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      04-02-2014, 04:05 AM   #1
chiark
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Mini review: 1 week / 500 miles in...

So it's been a week since I picked up my shiny F31 330D M Sport from the lovely team at JCT 600 in Bradford. I realise this is a bit like preaching to the choir, but here's my week in review...
Spec, for those that care, is EBII, black dakota, hex+EB trim, M sport plus, pro nav, adaptive suspension, lumbar support, heated front seats, interior comfort pack and towbar. Ordered 3rd Feb, built 7th March, at dealer 19th March, collected 25th March.

Order experience: very good, with a weekly call from the dealer letting me know where the car was. Only changed spec once to add the towbar.

Pickup: again, very good. Car looked stunning, even under the bright showroom lights. No complaints at all. Handover was simple, straightforward and told me what I needed to know.

The first drive: It is my first automatic, and I'm used to getting in a car, putting my left foot on the clutch/right foot on the brake before it'll start, so this is going to take a bit of getting used to . Even with 11 miles on the clock, the car feels eager and in the damp with part throttle the TC light would occasionally flicker. Left everything in auto, and it felt pretty good.

I then sat in the garage at home and loaded music on, playing with the music collection and HK setup. It's pretty good as-is, but I'm planning on replacing the front mids and tweeters sometime all the same. I'll put a separate thread on this topic... but the HK setup is definitely good. It does stream music via Bluetooth from my phone despite not having EBT.

Since then, I've covered 500 miles: 250 on motorway, 100 around town and 150 of 'spirited' driving. Average so far around 40mpg, but really not bothered too much about that.

Ride: The ride is surprisingly compliant in comfort mode on the awful roads around here despite the 19s, and the only hint you get in comfort mode that the unsprung weight is pretty serious is a barely perceivable shudder, which is too strong a word for it. Despite this, it feels pretty flat through corners, which surprised me. It's damn clever to the point of witchcraft.
Put it in sport and the character changes instantly. There's more connection with the road, and you realise just how much comfort was isolating you from the surface. It feels like a stiffly sprung car. I haven't had a chance yet to give it a solid workout in this mode, but I'm certainly pleased to have ordered adaptive, as it goes from exceptionally comfortable to hooligan instantly.

Performance: not too much to say about this given the lack of miles, but I'm certainly not disappointed. The torque of the engine is simply immense, even from very low down. The slug of torque is more than the 911 by quite some way, but of course the way it delivers power is hugely different. I will miss holding onto a gear until 7k rpm to wring the best out of the engine, but this torque is so easy to drive it's astonishing. It feels mind buggeringly quick. The gearbox deserves a hat tip, too: it'll shuffle gears like a seasoned croupier in Eco mode, or let you do your own thing in sport manual, or do it for you in sport auto. Outstanding. I look forward to playing more

Seats: Wow, just brilliant. My E46 had sports seats, my E91 had standard and the less said about the 911 seats the better. The F3x sports seats are, without doubt, the most comfortable I have ever found in a car. Lumbar is brilliant, the adjustable back width is brilliant, the range of adjustability on everything is brilliant. Despite not being too much of an old fart (just turned 40) I do occasionally have back problems, but these seats are simply superb. I would strongly recommend the lumbar support, which can me adjusted up/down and in/out. Heating is pretty nice on a cold day too, as it heats your back as well as bum. Even on lowest setting it's very toasty.

Space: The kids have loads of space in the back, noticeably more so than in the E91 (and quite a lot more than the 911 ) . From the driver's seat when pressing on you do forget the size of the car, but when you turn your head - or when you're parking it - you're left in no doubt that this is a big car. The 'cockpit' is a much more focused place than the E91.

Lights: the xenons are fantastic and on dark country roads the dipped illumination is impressive, whereas full beam is as better than the headlights + PIAA lights I had on an old Scoob. Stunning. Do I wish I'd gone for adaptive? Not one bit.

Steering: hmm. Yet to be convinced. There's next to no feedback. It weights up nicely at speed, but when pushing on the only clue you get when you're coming up to the limit of grip comes from your senses, not the steering wheel at all. There's a little bit of something there, but it's a whisper. My E91 (pre LCI, standard hydraulic steering) was way better, and let's not even mention the 911... This is, to be honest, disappointing for the performance and feel of the rest of the car. I'm sure BMW could do better.

Anything I should have added to my spec? The amount of information the car tells you via the displays is a lot: I can honestly see why HUD would be so useful and why people who have it evangelise it. Is it worth the money? Very possibly.
I don't like the side //m badges, so have removed 'em with a hairdryer, dental floss and a bit of panel wipe.
I'm slightly disappointed with the EB interior trim piece, and may yet change it for hex/gloss black if I dislike it that much.

My view on options:
19s? Nice to have, doesn't ruin the ride at all, but not essential. I'm paranoid about scratching these swines already.
M sport plus brakes? Look blinging, but honestly the standard brakes would be more than adequate for me.
Xenons? ESSENTIAL. Big big step up in performance, and they also look fantastic.
HK? ESSENTIAL. The standard speakers are pretty poor. The HK adds amp, band EQ, L7 processing and more speakers. It's pretty good.
Lumbar? ESSENTIAL. Just brilliant. Finishes the seats perfectly.
Adaptive? ESSENTIAL. Witchcraft. That is all.
Towbar? If you think you might ever need one, essential as the integration is simply superb. Hidden out of sight when not in use, and the way it unfolds will either elicit "oh, that's clever" or "oh, that's a lot to go wrong" depending on your audience
Seat Heating? Very very nice to have, and used surprisingly often already.
Sun glass? Nice for the kids, and it's not too dark.
Pro nav? A nice toy, but not essential in all honesty. This would be the one thing I would be happy to drop.

