Here's a long one to read on the crapper...
I talked a little bit about the new car in my existing 320i BMS Stage 1 epic saga thread, for those of you who actually follow that one and I still haven't decided whether or not to keep that thread going. I doubt this will become anything close to that thread, mainly because for the first time in, well, ever, I am content with my car. The day I was driving the 320i home I was having buyer's remorse. Car felt a little like the emperor's new clothes, if anyone is familiar with the reference. I threw the stage 1 piggyback on there to try and up the boost and HP on what was a quick yet, overall pretty gutless ultimate driving machine and was trying to block out the fact that this $36,500 MSRP car lacked features that my $23000 Mazda3 had back in 2010. But overall, I learned to love that car and it served me well. It was flawless mechanically, the build quality was solid (not a squeak or rattle for 3 years) and though, at least the way I had mine optioned, it was a 'stripper' as BJ would have said (RIP), it still had that BMW DNA.
Fast forward to a month or so ago when I really started shopping around. Some of you followed that search process on my other thread so I won't elaborate but, though I saw a lot of 2016 328i heavily discounted, most were the middle-aged Koreatown, college-aged kids-out-of-the-house Mom-mobile lease specials with 17's, halogens and not much else. I drove a '16 with Greg Poland (sales adviser savior of the forums...) and while I was somewhat impressed, the base suspension (even on 18's) still fundamentally bummed me out coming from the 704 M sport suspension, as did that crappy base steering wheel they throw in all the non-M 3 series. So I kept looking and was starting to give up, not finding any M sport 328's, or finding them and thinking they were out of my price range. I wanted to stay with my 320 monthly payment of $367. I figured I would have to settle, again.
I wanted the cake and I wanted to eat it.
So after Greg and a guy @ Irvine BMW I was talking to struck out and weren't able to acquire a few M sports I found at other dealers, I decided to go straight to the source and hit up Crevier BMW. From the get go, they (particularly Craig Holland) were the absolute best, most streamlined staff to deal with. Night and day. Within a few days and with the help of a few forum members (mwm1166 thanks!) I hit them with a counter offer to their initial offer that they accepted and I went down to Santa Ana to get the car - a Black Sapphire 2016 328i with M Sport package, driver assist, Navigation & heated seats. Sticker price $48,575. After some negotiating on-site and me refusing to do the deal unless they took my car and ate my last 3 payments, we agreed, and I signed on the dotted with the usual $1500 driveoff, zero 'down' and a monthly payment of...No $hit...$367 a month, out the door, tax included. Safe to say I am driving one of the cheapest $49000 328's on the market. I am still in shock as to this deal. They ate 3 payments, drive off was the same as the 320 and my payment is the same, for an M Sport 328 with a $13k higher MSRP? Moral of the story is they really want to move those 2016's right now.
So on with the review:
I won't go too deep with the review since the vast majority of you have the 328 and know its strengths and weaknesses, but here it goes in no particular order. I will be making a lot of 320 comparisons, mainly to my 320 which had moonroof, sport package and thats it. This thread isn't intended to bash the 320 but, since I did have it for 3 years, I will say whatever the hell I want about that car, prefacing it with my thoughts that it is still a great car even though at the end of the day, in my short time with this car, I do think the 320 is 'BMW-light', generally speaking.
Power
Compared to stock 320i, the stock 328i blows it away. Simple as that. Compared to stage 1, it still blows it away. I haven't done JB4 or whatever on the 320, so I don't know, but yeah, I've seen the dynos. With the 320i, I was always having to get on it, wind it out. The 328i is just effortless and strangely, because of that, I find myself driving it more conservatively than the 320. Something about knowing that when I throw it in sport and step on the gas, that it will unleash, is enough for me. I have thus far had my share of onramp blasts and aggressive passing and have had some time to drive it hard and this car is fast. Car and Driver clocked low 5's right, 5.3, something like that? Seems about right. Couple this with the 'active sound', which I think sounds beautiful, and the car feels like a beast compared to what I am used to. Right now I feel like I am 100% fine with it stock but I have that stage 1 piggyback in my back pocket I could try if I get used to it.
Ride/handling/etc.
Car has the same M sport 704 suspension that I loved so much from the 320. The ride is very similar but I will say this - I know that on paper, the difference isn't much, but in real life, the 328i feels heavier. No doubt about it. Same summer tires, same suspension, but this car feels bigger and heavier. I would say that is the one advantage the 320i had - it felt lighter and easier to throw around.. But not by much. This car is still very fun to drive and for whatever reason, the car feels more solid and substantial than the 320 did, so overall, it feels more solid.
Steering
I don't really have a problem with the steering. I thought the E90 steering was too heavy. Always thought that. I don't mind the steering on the F30. I think its one of the most overstated gripes about the car. But I also don't think you need to hand crank your engine to start it or have roll up windows to be an 'enthusiast', so who knows.
