[joewalton]

Originally Posted by deznium

Dude, I'm with you too and have spent decent time with both E90 and F30. I like both cars but prefer F30, its just a more refined and evolved sports sedan.

+1

Sometimes people forget that a BMW is a luxury car and beyond the sportiness there has to be a level of comfort and convenience and style to keep customers engaged.

The E90's interior was spartan to the point of being barren, straight out of the 1990's. It was bereft of technology, you had to pay for a garage door opener and the iPhone integration was based off of the iPod standard. It exploded over potholes. It's styling was Chris Bangle meets Pachinko machine.

The F30 fixed all of that. From its sumptuous interior to its cutting-edge technology to its upscale styling, the 3 Series has been reborn and its sales curve has not slowed. I'm grateful that time is passing and I see less and less E90's on the road, it's an F3X world now.

[Piggieback]

Originally Posted by joewalton

+1

Sometimes people forget that a BMW is a luxury car and beyond the sportiness there has to be a level of comfort and convenience and style to keep customers engaged.

The E90's interior was spartan to the point of being barren, straight out of the 1990's. It was bereft of technology, you had to pay for a garage door opener and the iPhone integration was based off of the iPod standard. It exploded over potholes. It's styling was Chris Bangle meets Pachinko machine.

The F30 fixed all of that. From its sumptuous interior to its cutting-edge technology to its upscale styling, the 3 Series has been reborn and its sales curve has not slowed. I'm grateful that time is passing and I see less and less E90's on the road, it's an F3X world now.

I agree, I wanted to buy a E90 335, but I couldn't get myself to like the styling. The exterior was, by all means an acquired taste, that I never acquired, and the interior, well, yeah. The F30, does lack certain things like steering feel, but I'm having a hard time trying to come up with an idea for my next car after this, probably a Macan.

[P-Bass]

Originally Posted by DHS

Therein lies the problem bj, you can no longer buy your father's Oldsmobile so you now want BMW to provide you a mushy, unresponsive no feed back vehicle like the Detroit people build. Better you buy a used Olds, Pontiac, etc. and leave the BMWs to us that know how to drive an enthusiasts automobile.

Amen.

I also own a Buick Enclave, as a luxurious people and stuff hauler (bass guitar, amp, cabinet etc). I love it for what it is, big Buick being a big Buick. I want BMW to be BMW, not my fathers Lincoln Continental...

[Prissy]

E9X's steering feel definitely feels more connected than the F3X. There is def room for improvements for the electric steering.

[ny325]

I agree. Save yourself some money and buy a Buick. For me, BMW has lost its edge.

[newoldbeemer]

Took the E92 on a 600-mile drive this weekend. God, it feels good to drive and the steering feels so organic and perfectly weighted.

A few observations:
- I am missing the trunk grocery hooks the F30 had

- With the E92 I got back the ability to switch to the next RANDOM song from the steering wheel. I cursed the $%^%^$ scroll wheel when I first got my F30, and had got accustomed to switching to the next random song using the center console buttons. Now back in the E92, feels great to do that from the steering wheel itself.

- I never realized having a car with nav would make such a huge difference. I didn't give it much thought until now, but I would never go back to a non-Nav 3 series after this. The nav, iDrive and "send to car" feature are beautiful!

- E92 stock sound system sounds better than F30 stock sound system (no Logic7 and no HarmonKardon in the picture)

- Sport seats in the F30 are a little bit more comfortable than in the E92. (though my F30 didn't have sport seats)

- I'm missing the small cubbyhole the F30 had under the steering wheel and the proper cupholders (hated the pull-out cupholders in my old E90, still hate it in the new one).

- I'm also missing the way the F30's trunk opens all the way automatically when you unlock it. In the E92 it just unlocks, doesn't go up by itself.

- My F30 did not have bluetooth audio streaming, the E92 does. It is nice to have!

- I physically compared the F30's steering wheel to the E92's. The E92 wheel is smaller.

- Gas mileage: 328i vs 328i, I am getting 17/26 (E92) instead of 19/33 (F30). As expected.

- Acceleration: I think this one is a toss-up - for my driving anyway. Both have a unique feel but overall the performance is very comparable.

- Handling is very comparable. The F30 was slightly better-handling and had less body roll. Probably because of the M-performance suspension I'd put on it.

- Turn-in was a tad quicker in the F30. Probably because the electric steering allows you to actually turn the wheel quicker than the old one.


I know there are dozens of E90 vs F30 comparisons, but I guess going back a generation after 2 years with the new one is a fairly unique situation so I just thought I'd share.

Oh and I personally don't agree with Buick comparisons. In my opinion the F30 does feel like the next generation that should follow after the E90. I just wish they'd kept the steering, but except for that I think they got everything else spot-on. (as long as you have the right suspension anyway).

But God, the steering...