[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by bmw0perat0r

Here is my experience...

I had a 07' 335xi and received a 2012 or 2013 328xi as a loaner one time, which I had for about 2 days and drove about 200 miles. The auto start/stop was rough and the steering felt numb, just as you say. I found the engine adequate and lively, but it did idle rough - or so I thought.

I now have a 2014 328xi sport line and I can say there are some interesting differences between the two. The 2014 comes with the N26 (SULEV) engine vs the previous N20 (ULEV) and some updates were made to the auto start/stop. It is very smooth and quick to restart when in traffic, at stop lights, etc. The car also remembers if I have turned off the auto start/stop function when I restart the vehicle, which is nice, but I have grown accustom to it so I leave it on. The engine is just as lively if not more so in all modes. I also believe the steering has much more feedback than the previous models. It is light and easy at low speed and nice and firm in eco/comfort at speed and much firmer in sport and firmer still in sport+.

I have researched changes to 2014 3-series and have found a general consensus that software changes were made and possibly some physical changes in design of the engine, though I cannot positively identify what. Most articles suggested changes to the starter motor and ecu mapping to smooth out engine operation and power delivery. There is also obviously some physical difference for the engine to get the SULEV rating, but I'm not sure what.

I also noticed quite a few options changed from 2013 to 2014. Options like availability of launch control on sport autos, which will be standard for 2014. Sport line suspension is now available on 2014 xDrive models, firmer than standard, but not lower. Quite a few others are out there; changes to standard options as well. If you're considering a purchase then do as much research as you can before going to the dealer just to be sure you get exactly what you want.

Are you sure about that?