F30 Sedan Loaner: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (long)

[BimmFiniti]

I took my 2010 E90 in for maintenance today and had a 2013 F30 328 Sedan loaner. I was looking forward to seeing what the F30 is like, try out the new Turbo 4, etc. Although I liked many parts of the car, some parts of it I really didn't like.

Be aware that I drive a "minimalist" E90 with 6MT, Speed Cloth, no NAV or iDrive. My other car is a 2001 330i, 5MT with Sport & Premium Package. I'm not technology challenged, BTW: I have EE and CS degrees, work in high tech and very comfortable with electronics and computers.

The Good
* Power and response of the Turbo 4. I was very pleasantly surprised.
* Rapid response of the Automatic transmission. I'm not used to driving an automatic and am not used to the "instant gratification" an automatic (or DCT presumably) provides. This has made me seriously consider looking into DCT, BTW, which I'm shocked to be saying (although my "ugly" section contains other things about the transmission controller)
* Steering feel and response. It's not great, but it ain't bad. Nothing beats my 330i for steering feel, BTW, and I've owned a Porsche 911, Cayman S and my E90 M3.
* Quality of the interior materials and displays. I liked the crispness of the gauges, although they could be jazzed up a bit more. The wood and leather interior was well done.

The Bad
* Automatic transmission smoothness. Many weird quirks happen as you come off the gas. There's a strange sensation of coasting for a bit, then some "clunking" downshifts. It's poorly done, topped off with Auto Start / Stop (see "ugly" below).
* Brake feel. I can't remember if the F30 has regenerative brakes, but I wouldn't be surprised. Initial braking feel is just plain bizarre and non-confidence-inspiring.

The Ugly
* Auto Start / Stop. Wow, this is bad. I knew there was a shut-off next to the start button, and set it off (I thought) based on the icon with a line through it. Somehow, that's not off, though. What I experienced with it on: sitting at a light with no steering control, in heavy traffic with the car going "dead" on you; nasty "shudder" when it starts up again.
* The iDrive interface. Sorry. I'm just flabbergasted at how bad and how frustrating it is. This car didn't appear to have NAV, but did have the full display and iDrive interface. I'm a simple guy: just give me basic controls to control my most-used functions. Uh uh. That's all mixed up with back-up cameras, arcane options and way too much information. I hate it.
* The automatic transmission selector. I was flat-out embarrassed at how much difficulty I had using this thing. It took me about 30 seconds to get it out of Park (no kidding). Changing from reverse to Drive was a hunt and peck exercise. One time (in gridlocked traffic) I needed to back up quickly to get a better U-turn angle and, man, that was downright scary to know if I had the right gear (or even if I was in gear). When I needed to get it into Park... same mystery exercise. I realize I'm new to this controller, but it is so far from intuitive to be ludicrous.
* The overall user interface experience. From iDrive to the transmission selector to locking in the dual-zone climate control to use one control (couldn't figure that one out; it's done via the "All" control on my E90 but I never found any control for it on the F30)

Sorry if I offend some by criticizing features on their car that they like. Maybe I'm an old-fashioned, "keep it simple" kind of guy, but when I got back in my E90 and:
(a) Could tell what gear I'm in
(b) Could select radio stations directly, with real buttons, and see the artist and song show up right away on the display
(c) Could tell that my climate control was locked with driver and passenger setting
(d) Nothing changed in (a) - (c) when I backed up and went forward

I felt much more comfortable!

Car-tech Grinch, signing out!!
-BimmFiniti

[FogCityM3]

Totally with you on the E46 330i. I had one before my current, and that was such a great car...way way better than the F30 and in some respects better than my M3 size and feel wise. For $6k probably can buy one used and feels better than 90% of the cars out there. Was so far ahead of its time and is so much more fun than the F30.

What's even worse is the F30 328i with no sports package...ride is awful, both comfort and performance wise. Sports suspension makes it better. Also, you can tell F30s are skimping on some components: when you slam the rear door, has this "hollow" sound to it that none of my prior cars had...also the wind noise is bad, and some of the buttons don't have as much of a soft "feel" when depressed.

[zamboni]

The only bad thing is the auto start/stop but you can have the dealer program it off and never have to deal with it. the auto shift is very easy to operate and the nav is very similar to your E90 nav interface, no big deal.

