[sygazelle]

I participated in the BMW Ultimate Driving Experience autocross this morning in Alameda, CA.

The cars I got to drive were the 535i and 535d.

Quick summary:

BMW puts on a great event. Well organized. Instructors were excellent.

The F10 handled much better than I expected considering the weight difference over the F30. I test drove the F10 a couple of times in 2011 and 2012 and hated it. The steering was numb, the run flats were awful, and the suspension was like my fathers Oldsmobile. That was the main reason I went from a 5 series to a 3 series. Fast forward to today: The F10 535i and 535d were both night and day difference to the F10 of MY2011. With the improvements they have made, I would have no trouble owning this car. I'm still thrilled with my F30 and not sorry at all that I "downsized", but when I am looking for my next car, the 5er is back in the running for sure.

[nop]

I went today and drove the 228i at the autocross class. I've already ordered a 335i so I went with the 2-er because I figured it was closer than the 5. The car was amazing, the instructors were great, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I've never pushed a car that hard before and never taken corners like that, it was an exciting drive all around. If you have a chance to do this, DO IT!

My impressions:
1) Wow, that 2-series is well balanced and the suspension is great. Nothing seems to throw it off track.
2) My worries about getting the 8AT are *GONE* (I've been driving stick forever). There is no way I could have come close to what I did today if I had to clutch and shift while doing it, and the transmission just kept doing the right things.
3) The lap with the instructor driving was insane. I thought I knew what fast driving was, I was so wrong.

Other things at the event:
The X5 hill climbing demo. They built a mountain for the X5 to climb with about a 40 degree up slope and 20 degrees down. The fact that it was on two thin rails with rollers to create slippage made it much scarier. The X5 is driven by a professional and you get to ride along and see how the AWD power transfer, hill hold, and descent control perform, which is remarkably well for all of them. Do this, it's really cool and a bit terrifying.

The skid-pad demo. Meh. The car slides with traction control off. Doesn't slide but feels like crap with it on. Safety is good, but the stability control is just unpleasant and makes for a lousy demo.

Take a demo car out on public roads. They had many cars available but there was a long line. The only one I got was the 535d (they're really pushing the diesels). I'm not going to write up a review of that car here, I'm sure you can find better sources. I was not super-impressed and I have to disagree with the OP and say that the steering was still numb and gave no feedback.

They also had an M4 and i8 on display. The latter was very interesting to sit it. You don't get a feeling for how high a quality the materials are from pictures on the internet. Sitting inside, it's very fancy and also very enveloping.

Overall I had a great time. Thanks, local BMW dealers. Next time I will pay for the more advanced driving classes. You should all go.

[MikaM3]

I was there today as well! It was a blast!!!

[F30SD]

I am scheduled for september 21. I was looking forward to the event before and after reading your reviews I am super excited.