Stlr Visit=330i Drive
 

Hit the local Stlr again this am to diagnose the fan chrip/growl/rumble and came away with a "new"/remanufactured water pump, belt and coolant, 8 days Before the expriation of my 4 yr/50K Warr and same for my 1 yr Ext Maint. Whew! :thumbup:

NEway, the new SA there is Titz and he tossed me an '06 330i to use instead of having me camp out and grumble in the showroom, :bustingup .

I put 60 miles on during an errand run up to the Asheville Mall and around town, hammering the entrance ramps, a brief run on the BRPkway,etc.
My 2Cts...
Picks:
-Handling is Very good. (This was an auto w/non-sport pkg).
-Steering is spot on and Tight.
-Fun car and felt like a "real customer" getting my first loaner in 4 yrs of BMW ownership, :rolleyes:
-V.good engine power, accel, etc.
-V.good brakes...I really leaned on them a couple times to try them.

Nits:
-Had some weird squeaks and rattles...this Is a loaner and already had 6K miles on it, and it's a first year trial car,imo.
-"BizCD" radio w/"Harmon Kardon" speakers it said on spkr screens, sounded less "hi fi" than Any car I've driven of Any brand in last 10 years. Playing with all the adjustments and listening to my fave classical station and then playing the new Alanis Morrisette Acoustic Jagged Lil'Pill, left me shaking my head.
The 4 yr old BizCD radio in my X sounds twice as good. Maybe diff acoustics, or??? Very strange for a 40G car. No Xpert here, but I sorta know what I listen to, if that translates.
-Auto tranny hunts a bit and has very erratic "tip in" throttle: sometimes it would tip in like an electrical switch and Zoom! Other times it would tip in and not do anything for a second. I'd take the 6 Spd manual and Sprt Pkg if I ever got one.
-AC was not nearly as "cold" as my old X's is.

Ah, about getting one: here's some rub...
-The "back seat" is a joke unless 2 small, tranquilized children are going back there, or Very Vertically challenged adults requiring the front seats to be most of the way up. This is a 4 Door Sedan? My son's pos Jetta has a bigger back seat. :wtf:

-The "trunk" matches the "back seats": I didn't have my clubs w/me but I do not think even 1 std medium sized cart bag will fit back there. Yeah, I know you can toss one side of the back seats, but not real handy and that fooking trunk is almost an afterthought. Very surprising...

I like the car a lot and I think a Sport Pkg/Prem/Cold/no nav/6 Spd etc., can be had with goodies for about 42ish and the mpg is 30 or so on the hwy., but that trunk and back seat "cubby hole" and Kmart radio are things that would make me ponder long and hard before I did it.

Back in my almost 4 yr old X and it felt like fooking home.
Maybe an X3 Sport someday...the 330 is on "hold"...no dis to 330 owners, '06 or previous MYs, jes'my opins.
My Qtr's Up. BR,md

Good write up - most of your observations were in line with my own opinions in fact.

My only major point of disagreement is on the audio. If you had an HK Logic 7 equipped car, you would see it blasts away anything the X5 can offer (Biz or audiophile).

The rear seats and trunk are, indeed, a joke. I don't think they've improved on that front. I had an E46 330i before the X5, so I can safely tell you this.

The power is impressive however. Makes the X5 seem kind of sluggish. Like it gets up to speed, but with effort moving those 4000lb+.

Good info, MD. If I'm in the area I sometimes stop in at the dealer just to have a look around and to see what's on the lot. It sounds fun to drive. I'm surprised that the stereo is bad... I heard it was supposed to be good. However, if it's anything like the harmon/kardon Business stereo in my E46, then it sucks.. The stereo in my car is amazingly bad. It's terrible. It's very flat sounding. It took me about a week to get used to it, because after listening to music in the X5 it was such a step down. It literally felt like someone stuffed cotton balls in my ears. Also, the speakers rattle and the deck under the rear window rattles. It came that way, and I don't even have the volume up far ever. The stereo really, really SUCKS on the 330. Also, I can relate to your comments about the amazing lack of room in the back seat and the trunk... And the car was supposed to have grown bigger than the E46? :dunno:

So... you've tried this out, huh? :D

Americans are growing faster (ok, getting wider/heavier faster) than BMWs! :D

It really is a nice car, for a single person, or married couple with no children..I have a 6 year old, and I [am still] in the market for one, but will hold out until I know i can get those muthaF(#in, POS run flat, *&#^#...(*&#*@# tires off of there...In case I wasnt clear, Im not a big fan of run flat rapeology-oh, I mean technology...

But I drove the 325 Sport/Prem for quite a while, and i did love the drive, and my daughter had adequate room in the back...Howevr, the wagon is making its debut here in the UK in about 8 days, and Ive already scheduled my test drive for then! I LOVE the way they look!! I think its a very logical answer to a mid life crisis..Sporty, yet efficient....

http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/3/325...on/gallery.htm

Doc Kewl: I had no beef on front seat leg room, (lots), or seat width. That backseat is a PCar-like add on, and most PCars are not bought w/the idea that anyone is gonna sit back there for more than an emergency ride. At 6'1"/210, I'm not exactly WWF material, lol, or obese.

Bozo: I left the RFs issue observation out of my mini review: it had RFs and the road noise/expansion strip/bumps were noticeable by sound as opposed to any rough ride. I have RFs on the Vette and have learned to live w/them, though as they wear it gets worse, not better. Next set will prob be non-RFs. The door jamb sticker on this 330i also called for 38 F 42 R...some serious pressure which, if they were set to that, may have contributed to the dramatic road/tire noise inc. I still wanna bang a 6 Spd Sport...I hear you on the "small fam" deal, which me&TheCEO are, but we occas. have people in back seat. The "Trunk" on the 330 is really a weekend 2 pieces of soft luggage and a tooth brush deal. No foo-foo here, but not even one set of fooking clubs will fit. Sorta the Teutonic anti-cupholder/mini trunk, "f the US" 'tude to me.
Still, a fine azz car. Hey, we could always get a 540 for more "room", lol!
BR,md

Ditto, MD!

To be quite honest, the only real beef I had with the RF's is not actually with the RF's..Its with BMW...They offer no $$$ assistance in the case they blow out or otherwise..Right now they should, since RF arent THAT popular yet. They do offer some kind of extortionate insurance/warranty on them for 3 years and it might actually be worth it. But on E90post.com, There are threads and arguments all day about owners who either had to sleep in the car after the 50 mile "limp", or had to postpone a trip 2 days to recieve their RF "order" from some mom and pop service station on the I-5 or I-95, etc..I just think its a scary thing not having a spare..even if it IS RF, that would ease my heartache..

All in All, I will still probably order one within the next few months..It is a damn nice car...

And dont mention 5 series! Im somewhat "new" to this whole Bimmer thing, and recently I laid my eyes on an E39 530(?) that made me drool..Am I an idiot, or are those like the most beautiful cars on the planet?! :excited:

Well, those are two mutually-exclusive statements. That IS indeed a beautiful car... but, you may still be an idiot -- even if it weren't a beauitufl car. :D :bustingup

Juan

I love you too, Juan!! :bustingup

Did you ever go to Rock Hill and buy my Odyssey for me? LOL..No worries. Its not on the auto trader anymore, and Im starting to see more and more them available anyway..(maybe I can get one a little cheaper?)... :dunno: