[MGT81]

Owned my 2008 335xi 6 speed for 9 years now. Totally stock, 164k kms. While it’s in great shape, I’ve spent a bunch of money in the last few years on maintenance, and am getting to the point where I don’t think it makes sense to keep it much longer. Also starting to get some rattle from the wastegates, etc. Honestly, I’m perfectly happy with t the car and could keep it forever, since it meets all my needs so well and I love the size, handling, steering, etc. I honestly despair that I’ll never find another car I love as much that just FITS me like a favourite pair or sneakers.

What would you replace your E90 with? I’ve driven the base model F30 and wasn’t a fan at all. Did not like the steering, interior, or how much bigger the whole car felt. If I was gonna go with an F30, I’d want the B58 (340i). Does anybody have experience driving a higher-spec F30, and is the steering/handling comparable to the E90.

Also, if anyone has any other non-BMW suggestions, I’m all ears. My main criteria are:
- Manual Transmission
- Turbo engine (4 or 6-cylinder) with at least 260 HP
- 4 doors
- AWD
- A nice interior and decent ride/noise (so not a WRX or Focus RS)

Test drove the Golf R twice but just didn’t love it. Steering and engine both felt inferior to my E90.

TIA!

My E90:

[relative4]

Definitely an '08+ S4.

[E90Menace]

I’m considering a Cayman...

[RayLivingston]

I'd replace mine with a brand-new E46 if I could. FAR better car in almost every way...

[Mosaud1998]

Maybe just MAYBE an M340. I haven't driven one yet but yuh.

[fastboatster]

Definitely NOT an $4. As for the f30 cars, I had a chance to drive both regular spec lci 328i and msport 430i. Both were loaners when I either had some recalls done or Sulev warranty repairs. Yes, base spec 328 was not awfully great but msport 430i was quite good, even if I approached it with my mind set on f30s being worse than e90s. 430i maybe had a little bit less steering feedback or perhaps it would show when it’s driven on more challenging roads. Anyways, I don’t think I’d mind and msport f30 335i or 340i.

[michaelalex17]

Only option is Porsche or older BMW if you want feel. F30 with its electric steering rack won't feel like an e90, e46, e36, or e30.

[Mantraxalos]

Originally Posted by michaelalex17

Only option is Porsche or older BMW if you want feel. F30 with its electric steering rack won't feel like an e90, e46, e36, or e30.

I'd have to agree with this. 997.2 Porsche or another E90/E46/etc. Maybe an E90/E92 M3 manual.

[TunafishE93]

Porsche Taycan. Turbo are out, electric will smoke anything gas powered.

[michaelalex17]

Originally Posted by Mantraxalos

I'd have to agree with this. 997.2 Porsche or another E90/E46/etc. Maybe an E90/E92 M3 manual.

Love the 997.2. The 991 and 992 are great cars, but the 997 is the right size, hydraulic steering and a more visceral experience.

[whyzee125]

The cars that I would consider if I had to replace my e90 don't make a ton more sense, but they do check similar boxes. Mine would be:

w204 C63
e90 M3
f80 M3
f32 440i (not a fan of the f chassis sedan)
golf R?
IS-f
e46 s54 wagon

[MGT81]

Test driving a 2017 340 xDrive 6-speed with the M Performance 1 & 2 packages tomorrow. Let’s see how it compares...

[Fritzer]

An E91.

I'm really fun at parties.

[MGT81]

Originally Posted by Fritzer

An E91.

I'm really fun at parties.

If I could get one with an N54/55, 6 speed and AWD, I’d be all over it.

[mainbearing]

An Audi, but definitely not a BMW, LOL.

[Efthreeoh]

You already have a used car that you love, and you know the owner who owned it for the last 9 years (the majority of the car's life). Just keep the one you have in good shape. All cars require maintenance and repair. Buying another new car or used car doesn't solve that problem.

If you want a manual transmission, well you're pretty much SOL unless you go used. See above...

[mapleleaf1773]

+1

[jacbo]

Originally Posted by TunafishE93

Porsche Taycan. Turbo are out, electric will smoke anything gas powered.

yawn

[jacbo]

E46 or just keep the E90... arguably last of the great BMWs. I wouldn't want to get anything more modern personally. I don't care for in car entertainment, gimmick lights and styling etc.

Golf Rs are quick and solid but those engines sound horrible

[jwalker87]

Efthreeoh hit the nail on the head with respect to cars newer than the e90. The manual transmission is really the problem - it's just not available in most anything newer. I plan to keep my 2 e90s forever if I can get away with it, for the same reason. If I do ever have to, my identified replacements are:

For the 2008 335i - e28 m5
For the 2011 335i xdrive - Maserati Ghibli (look it up, ~5 year old ones are amazingly affordable!)

[neilvan]

Finding the same spec as my current E90 would be next to impossible.
Because I need a manual transmission, 4 doors (have other 2 door convertibles already) and want something good to drive and less "tech":

ATS-V or the Genesis G70 sport are the only new-ish 2 things that actually catch my eye. That being said the 400Z is very interesting for a coupe(minus the LCD display)

[hassmaschine]

Probably not a BMW if I'm getting something newer, but who knows. There's no immediate need to buy a newer car or replace mine - and if I'm being honest, if something happened to the E90 I'd just drive the E30 anyway.

Our F25 has the electric steering and fancy pants ZF8 slushbox. It's perfectly fine as a family car (it even has an N52!). But I'd be lying if I told you I liked the steering feel - it's really quite strange, even somewhat exhausting on long trips.

You can tell it's electric, not just because of the light feel and poor feedback - but because it just feels digital, especially when it dials down the steering ratio. Imagine a really pixelated circle drawn on an old video game console - there's a "dead spot" where the curve can no longer be drawn, because it's so pixelated it's basically a straight line. It kind of feels like an older Hyundai. Even my wife said she didn't like the steering (she's used to the E90 though).

The ZF8.. ehh. it's fine. It's just funny to me how people talk about shift times, how much better automatics are now, etc. To some extent they're right (sure beats the 3 speed on my old dodge). But it's still a slushbox, it still does weird stuff, it still will need service long before a manual would, and sometimes waiting for it to do something is just annoying. But as it's basically a numb, mindless, cookie cutter SUV that's mostly just used to haul the family and dogs around - it works. But in a car I wanted to drive for fun? no thank you.

Now all cars are basically either giant SUVs or 4000lb+ "sports" cars (M3/M4 lol), and basically all of them are turbo, AWD and automatic. I just don't see myself being interested in anything newer.