[Mike.]

Change of Pace from the countless "what intake should I get threads" or my newest gig of private eye for the tablet thread
...and on a lighter note:

Really appreciate our cars:

So my car was in ICU this week (electronic shaft sensor, a couple failed gaskets, taillight out....exhaust leak) I was pretty bummed out--because my car seemed like it was dying every time I started it, and yea well... you guys know; when your car breaks it sucks. So I get to the dealership and the nice lady gives me a choice of 3 cars, and sure enough one brightened my day. My loaner car was a 2014 m package 328i GT xi.
WOW, this car was freaking cool, however, I missed feeling the rawness of our cars, not to mention there was a disconnect from the road. The steering wheel felt like I was turning air, and the turbos were smooth but my car was just as fast. As soon as I got my car back, the difference was apparent (in terms of comparison between the two cars and just how my car drove.. I thought my steering wheel was locked because it seemed so heavy), and my car was running so smooth... the e90 is definitely a "driver's car" and while the f30 is nice, it definitely caters to another crowd...theres definitely a disconnect from the road, but its still a very sharp and cool car to drive....
The misses wanted me to "misplace" it.. and tell the dealership that I lost it haha
Some pics:

[cdgatti]

Yea whenever I drive the new ones, I always have the feeling "aahhhh, this is what a BMW would be like if they decided to build 'normal' cars". Then like you, I get mine back and all is right. The one thing that bugs me most though is the build quality around areas like the heft of the doors/trunk/hood or the cheaper liners they use in the trunk. I thought to my self these new cars are 'rental car' quality now, and lo and behold on my last business trip I notice I can rent an f30 at Avis! I laughed out loud to myself.

[E902009]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Yea whenever I drive the new ones, I always have the feeling "aahhhh, this is what a BMW would be like if they decided to build 'normal' cars". Then like you I get mine back and all is right. The on thing that bugs me most though is the build quality around areas like the heft of the doors/trunk/hood or the cheaper liners they use in the trunk. I thought to my self these new cars are 'rental car' quality now, and lo and behold on my last business trip I notice I can rent and f30 at Avis! I laughed out loud to myself.

I had the new 328i for a little over a week, racked up over 1400 miles. The door closing "thud" is definitely missing. If I was blindfolded, I couldn't tell apart the sound from the BMW and a Camry. The auto stop on the engine annoyed the piss outta me, and it should be a menu feature to turn it always off, if desired. The acceleration is very quick, and the mpg is amazing. But I couldn't wait to get my car back, as it has way more would than the F30.

[E46driver]

i was given a 428 M-sport loaner and i absolutely loved it i had countless f30 328 and a 328d once. The f30s do make me want to get back into my own car because of all the cheapness going on all over the place as mentioned above, but when i was driving around in the 428 i didnt mind any of that stuff at all! The m-sport wheels on the f3x are definitely way better than what anyone in an e9x has.

[Mike.]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Yea whenever I drive the new ones, I always have the feeling "aahhhh, this is what a BMW would be like if they decided to build 'normal' cars". Then like you I get mine back and all is right. The on thing that bugs me most though is the build quality around areas like the heft of the doors/trunk/hood or the cheaper liners they use in the trunk. I thought to my self these new cars are 'rental car' quality now, and lo and behold on my last business trip I notice I can rent and f30 at Avis! I laughed out loud to myself.

I really like the front end of the sport package, and the sunroof is in my opinion the best part of the whole car

Originally Posted by BMW..

That steering wheel is beautiful though you gotta admit better than anything we have

for sure... I wanted it

Originally Posted by E902009

I had the new 328i for a little over a week, racked up over 1400 miles. The door closing "thud" is definitely missing. If I was blindfolded, I couldn't tell apart the sound from the BMW and a Camry. The auto stop on the engine annoyed the piss outta me, and it should be a menu feature to turn it always off, if desired. The acceleration is very quick, and the mpg is amazing. But I couldn't wait to get my car back, as it has way more would than the F30.

haha the autostop scared me at first, I was like...am i driving an overpriced prius? Then I got used to it, just drove the car in sport plus..now that you mention it, it did like like a honda crossover

Originally Posted by E46driver

i was given a 428 M-sport loaner and i absolutely loved it i had countless f30 328 and a 328d once. The f30s do make me want to get back into my own car because of all the cheapness going on all over the place as mentioned above, but when i was driving around in the 428 i didnt mind any of that stuff at all! The m-sport wheels on the f3x are definitely way better than what anyone in an e9x has.

someone I know has a 435. Now that car is a beast, the 4 series are very nice

[TheSt|G]

I was ready to drive the F30 loaner I had up a tree, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the F10 loaner I had earlier. That car was actively depressing to drive.

