View Single Post
      08-20-2012, 08:02 PM   #1
webdither
Lieutenant
United_States
59
Rep
595
Posts

Drives: 2014 BMW M235i
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
Talking Mike's 2013 335i Sedan

Pictures here: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12859359

2013 335i Sedan
M Sport Line
Mineral Gray Metallic
Black Dakota Leather
Dark Burl Walnut Wood Trim with Aluminum Accents
Heated Front Seats
Dynamic Handling Package
Premium Package
Technology Package
Harman Kardon Surround Sound System
Sport Automatic Transmission with Paddles

Review & Impressions
I thought I'd post my impressions on the car here broken out by the options I have and features of the car. I am in no way a professional driver or someone that tracks his car. I like a car that is fast, fun to drive and comfortable. So my opinions are from this point of view. Also, I came from an E92 (2008 335i Coupe) N54 (Twin-Turbo i6 Engine).

M Sport Line
I was actually worried from pictures I had seen in the forums that the standard 18" (400M) wheels would look too small on the car. I was starting to regret not getting the 19" upgrade. However, I must say that they look great in person. The size is great and I love how they look on the car.

First pictures I saw of the M Sport steering wheel actually turned me off a little. It seemed like it didn't fit the car. It quickly grew on me to the point that after seeing (and holding) it in person I can't imagine the car without it. The leather is incredibly soft and perfectly padded. It really feels great in your hands. This alone would be worth the price IMO.

The front facia provided with the M Sport eliminated the issues I had with the "Wallace and Gromit" look of the other lines and gives the car a great agressive look.

M Adaptive Suspension & Variable Sport Steering
The suspension difference between sport mode and comfort mode is less noticeable than I thought it would be but it is noticeable. In any mode the car feels solid and firm. Comfort mode really smooths over the ride amazingly well while still feeling firm and tight. In Sport mode it's noticeably rougher but still not rough or spine rattling. And still not as rough feeling as my E92 was, which is actually a good thing to me because it still feels very solid.

The steering feel with VSS is considerably better than the base system! It's a lot tighter and more direct than I remember it being in my test drive of a Sport Line model without this. It feels very close to (but not quite) how my E92 felt and much better than the standard system.

Sport Automatic ZF8 Transmission
The shifts are almost imperceptible. Not much else to say here, it's an outstanding transmission. This is the best bang for your buck option IMO. The shifter with the leather boot also look great and feel great in your hand.

Lighting
The LED interior lighting is really something. The small touches like the lights that illuminate the seat of the door that is opened instead of just turning all the interior lights on is really cool. Also the night time lighting inside the cabin is great, the amber lighting that washes both the front and back of the cabin is really classy looking. It's fun that you can change it to white as well but I prefer the amber. I also noticed that the map lights don't cause any reflection on the windshield or distraction to the driver which is nice.

The Xenon headlights have to be one of my favorite features. The DRLs really look great and make the car look very aggressive. I have received a lot of compliments on it already.

Tech Package
To many this navi system is the "old" system. To me it is brand new and blows the 2008 nav system clear out of the water. No contest. The 3D perspective view is gorgeous when you are near hills/mountains, it's great to see terrain instead of just a flat map. I also appreciate BMW fixing the displays in the car so they can be seen with polarized sunglasses on.

The heads up display is one of my favorite features. It looks amazing and is extremely useful. Seeing your arrow display for nav directions floating above the hood of the car is really great. Only complaint is that it can be hard to read with sunglasses on even with the brightness turned all the way up.

Harmon Kardon
Very impressed with the sound quality. A definite improvement over the stock system. It's not going to compete with a home audio system but it's far above average for in-car audio. And the silver speaker grills look great in the car.

Interior & Seats
The first thing I noticed is that the seat base bolsters didn't seem as deep as they were in my E92. But I am starting to think that's a good thing. It should help them not crack and wear as hard as they did in my old car. They still are plenty supportive for me.

The Dark Burl Walnut trim also seems darker brown than my E92 which I was pleased with as I really wanted the Anthracite Wood trim but isn't allowed on the M Sport (WHY?!?!?). I was pleasantly surprised at how it looks (not that I thought it would look bad) and now I actually really like it. It goes great with the black leather.

Overall the fit and finish of the interior is a notch above my E92. The finishes and extra touches around things like the air vents and AC controls are really nice and make the car look like the nearly $60k car it is.

Exterior & Color
Mineral Gray is a truly outstanding color. The depth of the metallic finish in the sunlight highlights all the lines beautifully. It can be a bit flat looking at night or on a cloudy day but it's worth it for how it looks in the day!

I still am very sad that BMW chose to once again save LED tail lights and blinkers for the LCI. I am going to look into swapping out the bulbs with LEDs though.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Order Status and Tracking
Build Week: August 27 (Originally was stated as September 3)

Aug. 20, 2012
Financing approved, awaiting production number.

Aug. 21, 2012
Build modified to M Sport!

Aug. 25, 2012
Drive for Team USA Event. Hopefully the dealer will have no problem applying the rebate after the fact like I have heard some are doing.

Aug. 27, 2012
Production Started! Sept 5 estimated completion.

Sept. 4, 2012
151 - Body Shop. Estimated completion now Sept. 6.

Sept. 5, 2012
152 - Paint Shop Started

Sept. 6, 2012
154 - Assembly

Sept. 7, 2012
155 - Assembly Finish / Quality Check It's alive!

Sept. 8, 2012
En Route to Port of Exit

Sept. 12, 2012
In Port Awaiting Shipping Vessel

Sept. 19, 2012
Topeka Tracking Thread: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=747370

Topeka loading at dock with my car...


Sept. 22, 2012
Old car sold! Such a great car she was, looking forward to that and more in the 2013! I'll be renting a Ford Focus for a few weeks... I'll definitely appreciate the new car when it arrives!
2008 335i Coupe, BSM/Saddle Brown, Sport, Prem, Navi, Heated Seats, and Rear Sunshade.

Oct. 4, 2012
Car in the Port of New York this morning! Only a few more days until she's at the dealership.


Oct. 5, 2012
She's officially delivered according to WWL.


Oct. 11, 2012
Car at the dealership, they were closed on the 10th so pushed back a day. Pickup still scheduled for Monday the 15th.

Attached Images
  

Last edited by webdither; 10-20-2012 at 10:19 AM.. Reason: It's alive!
Appreciate 0