Pictures of the E90 from Spain

Originally Posted by PhilH

My guess is the Monaco Blue. Kind of looks like Steel Blue to me too, but that wouldn't be likely.

This is Arctic, no doubt. The Monaco blue is really dark. I ordered this colour on my E90 previous week, I'am glad I did since it looks a bit special. Not blue, not grey and not silver. It's a blend of those, depending on the light that shines on it.

The sides and the back look good but the kidney's have a very cheap looking feel to them.

Originally Posted by brybarrett

The sides and the back look good but the kidney's have a very cheap looking feel to them.

Well, you kould say the front looks abit "busy" or kinda cheap looking, but, I wouldnt say it is ugly.

On the other hand, its looks are pretty calm and classic compared with the other "monsters" we saw (5, 7, series)

In a couple of years when I will be looking for a new car, this will be on the top of my list!
I cant wait to test drive the new inline 6 as well. It is a shame that 320i will be a re-chipped E46 318i though....


Anyone knows if there will be a 2.2L 6 cylinder engine?
Restrictive laws over here have cars over 2250cc severely penalised .....8.06 cy pounds per cc........so, for a 2.5l 323i I will have to pay.......20.150 cyprus pounds...that is /0.44 (CYP/$) =45795 $ tax only!


Well done BMW on this one. And thanks for not spoiling the 3 series(like you did with the 5 and 7)

Originally Posted by Fifty_Cent

Well, you kould say the front looks abit "busy" or kinda cheap looking, but, I wouldnt say it is ugly.

On the other hand, its looks are pretty calm and classic compared with the other "monsters" we saw (5, 7, series)

In a couple of years when I will be looking for a new car, this will be on the top of my list!
I cant wait to test drive the new inline 6 as well. It is a shame that 320i will be a re-chipped E46 318i though....


Anyone knows if there will be a 2.2L 6 cylinder engine?
Restrictive laws over here have cars over 2250cc severely penalised .....8.06 cy pounds per cc........so, for a 2.5l 323i I will have to pay.......20.150 cyprus pounds...that is /0.44 (CYP/$) =45795 $ tax only!


Well done BMW on this one. And thanks for not spoiling the 3 series(like you did with the 5 and 7)

Hi, I'm afraid there won't be a 2.2 l., a dealer here in Valencia showed me yesterday the official info about the E90, it says the production of the 323i will start in September, orders can be placed from June, first deliveries in October. Sorry.

And yes, after seeing it live I agree with you, it looks calm and classic.

Bye

Originally Posted by brybarrett

The sides and the back look good but the kidney's have a very cheap looking feel to them.

That's one thing I'm a little unsure of too. The kidney grills are actually (U-U) shaped and there is a strip of crome on the hood that makes them look complete, but they are actually not. That's one thing about the E46, is I love the way the kidney grills are built into the hood. I'll wait untill I see the car in person to decide. I remember when the E60 pics came out I thought the car looked too weird, but then when I saw it in person and sat in it I changed my mind and now I like the car a lot. I hope the same is true for the E60. If you don't need NAV I'm not so sure the LCD screen in the middle is really needed for anything, OTOH without the screen in the middle the inside of the car looks too plain for me.

Originally Posted by Fifty_Cent

In a couple of years when I will be looking for a new car, this will be on the top of my list!
I cant wait to test drive the new inline 6 as well. It is a shame that 320i will be a re-chipped E46 318i though....

Why? It keeps the cost and emissions down, and the badge accurate .

Originally Posted by andy_thomas

Why? It keeps the cost and emissions down, and the badge accurate .

Are you kidding? BMW grew big on their smooth I-6 engines. The 320i is an icon since it was rather accessible for the middle class. Now they offer a rather uncultivated and harsh I-4 which, at least for me, reduces the appeal of the 320i dramatically. I could better buy an Opel Vextra 3.2 for the same money now.

Besides offering an I-4 instead of an I-6 doesn't reduce the emissions and fuel consumption. Strange discussions that we have here, for some it's never enough and others tend to praise BMW for offering less...

Originally Posted by KoenG

Are you kidding? BMW grew big on their smooth I-6 engines. The 320i is an icon since it was rather accessible for the middle class. Now they offer a rather uncultivated and harsh I-4 which, at least for me, reduces the appeal of the 320i dramatically. I could better buy an Opel Vextra 3.2 for the same money now.

Besides offering an I-4 instead of an I-6 doesn't reduce the emissions and fuel consumption. Strange discussions that we have here, for some it's never enough and others tend to praise BMW for offering less...

No, I'm not kidding at all. And have you driven a car with the Valvetronic engine? It certainly sounds like you haven't. Exactly what makes it "uncultivated and harsh"?