[Efthreeoh]

In August and September 2013 I had the opportunity to drive a 2012 335i loaner and a 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.0T essentially back to back, each for a week at a time on my daily commute. My daily commute is a combo of excellent back country roads, some rual 4-lane dual highway (55 MPH), and Northern Virginia stop and go traffic on Route 66.

I found the 335i to be fast with good MPG, but with no BMW DNA whatsoever. Fun to punch it getting on the highway, but that was about it. Both the F30 and ATS were automatics. The ATS was excellent and highly engaging to drive and closest to the E90 in chassis dynamics. I later in September drove a 320i w/ sport package - with a manual trans (to campre it to the ATS) and found it a bit better than the 335i, but still lacking in BMW DNA regarding the steering, braking, and handling.

All the magazines find the ATS 2.0T as a rough sounding motor, but I found it to have good power and a lot of charater; like BMWs NA I6's used to have.

If/when I replace my E90, the ATS will probably take its place.

[MUFASA1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

In August and September 2013 I had the opportunity to drive a 2012 335i loaner and a 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.0T essentially back to back, each for a week at a time on my daily commute. My daily commute is a combo of excellent back country roads, some rual 4-lane dual highway (55 MPH), and Northern Virginia stop and go traffic on Route 66.

I found the 335i to be fast with good MPG, but with no BMW DNA whatsoever. Fun to punch it getting on the highway, but that was about it. Both the F30 and ATS were automatics. The ATS was excellent and highly engaging to drive and closest to the E90 in chassis dynamics. I later in September drove a 320i w/ sport package - with a manual trans (to campre it to the ATS) and found it a bit better than the 335i, but still lacking in BMW DNA regarding the steering, braking, and handling.

All the magazines find the ATS 2.0T as a rough sounding motor, but I found it to have good power and a lot of charater; like BMWs NA I6's used to have.

If/when I replace my E90, the ATS will probably take its place.

Cadillac's interior is a beauty. That QUE system is awesome. Gladly GF has an SRX so I drive that

[SDemetris]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

I was ready to drive the F30 loaner I had up a tree, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the F10 loaner I had earlier. That car was actively depressing to drive.

i had the same experience with an X3 loaner.. especially with start-stop, it was depressing.

[Taskmaster]

Not a fan.

[Taran.J]

The steering wheel leather is amazing. Other that that nothing in that car I'd have over my personal e90. Maybe a little more fuel economy.

[jc5988]

damn, that first pic almost looks exactly same as e90, i thought u had the interior swapped. lol

[justpete]

Once the 1ers disappeared from the loaner fleet there was really no longer an answer to the "what kind of loaner would you prefer?" question as long as it wasn't an Xwhatever, well at least for me.

Every time I get stuck with a non-sport F30 328i all I can think of is maybe I can keep this E90 built in the last month of production running for a long time. If I can get a Sport model, and immediately set it to Sport+, it still blows compared to an E90 with Perf suspension but it's better than just Sport. Barely. And could there be any more throttle lag? Sorry but the interior has turned to mush, nothing sez sports sedan/coupe like a video game glued atop the dash, yessirreebob.

Auto start/stop, HUD, iDriveUnutz, etc., etc. - seriously BMW? Toys? "Ultimate Driving Machine"? Really? An S4+KENU+Waze is a helluvalot cheaper, more useful, and a lot less distracting than a HUD, imho. How bad has it gotten when a Caddy rises to the level of an acceptable alternative? But I'm old I guess...

[Mike.]

times are changing, BMW is looking to cater to the masses now.. or so it seems.

[els_86]

My e92 will be my last bmw as I absolutely hate every new BMW now. I don;t like the way they look, those smooth lines that make our cars look so pretty and sporty are gone, and the interiors look they came out of a Hyundai. Like wtf is up with the interior in the new 4 series and m3 and m4???

[justpete]

Originally Posted by Emozoo

times are changing, BMW is looking to cater to the masses now.. or so it seems.

Yep, no question of that, sad to say. I suppose it's because very very few people actually want a car that must be driven rather than just vaguely guided.

[Mike.]

Originally Posted by justpete

Yep, no question of that, sad to say. I suppose it's because very very few people actually want a car that must be driven rather than just vaguely guided.

my next car will prob be a G or some kind of sport audi...something that gives feedback back to the driver

Originally Posted by els_86

My e92 will be my last bmw as I absolutely hate every new BMW now. I don;t like the way they look, those smooth lines that make our cars look so pretty and sporty are gone, and the interiors look they came out of a Hyundai. Like wtf is up with the interior in the new 4 series and m3 and m4???

