Quote:
Originally Posted by kunal_d
I recently drove the F30 328i Sport Line for a week and despite all the negativity surrounding it, I came away quite impressed. It took me longer to warm up to the E46 > E90 transition than it did for the E90 > F30.
Things I liked:
Interior - I didn't find the materials cheap in the least. If anything it is on par with the E90 and E46. I really like some of the design elements (accents around the climate control, brushed alum trim). I love the sport seats on the E90 and I felt they were a step up from the E46, but the F30 sport seats are amazing. Best seats in a non M 3 series IMO.
Handling - The car feels a bit lighter than my E90 and has a faster steering ratio. The steering feels pretty lifeless even in sport plus, although the weighting was decent. When I got my E90 back from the dealer I was reminded again how much better the hydraulic steering is. At the end of the day though, I don't think the steering is a deal breaker and there is always hope as a simple software update can change the feel completely. Other than steering I found the car to handle really well. I wouldn't mistake it for anything other than a 3er. Also I was expecting more body roll after reading other reviews but I can say for a fact that my sport pack E46 rolled more in tight corners. In Sport + I found very little body roll.
Engine - Doesn't sound the greatest, but man does it pull for a 2.0L 4 banger. It's also very efficient and runs much cooler than my N54. The ASS is a little rough, ok... it's just rough  . I left it on in the loaner but if it was my car I would want that feature to be programmed off.
Overall I think this will be a good upgrade from my E90 down the line. I'm sure I would like the car even more with a manual trans. I got in this car expecting to be disappointed but I wasn't in the least. |
Do you have a sport model e90?
I drive a combination of f30 328i sedans for a little more than a month.
I came back with a completely different opinion.
I have a e90 with the sport package.
The steering on the f30 only felt decent when in sport mode and even then my e90 felt better.
The engine while okay, needs to be flogged a bit to get it to perform. It always felt to be working real hard and was real noisy compared to my e90. Now granted my e90 is a six and the 328 is a four.
I did not like the interior. The sport seats are real good and didn't feel any better than the sport seats from my e36 M3 or my e90. The interior was felt cheap to me. The map pockets stick out into the leg area and the center console sits to high.
Definitely not my next upgrade....