Today: Susan Komen drive for cancer

[EdCT]

My wife and I will be taking the drive in Ridgefield, CT tomorrow. I'll get to spend at least 12 miles with the new E90 325 without a salesman yammering in my ear. In addition, BMW donates a buck towards a cure for cancer for every mile driven.

At last, I can waste time and kill an afternoon test driving cars and feel good about it.

While I'm at it, might try a Z4, too.

I'm in the market, my 323 is turning five years old in November - I still love it, it's been a wonderful car in every way, exceeding expectations. It still looks great, brand new actually (only has 45k on it and lives in the garage). But, while it still has some value (depreciating rapidly), it's a good idea to think about selling.

New cars on my list: E90 (not too excited about this one, I have to admit), new Miata MX5 (very excited), Honda S2000 (more excitement), Z4 (only because of the discounts, might still find it hard to get past the looks), Infiniti G35 coupe ( overlooked, imo), and finally, the new Vette (yum yum, but I'd have to save for another year).

Obviously, I'm leaning towards coupes and sports cars - we'll see, I'm in no hurry.

I'll follow-up after tomorrow's drive.

Ed

[Patrick330i]

If you get a chance, drive the 330i as well. I missed two opportunities I had to do the drive. On one opportunity, I dumbassed it and couldn't find the damned place. I really wanted to get into the 330i MT since my dealer has yet to have one in stock. (They just have step.) Oh, and have fun. :D

[EdCT]

If you get a chance, drive the 330i as well. Oh, and have fun. :D

Thanks Patrick,

If there's a 330 available, I'll take it out. I did test drive the new 330 back in May when they first arrived. I liked it, it handled really well and it went really fast. However, I didn't love it, it was isolating and uninvolving.

Haven't tried a 325 yet - would like to do one with a SP, but I bet the komen cars are on the plebian side.

Ed

[EdCT]

Follow up:

I drove the E90 325i with step and a sport package. I liked it a lot, it definitely is a much better handling car than my E46. In fact, it has a more nimble, tossable feel, yet it's larger and weighs a bit more than my car - an impressive achievement. The driving position and steering felt just about perfect.

The interior was a real let down, not so much the design, which I could live with, but the quality of materials - this car, at 35 large, had the exact same headliner and trim around the a pillars as our new Outback wagon and, gasp, a cheaper feeling set of switches and buttons just about everywhere from the climate control to the overhead/sunroof console area - cheap, crappy plastic - what a major disappointment.

Also, my wife hated it, so.....

I drove the Z4 3.0 - it's ugly, but WOW!!! What a car! I want one, in fact, I think I'm getting one (unless the new Miata tempts me away).

The Z4 does just about everything a car enthusiast could want, it's reasonably comfortable, it's relatively light (could be better there, though), it's fast and powerful and it handles remarkably well.... I took an entrance ramp onto I84 at..........well, let's just say it handles really well;)

Ed

[bmw325]

Yeah, I was also not so thrilled w/ the e90 interior. Although, I will say that its the best of the bunch (out of the e60, 65 and 90). Nothing can beat the all-out crappiness of the e60's interior. I hate to say it, but if didnt like the e90's interior, you're going to hate the G35's. That car also has a truly crappy interior. Its like driving inside an 80s boom box.

[mdsbuc]

We did this a few months ago in Tampa. We started the day by doing the Ultimate Driving Experience. In this you compare the E90 against the G35 and the A4 on a road course with professional drivers coaching you. It was a blast, and as far as a driving experience the 330i blew the doors off both the other vehicles. We were sure we wanted a 330i.

Afterwards, we drove a number of vehicles in the Susan B. Kohlman (Sp?) event. We drove a 545i, two Z4s, a 650(?) and 7series. All were awesome. We especially loved the Z4s- great torque that really forced you into the back of your seat and a sound that when you stepped on it just made you grin!:D

A two seater doesn't fit in our plans right now, but a Z down the road is something we would really like.
The 545 sold us on the 5 series and a 530i is now on order for ED.

You will love the SBK drive. Drive as many vehicles as you can. It will be a very memorable day.

[Liverman]

My wife and I participated in the Ultimate Drive® for Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in Colorado Springs today. What a blast! We drove a 525i (nice car, but underpowered), a 330i with 6-speed manual (whoo eee!!) and a 3.0i X3.

It was a great bit of fun, we helped raise money for a very worthy cause and we confirmed what we wanted in a BMW when we order.

There are more events in the upper midwest and northeast: http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/EventsandPrograms/UDSK/

This is well worth playing hookey for a half day - if you pitch it right, your boss might give you the time without taking a vacation day!

[plien69]

My wife and I participated in the Ultimate Drive® for Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in Colorado Springs today. What a blast! We drove ... a 330i with 6-speed manual (whoo eee!!) ...You guys had a 6-speed manual at the Komen Drive?! I did the Drive in Ridgefield, CT last Friday, July 29 and there were no manual transmission cars in that Eastern Fleet at all.

We were told that BMW decided not to have any manual transmission cars this year because a) not many people know how to drive them (boo!), and b) those that do tend to abuse them more than autos.

I'm jealous!

How did you find the 330's shifting? And may I ask what your previous/current experience is with manual transmissions?