The 320i is a four-potter now, not a six (although its torque figures are practically identical to the outgoing 2.2). It is also pretty much the same price as the outgoing 318i, adjusted for equipment levels. How are we getting "less", exactly?

Originally Posted by KoenG

Are you kidding? BMW grew big on their smooth I-6 engines. The 320i is an icon since it was rather accessible for the middle class. Now they offer a rather uncultivated and harsh I-4 which, at least for me, reduces the appeal of the 320i dramatically. I could better buy an Opel Vextra 3.2 for the same money now.

Besides offering an I-4 instead of an I-6 doesn't reduce the emissions and fuel consumption. Strange discussions that we have here, for some it's never enough and others tend to praise BMW for offering less...

I was thinking the same until a local dealer showed me last Saturday the official info about the 323i, it will be available in September, orders can be placed from June. It will be more expensive than the 320i, that's for sure, but for example here in Spain the difference will be around 2,500 €, pretty reasonable in my opinion. I'd rather have the 323i with a 6 in-line and less options than a loaded 320i, besides it has some standard features the 320i can't have (ESP with new functions, twin exhaust), plus bigger wheels, etc. Definitely I'm going to wait for it.

Think about it

Originally Posted by juansego

I was thinking the same until a local dealer showed me last Saturday the official info about the 323i, it will be available in September, orders can be placed from June. It will be more expensive than the 320i, that's for sure, but for example here in Spain the difference will be around 2,500 €, pretty reasonable in my opinion.

That seems reasonable. The difference between the E46 318i (four-cyl) and 320i (six-cyl) is/was around £1,500 in the UK. But drive the 320i as a company car, and the tax bill is pretty bad (the 320i, 325i and 330i all have broadly the same emissions, upon which our company car taxes are based,so there is no tax advantage to having the smallest 'six'.)

i thought it was a 5 series at first glance. which is the whole same sausage different length i thought bangle was trying to get away from.
this angle reminds me of an evo

Originally Posted by andy_thomas

That seems reasonable. The difference between the E46 318i (four-cyl) and 320i (six-cyl) is/was around £1,500 in the UK. But drive the 320i as a company car, and the tax bill is pretty bad (the 320i, 325i and 330i all have broadly the same emissions, upon which our company car taxes are based,so there is no tax advantage to having the smallest 'six'.)

So I assume from what you're saying that in the UK there's specific taxation on company cars depending on their emissions, interesting. Is it a part of the income tax or an individual tax?

I work in the Spanish IRS, so to speak, that's why I'm interested in tax stuff

Originally Posted by juansego

So I assume from what you're saying that in the UK there's specific taxation on company cars depending on their emissions, interesting. Is it a part of the income tax or an individual tax?

Spot on. g/km figures for C02 are used - which broadly reflect that car's fuel economy, and favour lighter cars (so an Elise makes a really good company car - relatively affordable, and very low emissions). Diesels have the lowest C02 emissions, but older diesels not fitted a particle filter (and which belch out more muck) are hit with a surcharge which mostly wipes out that advantage.

How does it work? A taxpayer pays his top rate of tax on the benefit-in-kind (a way of describing the company car in terms of taxable income). The emissions figure determines what proportion of the car's list price is taxable.

Example: The 320d and 320i have almost identical purchase prices at around £23k. A middle-income taxpayer, who pays a top marginal rate of 22% tax, will pay 22% tax on 16% of the diesel's price, or 22% tax on 28% of the petrol car's price. (That's ~£810 a year for the 320d, and ~£1,420 for the 320i.)

Originally Posted by KoenG

This is Arctic, no doubt. The Monaco blue is really dark. I ordered this colour on my E90 previous week, I'am glad I did since it looks a bit special. Not blue, not grey and not silver. It's a blend of those, depending on the light that shines on it.

Very nice choice. I am leaning towards this colour too. What was the interior combo? I am thinking of black with aluminium trim-what do you think?

Originally Posted by andy_thomas

Spot on. g/km figures for C02 are used - which broadly reflect that car's fuel economy, and favour lighter cars (so an Elise makes a really good company car - relatively affordable, and very low emissions). Diesels have the lowest C02 emissions, but older diesels not fitted a particle filter (and which belch out more muck) are hit with a surcharge which mostly wipes out that advantage.

How does it work? A taxpayer pays his top rate of tax on the benefit-in-kind (a way of describing the company car in terms of taxable income). The emissions figure determines what proportion of the car's list price is taxable.

Example: The 320d and 320i have almost identical purchase prices at around £23k. A middle-income taxpayer, who pays a top marginal rate of 22% tax, will pay 22% tax on 16% of the diesel's price, or 22% tax on 28% of the petrol car's price. (That's ~£810 a year for the 320d, and ~£1,420 for the 320i.)

