[wdeerfield]

Originally Posted by alex2364

Who said anything about xDrive? A RWD 328i M Sport starts under $44k.

add premium, xenons, and navi, and you are at 50k.

[s2kroma]

I thought that TL would get a first place

[Jamesons Viggen]

Originally Posted by ThreeThirtyFiveI

Who was driving these cars? lol those 60 & 1/4 times look a little off?

Originally Posted by bimmerjph

Da hell is up with those 0-60 times? Were they testing in like a monsoon or something?

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

how they were able to get an m-sport f30 for only 45k is the crazy part. just to get a xdrive m-sport with heated seats and xenons im at 51k... and did they really knock the turn signal for a "springy toggle"?

Originally Posted by shivj

Gotta say the 0-60 numbers don't seem right. I have an 07 Acura tl-s which has a 3.5 liter engine vs the 3.7 they used in the test. I've dragged it against the f30 and it walks by the f30. So not sure what's going on there

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

add premium, xenons, and navi, and you are at 50k.

I do not think these were professionally driven and aggressively launched cars. Magazine times, mean the cars are piloted by people who can net the impressive times we have come to expect.

This is also the first time a MSport has been tested, so that nets the euro brake pads and staggered wheels and tires shown in this test.

My MSport stickers for $43k with met. paint, heated seats and moonroof. You can easily make this a $50k car, I just did not need any of that.

[buildbright]

Originally Posted by Mr. ///M3 RD

I have to agree with you ... it's all a bunch of opinion form people driving different cars. I drive my Bimmer for fun and my Benz as a DD and like both. A test drive or kicking the tires is not enough to make a judgement one needs to drive them for extended time periods to make a true judgement.

I just hate that my car is better then yours talk. The 3 series is an amazing car. The A series (Audi), C class (Merc), and S60 are damn fine as well.

But you are so right you have to live with a car to know how it really good or bad it is to own. I have also seen cars that are awesome brand new and then the glitter wears off as it falls apart.

[4corners]

Best of this bunch, fine. All 'compromised' cars for 'dynamics'. This camparo is like a beauty contest on skid row. Ford Pinto vs. Chevy Vega.

[EINSER M]

long live the KING! BMW FTW!!!!!!!!!

[LemonOne]

This should end 328i vs ATS debate.

[drob23]

Originally Posted by Lemon Jelly M3

This should end 328i vs ATS debate.

[DUI Elite]

Originally Posted by ThreeThirtyFiveI

Who was driving these cars? lol those 60 & 1/4 times look a little off?

lol i was wondering this too.

they should be quite a bit lower.

kinda makes me wonder if its biased statistics, or just lousy measurement.

[Carnook]

Originally Posted by drob23

One thing I find incredibly dumb about this comparo is how they ding cars for "no keyless entry" or "not real leather" or "no park assist", while at the same time putting a 45.5k BMW against the 38k Volvo. Obviously the Benz has fake leather and the BMW has real *because you have selected that option*.

It's no secret though that the 328i is definitely the best car in this segment, nice that they went with M-Sport.

Or that they bother to mention very specific personal preferences like not wanting the BMW-style turn signal control. Really? Is that a deal breaker?

[Staszek]

You can tell they dont live with these cars everyday. We tested the 328, ATS 2.0 and 3.6, TL, and A4 so almost this comparison and ended up with the ATS 3.6, it was a work lease or we would have gotten the 328 hands down because it shined over all of them but was really much more expensive when it was comparable equipment. We lease an ATS 3.6 loaded with just the first payment out of pocket and $460 a month, a similarly equipped 328 would have been $600.

CUE while VERY capable is also very frustrating. Everything the Caddy does is delayed. You hit the comfort access to lock the door, it takes a second or so then you hear click. For a while every time I drove the thing I kept unlocking the door because I would hit it twice thinking it didnt register.

Same thing with CUE, everything you hit needs another second to react to, the execution of the screens and what it does is pretty nice, but its just annoying to do anything.

