The new F30 3-Series

[Proton_neutron]

Well, the new 3-Series is a nice car, ruined by Electric Power Steering. That really makes the car totally devoid of road feel. The "wonders" of technology. Not to forget, the ride never seem to settle, even in Comfort mode (320i is on 17 inch rims). Sports mode only makes the accelerator more responsive, and steering even more heavy =(

 

And I don't know why, but the 320i 184bhp 2.0T that I test drove, had a very heavy steering.... U turns and parking seem a chore man. Haha. Hard work turning the steering wheel.

 

The front footwell still is cramp too - I'm just seated normally and the side of my knees are touching the centre console and doors. But really, the interior quality and ambience and design has leap frog a lot from its predecessor! As for rear legroom, it's still snug for me, but will do for short distances. It's still a car that's only comfortable for 4 adults though, the 5th will make things intimate. Haha!

 

From $218,900 (Luxury) and $219,800 (Sports), I guess people will still buy lah, cos of the BMW badge.

Edited June 10, 2012 by Proton_neutron

[Animian]

woah...based on the review here i am surprised F30 sucks and A4 or C class are preferred

 

what kind of cars do you guys drive

Edited June 12, 2012 by Animian

[Anyname]

wld be interesing to see if the lower-end 2litre turbo can be remapped to push out power close to the 328i

 

Current maps for the N20 engine for the new 320 gives 220hp due mainly to exhaust constraint

new 328 gives 296hp

Suspension is also quite soft and feels floaty especially with the run flats, be wary of taking corners with undulating surfaces, resonance in the suspension builts ups causing frontal drift. Also not the typical macpherson strut set up.

Electric suspension really kills the ride, the volvo as mentioned has a better feedback (although much slower for the same power)

Seats are crap, note that for the so call luxury edition, you cannot elevate your driving seat, just only tilt it. Very disappointing so for those who are vertically challanged do factor in the cost for an upgrade.

Do not use the gears to engine brake into the corner, it actually disengages before re-engaging too slow for the down shift. Do not use the paddle shifter for this purpose, you will regret it, just shift the stick left for the 6gear option, reaction is slightly faster. The 328 when idling from the outside sounds like a diesel, very un-BMW. Wonder what the 320 sounds like. Whiny too when accelerating unlike the A4B7 or B8. Hi-fi is Harmon Kardon, miss my Bang and Olsfen.

 

The upside is that in start stop traffic, the consumption is a suprising 10.8-11.2, if the meters are to be believed. The gears do change very fast when accelerating, in the sport mode, its a 6 gear as opposed to the normal. The sports plus is fun for slight drifting which also can be turn off completely. Cannot wait for the M-sport upgrades I hear that are in the pipe-line.

[Anyname]

woah...based on the review here i am surprised F30 sucks and A4 or C class are preferred

 

what kind of cars do you guys drive

F-30 and Wife preference takes precidence and its better than the previous A4B8.

[Animian]

F-30 and Wife preference takes precidence and its better than the previous A4B8.

 

politically right answer

 

btw who tried 335 already ? i noted your guys only talk about 320 or 328 ... shouldnt 335 cover all the flaw of 320 or 328 ?

[Proton_neutron]

politically right answer

 

btw who tried 335 already ? i noted your guys only talk about 320 or 328 ... shouldnt 335 cover all the flaw of 320 or 328 ?

 

 

 

Yup. A pity new BMW's have to go the 4-cylinder turbocharged route to meet average CO2 emissions by the company (a EU law they must agree on).

 

Fortunately, the 335i is still available. The next M3 Sedan/ M4 Coupe/ Convertible will be a 6-cylinder Tri-Turbo with 444bhp (up from the 4.0V8 420bhp) due in 2014.

 

The gap between a 2.0T and 3.0T is huge. Haha.

[ER-3682]

A 328i just stop in front of my house,i noticed engine got a 'tappet' sound[most likely is the high pressure fuel injection pump] come out...not very nice from a brand new BMW.

[Arowana1]

test drove a 320 today. ride is comfortable, suspension and tires are not harsh unlike e90, power delivery is good. effortless in overtaking and start/stop traffic along aye and pasir panjang road. i love it. too bad no moola for it :(

[Busker888]

test drove a 320 today. ride is comfortable, suspension and tires are not harsh unlike e90, power delivery is good. effortless in overtaking and start/stop traffic along aye and pasir panjang road. i love it. too bad no moola for it :(

 

 

U only drive along AYE n Pasir Panjang can comment on performance of F30 n E90, test drive car - u not paying for petrol whatever car overtaking sure no problem just hit the acc hard....what rubbish is that on tires being harsh......no moola go test drive for what.....u people should pay to test drive cars in Singapore...waste petrol, cause pollution for no good reasons..

