMW is facing a lot of unusual competition as of late. Especially its 3 Series sedan. Over the past couple of years, all-new competitors have been striking the 3 Series form all sides. Cars like the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Jaguar XE and KIA Stinger are all new cars to the segment and all cars that can genuinely take on the famous Bavarian icon. The latest new competitor comes in the form of the Genesis G70 and it’s not here to mess around.

In this new comparison test from Car and Driver, the BMW M340i takes on its newest rival, the Genesis G70 3.3 Sport and the results are very interesting.

On paper, the two cars are very evenly matched. Both have turbocharged six-cylinder engines, eight-speed automatics and both make gobs of power. They’re both also rear-wheel drive. The M340i is the more powerful car, with 382 hp (North American-spec) and 369 lb-ft, compared to the Genesis’ 365 hp and 376 lb-ft. Despite being evenly matched on paper, the BMW M340i simply runs away from the Genesis on the road.

According to C&D, the M340i nails 60 mph in a seriously fast 3.8 seconds, while the Genesis takes 4.4 seconds to do the same. That makes the Genesis more than half of a second slower than the BMW but 4.4 seconds to 60 mph is still very fast. I remember when supercars did that sort of speed. Back in those days, if you told me an off-shoot of Hyundai would have a four-door premium sedan that could do 4.4 seconds to 60 mph one day, I’d laugh in your face. I guess Hyundai’s the one who’s laughing now.

On the twisty bits, C&D also says that the BMW M340i is the better sports car. Its powertrain is much nicer to use (which is more praise of the M340i’s brilliant engine/gearbox calibration than a knock on the Genesis) and it’s the sharper car to drive. But the Genesis is so close that it has “more than enough performance and handling for 90 percent of drivers 95 percent of the time.” When you consider that and the fact that the Genesis is $16,000 cheaper as-tested, it makes a performance/value case that’s hard to ignore.

In the end, C&D notes that the BMW M340i is the better sports car flat-out but not by much. When you factor in price, it’s the Genesis G70 3.3 Sport that gets the win. These are fun and interesting times.

[Source: Car and Driver]