That being said it drives fantastic, the 328 still is nicer in my opinion especially because we had to get a 3.6 to have it even keep up with the 328, but its a great drivers car, if they fix the sluggishness of the CUE system its really an amazing car.

I have a C300 right now as a rental for a work trip and I would take the ATS any day of the week over it, its so much more composed, it does remind me of a mix of my E90 and E46.

Completely agree on the tech of the TL, it was just dated and for such a high tech company I would expect a bit better.

[drob23]

Originally Posted by Carnook

Or that they bother to mention very specific personal preferences like not wanting the BMW-style turn signal control. Really? Is that a deal breaker?

They make the giant matrix here http://www.cars.com/crp/buyingGuides...WhatYouGet.pdf

Title it "what you get for 46k" and then option out 2/6 to 46k.

This section of the A4 critique is genius "One of the biggest complaints, though, about the A4 was the lack of features for the money, an issue raised by almost everyone. "Not much delight for the dough," Healey said. "The A4's low as-tested price can't absolve a raft of missing features," Mays said. "Bluetooth audio streaming, keyless access, backup camera and navigation are MIA."

Hmmm how about you GET THE MMI OPTION FOR 3K to bring the as testing price to 43k!!!!!!!!

[ORIGIN M.]

For the money that Volvo is outstanding.

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut

For the money that Volvo is outstanding.

And frankly, the T6 isn't a ton more and it's even more outstanding.

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by WJGreer

And frankly, the T6 isn't a ton more and it's even more outstanding.

Exactly

[venturerider]

The C250 is more in the 320i class than the 328i class. They should have compared the new C300.

[bimmerjph]

Originally Posted by Lemon Jelly M3

This should end 328i vs ATS debate.

LOL. Not really.

This debate will most likely live on longer than we will. Just like the Mustang vs. Camaro, 2002 vs 510, Ferrari vs Lamborghini, or a hunchback slave vs the 5GT.

[TheBingoBalls]

Originally Posted by bimmerjph

LOL. Not really.

This debate will most likely live on longer than we will. Just like the Mustang vs. Camaro, 2002 vs 510, Ferrari vs Lamborghini, or a hunchback slave vs the 5GT.

This. You can't pick the 3-Series and say it does x and y way better than the rest like past 3-Series. Before you would happily pay a premium for a 3-Series because you can pick something that was heads/shoulders above the competition (driving aspects), but with the segment so competitive, you're thinking twice about spending 50k+ on a 3-Series because what am I really getting that surpasses the competition? Not much...

[tuned2ride]

The best 46K$ Sport Sedan is a 335i Sport RWD. 44900$+PDI. And it has a sunroof and Xenons.

[eMvy]

Unless these tests where conducted at a K2 like altitude, I agree with everyone's concern regarding the 0-60 numbers. They simply don't make any sense. An X3 28i with the same N20 can lay down better numbers.

I can't recall the source of the article, but it showcased the N20 328i nipping at the heels of the 335i in a 0-60, 1/4 mile sprint. They even preferred the balance of the 328i because of the lighter weight up front.

[turbolag]

And meanwhile I still don't know whetehr I should choose a 335i M Sport over a S60 R Design...I'm scared as hell about buying a new car and wondering if it has reliability issues like people here.

Volvo's S60 R Design honestly, to me, would be much preferable by default, if only because of price...(loyalty bonus ftw, hopefully decade+ old cars apply). And the Rebel Blue is just as appealing as Estoril.

[buildbright]

Originally Posted by turbolag

And meanwhile I still don't know whetehr I should choose a 335i M Sport over a S60 R Design...I'm scared as hell about buying a new car and wondering if it has reliability issues like people here.

Volvo's S60 R Design honestly, to me, would be much preferable by default, if only because of price...(loyalty bonus ftw, hopefully decade+ old cars apply). And the Rebel Blue is just as appealing as Estoril.

The S60 is an amazing and over looked car. The most comfortable midsize car ever. The LCI S60 is coming out soon and I love the new headlamps also it has the HP bumped to the S60 with the Polestar package.