Comparing three year olds... X3 vs. 330xi

[Meiac09]

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

Tell your friend that fuel consumption will get better with mileage (over 10k miles). But he/she should learn smoother right foot control and smoother driving. I got 27mpg in a 335i loaner with 3k on the clock. My day's drive included: Beltway traffic, easy-cruise-control @ 110km/h, a friend having fun with the 306bhp , and AC-use. Thus, whoever claims EPA estimates for BMWs are too high, simply cannot control the throttle properly.
I will never buy an E90.

+1/-1

Using cruise between 60 and 90 with 80º weather from South Carolina to Maine, including typical NYC clusterfook last month yielded 33.5 total trip MPG. Almost 600 miles per tank. 26 on the Highway my ass.

M- TRY A MANUAL!

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by Meiac09

+1/-1

Using cruise between 60 and 90 with 80º weather from South Carolina to Maine, including typical NYC clusterfook last month yielded 33.5 total trip MPG. Almost 600 miles per tank. 26 on the Highway my ass.

M- TRY A MANUAL!

I know I totally should. My dad has a Mazda MX-5 and I enjoy rowing and shifting my own gears. The motor isn't special, but having a clutch and dictating the proper gear is special.

But the Valvetronic seems to dull the throttle response, and a manual 325i or 328i isn't going to any louder. The biggest issue I have with the newer BMWs is intangible: the excitement and feel of the car as a whole. If you read my 335i review (Premier section), I mention that it's brilliant engineering at its best. But I wouldn't have one.

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

So am I a 335i convert? I had driven the 335i before, so the experience was not totally new to me. This was the first time I could live with it though. It is a great driving machine, perhaps a bit overdone on the power. But it's still missing something: passion. It's brutally fast, handles well with the sport model, and useable everyday. The drivetrain is probably the 8th wonder of the world. The iDrive is cool (CD playback needs work) and intuitive. But when I drive it, it gives me no reason to actually buy one and live with it for 10 years. And it is because it fails to do this, I come away impressed and disappointed with the whole E90-93 series. An engineering marvel? Yes. Something that speaks to me? No.

[Meiac09]

Originally Posted by Meiac09

M- TRY A SPORT PACK MANUAL!

fixed my post. haha, I'm not trying to be a PITA, just sayin'...

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by Meiac09

fixed my post. haha, I'm not trying to be a PITA, just sayin'...

I hate to be a PITA to my sales rep at the dealer. I probably already annoy her enough with the occasional "Please locate a car for me; Someone on a forum has interest in xxx model with xxxx options".

Plus, I've said this before: if you go into a local BMW dealer and ask for sport + manual 328i, they look at you funny, like you have 3 legs or somethin. .

[Meiac09]

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

I hate to be a PITA to my sales rep at the dealer. I probably already annoy her enough with the occasional "Please locate a car for me; Someone on a forum has interest in xxx model with xxxx options".

Plus, I've said this before: if you go into a local BMW dealer and ask for sport + manual 328i, they look at you funny, like you have 3 legs or somethin. .

Haha.
I loved that. "You're the first person who's ever asked for a manual... Heres one! With non-heated leatherette and performance tires that we've had for a year!"