All in all am I happy? You bet. It is a stunning, stunning car that is way more fun than a practical family diesel estate should ever have the right to be. I look forward to keeping it for many years. Should I have gone for xDrive? No, I prefer sDrive despite the traction control. What about a 335D? No, I honestly think this is enough for now, and I wanted sDrive. Alpina D3 biturbo? If money were no object, probably , and I wonder what the steering is like...

TLDR; 'kin awesome in almost every aspect, but steering could be better.
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      04-02-2014, 04:50 AM   #2
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Great review thanks, helps with the wait !! I remember the first auto I drove, it was in America, I stamped on the break with my left foot so hard "clutching" that the stupidly sized car behind almost entered the cabin felt a right tool! Be careful.
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      04-02-2014, 05:04 AM   #3
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Fantastic write-up.

Despite my personal preference/need for xDrive (and at only £800 more than the 330d, the 335d became the sensible choice), I agree/understand all of your findings - except I do value my adaptive xenons with high beam assist as I have plenty of opportunities to get out of street lighting areas and the dancing lights are awesome.

Pleased you are enjoying your new motor. I share your opinion of the adaptive suspension - flat and stiff through corners and in Sport mode but rides very comfortably in Comfort mode. Even on 19" run-flats the adaptive ride on my F30 is better than on my 520d on with SE suspension and 17" wheels. Excellent engineering!
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      04-02-2014, 05:10 AM   #4
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Good write up. As a fellow Sdriver, your thoughts pretty much echo mine.

D.
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      04-02-2014, 05:54 AM   #5
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Great write up.

I love the witchcraft comment... I completely agree, my adaptive suspension is one if the best things about my car.

Keep on enjoying your new toy.
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      04-02-2014, 07:03 AM   #6
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Very good review.
Its surprising how different these cars are. A few people say there is quite a bit of difference between Comfort in Sport mode suspension wise on the 330d sdrive, but I can hardly tell any difference at all between the modes in my 335d. Whether it is to do with the softer springs, I dunno. I even had it checked out by my dealer just after I had it!

Did you not consider VSS?
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      04-02-2014, 07:22 AM   #7
chiark
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I did consider VSS, but from what I'd read it seemed to offer less feedback than the servotronic that's standard on mine. As I understand it, it changes the steering ratio and I don't have a problem with that, just the lack of feedback... Perhaps there's still a bit of release compound on the tyres, but I'm hoping for me.

The steering wheel as a tactile thing does feel fantastic though - not too thick, and nice quality feel to it.
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      04-02-2014, 07:34 AM   #8
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Great write up.

Admittedly when I read the title I was " why is someone reviewing a mini"
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      04-02-2014, 07:39 AM   #9
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Great write up. Still waiting for mine, which is about 3/4 weeks away. It seems to be taking ages. Spec is similar to mine but didn't go with the adaptive suspension in the end. Let's hope I won't miss it.
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      04-02-2014, 07:48 AM   #10
chiark
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I don't think you'll miss adaptive if you've not had it or experienced it. The ride on the test drive with M-Sport but no adaptive felt better than the E91 SE on 18s that I had before... I think adaptive suits me as it needs to be both a comfortable mile eater as well as a source of fun, and adaptive has nailed that brilliantly. Saying that, I would be happy (and 500 quid better off) with the m sport suspension, I'm sure, whereas I did not want it on the E91 as it was too harsh.
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      04-02-2014, 08:11 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chiark View Post
I don't think you'll miss adaptive if you've not had it or experienced it. The ride on the test drive with M-Sport but no adaptive felt better than the E91 SE on 18s that I had before... I think adaptive suits me as it needs to be both a comfortable mile eater as well as a source of fun, and adaptive has nailed that brilliantly. Saying that, I would be happy (and 500 quid better off) with the m sport suspension, I'm sure, whereas I did not want it on the E91 as it was too harsh.
Yeah my E91 Msport is very hard, often a very jarring ride.

Seriously considered adaptive, however had a number of drives without it (X&S drive) and short of very fast windy roads I can manage without it.

Lumbar yeah maybe I should, however back is ok and have heated ones spec'd.

I do love the very many positive comments on the engine

Xenons were first on my list as my E91 does not have but wife's car does, so bone of contention lol.

Have fun
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      04-02-2014, 08:47 AM   #12
chiark
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I should have clarified that when I say "essential", I mean essential for ME . You will have different priorities, and I'm sure some will say xDrive is essential, etc... The car works brilliantly for me.
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      04-02-2014, 08:57 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brigand View Post
Yeah my E91 Msport is very hard, often a very jarring ride.

Seriously considered adaptive, however had a number of drives without it (X&S drive) and short of very fast windy roads I can manage without it.

Lumbar yeah maybe I should, however back is ok and have heated ones spec'd.

I do love the very many positive comments on the engine

Xenons were first on my list as my E91 does not have but wife's car does, so bone of contention lol.

Have fun
When the road gets bumpy the standard sDrive M Sport suspension is faster than the adaptive, so you are not losing anywhere other than slightly more jar over cats eyes (compared with adaptive in Comfort mode...of course).
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      04-02-2014, 09:02 AM   #14
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great review, makes me excited about getting mine!
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      04-02-2014, 09:03 AM   #15
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Nice write up chiark, glad you are enjoying it.
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      04-02-2014, 12:49 PM   #16
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Glad you are enjoying the car mate.
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      04-02-2014, 01:16 PM   #17
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Nice write up and thsnks for sharing,
Alex
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