Quote:
Originally Posted by mwh2009
Good thread - let a friend test drive my car today, and got me thinking about the things I love/like/dislike/hate
So I have: 340i xDrive 6MT w/Msport/Trk/Tech/Cold/Drvrs/Assist - EBII w Saddle Brown
For me after ~7 mos of ownership:
Pros:
Engine - deserves its own Pro's category:
Smoothest engine I've ever driven - feels better in every way from the N54/55
Power - esp in cold weather is amazing - feels so much more than 330hp
Torque - even more surprising than power - never get tired of 3rd gear pulls
Rev Matching is awesome - I can do a little heel/toe and still try to be better, but nobody's as good as the car does it - and if you're a DIY heel/toer, go ahead - it won't get in your way.
Handling - Incredible grip, Don't get the steering complaints - feels great to me
Feels way more capable as a machine than I am as a driver
Get the MPSS tires - worth the price of the Trk Pkg all by themselves
Brakes - on the Trk Pkg are unbelievably good. Shocking really.
Interior - LOVE LOVE LOVE the HUD - get the tech package just for this
Heated steering wheel - never thought about before it but can't live without it now
Exterior - love the F30-Msport shape and appearance and the EBII color is growing on me - originally wanted a darker blue
Cons -
Price - mine was $60k msrp - even after bargaining it down quite a bit - that's still close enough to used-F80 territory that I constantly have 'what-if' thoughts
Servicing - 10k mile oil changes are stupid and are basically trading off engine life against service plan. They should have an option to include 4 more oil changes - really - $150x4 oil changes wouldn't drive that many customers away and would be so much more respectable
Artificial engine noise - this is an abomination that should be against the law - disagree on principle, and wish I could disable with out coding my car.
Engine/Trans - Kind of notchy/jerky in 1st/2nd when cold. Annoying.
Interior - Biggest problem is the crappy bluetooth integration with Iphone 6s. Seriously - I have rented $25k camry's that work better. Can't load playlists, doesn't work well with podcasts, etc. Plugging into USB is necessary to get smooth engagement.
Wont start in sport mode. always comfort mode. Lame
Rear legroom is a little tight for my 14-yr old kid and her friend who are 5'6"ish
Performance - with a 6MT, and switching between Sport and Sport+ and Comfort, the clutch engagement changes relative to throttle position, which makes me drive like a moron occasionally when I forget which mode I'm in and I let out the clutch too fast/slow relative to the gas pedal.
Overall - I'm sure I'm forgetting some things above, but overall it's an incredible machine.
When I think about the decision to buy this over an S4 or an ATS-V or anything like that, it's totally no regrets. About the only thing I think about is 'Could I have lived with the RWD and the extra cost of the F80? Would it have been as good as a daily driver?'
Beyond that, absolutely no regrets.
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Forgot to add that I'm underwhelmed by the 'orangepeel' paint quality on the EBII exterior. I knew this going in, so not a dealbreaker, but damn - If a $20k Camry has better paint quality, BMW should send some engineers to Toyota to learn how to paint a car... And the difference in volume isn't an excuse - there are both low- and high-volume production cars that get this right - BMW can do this - don't understand why they wouldn't. And it's not just the 3'ers. Have seen this on many of their higher end models too.