[DMW2315]

I stopped reading when you said you had trouble with the shifter. Really?!?

Also, the eco start/stop is not disable until you push the button right on top of the ignition start/stop. The icon with the line going through it meant that it was disabled at that given time since all the parameters have not been met for Eco start/stop to function (such as the engine temp warmed up)

[highmodulus]

not sure if serious. . .

[MilehighM3]

It sounds like your loaner car manager should have given you a once over on the car prior to releasing you in it. That would've saved you some if not all of your trouble.
Definitely uncomfortable with technology! At least the type you don't know and use every day...

[mjposner]

I know the feeling with the odd transmission shifter, only 50 years of a standard thrown out the window. However, it works once you learn it, same with idrive so do not let these stop you.

[JJunkins]

Originally Posted by mjposner

...However, it works once you learn it, same with idrive so do not let these stop you.

My thoughts exactly. There's always a bit of a learning curve with new tech. OP, please PLEASE don't believe that a DCT drives like an automatic. That was a low blow for some of us.

[lsmkr01]

Originally Posted by BimmFiniti

* Steering feel and response. It's not great, but it ain't bad. Nothing beats my 330i for steering feel, BTW, and I've owned a Porsche 911, Cayman S and my E90 M3.
*

My 04 E46 330 ZHP sedan had some of the sweetest handling characteristics of any car i've ever driven. Reading your review made me think back on all the good years i had with her and smile... thanks

[tjsabec]

Originally Posted by BimmFiniti

locking in the dual-zone climate control to use one control (couldn't figure that one out; it's done via the "All" control on my E90

I'd like to do this. Where is this "all" control? I just read through the manual and didn't see anything...

[mdosu]

wow, people are brutal on this very thought-out review. My thoughts:

I just got a F30 328 "Sport" loaner last week too. I agree with you on the auto-start stop and turbo power delivery comments. This car is leaps and bounds a better performance car than the E90 328. The auto in sport mode was really good, I mean, really that good. The best I've driven, but I also haven't driven the AMG MCT. The steering was also so-so, not better or worse than the E9X cars.

Only thing I would note with the start/stop and turbo would be that it saved a lot of fuel. I beat the snot out of this car like it owed me money, and my fuel gauge didn't even tick.

I disagree with the idrive comment. It's likely b/c you dont' use the idrive to begin with, but the CiC idrive is much easier and smoother to use than the old CCC. It's also a preference item too. Personally, I also don't prefer the CCC functions in my car either, but it is useful for navigation, which is it's main purpose. I didn't mess with the radio, or apps, or all the other extra features on the idrive, but I don't need to, i just use the map feature to gauge traffic conditions.

I diagree with the interior quality comment. The design is fabulous, but the materials are cheap. I'm not surprised, as the M3's Novillo leather is high quality smooth leather, it just can't be compared to entry-level Dakota type leather or leatherette. My car had the aluminum trim, it was plastic and looked fake. It wasn't fooling anyone...

I too was confused with the auto transmission stick. To defend you, I agree that it was confusing. That, coupled with front PDC's display on the idrive confused me a bit when I was squeezing into tight spots. I think the M3's DCT stick, user interface, and setup is just much simpler, as the user interface is linear in design. I think you're taking a lot of shit for it b/c most people have been driving the auto versions of other BMW's and they all have the same user interface.

my final thought is, if BMW made this major leap from the E90 328 to F30 328, then there is hope for the F3X M3!

good review.

[happos2]

Thanks for the review...

I had the 2013 X5 35i this past weekend. I didn't seem to have a problem with the gear selector, very simple once I did it once.

However, I could not drive off smoothly from a stop light. The auto transmission to me is very rough.

I have the 08 I drive in my M and I don't find that difficult at all to use. Haven't used teh 09+ much, though the X5 did have it and I navigated just fine.

Anyways, sounds like you should just stick to the E90M!! Nothing wrong with that!

[signes]

Agree with a lot of your comments OP, especially about the auto tranny stalk. Completely counter-intuitive when you first use it and should be a case study in "if it ain't broke"... iDrive is okay, you just need more time to get comfortable with it.

[VMcV3y]

I had a 328i loaner for 5 days at the beginning of this month.

The shifter was a bit of an issue, but took a whole ten seconds to figure out. (press the side bar to shift; press the top "P" to "Park" it. I mean, the M3 DCT doesn't even have a "Park" that can be seen -- ANYWHERE until you kill the engine. /rant off.

