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2013 28i in my hands

8K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  bmwbix 
#1 ·
took delivery yesterday. mineral white-canyon brown interior. looks awesome. sorry, i am picture posting challenged
 
#3 ·
Hello from Australia,
I've only test driven the s23i and s20i, both on a short drive and did not fully apppreciate what they had to offer for performance, although was satisfied with the power. How is the s28i, are you satisfied with the power and acceleration, is it more than you expected or less.
Cheers, enjoy your Z4, I still have another 5-6 weeks wait.
 
#4 ·
Thanks.after a week of commuting to NYC I am enjoying everything except NYC streets.much more harsh than my 328 cabrio. That being said, handles great,plenty of power, mpg good .looking forward to new, mostly highway commute starting soon. Sory,still photo challrenged
 
#5 ·
Congrats on your new Z4. Would be great to see pics though. Perhaps I or someone else could walk you through posting pics on here. It is very easy to post pics.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Congratulations. My 28i went into production yesterday. Now the wait. Deep sea Blue metallic and canyon brown interior.
Just got notified that my28i is in the body shop and now has a vin number. Estimated production date 2/14/13.
 
#14 ·
Enroute to the US

Notified today that my 28i has "left the plant and ready to ship."
My 28i is enroute to the states on the Georgia Highway. ETA Brunswick GA 3/8/13. I live near Charleston SC, 3 hours from Brunswick.
 
#12 ·
I had a 2013 s28i as a rental vehicle while my 3-series is being put together after an accident. I was quite surprised by the lack of steering feel, it is a shame. The engine though, did not disappoint, but given the size of the car it shouldn't take Herculean strength to launch nimble rocket which is a z4.
I wish my rental s28i came mated to the 6-speed manual box, it could've been a lot more fun tossing it around the winter storm that passed us last week.
 
#13 ·
agreed on the steering feel.

had a 335i e93 convertible as a rental vehicle while my e89 sdrive35is was at the dealership for some work. While the 335i was definitely slower and a less refined interior, the steering had more feedback and felt better to drive.
 
#18 ·
Nice Machine. Congrats
 
#19 ·
2013 z4

Congrats on the new Z4! Took delivery of my 28i about 3 weeks ago and love it - second one I've owned. Question for all owners of 2013 28i's with manual transmission: does your car have drive off assist? That's the feature that applies the breaks for a couple of seconds when you're on a hill so it doesn't roll back when you start up. Really appreciate hearing from everyone!

Thank you!
 
#21 ·
thinking about a 28i

Have a 2004 330Ci ( M package/ 6 speed) and thinking about the Z4-28i w M package and 6 speed manual. Saleman was big on the N20 engine over the N54 for the 35i (less weight, engine closer to center, more reliable engine). The 330 Ci is a lot of fun but relatively underpowered... so having some concerns @ going down in cc's. Other than cost would you have picked the 28i over the 35i and, if so, why?
 
#22 ·
Hi Rob,

There were several reasons why I chose the S28i, certainly one reason over the 35i was the price. In Australia, $89,700.00 (U.S $88,500.00 approx)is the entry price for the s28i, add the M package $3,900.00 and metallic paint $1840.00, plus deliver and taxes etc, $100k plus. The 35i is $109,000.00 entry, plus all above, $120k plus. Both prices are well above M6, 911, U.S prices but that's another story, smaller market here, higher taxes, delivery etc and less of a supply demand from BMW.

So definitely the price.

As for satisfaction, the S28i (N20), has ample power, 1800 Kms (1150 miles) on the clock and the engine feels much more open. I have had an M3 before with similar 0-100 km/h, 0-60 times, high 5's secs, low 14's 1/4 mile. To be honest the N20 feels much more punchier and much less an effort to accelerate in and out of traffic. Since I've had the car 70% of driving has been city driving and my average is 7.2 litres per 100 Kms ( about 39 mpg), and that's not without the regular spurts of acceleration.

On the day I signed up for the car, I was ready to sign an E60 M5 2006 model, so yes I do want power, definitely and understand where your predicament is. However I test drove an auto 8 speed S20i that day as mine was the first S28i Z4 in South Australia and no test vehicles available. Yes the power was in hindsight a great deal less than mine, but no matter how slow or fast I drove it, it felt magnificent driving it.

The S28i more than meets my needs and being manual, it actually is 2/10 sec quicker than 8 speed to 100 km/h/60 mph (5.5 secs/5.4 secs), so in reality it's only a little slower in acceleration to the above against the S35i, the s35is is M3 territory though.

