[Centurion]

Hello e90post,
I basically just wanted to hear your opinion on something. I have a 2013 E92 LCI Msport (made in June of 2013, so last month of production for E92!). I have only done about 55k miles in it (88000kms) and I’m a little unsure as to what to do next. I don’t like the 4er very much, but I also kinda hate the E92 interior now, because I think it’s very outdated. It’s strange, cause mine still has that new car smell to it (I’ve been taking good care of it) and the car in general looks like new. I just can’t decide if it’s outdated or not. Sometimes I think it is, sometimes not. I might just buy a 4 series next year (before they definitely ruin the design of it with the huge kidneys), but I also kinda wish I could reignite my love for the E92 and not sell it... if that makes any sense 😀

[vilord]

Does your car have idrive?
I found that retrofitting a 4 series idrive 6 system to my e9x made the interior feel fresh again.

[Igor_M5]

Originally Posted by vilord

Does your car have idrive?
I found that retrofitting a 4 series idrive 6 system to my e9x made the interior feel fresh again.

For sure, in fact... the idea of old bimmers with present day tech is becoming to be more appealing to me than new ones.

[John 070]

Outdated is in the eyes of the beholder. I'm looking to get a 2013 S63 AMG. To me, it's a beautiful car and nothing I've ever even come close to owning before. To people in those circles, it's previous gen and outdated. Why 2013? Supposed to be more reliable than the 2014+, and let's be honest, I'm not rich so cost and DIY'ability is a factor. And a perf pkg with a 186 mph top speed isn't too shabby.

I will say as someone who bought my E92 brand new. In 12/06, the car stopped traffic and turned heads. BMW 3 series haven't done that in about 8 years now. But, it used to be a new 3 coupe was something special. So, your E92 is special in its own way. Or was....

[Clammy]

It's really a subjective thing... for me, my favourite 3ers are pre-LCI e9x, and I don't feel like my '06 330i is outdated at all, and I plan on keeping her forever!

It really comes down to: are YOU happy with your car or not, for whatever reason? If not, move on. If you are stick with it, and maybe do some upgrades.

Ultimately, you'll have to make the decision. You can ask 20 people, and get 20 different answers, because it's just personal opinion.

Cheers!

[blown07]

Originally Posted by John 070

Outdated is in the eyes of the beholder. I'm looking to get a 2013 S63 AMG. To me, it's a beautiful car and nothing I've ever even come close to owning before. To people in those circles, it's previous gen and outdated. Why 2013? Supposed to be more reliable than the 2014+, and let's be honest, I'm not rich so cost and DIY'ability is a factor. And a perf pkg with a 186 mph top speed isn't too shabby.

I will say as someone who bought my E92 brand new. In 12/06, the car stopped traffic and turned heads. BMW 3 series haven't done that in about 8 years now. But, it used to be a new 3 coupe was something special. So, your E92 is special in its own way. Or was....

Had to look that one up ... wow over 4900 pounds - yikes!

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

The E9x has been outdated since the F3x came out. Cars of today come with blind spot monitoring, exterior cameras, pedestrian detection, wireless charging, wifi hotspots, etc. Much of the R&D costs have been recouped and are now affordable by the masses.

The E9x has aged pretty well given these advances, more so when it comes to safety features. Brake drying, brake pre-boosting, two-stage stability control, automatic high beams, radar cruise control, brake force display, LED tail lights, and curtain airbags are all modern features. Some of these still do not exist in cars of today. Look at a Honda Civic or Accord from the late 2000s and early 2010s, then compare those features to a 3-series LCI. It was an advanced car for its time. Heck, do the same exercise with an E46 and you'll see an even more drastic difference.

Being outdated will happen with every car, especially with non-flagships. Look at the flagship vehicles of today to get a glimpse of what will be in the majority of cars in the future....except for massaging seats. Like those have been around forever but it's like only the most expensive cars get it. C'mon. My plebian tush needs some care too.

[WatchWolf34]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

The E9x has been outdated since the F3x came out. Cars of today come with blind spot monitoring, exterior cameras, pedestrian detection, wireless charging, wifi hotspots, etc. Much of the R&D costs have been recouped and are now affordable by the masses.

The E9x has aged pretty well given these advances, more so when it comes to safety features. Brake drying, brake pre-boosting, two-stage stability control, automatic high beams, radar cruise control, brake force display, LED tail lights, and curtain airbags are all modern features. Some of these still do not exist in cars of today. Look at a Honda Civic or Accord from the late 2000s and early 2010s, then compare those features to a 3-series LCI. It was an advanced car for its time. Heck, do the same exercise with an E46 and you'll see an even more drastic difference.

Being outdated will happen with every car, especially with non-flagships. Look at the flagship vehicles of today to get a glimpse of what will be in the majority of cars in the future....except for massaging seats. Like those have been around forever but it's like only the most expensive cars get it. C'mon. My plebian tush needs some care too.

It seems like the OP was referring to styling (specifically interior styling). I do agree with the posts above that mention it's in the eye of the beholder. However, I also believe the E9X has a pretty timeless design. Especially the E90 but still to a lesser extent the E92/93.

I regularly have people asking me what year my car is and they're blown away that it's 10 years old now. Part of that is how well I keep it - the other is that they believe it looks like a modern car.

