[sygazelle]

Okay, I bought my MY2014 last summer and picked it up in Munich through the ED program. My driving in Europe was during the break in period. I really haven't had a chance to air it out and take a long road trip until this past week.

Having driven 5 series models for the past 25 years, I expected to take a bit of a comfort hit with the F30 328i on long trips. I was wrong. My F30 328i with sport seats was perfect. No constant squirming to get myself comfortable in the seat. This F30 just ate up the miles. As a passenger, my wife couldn't tell the difference in the long-trip ride from our beloved E39 540i.

I downsized to the 3 series because the F10 was simply too big. I fully expected to regret that decision at some level. Now that I have had the F30 almost a year and experienced a long trip in it, I don't have a single regret.

Our trip was roughly 2000 miles from the SF Bay Area to Idaho Falls, down to Salt Lake City, and back to the Bay Area. Using Eco mode extensively, the car averaged 38 miles per gallon. This high mileage was somewhat helped by a strong tail wind all the way across Nevada, but I'll take 38 mpg anytime, even if wind aided.

This is the first time I was able to really try out the coasting feature in Eco mode. It is really a nice feature. If you haven't tried it, give it a chance. On the open road, instant throttle is not so important to me. Eco mode was plenty responsive enough for me when I needed to pass or speed up for some other reason ;-) As others have posted, the coasting feature in Eco mode does not work if you have cruise control on. I get why some F30 owners want to run in sport mode all the time. In my earlier years, I would have been one of them for sure. Now, I am happy to experience all the driving modes provided by this fine car and use each when my mood and the driving situation dictates.

[hmc]

I also "downgraded" from E60 550 to F30 320 mainly because F30 is very close to E39, and turbo 4 has great gas mileage for my commuting purposes.

[ClubsportJunkie]

Originally Posted by hmc

mainly because F30 is very close to E39

Amen! IMO the F3X is the soul heir of the E39 and E63!

OP I'm glad you're enjoying it I've already put 6k miles on my F32 and I've owned it for 2.5 months thank god I didnt lease.....

[adhrp]

Awesome! I too did a 2100 mile road trip a few weeks ago and loved every minute! This car is a beauty in every sense!

[dtn]

I upgraded my rental while out of town for a steal to an F10. I agree the car is just too big. It felt "richer" inside but the drive wasn't exciting and the handling was nothing to call home to. I was so excited to come home to the F30.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by adhrp

Awesome! I too did a 2100 mile road trip a few weeks ago and loved every minute! This car is a beauty in every sense!

Glad you are enjoying your car. Did you get a chance to use the ECO pro mode for coasting during your trip? It was my first time. I was always taught as a kid not to put my car in neutral while going downhill. Fortunately, BMW didn't take that class. Going over the Sierra mountains from Truckee to Sacramento, I used ECO pro without cruise control and the tachometer read 600 rpm a good deal of the way. If I tapped the brake or the gas, the engine would immediately resume the proper RPM for the situation; really brilliant design as far as I am concerned. I'm not a big fan of ECO pro for normal driving, but on long car trips when quick acceleration is not important, its a pretty cool feature to me.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by DinanEX

Amen! IMO the F3X is the soul heir of the E39 and E63!

OP I'm glad you're enjoying it I've already put 6k miles on my F32 and I've owned it for 2.5 months thank god I didnt lease.....

Thanks. I'm glad you are liking yours too.

The E39 540i was a great car and a hard act to follow. But, this F30 328i is just as quick, has 1/2 the cylinders, and gets twice the mileage. Not bad!

[BimmerFan]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

As a passenger, my wife couldn't tell the difference in the long-trip ride from our beloved E39 540i.

What?! Sacrilege! oh, wait "as a passenger" Phew, I had to read your post again. Don't get me wrong, I love my F30 335i M-sport but, It's a world of a difference from the E39. I had an E39 M5 for almost 7yrs, my God do I miss that car sometimes, but like you have mentioned the F10 is a behemoth IMHO hence my down grade to an F30 and yes the interior/exterior dimensions of the F30 is quite close to that of an E39. The E39 is arguable the best bimmer that came out of Germany...to date!

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Glad you are enjoying your car. Did you get a chance to use the ECO pro mode for coasting during your trip? It was my first time. I was always taught as a kid not to put my car in neutral while going downhill. Fortunately, BMW didn't take that class. Going over the Sierra mountains from Truckee to Sacramento, I used ECO pro without cruise control and the tachometer read 600 rpm a good deal of the way. If I tapped the brake or the gas, the engine would immediately resume the proper RPM for the situation; really brilliant design as far as I am concerned. I'm not a big fan of ECO pro for normal driving, but on long car trips when quick acceleration is not important, its a pretty cool feature to me.

