[bigjae1976]

I leased a 2013 328i sport line for my wife and just turned it in. It was a great car to us! I want to lease another but the problem is our 2 kids are getting bigger. We travel light but long trips just weren't really doable anymore.

I've owned quite a few BMWs before (04 330Ci, 07 328i, 11 E90 M3, 04 M3, 13 F30 328i) and never have been a fan of the GTs. The scar of the seeing the 5GT still hangs with me. The 3GT is not nearly as ugly but I wouldn't consider it pretty. I was able to get into a lease on a fully loaded luxury line 3GT for less than my ED 328i so I figured...why the hell not?

After a month...I like driving it. Its comfortable. It rides nice, feels nice and is a very relaxed drive. The driver aids are a tad annoying at times. The cameras are great for my wife. This has plenty of back seat space for a 12y/o and 6y/o. Like the 328i...I actually kind of enjoy ECOPRO. Its a challenge to see how much "extra mileage" you can get. Its actually a better game to play vs trying to carve corners and jump off the line on green lights (the family likes ECOPRO too!).

For my wife, it was a good compromise. We don't want a minivan or crossover, wife doesn't like wagons. My wife does notice that the 3GT is bigger but not too big to make her uncomfortable. Which is why I didn't consider large SUVs like an X5.

The stuff I don't like...

The rear wing...why? What's the point?
The trunk couldn't be a little wider? Still kind of disappointed in the trunk space.
Has rear seat heaters but no separate rear HVAC blower controls?
Most of all...no cubby space in the front with the snap in adaptor...again...its a BMW minivan. Needs a little more.

In the end...it's a very nice luxury cruiser but I don't plan on buying another one. I'm going to put my wife back into a 3 series sedan and use a crew cab pickup as the family vehicle. I honestly don't see the point when you also sell a lineup which includes the X3, X4, 3 series and 5 series.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I I honestly don't see the point when you also sell have a lineup which includes the X3, X4, 3 series and 5 series.

I got one because I wanted more utility than any of the coupes or sedans offer, and I didn't want the sacrifices in handling and comfort that going to an X model would result in. If I had two vehicles, one for function and one for fun, I would not have done the GT, but I don't.

[framebaer]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

I got one because I wanted more utility than any of the coupes or sedans offer, and I didn't want the sacrifices in handling and comfort that going to an X model would result in. If I had two vehicles, one for function and one for fun, I would not have done the GT, but I don't.

+1

I also needed the cargo capacity with the rear seats down but wanted the highway cruising and handling abilities of a sedan. Just came out of a succession of Sport Utes and was sick of them.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I leased a 2013 328i sport line for my wife and just turned it in. It was a great car to us! I want to lease another but the problem is our 2 kids are getting bigger. We travel light but long trips just weren't really doable anymore.

I've owned quite a few BMWs before (04 330Ci, 07 328i, 11 E90 M3, 04 M3, 13 F30 328i) and never have been a fan of the GTs. The scar of the seeing the 5GT still hangs with me. The 3GT is not nearly as ugly but I wouldn't consider it pretty. I was able to get into a lease on a fully loaded luxury line 3GT for less than my ED 328i so I figured...why the hell not?

After a month...I like driving it. Its comfortable. It rides nice, feels nice and is a very relaxed drive. The driver aids are a tad annoying at times. The cameras are great for my wife. This has plenty of back seat space for a 12y/o and 6y/o. Like the 328i...I actually kind of enjoy ECOPRO. Its a challenge to see how much "extra mileage" you can get. Its actually a better game to play vs trying to carve corners and jump off the line on green lights (the family likes ECOPRO too!).

For my wife, it was a good compromise. We don't want a minivan or crossover, wife doesn't like wagons. My wife does notice that the 3GT is bigger but not too big to make her uncomfortable. Which is why I didn't consider large SUVs like an X5.

The stuff I don't like...

The rear wing...why? What's the point?
The trunk couldn't be a little wider? Still kind of disappointed in the trunk space.
Has rear seat heaters but no separate rear HVAC blower controls?
Most of all...no cubby space in the front with the snap in adaptor...again...its a BMW minivan. Needs a little more.

In the end...it's a very nice luxury cruiser but I don't plan on buying another one. I'm going to put my wife back into a 3 series sedan and use a crew cab pickup as the family vehicle. I honestly don't see the point when you also sell a lineup which includes the X3, X4, 3 series and 5 series.

The wing pops up at around 63mph (I think?) because it's an otherwise sort of ungainly vehicle. BMW claims it helps keep the heavy tail in line. I haven't driven one without it so I can't say it does or doesn't help.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

The wing pops up at around 63mph (I think?) because it's an otherwise sort of ungainly vehicle. BMW claims it helps keep the heavy tail in line. I haven't driven one without it so I can't say it does or doesn't help.