I think the m4 overall is the sharpest out of them all

[els_86]

Originally Posted by Emozoo

my next car will prob be a G or some kind of sport audi...something that gives feedback back to the driver



I think the m4 overall is the sharpest out of them all

I think it looks bloated from the outside and hate the way the center console looks. I mean it's definitely the nicest of all the new BMW's but I wouldn't buy it.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by Emozoo

my next car will prob be a G or some kind of sport audi...something that gives feedback back to the driver

My 07 G35 is precisely the reason I bought a BMW. Not an S but it'd have to be hugely improved to think of it as a sports car. Compared to my box stock E90 it handles like a floaty land yacht. Or are you talking about a different G?

[Mike.]

Originally Posted by els_86

I think it looks bloated from the outside and hate the way the center console looks. I mean it's definitely the nicest of all the new BMW's but I wouldn't buy it.

The person in my town has a white with the black rims. Its a sharp car, but.. leaves a lot on the table, or so I've heard.

Originally Posted by justpete

My 07 G35 is precisely the reason I bought a BMW. Not an S but it'd have to be hugely improved to think of it as a sports car. Compared to my box stock E90 it handles like a floaty land yacht. Or are you talking about a different G?

really?! ugh not what I wanted to hear. I was talking about the g37x or the Q60 sport coupe.. or a CPO s4 or something. i really dont know, depends how I feel/ what I want in a car in a couple years. Maybe the electronic steering will grow on me since car companies are moving towards "user friendly driving" and try to assist as much as they possibly can with making the drive as easy as possible. If thats the case I'd get a 4 series. So far Im at a crossroad of finding a car that has as much feedback as the e90 series. Every time I drive my car (or my family and friends for that matter) its fun--yea it's not the fastest but for what its worth, for every day legal driving, its a good balance of speed, dependability, and performance. The only person that complains about my car is my chick, because well, its not a Prius.. so thats a lost battle right there. I hope bmw understands what they had and try to implement what makes driving fun back into their cars.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by Emozoo

really?! ugh not what I wanted to hear. I was talking about the g37x or the Q60 sport coupe.. or a CPO s4 or something. i really dont know, depends how I feel/ what I want in a car in a couple years. Maybe the electronic steering will grow on me since car companies are moving towards "user friendly driving" and try to assist as much as they possibly can with making the drive as easy as possible. If thats the case I'd get a 4 series. So far Im at a crossroad of finding a car that has as much feedback as the e90 series. Every time I drive my car (or my family and friends for that matter) its fun--yea it's not the fastest but for what its worth, for every day legal driving, its a good balance of speed, dependability, and performance. The only person that complains about my car is my chick, because well, its not a Prius.. so thats a lost battle right there. I hope bmw understands what they had and try to implement what makes driving fun back into their cars.

Yeah, Infiniti tried but missed the mark. There's always Stillen mods or whatnot I guess but it's just not that great to begin with. And they've cheapened the crap out of them since the first G35, absolutely no comparison. They managed to come up with a trans better than the 5AT but their adaptive throttle and trans software is psychotic at best. And even with staggered sport wheels the car is freakin' uncontrollable with the dynamic control turned off. Won't ever buy another, no way.

A CPO S4 has gotta be massively better.

Electric steering is for emissions and cost, etc. Every mfg will have to go to it eventually as volume drives the costs even lower. Me? Not a chance in hell. I don't know what I'll do for another car, maybe I'll just keep the G running as long as possible. Ain't nothing out there worth looking at for now. Looks like BMW has entirely abandoned its roots for the shiny future of electricity...and government subsidies no doubt.

[Mike.]

Originally Posted by justpete

Yeah, Infiniti tried but missed the mark. There's always Stillen mods or whatnot I guess but it's just not that great to begin with. And they've cheapened the crap out of them since the first G35, absolutely no comparison. They managed to come up with a trans better than the 5AT but their adaptive throttle and trans software is psychotic at best. And even with staggered sport wheels the car is freakin' uncontrollable with the dynamic control turned off. Won't ever buy another, no way.

A CPO S4 has gotta be massively better.

Electric steering is for emissions and cost, etc. Every mfg will have to go to it eventually as volume drives the costs even lower. Me? Not a chance in hell. I don't know what I'll do for another car, maybe I'll just keep the G running as long as possible. Ain't nothing out there worth looking at for now. Looks like BMW has entirely abandoned its roots for the shiny future of electricity...and government subsidies no doubt.

I wonder how the c63 c350 are. My friend works for benz and he was just at the barclays center test driving them at some event... Im not really a benz guy though..

Maybe I'll just look into an srt8 jeep haha