[Coupecabriolet]

test drove a 320 today. ride is comfortable, suspension and tires are not harsh unlike e90, power delivery is good. effortless in overtaking and start/stop traffic along aye and pasir panjang road. i love it. too bad no moola for it :(

 

No intention/money to buy then test drive for what?

 

You are waiting the agent's time. He/she could have served another customer in the mean time and maybe received commission from a purchase.

 

Were you honest in telling the agent you never planned on getting the car?

[Arowana1]

U only drive along AYE n Pasir Panjang can comment on performance of F30 n E90, test drive car - u not paying for petrol whatever car overtaking sure no problem just hit the acc hard....what rubbish is that on tires being harsh......no moola go test drive for what.....u people should pay to test drive cars in Singapore...waste petrol, cause pollution for no good reasons..

 

if you know car well, you can tell the difference from a test drive. as long as you can sprint, accelerate and do long stretch at 90-100, that is sufficient enough. after all, we are not buying a 320 for tracking.

 

did i say i had to hit the acc hard to overtake? u saying all cars can accel fast and smooth if u hit the accel hard? i said e90 harsh, this is not. u drove both before to compare?

 

if companies feel test drive is a waste of money, they will clamp down on it. wat u idiots dun realise, but they do, it that word of mouth and recommendations are best adverts. today i may not have the moola but if tomolo i do, my heart is already set on a f30. and from today onwards, i can speak of the good of f30 from my own personal experience.

[Arowana1]

No intention/money to buy then test drive for what?

 

You are waiting the agent's time. He/she could have served another customer in the mean time and maybe received commission from a purchase.

 

Were you honest in telling the agent you never planned on getting the car?

 

anyone who steps into a showroom is a potential sales, directly or indirectly because even if that person never buys, he may have friends to recommend. an e90 driver is always a potential compared to someone who drops off by the bus stop. no offense but that is how some sales person assesses a potential and determine how much time he wants to spend with the person.

[Coupecabriolet]

anyone who steps into a showroom is a potential sales, directly or indirectly because even if that person never buys, he may have friends to recommend. an e90 driver is always a potential compared to someone who drops off by the bus stop. no offense but that is how some sales person assesses a potential and determine how much time he wants to spend with the person.

 

What you say have a point but you didn't answer my question.. Did you tell the agent honestly what you were there for? I'm sure the reaction by the agent would have been quite different.

 

I don't really care what you drive or whether you are a potential customer or not.. The thing is, when you test drove the car, you don't have the intention or ability to buy the car.

 

And because of that, the agent is incurring opportunity cost by serving a non genuine customer.

 

No offense but that is how sales work. Very short term minded; they would prefer a genuine buying customer than whatever you say.. marketing.. word of mouth, interested friends.. phui

[Thaiyotakamli]

anyone who steps into a showroom is a potential sales, directly or indirectly because even if that person never buys, he may have friends to recommend. an e90 driver is always a potential compared to someone who drops off by the bus stop. no offense but that is how some sales person assesses a potential and determine how much time he wants to spend with the person.

i wonder how you say when u want to leave? did u say u will consider or say the car doesnt suit u or u dont like the car or say car too ex wait COE drop to $2?

[Sdf4786k]

PML having qtr closing now. So those that are keen should see if it makes sense to buy now with the high COE.

 

Prices after discount can be had at 328 launch prices.

 

Then again COE was at 73800 at that time. so prices has move by 10K.

 

 

[Marcus69sg]

I pick up my new ride f30 last week. I would say overall it is a gd car.

it is definately a driver's car.

 

But gotto complain they gie me cheap key fob case which doesnt even fit well.

 

Marc

[Animian]

I pick up my new ride f30 last week. I would say overall it is a gd car.

it is definately a driver's car.

 

But gotto complain they gie me cheap key fob case which doesnt even fit well.

 

Marc

 

what does the cheapo key fob case look like ?

[Zyklon]

What you say have a point but you didn't answer my question.. Did you tell the agent honestly what you were there for? I'm sure the reaction by the agent would have been quite different.

 

I don't really care what you drive or whether you are a potential customer or not.. The thing is, when you test drove the car, you don't have the intention or ability to buy the car.

 

And because of that, the agent is incurring opportunity cost by serving a non genuine customer.

 

No offense but that is how sales work. Very short term minded; they would prefer a genuine buying customer than whatever you say.. marketing.. word of mouth, interested friends.. phui

 

I used to do a bit of sales, so I understand your point. However, car sales, at least for those higher priced ones, are a little different. Many deals are closed after a harmless test drive with absolutely no intention to buy. No joke.

 

It always starts out with nothing to do on sunday afternoon, so go look see look see the new XYZ car. Absolutely no intention to buy. Then after test drive SE throw you a good overtrade...and the rest is history liao. I am sure many people have the same experience.