Fuel comparisons are greater, in favour of the N20. So if you like a lot of driving at cruising speed for 90% of the time, the N20 is the choice here.

I have not physically compared both and can only compare with my previous M3, but if that M3 had the N20 in it, it would have been a punchier car.

At the end of the day if both were the same price (for that special day sale) yes I would of chosen the S35i.

My answer to your question finally, is it is not worth paying 20-25 percent more for something (power) you will only use maybe 5-10% of the time. If there is little difference in price such as a demo or used car and it has all the specs you like, the the argument is in favour for the S35i

I hope I helped you

Cheers.
 
#23 ·
Thank you for all the helpful info. In the Annapolis area of Maryland the s28i w M package, 6 speed manual is listed @ $55,000 US and the s35i w similar equip is listed @ $61,000. So the price "gap" is $6k US. Cost aside the salesman implied that the N54 was not as reliable as the N20 and strongly suggested I go s28i.

The est. mpg is not given for the s28i in manual but for auto it is listed as 22/32 mpg. Wonder if US emissions results in a tuning package w less mileage and performace than its Aussie brother (esp if you are getting @ 39 mpg). Here Hp is 240 at 5000 rpm and Max torque 260 between 1250 and 4800 rmp. Is this the same for you?

Few other questions if you have the time: Can you easily turn off Auto Start-Stop function? Does an "electronic exhaust" mean there is a device to make or enhance the exhaust note?

Thanks again,

Rob
 
#24 ·
Power here is exactly the same, 180 kw (240 HP) and 350 nm torque (260 foot pounds).

In regards to the fuel consumption my journey computer shows 7.2 litres per 100 Kms. Sorry my mistake with conversion, I went by English gallons (4.56 litres) rather than U.S gallon (3.75 litres) which is different. 7.2 litres is 1.92 U.S gallons, so therefore it works out to approx 32 mpg, which makes more sense. I would say that with 100% city driving I would get about 8 litres/100kms that's about 28 mpg approx. so it's much better than the specs say in the brochure.

I believe that emission standards may be slightly stricter in the U.S, but not enough to vary above figures.

Now $6,000.00 seems great in comparison to our Aussie model upgrade, that may have influenced me to upgrade if that was the case here. As I mentioned before, the prices of your cars over there compared to here are amazing, the S28i is half the cost of mine, and our $ is worth slightly more than yours. But it's relative to our market and if that's what we want unfortunately, that's what we have to pay here.

I'm not sure about the salesman's comments on the reliability factor between the 2 engines, so I can't comment on that other than to say, maybe ask a technician at the dealership, or checkout other forums on the 3 litre twin turbo, it's in the 1 and 3 series, modelled 135i and 335i, that may help.

The N20 was listed in the top 10 engines in the world last year.

I hope you are happy with your choice, I am very happy with the S28i. It has been a surprise, it is quick and responsive and in all a better bang for your buck.

Cheers
 
#25 · (Edited)
Sorry I missed last 2 questions.

You can turn off stop/start button manually the switch is next to the open roof button. But it will turn on again next time you drive it, you just have to press button again. I did read somewhere that you can have the setting changed at BMW dealership, to the setting set when the car was last driven.

I'm not sure if you have driven a car with this function, at first it was strange when pulling up at traffic lights, putting gear in neutral and engine switches off, then a little anxiety sets in thinking 1. Is it going to start again, or 2. If people heard the engine switch off they may think I stalled. After a while you get use to it and actually enjoy the function. The engine will only switch off if the engine is warm, and the gear is in neutral. Otherwise if its going to be a quick change at the lights, just keep foot on clutch. The reaction time for the engine to restart is very quick, a small depress of the clutch starts the motor before you can even put it in gear. It may automatically restart on occasion, that may happen if aircon is on or other functions are drawing power.

Just to let you know I do favour this function, although all my passengers have said it feels weird sitting at lights with no engine sound and are apprehensive about the engine restarting in time to take off.

In regards to the exhaust note, firstly it sounds great in sport mode, like a 60's super car. I'm not sure if the exhaust note is electronically enhanced like the M5, but I did read somewhere that engineers spent ages trying to get that sound through the exhaust system. Lets hope it wasn't an electrical engineer who was helping.
 
#26 ·
Great comments. I hope they help others as well as yours truly. I am looking to buy in the summer (hope to get my 2004 3 series Ci to my son when he gets his licence in November ) will let you know what I choose.

Fyi.. family name on mom's side is Kelly ( and Loftus) and they came from Freemantle and Perth in 1902.

Rob
 
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