[bluemark]

Something that always bugged me about my car is that you can see the painted steel part of the door between the interior door panel and the opening. I'm currently renting a Hyundai Sonata for work and noticed how they accomplish hiding this. This certainly looks more finished.

Another noticeable difference is that I can drive at highway speeds with the sunroof open and have a normal conversation without yelling and being drowned out by wind noise. I never open my sunroof due to the excessive noise.

I would think these things would not be noticeably better on a Hyundai over my BMW.

[Blubaron79]

I'm confused. BMW's is painted.

[5ilver-5amurai]

Not poor attention to detail - just part of the cars design.

If the BMW one bothers you, google CLA45 door gap and prepare to be horrified. People usually do get used to it after a while so you have that going for you lol.

[Emilim]

That picture happened to be taken with a flash that exaggerated the gap unnaturally. 99% of the time in normal lighting conditions the space is just a dark slit just like the Hyundai pic and you will never spend any amount of time looking at it, much less notice or see what's behind it.

[canukgtp]

I don't find there is excessive wind noise with the sunroof open..nothing more than any other car I've had with a sunroof...I can honestly say I've never ever noticed the gap you speak of...but then again my car is black, so just looks dark as mentioned above

[Prossx]

The wind buffeting seems pretty good in the F30, noticeably better than my previous 2011 S4, particularly with all 4 windows down and the sunroof open. I often drive with the sunroof open at 70+ mph and its pretty decent. These things are apparent as its quite windy around here.

[smithf80]

Is this is kinda stuff people from Canada worry about?

[DDD31]

^^^^^^

[Billfitz]

I looked at mine, it's the same. Oh, the horror, the horror. I'm off straightaway to the nearest Hyundai dealer so that I can trade in this piece of crap BMW for the finest machine that Korea has to offer.


Maybe not.

[WilliCO]

In concept, it's an interesting post. I've spent _a lot_ of time in rented Hyundais myself, and I am generally impressed by the product they can roll out for the price they want.

But, in terms of fit, finish, and materials quality, I've only ever had to reach out and touch something in a Hyundai to immediately tell where they are saving some cost. It's not the obvious places, either - the dashboard plastics are right up there, for example. It's the stuff down by your leg, on the lower part of the door, or along the sides of the center console. Seatbacks. Plastic trim and switches in the headliner. Hyundai spends much less making all these things nice than BMW does.

I agree the exposed steel on the BMW is by design - BMWs have always been more "spartan" in their trim approach than other companies. Porsche is the same way. As long as it doesn't rust or rattle, it doesn't bug me.

[F87_LCI]

Originally Posted by smithf32

Is this is kinda stuff people from Canada worry about?

Nah, usually it's about the weather.

Right now it's about baseball.

In a month it will be back to the weather.

[RedlinePSI]

I was not exactly elated the first time I noticed that gap in the door myself. I have a white car so it's especially noticeable, however it's not that big of a deal. I got over it pretty quick.

[codeyf]

Between this and the water retention in the side mirrors, I'm about ready to get rid of mine...

[G30 B58]

Originally Posted by codeyf

Between this and the water retention in the side mirrors, I'm about ready to get rid of mine...

The puddles in the windshield cowl were the last straw for me.

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by 5ilver-5amurai

Not poor attention to detail - just part of the cars design.

If the BMW one bothers you, google CLA45 door gap and prepare to be horrified. People usually do get used to it after a while so you have that going for you lol.

Google it... OUCH!!

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by WilliCO

In concept, it's an interesting post. I've spent _a lot_ of time in rented Hyundais myself, and I am generally impressed by the product they can roll out for the price they want.

But, in terms of fit, finish, and materials quality, I've only ever had to reach out and touch something in a Hyundai to immediately tell where they are saving some cost. It's not the obvious places, either - the dashboard plastics are right up there, for example. It's the stuff down by your leg, on the lower part of the door, or along the sides of the center console. Seatbacks. Plastic trim and switches in the headliner. Hyundai spends much less making all these things nice than BMW does.

I agree the exposed steel on the BMW is by design - BMWs have always been more "spartan" in their trim approach than other companies. Porsche is the same way. As long as it doesn't rust or rattle, it doesn't bug me.

I have a Hyundai. Hard plastic is hard plastic is hard plastic. BMW seat backs and other spots are as hard as plastic gets. Not any better than a Hyundai.

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by ft1330

I have a Hyundai. Hard plastic is hard plastic is hard plastic. BMW seat backs and other spots are as hard as plastic gets. Not any better than a Hyundai.

Nah. There are grades, thicknesses, differences in tactile feel, textures, differences in tolerance on seam and edge roughness and warpage. Hard plastic is not all the same. The question is how much it matters.

I'm not criticizing your Hyundai, or anyone else's. They are very compelling products. They do not use the same grade of interior materials that BMW uses, nor should they at their price point.

[goj]

Originally Posted by LagunaSecaBlue

Nah, usually it's about the weather.

Right now it's about baseball.

In a month it will be back to the weather.

Liar! In a month it will be hockey season!

[chiefneil]

It is kinda lame that the door frame shows through into the interior. But BMW's have been like that for a while. They also have had squeaky door seals for years when every other automaker on the planet doesn't. And dear god, the constantly breaking window regulators on E46's and E53's and who knows which other models! Oh and peeling door handles.

BMW just makes somewhat baffling decisions sometimes. At least subframe mounts aren't tearing loose anymore. We hope.

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

They also have had squeaky door seals for years when every other automaker on the planet doesn't.

True dat. But this Gummi Pfledge product really does the job on those squeaks. I have no idea what it is or why it works, but it does.

http://amzn.to/1LzWGVd

[floydarogers]

The exposed door frame is for the double seal of the door to seal against. The door seal might be interfered with if it fit tightly against the interior door panel, hence the slight gap.

I doubt that the Hyundai has double and triple door seals (BMW has double all around the door, and triple near the window.

[bluemark]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

The exposed door frame is for the double seal of the door to seal against. The door seal might be interfered with if it fit tightly against the interior door panel, hence the slight gap.

I doubt that the Hyundai has double and triple door seals (BMW has double all around the door, and triple near the window.

And how is that working for your 3? It certainly isn't for mine as it sounds like the doors or windows are ajar constantly and the Sonata is extremely quiet so it doesn't matter how many seals they use, they obviously do it better. Anyway, that's a complete different topic. So, double, triple, quad or more is not the reason for the exposed door frame! Check out the 5 series as it happens to be done the same way as the Hyundai. And, by the way, the Hyundai also has a double seal system that works, and works well.

I figured this would spark some hostility as how dare I compare a Hyundai to our beloved 3 series. This is my fourth 3 and likely not my last, but I have noticed more and more corners cut with each generation. This generation is by far the worst fit and finish yet. Just check out the huge seams in the sheet metal vs other vehicles. 1/4"+ hood seems are unacceptaple this day and age.

I am ok with many of the cost cutting measures that BMW takes, but all I was pointing out is that many less expensive vehicles are doing things that appear better and more complete, hard plastics and all.