Interior and exterior design/tech and features
Alright this is really where it gets good and where the car feels a lot nicer than my last car. The little details and attention to detail is immediately felt with this being not only the M sport but also the LCI. There are little metal and chrome touches everywhere, on all the switch gear and framing the buttons, we have the little 'M' elements, which I don't mind, like on the wheels, the door sills, etc., we have the M steel dead pedal cover, we have the excellent and robust paddle shifters on an already great M sport steering wheel,we have the sport AT now standard which means the significantly nicer shifter compared to what I had, we have the anthracite wood trim which is beautiful compared to the ****ty silver matte trim I had and much nicer than the burl, in my opinion. We have standard power seats with aluminum trimmed buttons and switches and lets stop right there. The power seats. Compared to the manual seats, there is so much more room for finite position adjustment. The M sport body package... I think some of it is borderline rice, but its subtle rice, so I don't really care but the front grill looks so ****ing good. Couple that with the full LED headlights and the whole front end is just MEAN.
Moving on to tech. Where do I start? The 320 was so base its just night and day. Comfort access is nice, the foot sweep to open the trunk is nice, the different options for backlighting the instrument panel is a nice touch, having satellite radio (even though it sounds like ****) is nice and the extended display is nice. Which leads me to Nav.
I humbly take back and eat my words re: Navigation, not needing it and it not being necessary or Waze being better or whatever. Having the much nicer, larger, higher res Nav screen with all the options for split screen displays, displaying album artwork, the maps, and having the directions and routing displayed under the speedo and tach is just really nice. Honestly, the nav screen and extended display makes the interior. The screen is beautiful, the maps are nice to look at even if you aren't using them (especially at night) and the options to zoom in and out and interact with the maps goes much deeper than I really care to go. Less than a week in and I would never get another BMW without it.
Interestingly, I have taken the same routes I used to take in the old car when all I had was Waze, and the BMW routes are similar. It uses real time traffic info to route and reroute you and overall, its fine. Love the nav, love the extended display.
Other, Misc.
The car is still brand new so MPG will improve a little but I have noted a 2-3 MPG decrease vs. the 320i on the exact same routes. Floor the 328 a few times and its amazing the dent that puts in the fuel consumption reading on the trip computer vs. when I used to floor the 320. Moor boost, more power, heavier car, more gas. Still, Im getting 25 overall so far which is fine.
2 things the car doesn't have that would be nice are HK audio and leather. In my case though beggars cant be choosers and this is how the car was optioned. I may be imaging this, but the sensatec seems a little nicer in this car/the LCI. Yeah, probably imagining that. Also, today for example, I took my daughter to the park and it had just rained so she stepped all over my backseat with muddy shoes and left her scuff marks everywhere and all I had to do is wipe them down with a wet rag and they were like new. I think with 2 young kids, sensatec is probably the way to go. I sat in some cars with leather on the showroom at Crevier and honestly, blind taste test and most people wouldnt be able to feel the difference. You really only notice the difference with the higher end leathers in the 5 and 7 series, otherwise the Dakota is pretty crappy. These seats are heated now, which I love and missed from the GTI. (Another option available in most $25k cars that my 320 didn't have.)
As for Audio, I mean I have said it before, but I think the base system is really pretty good. I listen to a lot of lossless FLAC and WAV files and the sound quality is night and day vs. satellite or Pandora. So HK would have been nice, but audio is fine, esp considering I listen to podcasts and audiobooks quite a bit.
So that is it for now. I have gone on long enough. Though based on the same F30 platform as my 320 was, this car is nicer in every possible way. It feels more like a 'luxury' car because almost every surface you touch is well crafted, well made, nice to the touch with attention to detail and design. This is the overall vibe with all the little bonuses of Nav and extended display/options as well.
A car that feels quite a bit more luxury, considerably more powerful with plenty of sporting characteristics to keep me amused from day to day.
Gripes
There are few but here they are:
This came with the conti sport pro contact summer run flats and they suck balls compared to the Pirellis. The Cinturatos are much better tires. These are noisier tires and they ride rougher. This is an easy fix.
The other thing is something I experienced with the GTI - chassis flex and subsequent groaning or squeaking from where the rubber door seals flexing against the metal door frames. I did not have this problem with the 320. This is however a common grip with the F30 328 and I have read countless threads about the problem. I am no stranger to this so for the time being I rubbed some Gummi PFledge (sp?) on the seals which helped and stuck a few small black felt furniture pads (the kind that go on the bottom of chair legs) along the metal door frames and it has silenced it.
When I get a moment I will take it to the dealer to apply the BMW Teflon tape which is supposed to be a 'permanent' fix.
Thats it for now. Haven't had time to take any pictures besides this. Thanks for reading. Love this car.