I didn't get a chance since I was driving mostly on flat, open freeways for the most part. I am usually in comfort or sport mode in areas that might be amenable to coasting, but next time I will try coasting in ECO pro just to check out what you describe above.

[Reelknead1]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your 328 on a road trip. Does anyone know what the tech reads at 70mph in the 8 speed vs the manual cars? I'm curious to know how much mpg difference there would be on a road trip such as this.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by BimmerFan

What?! Sacrilege! oh, wait "as a passenger" Phew, I had to read your post again. Don't get me wrong, I love my F30 335i M-sport but, It's a world of a difference from the E39. I had an E39 M5 for almost 7yrs, my God do I miss that car sometimes, but like you have mentioned the F10 is a behemoth IMHO hence my down grade to an F30 and yes the interior/exterior dimensions of the F30 is quite close to that of an E39. The E39 is arguable the best bimmer that came out of Germany...to date!

I just had a 2003 540 with M-tech package, not an M5. I thought my 540i was the best sedan ever built. That's why I kept it as long as I did. Nothing BMW has been making made me want to switch. When my car got wrecked, I had to make a choice and the F30 one my vote hands down.

My F30 328i w/M-sport matches or betters my 540 in speed and quickness. Certainly, the M5 you had is another level of performance that the F30 328i can't match.

Once in awhile, I think about picking up a 2003 M5 to fill the third stall in my garage. Then, I talk myself out of it. Maybe one day....

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Reelknead1

Glad to hear you enjoyed your 328 on a road trip. Does anyone know what the tech reads at 70mph in the 8 speed vs the manual cars? I'm curious to know how much mpg difference there would be on a road trip such as this.

According to the specs, the RPM at 70 should be about the same for 6th gear in the manual ( .67 to 1 gear ratio) vs 8th gear in the auto (.68 to 1 gear ratio).

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by adhrp

I didn't get a chance since I was driving mostly on flat, open freeways for the most part. I am usually in comfort or sport mode in areas that might be amenable to coasting, but next time I will try coasting in ECO pro just to check out what you describe above.

I don't know how much gas this feature actually saves, but if you have a hilly drive with stretches of down hill where you can let it coast (like Donner Summit to Sacramento on i80). What is pretty cool is how BMW has engineered this feature so you don't really have to do anything other than have it in ECO mode and NOT have cruise control on. Anyway, give it a try when you have the opportunity and see what you think.

[BimmerFan]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I just had a 2003 540 with M-tech package, not an M5. I thought my 540i was the best sedan ever built. That's why I kept it as long as I did. Nothing BMW has been making made me want to switch. When my car got wrecked, I had to make a choice and the F30 one my vote hands down.

My F30 328i w/M-sport matches or betters my 540 in speed and quickness. Certainly, the M5 you had is another level of performance that the F30 328i can't match.

Once in awhile, I think about picking up a 2003 M5 to fill the third stall in my garage. Then, I talk myself out of it. Maybe one day....

Yeah, I guess I am comparing apples to oranges. Two totally different cars. I will have to disagree with you on the e39 540i and f30 328i though. I think the v8 540 is quicker than the 4 cylinder turbo 328 overall.

[S4NoMore]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

According to the specs, the RPM at 70 should be about the same for 6th gear in the manual ( .67 to 1 gear ratio) vs 8th gear in the auto (.68 to 1 gear ratio).

Can't forget the final drive ratio! The 8AT has a 3.15 rear while the 6MT has a 3.91, pretty significant difference.

See the detailed specs here

I was curious so I whipped up a spreadsheet, because I'm a geek like that.

At 70mph indicated the 6MT will be just shy of 2400 rpm (math yields 70 mph at 2400rpm but the speedometer of any car always reads a bit higher than reality). I'll have to verify this on my way home today.

In my mind, this is pretty good - my previous daily driver was an '03 5MT Jetta 1.8t which I'd cruise 75mph indicated at 3000 rpm.

Taking just the 6th gear difference vs. 8th gear gains the 8AT 1mph in additional calculated speed. But factoring in the final drive, the result is that the 8AT spins at about 1900 rpm at 70mph indicated. Maybe an 8AT driver can verify my math.

Realistically the 8AT is going to cruise at only 1-2 mpg better from what I've read, EPA rates the difference as just 1 mpg. The shorter low gears are the main benefit in my opinion, for that extra acceleration. I'm very happy with my 6MT.

