I am not a BMW driver, but I've spent a long time trying to understand whether I should buy one. Specifically, I was thinking to get a F30 328i.
Now, before reading the rest, I would like you to understand something about me: I like cars that accelerate quickly, but I don't actually own one. My experience pertaining to "fast" cars comes from going on business trips and renting some more interesting (compared to my Accord) cars, such as a Chevrolet Malibu LY7, or Nissan Altima V6. If you compare the engines in these two cars with the 328i, they seem to be quite similar in terms of power output. I've actually had fun with both, but more so with the Altima because it *really* felt like it was really accelerating when I was pressing the accelerator for entering a freeway, for instance. Compared to my current Accord, they were both significantly more fun, though...
This brought me to think about the next car, and I was thinking I should get a 328i, since all my friends / cousin / cousin's friends drive BMWs, and they all swear that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and the power output was not insignificant.
Today I went to test the 328i and 335i. I went to two dealers and none had a 335i F30 and both said they were backordered for the next 4-5 months, which means I won't be able to try one out for a long while. Not nice.
However, I did get the chance to test drive a "base" 328i. This was completely underwhelming. I did not feel any force on my back, as I did with both the Altima (more), and the Malibu! I understand that it was not the Sports Line, but can that simple detail have such a dramatic impact? For testing purposes I actually floored the car several times to see what's the impact of flooring, and it had none of the visceral impact I was hoping it would.
Feel free to skip to the last paragraph unless you want to hear about my other impressions, unrelated to my main point... I liked that it was quiet inside, and I also liked the interior, and the "feel" of the car. I especially liked the turning radius!
What I did not like was that the car seemed to have many gimmicks. For instance, the salesman demonstrated the trunk opening mechanism, and I was thinking "wow" because I wondered whether I would be able to do it myself. I tried it a few times (maybe 8 times?) until it worked. It *never* worked for my wife, and the excuse given was that maybe her feet were too thin for the sensor to detect them!
Funnily the salesman also demonstrated the iDrive navigation system, proudly showing how well the voice recognition works. It worked for a specific address he tried (his home), but it did NOT work for any address I tried. He tried pronouncing it, and it kept getting the state wrong -- OREGON instead of CALIFORNIA, etc.
In any case, am I missing something with this car? Should I really be looking for a Sports Line to test, or will it be similarly underwhelming when compared to the base?
Now, before reading the rest, I would like you to understand something about me: I like cars that accelerate quickly, but I don't actually own one. My experience pertaining to "fast" cars comes from going on business trips and renting some more interesting (compared to my Accord) cars, such as a Chevrolet Malibu LY7, or Nissan Altima V6. If you compare the engines in these two cars with the 328i, they seem to be quite similar in terms of power output. I've actually had fun with both, but more so with the Altima because it *really* felt like it was really accelerating when I was pressing the accelerator for entering a freeway, for instance. Compared to my current Accord, they were both significantly more fun, though...
This brought me to think about the next car, and I was thinking I should get a 328i, since all my friends / cousin / cousin's friends drive BMWs, and they all swear that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and the power output was not insignificant.
Today I went to test the 328i and 335i. I went to two dealers and none had a 335i F30 and both said they were backordered for the next 4-5 months, which means I won't be able to try one out for a long while. Not nice.
However, I did get the chance to test drive a "base" 328i. This was completely underwhelming. I did not feel any force on my back, as I did with both the Altima (more), and the Malibu! I understand that it was not the Sports Line, but can that simple detail have such a dramatic impact? For testing purposes I actually floored the car several times to see what's the impact of flooring, and it had none of the visceral impact I was hoping it would.
Feel free to skip to the last paragraph unless you want to hear about my other impressions, unrelated to my main point... I liked that it was quiet inside, and I also liked the interior, and the "feel" of the car. I especially liked the turning radius!
What I did not like was that the car seemed to have many gimmicks. For instance, the salesman demonstrated the trunk opening mechanism, and I was thinking "wow" because I wondered whether I would be able to do it myself. I tried it a few times (maybe 8 times?) until it worked. It *never* worked for my wife, and the excuse given was that maybe her feet were too thin for the sensor to detect them!
Funnily the salesman also demonstrated the iDrive navigation system, proudly showing how well the voice recognition works. It worked for a specific address he tried (his home), but it did NOT work for any address I tried. He tried pronouncing it, and it kept getting the state wrong -- OREGON instead of CALIFORNIA, etc.
In any case, am I missing something with this car? Should I really be looking for a Sports Line to test, or will it be similarly underwhelming when compared to the base?