driving a 328 xdrive loaner...

[IEDEI]

i've had plenty of loaner cars over the past year as i've had my 1M in for service and other small warranty issues plenty of times during ownership. I've been given a fair variety of loaner cars (X1, X3, 528, 328, 228, etc). My dealer are really great about getting me into loaners and i appreciate it! Overall i think BMW still make decent cars although I don't usually enjoy them...but rather find them as decent cars which are reasonably well built.

Today i am driving a 328 xdrive. It's not exactly a 'fun' car to drive, but it isn't terrible. it feels disconnected...like the 528 and 228s i've had too. I suppose i see the appeal of these to the average car buyer and the 'young professional'---although i'd never buy one myself. The last E90 328s i had driven never felt this disconnected.....they always felt solid and planted. The Audi A4 and MB C-Class also feel similar to this in my experience of driving those so BMW seems to be right in the middle of the pack with actual feel and performance.

BUT....In my head, i was thinking "well it's not terrible for something that probably costs $35-40k"....and then i pulled the MSRP sticker out of the glovebox and it is $49k!! $49k! I was blown away by how expensive it is. For a car that doesn't even have xenon lights!? How the hell can BMW sell a car for almost $50k and not even put the most basic of 'luxury' things like xenon lights on it? I am simply amazed....i was pumping gas earlier and was just staring at it with its 17" basic wheels and halogen bulbs and thought there is no way that car looks like a $50k car. On no planet does it look like a $50k car. Oh and the seats? I've felt more side bolstering on a toilet seat. I generally think of the 328 as a 'basic' BMW...but $50k is not a basic price....

On my commute to work, i usually get around 23mpg in my 1M in mixed city and freeway driving. In the 328 i got 25mpg last night and this morning. Better but hardly convincing that it is so much more efficient as i was expecting....i would guess an old E9X 328 would get 25 easily on that commute too with its N/A I-6. So why are all these cars getting these boring 4 bangers again? Maybe it's just my driving style?? This morning i didn't really get on it even that much and still got 25.5 mpg or something in mixed traffic.

I suppose the majority of these cars are LEASED right? So i can't imagine most people would willingly pay this bloated MSRP. In the context of a lease, i guess BMW end up with a car that has more value when a car originally for a whopping $49k.

[Jamesons Viggen]

I had a similar loaner and hated it. It drove/felt very different than my F30 MSport 328 6mt(36mpgs in my morning commute). It was similar in how much I disliked a loaner E90 328, just the E90 had heavier steering with more feedback than the F30 328 loaner.

[MightyMouseTech]

Better than the Subaru Forester I had.

What a BOAT!

[swagon]

xDrive BMW's are known to be dumb compared to RWD M Sports. And those turbo inline fours are boring. Bimmers with no options (xenons, bigger wheels, sport seats/steering wheel) always looked cheap and boring. This is just a German thing.

Tell them next time that you want a rear wheel drive 335i in M Sport. Trust me that it will be way better.

[optigrab]

I had a 2015 328xi loaner as well. The two thoughts that kept coming to my mind were

1. I really dont like the steering
2. This isnt really much better than a Nissan Altima. (Had one as a rental car)

[carzaddict]

yeah the 328's are a little bit of a joke..............a joke that I am a part of. Its not the worst car in the world, but its not the best. Once you start comparing it to japanese cars in its class.....it just becomes a cruel reality.

the disconnected feeling is due to the electronic steering, which all the companies are doing these days. if you thought 50K for a 328 was bad, how about the people paying close to 65k for a 335..........65k for a 3 SERIES!!! just as ridiculous. but you gotta pay if you want to play.

considering the lease I got, im happy with it, got a really good deal.

[Andrew115]

I had a spin in a 328 with a tune is was a great highway car. Awesome mileage.

[pikkagtr]

Originally Posted by carzaddict

yeah the 328's are a little bit of a joke..............a joke that I am a part of. Its not the worst car in the world, but its not the best. Once you start comparing it to japanese cars in its class.....it just becomes a cruel reality.

the disconnected feeling is due to the electronic steering, which all the companies are doing these days. if you thought 50K for a 328 was bad, how about the people paying close to 65k for a 335..........65k for a 3 SERIES!!! just as ridiculous. but you gotta pay if you want to play.

considering the lease I got, im happy with it, got a really good deal.

65$k 335?? Wow
That's stripped down 6mt M3 money
I paid less than that with ED on my F80 and its far from bare bones. Just couldn't justify CCB

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by carzaddict

yeah the 328's are a little bit of a joke..............a joke that I am a part of. Its not the worst car in the world, but its not the best. Once you start comparing it to japanese cars in its class.....it just becomes a cruel reality.

the disconnected feeling is due to the electronic steering, which all the companies are doing these days. if you thought 50K for a 328 was bad, how about the people paying close to 65k for a 335..........65k for a 3 SERIES!!! just as ridiculous. but you gotta pay if you want to play.

considering the lease I got, im happy with it, got a really good deal.

Thats a LIE.

...mine was $62k.....sigh. When the F80 came out months later, I wanted to bash my head against a wall. Only thing I'm ho hum about is the steering. For day to day driving it's actually great but in spirited driving...or when I went to the UDE over the weekend, the feedback-less steering really becomes apparent.

