I'm still driving a 2000 323Ci (E46) that I love. Before that I had a 1988 325 (E30) that I still miss. So I thought my next car would be another entry-model 3-series. However, after driving many loaner cars from my BMW dealer over the years, I was disappointed that none of them were as much fun to drive as my 323Ci. It's light, handles really well, has excellent (hydraulic) steering feel, 50-50 balance, and RWD. It's not fast (7.7 sec 0-60 as I recall), having little low-end torque, but in 2nd or 3rd gear with the revs up it is very nimble. It's great at accelerating through curves, and for me that's way more fun than doing stop light sprints.
In 2012 I started looking for a replacement because my car was becoming too unreliable.
When the 2013 FR-S/BRZ came out from Scion/Subaru it went to the top of my list. It was light, low, balanced, with RWD, and praised in car mags for its handling. It's underpowered, but does 0-60 in 7.3 sec which is a little better than my 323Ci. I never test drove one. I've been told that it is noisy/crude compared to a BMW. It's probably acceptable for me, but seems most suited for those on a tight budget who will tune, modify and race, and less suited for comfortable daily use and occasional road trips.
Then along came the 2015 GTI. It looked impressive and was widely praised. It has lots more function, performance, and comfort than the FR-S/BRZ, for not much more money. I joined a few GTI forums and read them a lot. I've never owned a FWD car so I had reservations, but with the optional Perf Pack it has an electronically-controlled front differential that shifts torque to the outside wheel when accelerating through a turn, improving performance and feel. In the limit it will still understeer, being 60-40 balanced, but for a FWD car it looked to be very good. Maybe as good as FWD gets. It will do 0-60 in about 6 sec.
I test drove a GTI (without Perf Pack) and liked it, but the salesman rode with me and that spoiled the ride. I guess he added about 250 lbs, plus he kept demonstrating stuff like the sunroof and how loud the stereo could get. The available roads didn't have much in the way of curves or hills, so I never got a feel for how it goes through curves. It's brakes felt soft – the brake peddle required a lot of travel. Hopefully that is fixable. In Sport mode the Soundaktor made too much noise, but that is easy to disable.
Seeing all the praise for the M235i in the press, I knew that it would be far better than the GTI. However, configured to my liking the GTI would cost $34K whereas the M325i would cost $50K. That additional $16K is hard for me to justify. Most of my driving is going to the store, gym, … for which an M235i would be gross overkill. I decided to test drive a 228i which would only cost $40K. I liked it better than the GTI, plus I was still not sure how happy I would be with the FWD of the GTI "down the road".
So I ordered a 228i M Sport with the Technology Package, Driver Assistance Package (really need to stop backing over neighborhood kids), and Light Package. It was manufactured last week and should be ready for me at the dealership in 2-3 weeks. I can't wait!!!
BTW, I passed on the Premium Package because it had nothing I wanted and cost a lot. The dealer told me that the Premium Package adds “just over 300 lbs” to the weight of the car, which is a lot. He said most of that weight comes from the power seats, followed by the sunroof. Can anyone confirm or refute this?
Does anyone have weight information for the various 2-series options? I can't find any on the web so far. The weight of the car seriously impacts performance and MPG, but maybe car manufacturers don't want that factor to influence the buyer's choice of options.
In 2012 I started looking for a replacement because my car was becoming too unreliable.
When the 2013 FR-S/BRZ came out from Scion/Subaru it went to the top of my list. It was light, low, balanced, with RWD, and praised in car mags for its handling. It's underpowered, but does 0-60 in 7.3 sec which is a little better than my 323Ci. I never test drove one. I've been told that it is noisy/crude compared to a BMW. It's probably acceptable for me, but seems most suited for those on a tight budget who will tune, modify and race, and less suited for comfortable daily use and occasional road trips.
Then along came the 2015 GTI. It looked impressive and was widely praised. It has lots more function, performance, and comfort than the FR-S/BRZ, for not much more money. I joined a few GTI forums and read them a lot. I've never owned a FWD car so I had reservations, but with the optional Perf Pack it has an electronically-controlled front differential that shifts torque to the outside wheel when accelerating through a turn, improving performance and feel. In the limit it will still understeer, being 60-40 balanced, but for a FWD car it looked to be very good. Maybe as good as FWD gets. It will do 0-60 in about 6 sec.
I test drove a GTI (without Perf Pack) and liked it, but the salesman rode with me and that spoiled the ride. I guess he added about 250 lbs, plus he kept demonstrating stuff like the sunroof and how loud the stereo could get. The available roads didn't have much in the way of curves or hills, so I never got a feel for how it goes through curves. It's brakes felt soft – the brake peddle required a lot of travel. Hopefully that is fixable. In Sport mode the Soundaktor made too much noise, but that is easy to disable.
Seeing all the praise for the M235i in the press, I knew that it would be far better than the GTI. However, configured to my liking the GTI would cost $34K whereas the M325i would cost $50K. That additional $16K is hard for me to justify. Most of my driving is going to the store, gym, … for which an M235i would be gross overkill. I decided to test drive a 228i which would only cost $40K. I liked it better than the GTI, plus I was still not sure how happy I would be with the FWD of the GTI "down the road".
So I ordered a 228i M Sport with the Technology Package, Driver Assistance Package (really need to stop backing over neighborhood kids), and Light Package. It was manufactured last week and should be ready for me at the dealership in 2-3 weeks. I can't wait!!!
BTW, I passed on the Premium Package because it had nothing I wanted and cost a lot. The dealer told me that the Premium Package adds “just over 300 lbs” to the weight of the car, which is a lot. He said most of that weight comes from the power seats, followed by the sunroof. Can anyone confirm or refute this?
Does anyone have weight information for the various 2-series options? I can't find any on the web so far. The weight of the car seriously impacts performance and MPG, but maybe car manufacturers don't want that factor to influence the buyer's choice of options.
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