Let the record ten years ago, BMW and I were really "in a relationship" as Facebook would say. I threw a large chunk of change every month in a sedan 330i Sport in gray steel with a five-speed manual. It was the last stage of a love story that began before I was old enough to drive, but certainly picked up steam when I learned to drive a 733i manual transmission.
Today? Well, the best BMW and I can manage is probably a "It's complicated," and if you want to know why the car ahead of you is a good example of almost all reasons.
with leather upholstery, a navigation system and keyless entry This is $ 50.0 automobile. He came to me with the permission of the one of our partners in the Cannonball joke April Fool Greg Ledet, a BMW aficionado and the owner of a 335xi automatic transmission. You can read his review of the car at the end of this piece, and I think it is worth reading because Greg is the BMW buyer is chasing now - a worker of the successful technology that maps its course in life and considers the enthusiasm of the automobile to be one of its personal characteristics crucial primaries. If Greg loves the car, he will do well.
I, on the other hand ... well, I had already driven a stick-shift for M235i PCOTY and my verdict was that "I get the net impression that there is too dignified, too smooth ball bearing, into a true successor to the 135i hoarse. "Adding all-wheel drive and a torque converter in the packaging M235i does nothing to change my mind. rather, it consists boulevardier the standard model tilts up to eleven
on paper and on the road, this is a fast car, with a variation of the second generating 320 horsepower BMW three-liter turbo inline six-cylinder and a curb weight in the range 3,500 pounds. There is a "launch mode" Greg demonstrates, menu driven a particular combination of performance permutations endless found in the iDrive controls, and is able to get to sixty miles per hour in less than five seconds. When I take the wheel, I note with satisfaction that the Steptronic transmission can be placed in a shift manual mode very decent. It will not automatically upshift - I was running against the rev limiter for five long seconds to prove to myself - and it moves almost exactly when you ask. It is probably the equal of the very automatic reagent in the Lexus IS350 F-Sport, and that says something.
If only the engine had some character to go with his twist. After ten minutes behind the wheel of the M235xi I ardently wished for my proletarian Accord V6 and truck engine, which provides roughly the same power with advanced VTEC Earthy-Dreamy at redline and shift crisp manual to "7" mark. The M235xi is fast but never exciting, even with the fake engine sounds which mysteriously appear behind you when you press it.
Of course, no Honda on the market, even those who say "Acura" on them, can provide legitimate this-is-this-special feeling you get when taking a seat behind the wheel of chunky Bimmer. You can quibble with some plastics, but really, once you do not doubt the value proposition fifty-grand miniature BMW coupe is when you sit in the thing. Even I, like most cynical human being brand in North America, can not help feeling kind of cool in the M235xi. I like the fact that it is easily recognizable as a BMW from the moment you open the door.
On the road, BMW DNA is less apparent. Orders are "dipped in treacle," as the English say autojournos, responding with a stature and indifference is more Lexus as a genuine Lexus, management completely and utterly dead feeling with the front axle and engine electro magic help, the brakes pretty decent but nothing special despite the fixed-caliper street cred. There are no less than three "sport mode" in the iDrive, but none of them feel sporty anything but the most nailed so on.
approaching some corners of the fast road in a row, the M235i gives little sense of its potential final bend. I hear rather than feel the front end losing grip, in the same way as you would in a C5 Corvette, but worse. Then the lights start flashing, even if they are supposed to be off. When Greg tries a low speed come-and-show-me power-oversteer maneuver his mastery of iDrive technical means none of the nannies come to work -.. but that did not prevent the front axle of gripping and pulling out the car right sullenly You might have a lot more fun in an old raggedy 325th My 330i Sport was four horses down on this thing, but I know which I prefer to drive.
I want to love this BMW, but I can not. On a daily basis, I prefer to run my Agreement, which returns nearly half again 21.6mpg as car Greg watch service every day, has better visibility, weighs three hundred pounds less, and readers like it weighs six hundred pounds less. Not to mention the twenty-great price advantage. My old Audi S5 felt more alive to function despite the V-8 hanging on the front wheels and I suspect the current V-6 car is better in this regard.
The existence of this car is troubling, honestly. Is it necessary to be a variant of AWD automatic transmission each model in the range of BMW? Since when does become Audi BMW or even Mercedes-Benz? Believe me, the stick-shift M235i standard is not exactly a Lotus Seven in terms of the commitment of unconditional necessary driver. We need a version calmed down from this car as we needed Peter Cetera go back and save his whole end of the era Chicago with more strikes Muzak in them. (Which he did, by the way.)
The funny thing is that BMW can see clear proof of what customers want prices used in the market, and they can see the residue visor balls of 1M 135i Sport and even the Porsche so can see Carreras 1998 for selling at auction in 2013 Carreras, and they are absolutely not interested in serving this market on a consistent basis. Of course, the M2 will eventually happen here, but it should be noted that BMW has put the effort into getting AWD and automatic transmissions in both wayyyy before public notes dropped on the M2.
Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money, even in the post-QE world. If you have lots to burn or to borrow, do yourself a favor and get the car that offers involvement level M3 power driver and level 135i. It is called the Ford Mustang GT and you can use the ten great that you have left over to get a nice winter beater. No, Ford is not the Ultimate Driving Machine - but nor is it
And now Greg's comments :.
"'ve had the car for almost a week now and I 've put about 250 miles on it. Compared to my 2010 335xi, 2015 M235xi is significantly smaller and feels much better when cornering. with 320 horsepower compared to the 335 to 300, I expected the smallest car to be much faster, but I was surprised to learn that the M235xi actually weighs about 300 lbs more than my 335xi (3695 vs 3362 lbs lbs ). the car feels lighter and more balanced cornering and it seems to grow less than 335, but it can probably be chalked up to the fact that my 335xi does not have the M Sport Pack or suspension adjustable.
did I buy the M235xi? Probably. I made a speced and sent to my BMW dealer to see if there might be an agreement reached should realize that the 335xi is finally done. It is definitely on my list of cars I want, but with a notable price sticker of $ 50,000 and depreciation rates of BMW, I'll probably wait and pick a CPO vehicle in a few years. Not only that, the "real" M2 is just around the corner. BMW said the current transmission M3 / M4 will fit in the 2-Series without making changes, so expect M2 to be around 400 horsepower while reducing to 300 pounds or more weight. If the M2 holds its value and the 1 Series M Coupe, I almost silly not to take one. "
Well, there you have it - Jb
0 komentar