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I've been driving my 320d SE since mid-April and agree that the ride, whilst not being bad, can best be described as "fidgety" and never really settles down or relaxes. This is especially noticeable at speed, when going over small bumps or changes in road surface.
In my humble opinion this is down to the runflats. I tried swapping with a set of standard E46 16inch wheels with "normal" tyres from a friends car, but unfortunately the E46 wheels foul the front brake discs on the E90 so I wasn't able to conduct a test drive.
Needless to say that when the runflats wear out they will not be replaced by more runflats; irrespective of what BMW say about the suspension being tuned for runflats.
Another thing that was really obvious when changing the wheels was the weight of the runflats compared with the normal tyres - they weigh a LOT more! I was brought up to believe that reducing un-sprung mass was always the goal - not increasing it. Runflats also seem to negate the basic idea of a pneumatic tyre. Perhaps BMW should fit solid tyres as the next "safety" innovation!
You have probably gathered by now that I am not a great fan of runflat tyres.
Anyhow, apart from the fidgety ride - which I'm hopeful can be cured by fitting normal tyres, the E90 320d is a great car to own and drive (oh, and also apart from the dreadful Vauxhall Vectra styled turn indicator control!!)
BM Bridger
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