[chip2058]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Just thought I'd leave a quick (?long?) review of my first 24 hours in my new 328i Sportline.

A little history, my family has owned E46s and E90s. I've owned an E90xi an E92i and now the new F30.

First off I have to say, I love this car. It's a weird feeling so far because I've been driving stick for the past 8 years and just switched to an automatic. It feels like I'm driving someone else's car right now. But I can't help but smile every time I walk up to the car or touch the handle to unlock.

Exterior
This is probably the most striking difference to me. I know a lot of reviews say the car doesn't differ that much from the E90 LCI or that it's a baby five, but I feel that every bend of the sheet metal is characteristically 3 series with a new twist. The way the headlights meet the grill can only truly be appreciated in person and the new face of the car is aggressive yet clean.

Interior
It's taken a bit of adjustment to get used to the extra set of doors again (particularly getting out of the car), and I may miss being handed my seatbelt, but the new interior is in another league. The dash flows and break are nice on the eyes and the attention to detail is stellar for instance, the center console trim is sculpted (brushed alum) for a nice affect. The buttons have a great feel and response to them. The seats hug you but are instantly recognizable. The steering wheel (one of my biggest gripes on the E9x) has the right thickness, shape and texture. The heads up display is cool though a little distracting (probably because I'm fascinated by it right now.

Driving Characteristics
Drive in Sport to keep that smile ear to ear. The car is a champion in all modes (yes, even Eco-Pro) but I'd say the sport mode is the closest in feel to the E9x. The suspension is tight but soft (does that make sense). It plants the car where it needs to be but doesn't make your teeth fall out on a decaying road.

Engine
This thing zips. I haven't gone past 4500 RPM yet and I still feel it's peppier just as rev happy as the I6. The pull is great and the sound above 2000 RPM is sweet. Not as throaty as the I6 but unique on its own. That being said, idle is much rougher and the sound at idle is just not that enjoyable. Can't comment on gas mileage yet.

Steering
So this has been a big point of debate here. When I was trying to describe it to a friend earlier I said it's like playing a good racing game with force feedback. Yes, the steering is devoid of road noise. But, I don't think you need it. Especially in sport. You point the car where it wants to go it goes there. You get the feedback you need. Do I miss my hands being pulled every which way on a rough road. Kinda. Will I get over it? Most likely

iDrive
This has to be the biggest disappointment so far. By no means is this a diss on iDrive, I actually think the system is better than ever (especially since I came from a CCC), but I think my expectations were high. Voice commands feel more cludgey than on my old car (you can't just say "Call John" you have to say "Phonebook, John") Album art shows up a few seconds after the song starts appears blurry (maybe this is my fault). Okay, really I'm just mad that I can't get Pandora because I didn't drop $250 on Apps. Also, it sucks that the iPhone can't do email, SMS, or photo contacts with iDrive yet when much cheaper phones can.

Things that I'm getting used to/current annoyances
These things will probably bother me less as I get more used to the car, but my coupe is still in my mind so:
-The steering wheel blocks your view of either the bottom or top of the instrument cluster, not a huge deal if you have heads up display activated
-You can no longer press and hold the start stop button to shut the car all the way off, you must press the button twice.
-The ambient lighting in the door is barely noticeable compared to the E92. Even with the brightness turned all the way up you really only see a reflection on the inner door handle
-Auto Off/On is cool for gas savings but it def freaked me out the first few times (especially coming from a manual). I think I'll utilize it but disable it when people are in the car so they don't think I stalled :-)
-Entertainment information seems less detailed in this car
-Posted about this earlier, but I think they cheaped out the standard auto shift lever. They could have at least put the leather boot on it.
-Turn signals in the mirror take some getting used to out of the corner of your eye
-The packaging of options needs to change. Let me order the car the way I want it.

Things that are absolutely better in this car
-The seats
-BLACK HEADLINER
-Great color on the corona rings
-Solid feel

Hope this helps anyone that is seeking info. Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer.

[zeezz]

Thanks for your review. Out of curiousity, I know you did not opt for/get BMW apps, but what about the BMW Assist/enhanced bluetooth? I'm wondering if that would be another way to stream Pandora (over Bluetooth A2DP).

Car looks great, mine will be almost identical.. :P

[PrinceBarin]

Hey, congrats on the car and thanks for posting a review! The car looks awesome.

A few people have commented on the steering wheel blocking the cluster and on the indicator reflections. Minor points in the scheme of things I hope?!

Enjoy!

[J1n]

Thanks for the review. !

I wonder if I'll ever get used to the clanky sound of the engine.. I've been thinking if I should swap to a 335

[Nero7]

Great review, thanks .

[jzcrna]

don't worry about BMW apps. you can still stream if you have bmwassist.

The novelty of BMW Apps wears off after a while as it is just easier to turn on satellite radio.

Congrats!! Oh and yes the anthracite headliner is a great improvement to that grey color.

[chip2058]

Originally Posted by zeezz

I'm wondering if that would be another way to stream Pandora (over Bluetooth A2DP)

Yes, you can totally stream over Enhanced Bluetooth. You can go forward on songs too you just can't create new playlists or see Album Art. This also worked through the USB cable on the CCC if you started it on the phone so I have to imagine similar situation here. Spotify should also work though on my old car you'd get this weird noise between songs.

Originally Posted by PrinceBarin

A few people have commented on the steering wheel blocking the cluster and on the indicator reflections. Minor points in the scheme of things I hope?!

Exactly, it could be a seating position thing. I think the heads up display solves for this though if you get it.

Originally Posted by J1n

I wonder if I'll ever get used to the clanky sound of the engine.. I've been thinking if I should swap to a 335

It's probably the only thing I don't like about the engine so far. My solution, just drive the car it goes away :-)

Oh and I found one more minor nit. I really miss the forward and back buttons the steering wheel. Yes, you can now scroll to the song, but its a little distracting compared to just hitting the button.