Hi all,
I recognize this is an f30 forum and I've spent a couple of years browsing/commenting as I considered and re-considered an f30 - and finally made my decision against it after another week in a loaner. I'm a BMWCCA member, a long-time forum member, and owner of 2 BMW's - I'm not a troll and my intent behind this thread is to bring to BMW's attention what areas they could improve upon to increase sales even more (perhaps in an LCI). Many on here have different priorities than me and have found great satisfaction in the f30 - I respect that.
The thread "Is the f30 a luxury car?" got me thinking about it: I want to love the f30, but the as-built price for me is around $55k. Do I get $55k worth of luxury, and sufficient sportiness? I received a 2013 f30 loaner this past week. I've put about 1,000 miles on F30 loaners - from fully loaded to stripped down XI versions. I've driven n20, n55, 6mt, and 8-speed auto versions. And I finally reached my answer of no....
I'll detail out the whys - my reasons are somewhat different from what you read before from others - but the bottom line is that the 3-series is no longer the best at anything, nor the best "cross-trainer". It's neither the most luxurious in the segment, nor the most sporty. Yet it is the most expensive.
Luxury/Overall Interior Experience
I very carefully went into this most recent loaner with an open mind to re-evaluate. I also had 3 relatives from all different backgrounds get in and without prejudice give me their opinions.
I didn't prime or lead any of these comments:
My father, who is middle income but whose past includes BMW and Porsche, exclaimed how beautiful the exterior was and then after getting inside said "How much does this cost?" and I told him $38k base. He then stated it didn't feel like a $38k car - lot of cheap materials in sight. This was primarily a reflection on the door card and door grab, the dash in front of the passenger, the center console look (this was a black on aluminum model), and the headliner/sun visor.
My brother, who is middle income but always owned cheap cars and drives them into the ground, felt it was nice but not impressive. Nothing stuck out at him as luxurious or very expensive, just overall decent.
My wife, who daily drives an e60 535xit, just felt it was cheap in comparison. She was especially disgusted by the sun visors which I hadn't remembered and when felt were worse than those I've felt in many $20k vehicles.
At the end of this week, my own opinions are similar. I love the layout and design, but the materials are in no way befitting a vehicle with an as-sold price of likely $45-52k for me. There are obvious signs of cheapness (i.e. sun visor).
In addition, wind noise is nicely suppressed until highway speed. It's a bit embarrassing on Bluetooth when cruising at 80. Road noise is more present than I'd like from even low speeds. The e90 was a bit quieter in both areas and found the right balance, BMW moved away here.
Where it is a luxury vehicle is in the driving experience itself. The composure of the f30 is simply phenomenal. It's sporting but isolated enough for luxury. The steering is fine - the different lines offer different steering feel options. It's not heavy for the sake of heavy, nor too light - and it's very responsive with a nice tight ratio.
Engines
The n20 and n55 engines are spectacular. The power and efficiency they offer, as well as rather simple ownership experience in terms of maintenance, is great. I'm glad the n20 is offered by BMW. And it loves to rev.
That being said, after putting about 500 miles on the n20 in an f30 - it's sound is completely unacceptable. Frequently at idle with the windows up and the radio off I could hear almost a diesel clatter type sound. And off idle/low engine speeds, the engine sounds like crap. As the rev it out, the induction sound is poor. And this is windows up - meaning I can't get away from it. I would do as others have done and stick an intake and exhaust on this vehicle just to tune the sound of the engine.
I've owned 2.0 liter and 2.0 liter turbo engines. The only engine that sounded worse was the 2.0 liter turbo engine in a 2002-2005 Subaru WRX. In fact, Subaru's 2.5 liter turbo engine sounded better than this and that engine was agricultural as well.
The N20 is a phenomenal engine that produces a sound I'd find distasteful in a $25k car - let alone in a $38k+ vehicle. The n55 is fitting, but no longer the star engine for this class of vehicles.
Steering
I find it to be perfectly fine and it can be tuned with different lines, wheels/tires, suspension options, and switching off run-flats. This is good solid steering. Cadillac's ATS does it better, but otherwise this is best in class.
I noticed a weird lag between my sharply turning the wheel, suddenly, and the response - but I blame that on very cold weather + all seasons.
Braking
Classic 3-series braking. A bit touchy up top, but otherwise firm, predictable, and easily modulated. This was probably the single best element of this vehicle - besides being touchy in low-speeds, this is simply an outstanding stock braking system.
Chassis/Suspension
The chassis is the star of the f30. It's so solid yet so responsive. It's sporty and luxurious. It is best in class to me and finds the best balance.
Overall Experience
I've driven Infiniti, Lexus, MB C-class, Audi A4, Cadillac ATS, and of course BMW. The 3-series has always previously been the benchmark - the blend of both luxury and sportiness that defined the segment. It wasn't always the fastest, nor the most luxurious, but the common theme of "the sum of its parts" was the most further along in both was the case.
I don't feel that way about the f30 now though. I really enjoy the design, the layout, the space, the features. I WANT to love it. I wanted to lease or buy CPO, perhaps even do European delivery.
But the way I want to build it it would be $55k-ish. And it's just not giving me a $55k experience.
I'm going to stick around for this thread and peruse in the future, maybe check in on some other things, but otherwise I'll be waiting to see what the f80 m3 offers with a full leather interior and other upgrades.
Thanks for reading this and I welcome thoughts and feedback. I don't mind being challenged.