If you look at the profile of the GT it resembles a wing. With sufficient airspeed it will act like a wing, cause the rear of the car to lift off the ground. The spoiler provides down force, which makes the car more stable at high speed. At speeds lower than roughly 60MPH it doesn't do anything. Even at 70 MPH it doesn't do so much that you can't get along without one, but the GT is designed for operation at twice that speed.

[rapid64k]

I think I pops up at around 68 MPH.

[kbsilver]

Originally Posted by rapid64k

I think I pops up at around 68 MPH.

As others have said. believe it helps with downforce on the rear, but also may help with aerodynamics. Every 1/10 of a MPG they can gain is important to the CAFE totals.

[ipilcher]

To be pedantic, the wing does not provide downforce. What it does do is disrupt (i.e. spoil) the airflow over the car and prevent lift.

I suspect that BMW went with the active spoiler to reduce drag at lower speeds, improving mileage.

[rapid64k]

Originally Posted by ipilcher

To be pedantic, the wing does not provide downforce. What it does do is disrupt (i.e. spoil) the airflow over the car and prevent lift.

I suspect that BMW went with the active spoiler to reduce drag at lower speeds, improving mileage.

Low speeds? It pops up at High speed!

[ipilcher]

The spoiler increases drag, so having it NOT deployed at lower speeds (where lift isn't an issue) improves mileage.

[markbridge]

From what I understand, the wing was the engineers/designers answer to giving the 3GT a more sleeker back end than the 5GT. I know when mine deploys I go faster. Vroom, vroom!

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by ipilcher

The spoiler increases drag, so having it NOT deployed at lower speeds (where lift isn't an issue) improves mileage.

I doubt that. At lower speeds vehicle weight is the primary factor with respect to mileage. It's at higher speeds where drag dominates. The official line for having it is: The active rear spoiler optimises the air flow at the rear of the car as your speed increases, to ensure excellent road holding and classic BMW driving dynamics. I'd imagine the reason why it retracts is purely cosmetic. Only the designers know for sure.

[sushkr]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

I doubt that. At lower speeds vehicle weight is the primary factor with respect to mileage. It's at higher speeds where drag dominates. The official line for having it is: The active rear spoiler optimises the air flow at the rear of the car as your speed increases, to ensure excellent road holding and classic BMW driving dynamics. I'd imagine the reason why it retracts is purely cosmetic. Only the designers know for sure.

I will somewhat have to disagree (and agree with ipilcher). What ipilcher is saying is that a retracted spoiler will be better for mixed-driving mileage compared to that of a car with a permanently fixed-in-place spoiler. If BMW had a fixed spoiler in place, the quoted mileage of the car would have been lower (not good for marketing). Speeds of 40mph-70mph are not small and are easily reached in day to day driving. I could see the drag of a spoiler affecting the average mileage at those speeds.

Now, at higher speeds, the spoiler comes out just to plant the car slightly better on the road for driving dynamics. Yes, mileage goes down, but then you won't be driving above 70mph if your goal was to extract the best mileage out of your car. Also note that no car manufacturer quotes mileage numbers for cars driven at those speeds.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by sushkr

Speeds of 40mph-70mph are not small and are easily reached in day to day driving. I could see the drag of a spoiler affecting the average mileage at those speeds.

Only wind tunnel testing would say for sure, but I doubt it. The frontal section of the spoiler is insignificant compared to that of the front of the car.
One thing I did notice today when I manually actuated the spoiler was that when up it does impact rear vision. That alone is a good enough reason for it to be down out of the way when it's not beneficial to have it deployed.

[ipilcher]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Only wind tunnel testing would say for sure, but I doubt it. The frontal section of the spoiler is insignificant compared to that of the front of the car.
One thing I did notice today when I manually actuated the spoiler was that when up it does impact rear vision. That alone is a good enough reason for it to be down out of the way when it's not beneficial to have it deployed.

You may be right that visibility, rather than drag, is the reason for the active spoiler. Or it could be aesthetics, although the general consensus seems to be that it looks better when deployed.

I assumed that they did it for mileage reasons, because BMW seems willing to compromise just about anything for an extra 1/10th MPG (ASS, ECO PRO, maladaptive transmission, etc.).

[Crashnbrn5]

If you feel the wing and push down on it when retracted, and knock on it with your knuckles, you can tell it serves a purpose. It's very strong. It definitely keeps the car planted. I hit 152mph at the track the other day...LONG STRAIGHT. It felt solid, very solid.

It is much more than aesthetics.....

OP. The GT will only get better as time passes. The 2018-19 model will be a shocker, on a positive note.

[DR_BMW]

Overall the legroom and utility of the car is dope. (2 years with it so far)

The rear spoiler is definitely designed to reduce rear lift, up to 35%.

It extends at 65mph or more and retracts at 40mph or less.

In my opinion, the rear spoiler is a nice little feature and gives the rear a nice sporty look.

If you don't like it, code it out so it never extends.