Interesting also to compare 328i 6MT to 335i 6MT, which despite a much taller 3.23 rear end spins 2500 rpm at 70mph with its shorter 6th gear. I was expecting the N55 to be spinning slower than the N20.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by S4NoMore

Can't forget the final drive ratio! The 8AT has a 3.15 rear while the 6MT has a 3.91, pretty significant difference.

See the detailed specs here

I was curious so I whipped up a spreadsheet, because I'm a geek like that.

At 70mph indicated the 6MT will be just shy of 2400 rpm (math yields 70 mph at 2400rpm but the speedometer of any car always reads a bit higher than reality). I'll have to verify this on my way home today.

In my mind, this is pretty good - my previous daily driver was an '03 5MT Jetta 1.8t which I'd cruise 75mph indicated at 3000 rpm.

Taking just the 6th gear difference vs. 8th gear gains the 8AT 1mph in additional calculated speed. But factoring in the final drive, the result is that the 8AT spins at about 1900 rpm at 70mph indicated. Maybe an 8AT driver can verify my math.

Realistically the 8AT is going to cruise at only 1-2 mpg better from what I've read, EPA rates the difference as just 1 mpg. The shorter low gears are the main benefit in my opinion, for that extra acceleration. I'm very happy with my 6MT.

Interesting also to compare 328i 6MT to 335i 6MT, which despite a much taller 3.23 rear end spins 2500 rpm at 70mph with its shorter 6th gear. I was expecting the N55 to be spinning slower than the N20.

You are so right! I made a bad assumption that the differentials are the same for the 6mt and the 8at. Thanks for the correction.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by BimmerFan

Yeah, I guess I am comparing apples to oranges. Two totally different cars. I will have to disagree with you on the e39 540i and f30 328i though. I think the v8 540 is quicker than the 4 cylinder turbo 328 overall.

According to the specs, its a tenth or two either way for both 0-60 and the 1/4 mile between the E39 540 and the F30 328. Having owned two E30 540s and now having my F30 328 for 10,000 miles, my personal feeling is the 328 is as quick or even a little quicker. As a lover of the E39 540, I was pretty shocked that a little 4-banger can even get in the same ballpark. I guess that's my point. All +- of the quickness, 1/2 the cylinders, and twice the MPG. That is phenomenal.

[BimmerFan]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

According to the specs, its a tenth or two either way for both 0-60 and the 1/4 mile between the E39 540 and the F30 328. Having owned two E30 540s and now having my F30 328 for 10,000 miles, my personal feeling is the 328 is as quick or even a little quicker. As a lover of the E39 540, I was pretty shocked that a little 4-banger can even get in the same ballpark. I guess that's my point. All +- of the quickness, 1/2 the cylinders, and twice the MPG. That is phenomenal.

I can't argue with you as far as 0-60 times go. The 4 banger turbo is actually pretty impressive. I had an x1 loaner with the 4 cylinder engine for 2 1/2 weeks while I awaited delivery of my 335i since I sold my M5 and was carless(I had a cool sales man). What I meant by the e39 540i being quicker overall was 0-100 or from 45-120 when the extra 4 cylinders start putting in work. I am not saying it's a night and day difference like a car length, but a fender would be reasonable. From a dig to 60 the 328i will have the advantage or even steven. It's a lighter car and it is force induced.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by BimmerFan

I can't argue with you as far as 0-60 times go. The 4 banger turbo is actually pretty impressive. I had an x1 loaner with the 4 cylinder engine for 2 1/2 weeks while I awaited delivery of my 335i since I sold my M5 and was carless(I had a cool sales man). What I meant by the e39 540i being quicker overall was 0-100 or from 45-120 when the extra 4 cylinders start putting in work. I am not saying it's a night and day difference like a car length, but a fender would be reasonable. From a dig to 60 the 328i will have the advantage or even steven. It's a lighter car and it is force induced.

For a M5 owner to call the N20 pretty impressive is.....well, pretty impressive!

While I love my 328i and it's quickness, it delivers its power in a less fun, much more linear way due to the low end torque and the 8 speed transmission. On the other hand, my E39 540's were less quick off the line, but came to life from 3500 rpm to redline. That "throw you back in your seat" feeling simply does not exist in the F30 328i. The 328i is almost too smooth if that is possible.

[BimmerFan]

Agreed. No slouch none the less. It's a perfect daily driver. The E39 M5, not so much..at least with the way mine was setup, coilovers, rear sway bar and all.