1,420 pounds for the 320i , my dear

Thanks for the answer, gracias

Originally Posted by Sean

Well, Bangle was quoted in the WSJ that they want to design "Art on Wheels"

I think they forgot the leading F in "art on Wheels"

Originally Posted by andy_thomas

No, I'm not kidding at all. And have you driven a car with the Valvetronic engine? It certainly sounds like you haven't. Exactly what makes it "uncultivated and harsh"?

The 320i is a four-potter now, not a six (although its torque figures are practically identical to the outgoing 2.2). It is also pretty much the same price as the outgoing 318i, adjusted for equipment levels. How are we getting "less", exactly?

Andy, the 120i uses the same engine and I remember only to have read reviews where the engine has received critique and the press was left surprisingly unimpressed with the 2.0i (for example: Auto Motor und Sport from Germany, Top Gear from UK, Autobild from Germany, Automagazine from Belgium). Meaning that not much is happening underneath 3500rpm and above that, it makes a sound that impossible can be called "sweet", and don't expect much boost either. The consumption seems to be rather moderate but only at constant regimes, like on highways, not for stop and go traffic. When you can opt for an A4/VW Passat with 2.0 FSi Turbo for a comparable price, you'll get the better engine, no doubt. But I've never driven a 120i, only the 120d (which was not very cultivated either, but it was strong).

At least the sound of the I-6 makes it special compared to competitive offerings. When the 323i is an alternative at a bearable cost, it's clearly better than the 2.2i since it will have a bit more grunt at low rpm.

Originally Posted by KoenG

Andy, the 120i uses the same engine and I remember only to have read reviews where the engine has received critique and the press was left surprisingly unimpressed with the 2.0i (for example: Auto Motor und Sport from Germany, Top Gear from UK, Autobild from Germany, Automagazine from Belgium).

I read those also. It compares poorly to the similar N42Bxx engine in the 3er, which had great reviews when it came out. I can only surmise that (a) BMW will restore the tuning of engine & exhaust differently for the 3er, or with the new N46B20-OL (which is the code for the new engine in 150 bhp trim) they have somehow managed to bugger it up.

I agree with you on the VW engine - I haven't tried it yet, but everyone agrees it's a cracker. And at that price...

Originally Posted by Alstoy

Very nice choice. I am leaning towards this colour too. What was the interior combo? I am thinking of black with aluminium trim-what do you think?

Interior is black with "Titan Matt" inlay, the seats are sport seats. I would have gone for the alu inlay but then, the sport steering wheel has no finishing in Alu. With Titan, the steering wheel has a matching inlay. I'am only afraid that this Titan could look and feel a beet "cheap".

Originally Posted by KoenG

Interior is black with "Titan Matt" inlay, the seats are sport seats. I would have gone for the alu inlay but then, the sport steering wheel has no finishing in Alu. With Titan, the steering wheel has a matching inlay. I'am only afraid that this Titan could look and feel a beet "cheap".

Again a nice choice. Looks like almost identical to what I will be ordering. Why no steering inlay with the Alu vs. Titan? A friend has a 7 with a "midnight blue" exterior. I love that colour. I asked my SA, & he indicated that the Monoco blue was not as a deep blue as the midnight blue. This is a deal killer for me. How different, if at all, are the two colours. What do you think? When are you expecting delivery? Love to see some pictures.

Originally Posted by Alstoy

Again a nice choice. Looks like almost identical to what I will be ordering. Why no steering inlay with the Alu vs. Titan? A friend has a 7 with a "midnight blue" exterior. I love that colour. I asked my SA, & he indicated that the Monoco blue was not as a deep blue as the midnight blue. This is a deal killer for me. How different, if at all, are the two colours. What do you think? When are you expecting delivery? Love to see some pictures.

I would probably prefer the midnight blue, but I didn't actually see the Monaco Blue in real life (or any other color). The Alu inlay is not an option for the sport steering wheel, I don't have it in my current e46 either. BMW did add it as an "add on" I believe. The delivery is for late March or early April. The lease company will inform me one to two weeks before the delivery...

That's me behind the stearing whell!

Originally Posted by hrvojee

That's me behind the stearing whell!

You rock man!! What colour is that? When can we expect more pics?

Originally Posted by Alstoy

You rock man!! What colour is that? When can we expect more pics?

It's I think Monaco Blue

Originally Posted by hrvojee

It's I think Monaco Blue

What's your take on the BM? Is it as dark as Orient blue (almost black)? My other choice is sparkling graphite. Thanks again.