I recognize this is an f30 forum and I've spent a couple of years browsing/commenting as I considered and re-considered an f30 - and finally made my decision against it after another week in a loaner. I'm a BMWCCA member, a long-time forum member, and owner of 2 BMW's - I'm not a troll and my intent behind this thread is to bring to BMW's attention what areas they could improve upon to increase sales even more (perhaps in an LCI). Many on here have different priorities than me and have found great satisfaction in the f30 - I respect that.
The thread "Is the f30 a luxury car?" got me thinking about it: I want to love the f30, but the as-built price for me is around $55k. Do I get $55k worth of luxury, and sufficient sportiness? I received a 2013 f30 loaner this past week. I've put about 1,000 miles on F30 loaners - from fully loaded to stripped down XI versions. I've driven n20, n55, 6mt, and 8-speed auto versions. And I finally reached my answer of no....
I'll detail out the whys - my reasons are somewhat different from what you read before from others - but the bottom line is that the 3-series is no longer the best at anything, nor the best "cross-trainer". It's neither the most luxurious in the segment, nor the most sporty. Yet it is the most expensive.
Luxury/Overall Interior Experience
I very carefully went into this most recent loaner with an open mind to re-evaluate. I also had 3 relatives from all different backgrounds get in and without prejudice give me their opinions.
I didn't prime or lead any of these comments:
My father, who is middle income but whose past includes BMW and Porsche, exclaimed how beautiful the exterior was and then after getting inside said "How much does this cost?" and I told him $38k base. He then stated it didn't feel like a $38k car - lot of cheap materials in sight. This was primarily a reflection on the door card and door grab, the dash in front of the passenger, the center console look (this was a black on aluminum model), and the headliner/sun visor.
My brother, who is middle income but always owned cheap cars and drives them into the ground, felt it was nice but not impressive. Nothing stuck out at him as luxurious or very expensive, just overall decent.
My wife, who daily drives an e60 535xit, just felt it was cheap in comparison. She was especially disgusted by the sun visors which I hadn't remembered and when felt were worse than those I've felt in many $20k vehicles.
At the end of this week, my own opinions are similar. I love the layout and design, but the materials are in no way befitting a vehicle with an as-sold price of likely $45-52k for me. There are obvious signs of cheapness (i.e. sun visor).
In addition, wind noise is nicely suppressed until highway speed. It's a bit embarrassing on Bluetooth when cruising at 80. Road noise is more present than I'd like from even low speeds. The e90 was a bit quieter in both areas and found the right balance, BMW moved away here.
Where it is a luxury vehicle is in the driving experience itself. The composure of the f30 is simply phenomenal. It's sporting but isolated enough for luxury. The steering is fine - the different lines offer different steering feel options. It's not heavy for the sake of heavy, nor too light - and it's very responsive with a nice tight ratio.
Engines
The n20 and n55 engines are spectacular. The power and efficiency they offer, as well as rather simple ownership experience in terms of maintenance, is great. I'm glad the n20 is offered by BMW. And it loves to rev.
That being said, after putting about 500 miles on the n20 in an f30 - it's sound is completely unacceptable. Frequently at idle with the windows up and the radio off I could hear almost a diesel clatter type sound. And off idle/low engine speeds, the engine sounds like crap. As the rev it out, the induction sound is poor. And this is windows up - meaning I can't get away from it. I would do as others have done and stick an intake and exhaust on this vehicle just to tune the sound of the engine.
I've owned 2.0 liter and 2.0 liter turbo engines. The only engine that sounded worse was the 2.0 liter turbo engine in a 2002-2005 Subaru WRX. In fact, Subaru's 2.5 liter turbo engine sounded better than this and that engine was agricultural as well.
The N20 is a phenomenal engine that produces a sound I'd find distasteful in a $25k car - let alone in a $38k+ vehicle. The n55 is fitting, but no longer the star engine for this class of vehicles.
Steering
I find it to be perfectly fine and it can be tuned with different lines, wheels/tires, suspension options, and switching off run-flats. This is good solid steering. Cadillac's ATS does it better, but otherwise this is best in class.
I noticed a weird lag between my sharply turning the wheel, suddenly, and the response - but I blame that on very cold weather + all seasons.
Braking
Classic 3-series braking. A bit touchy up top, but otherwise firm, predictable, and easily modulated. This was probably the single best element of this vehicle - besides being touchy in low-speeds, this is simply an outstanding stock braking system.
Chassis/Suspension
The chassis is the star of the f30. It's so solid yet so responsive. It's sporty and luxurious. It is best in class to me and finds the best balance.
Overall Experience
I've driven Infiniti, Lexus, MB C-class, Audi A4, Cadillac ATS, and of course BMW. The 3-series has always previously been the benchmark - the blend of both luxury and sportiness that defined the segment. It wasn't always the fastest, nor the most luxurious, but the common theme of "the sum of its parts" was the most further along in both was the case.
I don't feel that way about the f30 now though. I really enjoy the design, the layout, the space, the features. I WANT to love it. I wanted to lease or buy CPO, perhaps even do European delivery.
But the way I want to build it it would be $55k-ish. And it's just not giving me a $55k experience.
I'm going to stick around for this thread and peruse in the future, maybe check in on some other things, but otherwise I'll be waiting to see what the f80 m3 offers with a full leather interior and other upgrades.
Thanks for reading this and I welcome thoughts and feedback. I don't mind being challenged.