2013 BMW 3 Series

Great Driving Experience

By BMW San Diego (CA) on Friday, June 14, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 3,000

Pros: "Driving dynamics, acceleration"

Cons: "exterior styling is a little bland"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 8

"Bottom-line is the car offers a fantastic driving experience and has been trouble-free. The car is well balanced, has great turn in, and feels like you are driving on the balls of your feet. Acceleration leaves little to desire."

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purpose built gas sipper, light and entertaining

By jojo9718 (International) on Sunday, June 02, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 300

Pros: "price, tons of technology, 46mppg highway"

Cons: "electric steering"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"This is my 7th BMW and ever since my 1991 320i coupe, bmw every year is slowly getting away from its roots. however thats not to say this car(2013 320i msport) doesnt drive like a BMW when taken to the limit. its loaded with technology to the point youll find yourslef saying "what was that" and my favorite "why?" some of it is cool though. for instance, you can add a new address to navigation by voice... which leads to literally a 5 minute intelligent conversation with a car. I'm a BMW enthusiast so this review may e a bit lenghtly. ill break it down piece by piece. - Styling: one of the most beautiful cars on the road since the E39 5 series debut(which the new F30 3 series now has almost the exact dimensions of the E39... coincedence?). pictures dont do it justice, you see one up close and its very agressive, wide and the lines look great. everything about it pays heritage to BMW. -interior: Clean, fit and tidy like most bimmers. having owned many bmw's ive noticed the materials used on the interiors (buttons, controls) are lessening in quality in touch and operation. i owned a 2006 325 and i think bmw had it perfect back then. many say the idrive is confusing and hard to use but i think people who say that dont drive a bmw daily. once you get use to it its a GREAT tool. idive has came a long way since the beginning. the screen is large and everything (even back up camera) is HD, which is a nice touch. the speakers are great even without the upgraded system. the sports seats are great as always. smartphone integration is more than most think it is. you can play music and make calls from you phone all through the steering wheel or idrive, no AUX wires no adapters, just bluetooth connect and youre good to go. i opted to delete "bmw apps" i dont need to check facebook or google while im driving (i cant belive this is even an option). its a very very quiet drive even at highway speeds. living in germany i routinely take it deep into triple digits and the wind noise then abruptly worsens, its not a 5 series that for sure :). i particularly like how bmw is bringing back how the dash begins to wrap towards the driver, as it should be in a drivers car. ive had the car for a couple weeks now and i still havent figured out all the gizmos and gadgets, albeit most of them helpful, its getting excessive. -engine-drivetrain: the 320i only has 180hp, 200tqs. but the new 8 speed tranny seems to be very intelligent and intuative. that being said, you wouldnt think it only has 180hp, it picks up and goes (when pushed hard) but i cant seem to feel the tourque. maybe im spoiled by the 2007 530i i drive daily. i do miss the inline 6 sound and tourqe. turbo lag is not existent EXCPET when accelerating from a slow rolling start, but even then it's just a hint of lag and then it goes. during normal city driving the transmission shifts very smothly BUT no matter what mode your in the tranny is always very busy which concerns to for reliabily. normal acceleration from a red light will get you 3 or 4 upshifts in 6-8 seconds. of course sport mode gives you good throttle response and a tighter suspension at the expense of V6 MPG. comfort mode is the majority of what i drive and it works well. eco-pro mode is absolutely useless except for long interstate cruising. ecopro cuts sooo much power its almost undriveable in town. the good thing about ecopro is on the higway im returning 46MPG... not too shabby. -handling: mind you ive owned many bmws almost all of which handle better that this one. however it does handle good and it inspires almost too much confidence. in-experinced "thrill seekers" may find htemselves in a ditch quickly. its mostly becasue of the steering feel. i really dont like that bmw went with electric steering to save gas. there is almost ZERO steering road feel and feeback. in most bmw's you can feel the road under you just from the feedback in the steering. everything from road imperfections, to camber/off camber feel. this new bmw gives you zero information in that reguard. as i stated before, this is dangerous for inexperinced drivers beacuse you cant feel when your approaching the limit. ive been to the limit twice and the car got out of shape very quiclkly. most people will never reach the limit or even care to do so this shouldnt be a big isssue for most buyers. Overall, i think the new north america 320i is a great little bimmer with alot of potential. it make take a year or 2 but i think it will catch on and be a huge success for bmw. ist bigger, its quick, gets great mileage, drives well and looks awesome. its not a 335i, so dont compare it to that and youll realize its a great car. plus you save thousands off of the 328i, just givee up a few HP. only an enthusiast can tell the diffrence betwwen a 320i and a 328i anyway. im still stoked they finally brought the 320i over the pond... great car."

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