[MightyMouseTech]

Dunno, my 1er was 55k.

[VWtoBMW]

This is the reason why for a second car my significant other won the argument... I was pushing for an X3 or X5 but was being countered by saying we should get a GLK350. With the all of the option boxes checked off, plus the incentives, lease rate and discount, an X3 would have run easily $10k over... and that for the 4 cylinder! Forget the price on a X5. BMW are priced way up there compared to what you get with the competition... Plus the interest rate was 4.9%, Benz was 1.9%. I have a long standing relationship with my BMW dealer and they could not come close unless I went pre-owned, which I did not want to do as the color choices and options were limited. So I lost the fight... but as much as I dislike the GLK, it has really grown on he and it has a lot of punch. I wont admit it at home, but I do enjoy driving it.

[IEDEI]

holy crap.....stopped by the dealer to pick up the 1M and just saw a $55k 428 Coupe Xdrive on the showroom floor. WTF.

[och]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

i've had plenty of loaner cars over the past year as i've had my 1M in for service and other small warranty issues plenty of times during ownership. I've been given a fair variety of loaner cars (X1, X3, 528, 328, 228, etc). My dealer are really great about getting me into loaners and i appreciate it! Overall i think BMW still make decent cars although I don't usually enjoy them...but rather find them as decent cars which are reasonably well built.

Today i am driving a 328 xdrive. It's not exactly a 'fun' car to drive, but it isn't terrible. it feels disconnected...like the 528 and 228s i've had too. I suppose i see the appeal of these to the average car buyer and the 'young professional'---although i'd never buy one myself. The last E90 328s i had driven never felt this disconnected.....they always felt solid and planted. The Audi A4 and MB C-Class also feel similar to this in my experience of driving those so BMW seems to be right in the middle of the pack with actual feel and performance.

BUT....In my head, i was thinking "well it's not terrible for something that probably costs $35-40k"....and then i pulled the MSRP sticker out of the glovebox and it is $49k!! $49k! I was blown away by how expensive it is. For a car that doesn't even have xenon lights!? How the hell can BMW sell a car for almost $50k and not even put the most basic of 'luxury' things like xenon lights on it? I am simply amazed....i was pumping gas earlier and was just staring at it with its 17" basic wheels and halogen bulbs and thought there is no way that car looks like a $50k car. On no planet does it look like a $50k car. Oh and the seats? I've felt more side bolstering on a toilet seat. I generally think of the 328 as a 'basic' BMW...but $50k is not a basic price....

On my commute to work, i usually get around 23mpg in my 1M in mixed city and freeway driving. In the 328 i got 25mpg last night and this morning. Better but hardly convincing that it is so much more efficient as i was expecting....i would guess an old E9X 328 would get 25 easily on that commute too with its N/A I-6. So why are all these cars getting these boring 4 bangers again? Maybe it's just my driving style?? This morning i didn't really get on it even that much and still got 25.5 mpg or something in mixed traffic.

I suppose the majority of these cars are LEASED right? So i can't imagine most people would willingly pay this bloated MSRP. In the context of a lease, i guess BMW end up with a car that has more value when a car originally for a whopping $49k.

I actually thought the same thing last time I had the 328 loaner. It was almost 48k, for what felt like a Camry. I have no idea how this thing be so expensive, but I guess as long as they have affordable lease rates that's all that matters.

[1smokehouse]

Feel fortunate that you have US prices. BMW Guam is an independent dealer. Most cars are 8-10k over the US prices. The original sticker price on my 128i was 44,470. I got it last year in August on sale, thankfully for a lot less. Shipping fees they say...

[VWtoBMW]

Originally Posted by 1smokehouse

Feel fortunate that you have US prices. BMW Guam is an independent dealer. Most cars are 8-10k over the US prices. The original sticker price on my 128i was 44,470. I got it last year in August on sale, thankfully for a lot less. Shipping fees they say...

Come to Canada..... Significantly more expensive too vs the U.S.

[camnhoj]

Originally Posted by VWtoBMW

Come to Canada..... Significantly more expensive too vs the U.S.

Try Ireland

[MJ80.]

Try Australia, 335 is 130k.

[Nkc]

Try Hong Kong. Why does it always come down to this?

Back on topic, yeah my mother in law drives the exact same 328 x drive you speak of and it's horrible. She had a leased 330 e90 x drive before and it was slightly better. Still doesn't even come close to the e46 they had prior to that in terms of feel. It's amazing how bmw continues to make worse cars after each generation. The 3 is dead to me.

[1smokehouse]

Whoa! Even with the exchange rate thats 103K US! Ok, I don't feel so bad...

[Shock96]

I spent 3 days in a 328 xDrive while my X1 35i was getting a door lock actuator replaced.

I could only say ho hum. Nice car, boring as all get out. I couldn't wait to get back to my X1.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by Shock96

I spent 3 days in a 328 xDrive while my X1 35i was getting a door lock actuator replaced.

I could only say ho hum. Nice car, boring as all get out. I couldn't wait to get back to my X1.

the X1 is a much better car to drive...I actually request X1s as loaners when I'm there.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

the X1 is a much better car to drive...I actually request X1s as loaners when I'm there.

Funny, I actually really liked the X1 all the times I got it (bunch of different specced versions, probably driven them all haha). Would have been good as a general service wagon.