Here are the cars I drove, arranged in ascending order of desirability, IMO:
X3 3.0i
X5 4.4i
750i
E46 330Ci
E90 325i
Z4 3.0
645Ci
545i

[EdCT]

You guys had a 6-speed manual at the Komen Drive?! I did the Drive in Ridgefield, CT last Friday, July 29 and there were no manual transmission cars in that Eastern Fleet at all.

We were told that BMW decided not to have any manual transmission cars this year because a) not many people know how to drive them (boo!), and b) those that do tend to abuse them more than autos.

I'm jealous!

How did you find the 330's shifting? And may I ask what your previous/current experience is with manual transmissions?

Here are the cars I drove, arranged in ascending order of desirability, IMO:
X3 3.0i
X5 4.4i
750i
E46 330Ci
E90 325i
Z4 3.0
645Ci
545i

Wow, you did approximately 120 miles! I got tired of the I84 loop and heavy traffic ( I was there at 2pm) after two drives.

Ed

[Liverman]

You guys had a 6-speed manual at the Komen Drive?! I did the Drive in Ridgefield, CT last Friday, July 29 and there were no manual transmission cars in that Eastern Fleet at all.

We were told that BMW decided not to have any manual transmission cars this year because a) not many people know how to drive them (boo!), and b) those that do tend to abuse them more than autos.

I'm jealous!

How did you find the 330's shifting? And may I ask what your previous/current experience is with manual transmissions?
This turned out a bit longer than I had planned...

We had two 2006 330i with 6-speed, funky start button and a few other bells and whistles. This is the 255-HP engine. They told us they had just received those a couple of weeks ago.

Let me put it this way - Wendy pulled onto the interstate portion of the route and thought she was accelerating "normally" (we have a little Mazda 626 with 5-speed manual, probably about 150-HP 2.2L 4-cyl). She was just getting into fourth gear and glanced at the speedo and discovered she was toodling along at 80 MPH (in a 60 MPH zone).:yikes:

I also drive the 330i. I grew up driving manual transmissions - GM, Ford, Volkswagon, Audi, cars and trucks. I have zero experience in driving anything near as performance oriented as a BMW 3-series and I have never driven a BMW M-class car. The closest I have gotten is a mid-70's model Capri, a late 70's Audi 100 and an '88 Mazda 626 (Japanese sports sedan). My son is still driving the 626 with 350000 miles on the clock. I am into function, reliability, comfort, fun - a good balance among those. I currently drive a F350 with auto tranny and 7.3L turbo diesel. Having said that, the vast majority of my lifetime driving miles have been driving 3-, 4- and 5-speed manual transmissions.

I find every manual transmission shifts differently - different ratios between gears, different engagement point with the clutch, etc. A fifteen mile drive is really not enough to learn the transmission. I think I figured out the 1st to 2nd gear gap by the end of the drive with the 330i, but it was not yet "muscle memory".

Having said that, I found the 330i engine very responsive, I found the shifting to be very smooth and quick. My wife was thrilled, I was thrilled. We were disappointed that the drive was in pretty heavy traffic and there were few opportunities to open her up and check out what all those gears can really do for you. We would have loved to drive her from Colorado Springs to Woodland Park (~2500' uphill, some really nice twisty bits). We may have to organize a longer test drive with the local dealer ;)

My priorities are exactly opposite yours :) - a RWD-only car is not the best in Colorado mountain winters and low slung car does not work well with the rutted dirt ranch roads where I live. So I am looking at the SAV, really focusing on the X3 (you can read my opinions about X5 vs X3 elsewhere on this forum). This drive convinced us that we do want the six-speed manual over the Steptronic. It also convinced my wife that she really likes the better visibility and higher seating position in the X3 over the sedan (we drove a 5-series, too) - even if we got x-drive in the 3er. So we'll trade a sportiness for the ability to get up our drive (1/4 mile long, 200' elevation change, unplowed in the winter) and better confidence in seating/visibility. I yearn for the new 255-HP 3.0L engine in the X3, though!

[mdsbuc]

You guys had a 6-speed manual at the Komen Drive?! I did the Drive in Ridgefield, CT last Friday, July 29 and there were no manual transmission cars in that Eastern Fleet at all.

We were told that BMW decided not to have any manual transmission cars this year because a) not many people know how to drive them (boo!), and b) those that do tend to abuse them more than autos.

I'm jealous!

How did you find the 330's shifting? And may I ask what your previous/current experience is with manual transmissions?

Here are the cars I drove, arranged in ascending order of desirability, IMO:
X3 3.0i
X5 4.4i
750i
E46 330Ci
E90 325i
Z4 3.0
645Ci
545i
At our drive the only car we had w/ a stick was one on the Z4s. It shifted very smoothly. Clutch engagement was very smooth. We drove a 330i w/ a stick at the dealership and I had a little trouble w/ the clutch. Engagement seemed kind of high up off the floor and rather abrupt. We've ordered the 530i w/ a stick, but have not driven one. They are impossible to find at the 4 local dealers we've checked. My experience is similar to Livermans, having driven an F350 for the past seven years. I've been driving for about 40 years and have owned numerous vehicles w/ sticks. Recently, two Volvos and a Honda Accord.