I talked a little bit about the new car in my existing 320i BMS Stage 1 epic saga thread, for those of you who actually follow that one and I still haven't decided whether or not to keep that thread going. I doubt this will become anything close to that thread, mainly because for the first time in, well, ever, I am content with my car. The day I was driving the 320i home I was having buyer's remorse. Car felt a little like the emperor's new clothes, if anyone is familiar with the reference. I threw the stage 1 piggyback on there to try and up the boost and HP on what was a quick yet, overall pretty gutless ultimate driving machine and was trying to block out the fact that this $36,500 MSRP car lacked features that my $23000 Mazda3 had back in 2010. But overall, I learned to love that car and it served me well. It was flawless mechanically, the build quality was solid (not a squeak or rattle for 3 years) and though, at least the way I had mine optioned, it was a 'stripper' as BJ would have said (RIP), it still had that BMW DNA.
Fast forward to a month or so ago when I really started shopping around. Some of you followed that search process on my other thread so I won't elaborate but, though I saw a lot of 2016 328i heavily discounted, most were the middle-aged Koreatown, college-aged kids-out-of-the-house Mom-mobile lease specials with 17's, halogens and not much else. I drove a '16 with Greg Poland (sales adviser savior of the forums...) and while I was somewhat impressed, the base suspension (even on 18's) still fundamentally bummed me out coming from the 704 M sport suspension, as did that crappy base steering wheel they throw in all the non-M 3 series. So I kept looking and was starting to give up, not finding any M sport 328's, or finding them and thinking they were out of my price range. I wanted to stay with my 320 monthly payment of $367. I figured I would have to settle, again.
I wanted the cake and I wanted to eat it.
So after Greg and a guy @ Irvine BMW I was talking to struck out and weren't able to acquire a few M sports I found at other dealers, I decided to go straight to the source and hit up Crevier BMW. From the get go, they (particularly Craig Holland) were the absolute best, most streamlined staff to deal with. Night and day. Within a few days and with the help of a few forum members (mwm1166 thanks!) I hit them with a counter offer to their initial offer that they accepted and I went down to Santa Ana to get the car - a Black Sapphire 2016 328i with M Sport package, driver assist, Navigation & heated seats. Sticker price $48,575. After some negotiating on-site and me refusing to do the deal unless they took my car and ate my last 3 payments, we agreed, and I signed on the dotted with the usual $1500 driveoff, zero 'down' and a monthly payment of...No $hit...$367 a month, out the door, tax included. Safe to say I am driving one of the cheapest $49000 328's on the market. I am still in shock as to this deal. They ate 3 payments, drive off was the same as the 320 and my payment is the same, for an M Sport 328 with a $13k higher MSRP? Moral of the story is they really want to move those 2016's right now.
So on with the review:
I won't go too deep with the review since the vast majority of you have the 328 and know its strengths and weaknesses, but here it goes in no particular order. I will be making a lot of 320 comparisons, mainly to my 320 which had moonroof, sport package and thats it. This thread isn't intended to bash the 320 but, since I did have it for 3 years, I will say whatever the hell I want about that car, prefacing it with my thoughts that it is still a great car even though at the end of the day, in my short time with this car, I do think the 320 is 'BMW-light', generally speaking.
Power
Compared to stock 320i, the stock 328i blows it away. Simple as that. Compared to stage 1, it still blows it away. I haven't done JB4 or whatever on the 320, so I don't know, but yeah, I've seen the dynos. With the 320i, I was always having to get on it, wind it out. The 328i is just effortless and strangely, because of that, I find myself driving it more conservatively than the 320. Something about knowing that when I throw it in sport and step on the gas, that it will unleash, is enough for me. I have thus far had my share of onramp blasts and aggressive passing and have had some time to drive it hard and this car is fast. Car and Driver clocked low 5's right, 5.3, something like that? Seems about right. Couple this with the 'active sound', which I think sounds beautiful, and the car feels like a beast compared to what I am used to. Right now I feel like I am 100% fine with it stock but I have that stage 1 piggyback in my back pocket I could try if I get used to it.
Ride/handling/etc.
Car has the same M sport 704 suspension that I loved so much from the 320. The ride is very similar but I will say this - I know that on paper, the difference isn't much, but in real life, the 328i feels heavier. No doubt about it. Same summer tires, same suspension, but this car feels bigger and heavier. I would say that is the one advantage the 320i had - it felt lighter and easier to throw around.. But not by much. This car is still very fun to drive and for whatever reason, the car feels more solid and substantial than the 320 did, so overall, it feels more solid.
Steering
I don't really have a problem with the steering. I thought the E90 steering was too heavy. Always thought that. I don't mind the steering on the F30. I think its one of the most overstated gripes about the car. But I also don't think you need to hand crank your engine to start it or have roll up windows to be an 'enthusiast', so who knows.
