Official BMW E92 3-series thread (UPDATE - 335i Dyno pg.48)
#333
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Originally Posted by PhilipMSPT
That's included in the first 50k mile warranty. It'll most likely break down before that...
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Gotta love Bimmers!
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#334
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Originally Posted by doug_999
Yep, #4 on the initial quality - tied with Toyota. (excluding design...)
#335
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Originally Posted by spwolf
Gotta feel good to spend premium to get perceived quality same as a lot cheaper Toyota's. Since 90 day quality is all that is.
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Or just look at the JD Power APEAL Survey....
#336
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Originally Posted by doug_999
Drive one and you will understand ![Smilie](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Or just look at the JD Power APEAL Survey....
![Smilie](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Or just look at the JD Power APEAL Survey....
I drove one BMW for 3-4 years, E36, 318i. Great car really. Of course, it did fell apart. Back seat fabrics fell apart after 2 years, despite not being used much. Sold it to the cousin who keeps repairing it constantly...
I like BMW's a lot... but when we are talking about reliability, thats different story. Thats why they dont score anywhere as well in 3 year reliability surveys.
#337
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Originally Posted by spwolf
Are we talking about quality or apeal? I dont get it...
I drove one BMW for 3-4 years, E36, 318i. Great car really. Of course, it did fell apart. Back seat fabrics fell apart after 2 years, despite not being used much. Sold it to the cousin who keeps repairing it constantly...
I like BMW's a lot... but when we are talking about reliability, thats different story. Thats why they dont score anywhere as well in 3 year reliability surveys.
I drove one BMW for 3-4 years, E36, 318i. Great car really. Of course, it did fell apart. Back seat fabrics fell apart after 2 years, despite not being used much. Sold it to the cousin who keeps repairing it constantly...
I like BMW's a lot... but when we are talking about reliability, thats different story. Thats why they dont score anywhere as well in 3 year reliability surveys.
#338
Speaks French in Russian
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http://www.channel4.com/4car/feature...id=2574&page=1
Following on from the saloon and estate, the BMW 3-Series Coupe joins the range from late September 2006.
With a long wheelbase, laid-back A-pillars and a stretched, flowing roofline giving the coupe a genuinely graceful profile, it's a car that looks better in the metal than in pictures - primarily because the rear flanks have stronger 'shoulders' than they appear two-dimensionally. The car just looks tougher, stronger and better planted in the metal. Indeed, viewed from the rear three-quarter, the coupe has shades of the old 8-Series about it, particularly with those large wraparound tail lights.
When it goes on sale, the coupe will be offered with two straight-six petrol engines, a 218bhp 2.5-litre or a 306bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo. The former will cost £28,090 and the latter £33,420, putting the latest BMW coupe directly up against Nissan's 350 Z, Alfa Romeo's Brera Q4 and V6 versions of Audi's next TT, which goes on sale around the same time as the BMW.
There's big news under the bonnet, too. It's the first time BMW has offered a twin-turbo straight-six petrol, albeit not the first time the company has offered a turbo petrol (1973 2002 Turbo). The 335i uses a 3.0-litre power plant, with each of the two turbos feeding three cylinders. Maximum torque of 295lb-ft is developed from a remarkably low 1,300rpm. The headline figures are 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph. Fuel consumption is a claimed 29.7mpg overall, which is pretty good going for a 300-plus bhp engine. And BMW says that its six weighs 70kg less than a typical V8 with similar power.
When it goes on sale, the coupe will be offered with two straight-six petrol engines, a 218bhp 2.5-litre or a 306bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo. The former will cost £28,090 and the latter £33,420, putting the latest BMW coupe directly up against Nissan's 350 Z, Alfa Romeo's Brera Q4 and V6 versions of Audi's next TT, which goes on sale around the same time as the BMW.
We drove a twin-turbo-equipped coupe on the mountain passes around Innsbruck. The first thing that struck me, as a veteran of turbo lag going back to mental Saab Aeros and early 911 Turbos, was the total absence of that pause before the storm. In fact, it would have been easy to believe that the engine was just a large capacity, non-turbo unit. That's partly because the turbochargers are relatively small, meaning there's not much in the way of inertia to overcome - and then there's all that low-down torque to launch you smartly off the line.
That said, this engine isn't as ferocious as the figures might suggest: it's very swift as opposed to oh-my-god punchy. In fact, first acquaintance with BMW's fantastic 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel will leave most people short of breathless superlatives while the 335i is very impressive but nothing more.
The 335i comes standard with a six-speed manual, which has a direct, smooth and quick action. But it doesn't really suit the Grand Touring character of the coupe - much better to specify the optional six-speed automatic transmission, which is one of the very best slush boxes we've ever tried. The highlights are an incredibly smooth shift response, extremely quick reaction to kickdown (40% better than most autos, says BMW) and a shift programme that adapts to how the car is being driven. It can even determine if the car is being driven downhill and will select a lower gear for engine braking it that's the case. There are steering-wheel mounted shift levers for manual cog-swapping - these are fat lumps of aluminium, very nicely done indeed. And they work well enough, but frankly, this 'box is so responsive we imagine most drivers won't bother.
The driving experience is just as you'd expect and, without prejudging how well the Audi TT will drive in comparison, we'd hazard that the BMW will remain best in class. The only frustration is the lack of a limited slip differential (LSD), which isn't even an optional extra. So take on a tight corner with the power on and just the inside wheel will break grip and spin. Which makes power-on oversteer much more difficult.