Anyhow, steering, power, brakes, all much less fantastic than the E93 -- but that's what I expected. If the new 328i was as great as an M3, then why would we buy an M3? But it's a 328i, and I felt it was good as a person's "starter" car. I'm planning to purchase a 320i (via European Delivery) in 2014 as a graduation gift for my daughter. I expect less of an engine with that one.

There was one thing about the 328i that absolutely, totally rocked -- and it's not an option on our [current] M3's.... the Heads-Up Display. After five days of using that, it was the only thing that I seriously miss in our cars.


- V

.

[paradocs98]

Nice review. I had an X1 28i loaner the other day, and I was disappointed. Seems like a very pointless car. It's a bit shorter lengthwise than a 3-series, and looks like someone put a 3-series on short stilts and then stretched the cabin upward a bit. Very awkward looking.

Handled well, as most BMWs do, but I was disappointed with the turbo four cylinder. Lots of throttle and/or turbo lag, and the engine sounds buzzy and overworked. Give us back the sweet inline-sixes.

The nail in the coffin? I was putting some gas in it right before returning it, when a new F30 3-series pulled into the gas station. It sat there idling, waiting for an open pump. Based on the sound of this F30 at idle, I thought it was a diesel. BMW has a diesel version of the F30 in the US already? I looked on the trunk lid--nope, it was a 328i.

Oh, and you're right: the gear selector is ridiculous.

[Da Hapa]

I just had a 328i rental from Enterprise for about 10 days while my wife's Audit was in the body shop (some idiot hit us while we were getting gas... that's another story). My rental was a real stripper... no leather, no moonroof, no nav, no HID's, no nada.

My thoughts:
- Really good powertrain. It's smooth, powerful, plenty of torque and the 8 speed is really damned good for a slushbox. I averaged 25 mpg over nearly 500 miles and saw well into the 30's during a longer commute to San Diego and back. The sport mode makes a big difference but from a hard core stick shift guy, I was impressed. The only real downside, IMO, was the direct injected, turbo four banger sounds like crap. Nowhere near as sonorous as the old straight six and frankly, it almost sounds like a diesel when you're idleing.
- Great size. I've got a 2.5 year old so I appreciated the little bit of extra room in the back seat. The car felt spacious without feeling huge the way the current 5 series now feels to me.
- I have a 2008 E90 M3 so the newest Idrive (even without Nav) seems like a pretty good leap forward to me. No problems there.
- I also felt the shifter for the transmission was a bit stupid at first.. why change what's already working just fine but very quickly I got used to it and it didn't bother me at all.
- I liked the design of the interior and granted, my car was a stripper, but I though the materials were cheap and not really up to BMW standards. The plastics felt rock hard (not soft touch) and the steering wheel didn't feel good in my hands.
- I thought the seats were TERRIBLE. I normally think BMW has some of the best seats in the business but found the basic chairs in this car to be very uncomfortable after even short drives. And they offer little to no support for sporty driving. Which is probably ok because...
- My biggest disappontment was the steering and ride/handling mix. Granted this car did not have the sports package but I can't tell you how disappointed I was with the complete lack of steering feel and the floaty, smushy ride. IMO, calling a 328 (at least without the sports package) a sports sedan is not really true anymore. It's clearly designed to cater more to Lexus and MB fans than folks who put a premium on handling. I'd reserve final judgment until I drove a sports package car but this would be a deal killer for me.

[Koldun]

Originally Posted by highyo

for someone who says he is not uncomfortable with technology, you sure sound really uncomfortable with technology. are you seriously dissing the idrive? you sound like a car and driver reviewer in 2007. the idrive is amazing.

and shifting gears? you joking?

iDrive has come a long way but BMW's interface is still garbage and well behind the times. My girlfriend's 2011 Ford Focus has nicer, more intuitive, and more usable electronics than my 2011 M3.

[Majin Buu]

Originally Posted by happos2

Thanks for the review...

I had the 2013 X5 35i this past weekend. I didn't seem to have a problem with the gear selector, very simple once I did it once.

However, I could not drive off smoothly from a stop light. The auto transmission to me is very rough.

I have the 08 I drive in my M and I don't find that difficult at all to use. Haven't used teh 09+ much, though the X5 did have it and I navigated just fine.

