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Originally Posted by Remonster
I'm not a big fan of this guy, but in this case that rhetoric applies perfectly to these two cars. I've spent a lot of time behind the wheel of various W204 c classes (C300s, a C350 coupe and a couple C63s) and they are undoubtedly great cars but if you are into enthusiastic driving, they cannot be compared to their BMW counterparts. The steering, even on the AMG, is way too light and doesn't even really feel connected to the front wheels. Interestingly, on the new C coupe, the steering rack is so quick that I kept finding myself turning in WAY harder than I meant to and would have to back off my steering angle.
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I'm not saying the general message of this review is completely off. But everything he said could have been said by anyone reading car magazine reviews without every driving the car. My point was that he sounded like he made up his mind even before he drove it. I understand that the F30 is a great car, but think of it this way. If the conclusion of his review was the exact opposite, wouldn't you still say that this was a fair review?
Also, although I have not driven it, I've read rave reviews about the steering on the late model C63 AMG as being significantly better than that of the M3.
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With respect to his comment on hydraulic steering, he did say "assist" and obviously he is wrong about that but I think he was trying to say that the variable sports steering is now mechanical compared to the E90 generation's Active Steering which used an electric motor.
Also, interesting to note that some E90s came with hydraulic steering while others seem to have electric power steering. I looked around realoem for a bit and couldn't figure out why some cars had EPS and some were hydraulic but it looks like it became increasingly common on later year cars?
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Variable sport steering is a completely different beast from the Active steering. Besides, none of this changes the fact that he claimed the E90 steering was luxury oriented and numb, whereas the hydraulic steering on the F30 has more feel. Again, the F30 is a great car, but come on. That's like saying the new 911 is a much better car than the previous gen, and has a way more engaging steering. Only half of that statement is true and the other half is the opposite of true.
I do not think any US model E90 came with EPS. I'm quite certain of it. There was a confusion for a while that the 128i came with the EPS (thanks to information on bmwusa.com), but my understanding is that even that wasn't true.