07-18-2019, 01:57 PM | #1 |
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Got a Brand New G20 Loaner- Some thoughts
So I took my car in for service today and they gave me a brand new 330i xdrive as a loaner. Just figured I'd share a few things about the car...
Exterior- Please see pics. Ugly IMO but the rims spec'd on this one are pretty nice. The grill as we all know is a massive fail and just stares you in the face. Interior- I would say fit and finish is pretty decent. Some of the control buttons being metal is a nice touch but I wish they would go all or nothing. They have these nice metal buttons next to plastic ones which makes it a bit wonky looking. Seating position is nice and there is enough adjust ability in the steering wheel that I'm sure you'll be able to find a comfortable arm resting position. Gauges are all digital on this G20 and you can toggle a few different displays on the right side. One of the things included that I thought was cool is a G meter. But the dash, although nice looking, is flawed and here's why. When sitting in the car the whole dash and radio buttons, controls etc is a lot lower than in my F30. It's almost as if it all got smushed down... The shift knob is also really easy to bump in and out of gear. I only mention this because I put the car into neutral while driving about 5 times. The radio buttons are much lower and because they're so low my forearm bumped the shifter by accident and caused me to bump into neutral several times. For example if you had water bottles in the cup holders they would completely block them. You could obviously just use the S/W buttons but since I'm not familiar with the car I figured I'd set some presets for my short driving experience. Tranny- A bit clunky coming to a stop sign with a slow roll through. My F30 is a stick so I don't know how the G20 compares to an Auto F30 but I was kind of disappointed to feel that clunkiness. I also tried both sport and comfort modes to see if it would still happen and it did. Shifting though, when driving in Manual mode, is lightning fast both up and down. Suspension- So I would say this is where this model is exceptional compared to my 340. This car has standard suspension and so does mine. Going over bumps in the G20 is a lot less harsh and even low speed cornering is much more flat compared to my car. It's enough of a difference that I noticed it just driving through some curvy side blocks to my house. Anyway, just figured I'd give my two cents on the car since they're still new and there aren't too many around just yet. Personally, I don't think I'd go for a G20 once my lease is up. Cheers folks
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Last edited by Savageenterprise; 07-19-2019 at 07:18 AM.. |
07-18-2019, 02:11 PM | #2 |
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Exterior is nice; I like that color, and wish they would offer more light interiors. I think you're right, though, about the instrument panel. It looks a bit like they're trying too hard to make it resemble an iPhone. Is the night lighting still orange?
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07-18-2019, 02:30 PM | #3 | |
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That being said, you know you can toggle the ambient lighting in the F30 right? Between Classic and Sport. Classic is the Orange ambient lighting and White is the Sport.
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07-18-2019, 02:43 PM | #5 |
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I don't have a Classic setting in my 2015 -- not that I have seen in the manual, anyway. The only change I know of to make to the lighting is the brightness/dimness.
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07-18-2019, 02:57 PM | #6 |
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lol. I know I didn't post a side pic...I'll snap one later
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07-18-2019, 07:17 PM | #7 |
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One of the beefs a reviewer had about the dash is the lack of configurability. It's just an LCD screen so you can technically do anything with it.
I'd say Audi for the win with their "virtual cockpit". They do a better job with the flexibility of that space and content you can display. Great to hear about the handling. The notes before it was launched was it was meant to reclaim the "ultimate driving machine" with less body roll. |
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07-19-2019, 07:21 AM | #8 | |
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07-19-2019, 07:38 AM | #9 |
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The 330 has surprising power for a 4-pot and it handles like an F30 LCI. IMO, the G20 grille is still unattractive and some of the buttons look cheap and have super-small labels on them. During my drive, I did not even look at the virtual cockpit.
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07-19-2019, 07:40 AM | #10 |
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I agree with and noticed most of the points mentioned above when I also got it as a loaner recently--it hasn't really won me over. I'm particularly not fond of the Lexus-ish style rear.
Plus my toddler wouldn't stop screaming "Hey BMW" and activating the hands-free assistant since he's seen the BMW commercials...not sure how much of that I could take if I had to drive it much longer.
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07-19-2019, 08:07 AM | #11 | |
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Agree. Those wheels are nice. 19's? What size and model tires are they using now? |
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07-19-2019, 09:00 AM | #12 | |
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07-19-2019, 09:05 AM | #13 |
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It does actually have a suprising amount of power TBH, I don't think I mentioned that. The handling though is definitely better in the G20. I have an LCI F30 as mine is an 18' and the cornering is flatter with less body roll in the G20.
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07-19-2019, 09:59 AM | #14 |
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I personally like it. I saw an M340i the other day, and other than the strange grille pattern, I thought it looked like a nice modern interpretation of a 3 series. It's not the prettiest 3 series, but it's definitely not the worst either.
I think as we see more of these G20s driving around, our F30s are going to start looking really old. The F30 didn't look that much more modern than the E90, but the E90 started looking old fairly quickly. BMW always seems to do an "evolution/revolution" approach to styling (E36/E46, E90/F30) so that every other generation is a fairly big jump in styling. When the E90 came out, the E46 (though still one of my favorite 3 series) started looking really old. |
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07-19-2019, 09:59 AM | #15 |
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Ever since the G20 was launched, I decided that my next vehicle would be either the X3 or X5. I love the looks and features of the new X5. After seeing the G20 in person, I became even more set on the X3/X5.
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07-19-2019, 12:50 PM | #16 |
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I don't think this is a sport trim one so the rims are 18's running Bridgestone Turanza's
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07-19-2019, 12:52 PM | #17 | |
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Whatever color Blue this is though is really nice. Especially in the sun it's got a nice deep sparkle to it
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07-19-2019, 12:58 PM | #18 | |
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For me personally, I would rather just have a nice sedan or a real truck like a Tahoe or Denail instead of a crossover. It is kind of nice having at least one SUV in the house though for when we're traveling with the baby and I could see the X3 suiting that perfectly.
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07-19-2019, 01:02 PM | #19 | |
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The main problem with the 3 series grille in general is that the surrounding trim is just too thick. It'd look much better if the rings were thinner. So even if you get the black M Perf grille in black, it still looks too thick and just looks like a big black patch in the middle of the car. I strongly prefer the black grille on the F30, but the G20 I think actually looks better in chrome since it's so big. I believe some modifications might help, though. The louvres in the grille are separately removable so opening them up permanently or removing them might make it look a lot better. Another modification that might help is if someone makes a grille with thinner surrounds. Then it might look better in black. |
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07-19-2019, 01:51 PM | #20 |
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Is this really an improvement?
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07-19-2019, 02:58 PM | #21 |
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07-19-2019, 03:22 PM | #22 | |
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