Now sure, the interior design holds up a little less well from a styling perspective. But I think they're still good looking interiors. Tough to look modern though when today's cars are trying to look like spaceships or like you're sitting inside of an iPad (which I don't find appealing at all).

[Centurion]

Originally Posted by vilord

Does your car have idrive?
I found that retrofitting a 4 series idrive 6 system to my e9x made the interior feel fresh again.

Actually that’s not a bad idea at all. I’ll look into it. Thanks.

[Centurion]

Originally Posted by Clammy

It's really a subjective thing... for me, my favourite 3ers are pre-LCI e9x, and I don't feel like my '06 330i is outdated at all, and I plan on keeping her forever!

It really comes down to: are YOU happy with your car or not, for whatever reason? If not, move on. If you are stick with it, and maybe do some upgrades.

Ultimately, you'll have to make the decision. You can ask 20 people, and get 20 different answers, because it's just personal opinion.

Cheers!

I actually really like the pre-LCI e92 without msport package. It’s incredibly elegant and symmetrical.

[vilord]

Originally Posted by Centurion

Actually that’s not a bad idea at all. I’ll look into it. Thanks.

It isn't easy, but if you can do the work yourself or find a retrofitter, I think it ends up with the best integrated feeling, better than the android cheapo things.

I got an adapter and help from Adrian at custom retrofit dot ro.

I think my car is one of only 3 or 4 e-series cars (in the world) with a full touch screen idrive 6 evo system, but it wasn't any more work than a regular "nbt" idrive 4 retrofit would have been, just different parts.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by WatchWolf34

It seems like the OP was referring to styling (specifically interior styling). I do agree with the posts above that mention it's in the eye of the beholder. However, I also believe the E9X has a pretty timeless design. Especially the E90 but still to a lesser extent the E92/93.

I regularly have people asking me what year my car is and they're blown away that it's 10 years old now. Part of that is how well I keep it - the other is that they believe it looks like a modern car.

Now sure, the interior design holds up a little less well from a styling perspective. But I think they're still good looking interiors. Tough to look modern though when today's cars are trying to look like spaceships or like you're sitting inside of an iPad (which I don't find appealing at all).

The interior holds up I think. I also have similar responses from people who get in my car.

[9krpmrx8]

The infotainment in my bosses new Lexus GX460 looks 15 years old and sucks compared to my CIC idrive in my 2011. I would like the NBT nav in mine though and the G20 digital dash is pretty awesome.

[porsche959]

I’m trying to get mine to look and feel older, could be because it’s not a dd tho.

No power steering (m3 rack), airbag delete (mono steering wheel), older black shift knob - and I want one of those accordion looking shift knob boots. Like an e90 fckd an e30.

[W37V]

Change interior lights bulbs to led (white). It will freshen up your interior more than anything else.

[e90yyc]

It’s funny because I actually think retrofitting outdated tech into our cars makes them seem MORE outdated. Once you’ve used iDrive 6 (or even 5...) nothing compares. I’m actually glad my car doesn’t have iDrive, because having come from an iDrive 5 car, it would have driven me nuts. Very subjective though.

[lookalikehuuh]

IMHO its all relative depending on what you are comparing it to... compared to new BMWs yeah its a bit outdated, however, having driven quite a few of the newer vehicles I just don't feel they have the same driving qualities that the E90 does. Compared to other more pedestrian vehicles I don't really see anything that is missing from my E90. In fact many things like automatic wiper blades, is missing on a lot of modern cars. Every time i drive my wife's CX-5 i learn to appreciate my E90 more and more.

Now, the new BMWs IMHO appear to be catering less to driving dynamics. The 440i that father in law has is going back at the ends of its lease because of the disconnected driving experience. Surprisingly it is quite a difficult car to drive smoothly with all the crazy regenerative braking stepping in whenever it wants to as well as the electronic steering. I swapped cars with him for almost 2 weeks and he and I both agree that the E90 was a better driving experience overall. He was already on the fence about not purchasing the car at the end of the lease but after the couple of weeks with my car I think it pushed him over the edge and made him realize the car was just what it could have been.

[Centurion]

Originally Posted by W37V

Change interior lights bulbs to led (white). It will freshen up your interior more than anything else.

Yeah, that's a good one. It's actually really strange that even with the LED lighting elements the interior light is made up of standard bulbs...

[John 070]

believe it or not, I like my "tiny" sideview mirrors, and lack of a nav screen in my 2007. But you know what really makes it look outdated, it has a stick!

I ask my self how come in late 2006 the E92 was insane with people stopping, giving thumbs up, etc., and today, no such reaction? If you look at the dimensions of the car it's actually pretty small. One dimension is width--most cars are pretty wide today, the E9x isn't. I can tell you back in the day, a 27" TV could barely even fit through the door opening! lol

To me it's a car you keep in your stable. Go and get a newer car, but keep it.

[vilord]

If you think your coupe feels dated, just go test drive an E21! There's one about an hour from me with 34k original miles for around 4 grand

[W37V]

Originally Posted by vilord

If you think your coupe feels dated, just go test drive an E21! There's one about an hour from me with 34k original miles for around 4 grand

If you are not buying it, I will. Have you checked it out?

[vilord]

Oh man am I tempted, but I have three other vehicles to get rid of before I can take on another project.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...4506278359238/