Anyways, sounds like you should just stick to the E90M!! Nothing wrong with that!

I agree. I sat in a 328i at the stealership, and found the shifter to be quite eccentric and unusual. Why reinvent the wheel, so to speak?

Originally Posted by Da Hapa

My rental was a real stripper...

Wow, lucky guy. I always wanted to rent a real stripper

[pukicabuki]

I'm not sure how anyone can claim that the F30 328i has a "smooth" drive train. I test drove one when we were shopping for my fiance's new car and it didn't really impress. We ended up with a F30 335i. After reading all the glowing things people say about the 328i, I was wondering if we just hadn't spent enough time with it and ended up wasting the extra money on a 335i.

Well, I got stuck with a 328i for a week while BMW had my M3. Long story short, the hype is just that.... hype. What a turd. That has got to be the roughest BMW drive train in history. The 4cyl isn't smooth by any sense of the word and it sounds terrible. It was peaky and fell flat on its face at higher RPMs. I get that the performance is 85% that of the 335i, but it felt like about 50% of the smoothness and quality. The diesel comment made me chuckle because I thought the same thing when I heard it.

Give me the old 328i any day. I wouldn't buy a 328i expecting great performance so I'll take the old 328i for the smoothness and drive train refinement. The new 4cyl feels/sounds like it should be in a Hyundai (that's probably an insult to Hyundai).

We love our 335i and I'll tell anyone that asks that its worth the extra money over the miserable 328i.

[Z K]

I had a F30 328 for a loaner for a bit over a week. Like the OP, I found the brakes, transmission and steering to be pretty sub par.

The steering had less feel but I could live with it. The brakes and transmission just plain felt weird. The transmission was shifting roughly and the times it was shifting at was not nice at all. Brake feel was weird as well.

As for the engine, it sounds and feels like a 4 cylinder. It sounds and works perfectly normal for a 4 cylinder. It is not the smoothest 4 cylinder but it works. To me, it WORKS fine but it SOUNDS out of place in a big car like the F30.

I found the interior plastics to feel cheap as well. I liked the new design of the interior but the quality of the plastics felt cheaper than the E90.

Overall, I felt the F30 was OK as a car. But for the price the car sells for, I expected more. Disappointing and not worth the money.

[BimmFiniti]

Originally Posted by mhabs

Totally with you on the E46 330i. I had one before my current, and that was such a great car...way way better than the F30 and in some respects better than my M3 size and feel wise. For $6k probably can buy one used and feels better than 90% of the cars out there. Was so far ahead of its time and is so much more fun than the F30.

What's even worse is the F30 328i with no sports package...ride is awful, both comfort and performance wise. Sports suspension makes it better. Also, you can tell F30s are skimping on some components: when you slam the rear door, has this "hollow" sound to it that none of my prior cars had...also the wind noise is bad, and some of the buttons don't have as much of a soft "feel" when depressed.

I really dread when my E46 will need to be retired. I have seriously considered looking for a 2006 (last year) 330i (ZHP if they weren't overpriced) to give myself 5 more years of the ultimate balanced car.

[BimmFiniti]

Originally Posted by highyo

for someone who says he is not uncomfortable with technology, you sure sound really uncomfortable with technology. are you seriously dissing the idrive? you sound like a car and driver reviewer in 2007. the idrive is amazing.

and shifting gears? you joking?

Originally Posted by DMW2315

I stopped reading when you said you had trouble with the shifter. Really?!?

Also, the eco start/stop is not disable until you push the button right on top of the ignition start/stop. The icon with the line going through it meant that it was disabled at that given time since all the parameters have not been met for Eco start/stop to function (such as the engine temp warmed up)

Originally Posted by highmodulus

not sure if serious. . .

Dead serious guys. I was embarrassed with problem with the shifter, to be honest, but I thought I would share my initial use of it. It just is not a straightforward, intuitive device. I'm sure if I used it 2 or 3 times I would whiz with it, but my initial impression was - WTF?

I have no problem with technology and can figure out almost any electronic device. I never do this whilst driving a 3500 lb vehicle, though, where IMO things should be intuitive and consistent.

With respect to iDrive, I suspect I would diss other brands' technology packages, too. I have no basis for comparing the new iDrive to the old one as I've not used either until yesterday. I have been blissfully avoiding these devices.