Interior and exterior design/tech and features
Alright this is really where it gets good and where the car feels a lot nicer than my last car. The little details and attention to detail is immediately felt with this being not only the M sport but also the LCI. There are little metal and chrome touches everywhere, on all the switch gear and framing the buttons, we have the little 'M' elements, which I don't mind, like on the wheels, the door sills, etc., we have the M steel dead pedal cover, we have the excellent and robust paddle shifters on an already great M sport steering wheel,we have the sport AT now standard which means the significantly nicer shifter compared to what I had, we have the anthracite wood trim which is beautiful compared to the ****ty silver matte trim I had and much nicer than the burl, in my opinion. We have standard power seats with aluminum trimmed buttons and switches and lets stop right there. The power seats. Compared to the manual seats, there is so much more room for finite position adjustment. The M sport body package... I think some of it is borderline rice, but its subtle rice, so I don't really care but the front grill looks so ****ing good. Couple that with the full LED headlights and the whole front end is just MEAN.
Moving on to tech. Where do I start? The 320 was so base its just night and day. Comfort access is nice, the foot sweep to open the trunk is nice, the different options for backlighting the instrument panel is a nice touch, having satellite radio (even though it sounds like ****) is nice and the extended display is nice. Which leads me to Nav.
I humbly take back and eat my words re: Navigation, not needing it and it not being necessary or Waze being better or whatever. Having the much nicer, larger, higher res Nav screen with all the options for split screen displays, displaying album artwork, the maps, and having the directions and routing displayed under the speedo and tach is just really nice. Honestly, the nav screen and extended display makes the interior. The screen is beautiful, the maps are nice to look at even if you aren't using them (especially at night) and the options to zoom in and out and interact with the maps goes much deeper than I really care to go. Less than a week in and I would never get another BMW without it.
Interestingly, I have taken the same routes I used to take in the old car when all I had was Waze, and the BMW routes are similar. It uses real time traffic info to route and reroute you and overall, its fine. Love the nav, love the extended display.
Other, Misc.
The car is still brand new so MPG will improve a little but I have noted a 2-3 MPG decrease vs. the 320i on the exact same routes. Floor the 328 a few times and its amazing the dent that puts in the fuel consumption reading on the trip computer vs. when I used to floor the 320. Moor boost, more power, heavier car, more gas. Still, Im getting 25 overall so far which is fine.
2 things the car doesn't have that would be nice are HK audio and leather. In my case though beggars cant be choosers and this is how the car was optioned. I may be imaging this, but the sensatec seems a little nicer in this car/the LCI. Yeah, probably imagining that. Also, today for example, I took my daughter to the park and it had just rained so she stepped all over my backseat with muddy shoes and left her scuff marks everywhere and all I had to do is wipe them down with a wet rag and they were like new. I think with 2 young kids, sensatec is probably the way to go. I sat in some cars with leather on the showroom at Crevier and honestly, blind taste test and most people wouldnt be able to feel the difference. You really only notice the difference with the higher end leathers in the 5 and 7 series, otherwise the Dakota is pretty crappy. These seats are heated now, which I love and missed from the GTI. (Another option available in most $25k cars that my 320 didn't have.)
As for Audio, I mean I have said it before, but I think the base system is really pretty good. I listen to a lot of lossless FLAC and WAV files and the sound quality is night and day vs. satellite or Pandora. So HK would have been nice, but audio is fine, esp considering I listen to podcasts and audiobooks quite a bit.
So that is it for now. I have gone on long enough. Though based on the same F30 platform as my 320 was, this car is nicer in every possible way. It feels more like a 'luxury' car because almost every surface you touch is well crafted, well made, nice to the touch with attention to detail and design. This is the overall vibe with all the little bonuses of Nav and extended display/options as well.
A car that feels quite a bit more luxury, considerably more powerful with plenty of sporting characteristics to keep me amused from day to day.
Gripes
There are few but here they are:
This came with the conti sport pro contact summer run flats and they suck balls compared to the Pirellis. The Cinturatos are much better tires. These are noisier tires and they ride rougher. This is an easy fix.
The other thing is something I experienced with the GTI - chassis flex and subsequent groaning or squeaking from where the rubber door seals flexing against the metal door frames. I did not have this problem with the 320. This is however a common grip with the F30 328 and I have read countless threads about the problem. I am no stranger to this so for the time being I rubbed some Gummi PFledge (sp?) on the seals which helped and stuck a few small black felt furniture pads (the kind that go on the bottom of chair legs) along the metal door frames and it has silenced it.
When I get a moment I will take it to the dealer to apply the BMW Teflon tape which is supposed to be a 'permanent' fix.
Thats it for now. Haven't had time to take any pictures besides this. Thanks for reading. Love this car.