As with the saloon and estate, BMW's Active Steering is available on the coupe. The system changes the steering ratio depending on the speed of the car, the idea being to make the steering quicker and more agile at lower speeds, while delivering more stability at high speed. We'd recommend that you give it a miss, though. It doesn't feel any more stable at high speed than the standard set-up and, at lower speeds over challenging roads, it can be difficult to judge exactly how much lock you need for a given corner. The standard steering set-up delivers excellent feedback, although it does feel a bit heavy at low speeds, not something we'd noticed on the saloon and estate.
For a car that's more about touring than the full-on sports car experience, the coupe's ride is too firmly damped, especially at low speeds. We'd point to the standard-fit run-flat tyres as the chief suspect, even though the saloon we road tested didn't seem to have this issue.
With a long wheelbase, laid-back A-pillars and a stretched, flowing roofline giving the coupe a genuinely graceful profile, it's a car that looks better in the metal than in pictures - primarily because the rear flanks have stronger 'shoulders' than they appear two-dimensionally. The car just looks tougher, stronger and better planted in the metal. Indeed, viewed from the rear three-quarter, the coupe has shades of the old 8-Series about it, particularly with those large wraparound tail lights.
When it goes on sale, the coupe will be offered with two straight-six petrol engines, a 218bhp 2.5-litre or a 306bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo. The former will cost £28,090 and the latter £33,420, putting the latest BMW coupe directly up against Nissan's 350 Z, Alfa Romeo's Brera Q4 and V6 versions of Audi's next TT, which goes on sale around the same time as the BMW.
There's big news under the bonnet, too. It's the first time BMW has offered a twin-turbo straight-six petrol, albeit not the first time the company has offered a turbo petrol (1973 2002 Turbo). The 335i uses a 3.0-litre power plant, with each of the two turbos feeding three cylinders. Maximum torque of 295lb-ft is developed from a remarkably low 1,300rpm. The headline figures are 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph. Fuel consumption is a claimed 29.7mpg overall, which is pretty good going for a 300-plus bhp engine. And BMW says that its six weighs 70kg less than a typical V8 with similar power.
When it goes on sale, the coupe will be offered with two straight-six petrol engines, a 218bhp 2.5-litre or a 306bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo. The former will cost £28,090 and the latter £33,420, putting the latest BMW coupe directly up against Nissan's 350 Z, Alfa Romeo's Brera Q4 and V6 versions of Audi's next TT, which goes on sale around the same time as the BMW.
We drove a twin-turbo-equipped coupe on the mountain passes around Innsbruck. The first thing that struck me, as a veteran of turbo lag going back to mental Saab Aeros and early 911 Turbos, was the total absence of that pause before the storm. In fact, it would have been easy to believe that the engine was just a large capacity, non-turbo unit. That's partly because the turbochargers are relatively small, meaning there's not much in the way of inertia to overcome - and then there's all that low-down torque to launch you smartly off the line.
That said, this engine isn't as ferocious as the figures might suggest: it's very swift as opposed to oh-my-god punchy. In fact, first acquaintance with BMW's fantastic 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel will leave most people short of breathless superlatives while the 335i is very impressive but nothing more.
The 335i comes standard with a six-speed manual, which has a direct, smooth and quick action. But it doesn't really suit the Grand Touring character of the coupe - much better to specify the optional six-speed automatic transmission, which is one of the very best slush boxes we've ever tried. The highlights are an incredibly smooth shift response, extremely quick reaction to kickdown (40% better than most autos, says BMW) and a shift programme that adapts to how the car is being driven. It can even determine if the car is being driven downhill and will select a lower gear for engine braking it that's the case. There are steering-wheel mounted shift levers for manual cog-swapping - these are fat lumps of aluminium, very nicely done indeed. And they work well enough, but frankly, this 'box is so responsive we imagine most drivers won't bother.
The driving experience is just as you'd expect and, without prejudging how well the Audi TT will drive in comparison, we'd hazard that the BMW will remain best in class. The only frustration is the lack of a limited slip differential (LSD), which isn't even an optional extra. So take on a tight corner with the power on and just the inside wheel will break grip and spin. Which makes power-on oversteer much more difficult.
As with the saloon and estate, BMW's Active Steering is available on the coupe. The system changes the steering ratio depending on the speed of the car, the idea being to make the steering quicker and more agile at lower speeds, while delivering more stability at high speed. We'd recommend that you give it a miss, though. It doesn't feel any more stable at high speed than the standard set-up and, at lower speeds over challenging roads, it can be difficult to judge exactly how much lock you need for a given corner. The standard steering set-up delivers excellent feedback, although it does feel a bit heavy at low speeds, not something we'd noticed on the saloon and estate.
For a car that's more about touring than the full-on sports car experience, the coupe's ride is too firmly damped, especially at low speeds. We'd point to the standard-fit run-flat tyres as the chief suspect, even though the saloon we road tested didn't seem to have this issue.
#340
Lexus Test Driver
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Originally Posted by spwolf
Are we talking about quality or apeal? I dont get it...
I drove one BMW for 3-4 years, E36, 318i. Great car really. Of course, it did fell apart. Back seat fabrics fell apart after 2 years, despite not being used much. Sold it to the cousin who keeps repairing it constantly...
I like BMW's a lot... but when we are talking about reliability, thats different story. Thats why they dont score anywhere as well in 3 year reliability surveys.
I drove one BMW for 3-4 years, E36, 318i. Great car really. Of course, it did fell apart. Back seat fabrics fell apart after 2 years, despite not being used much. Sold it to the cousin who keeps repairing it constantly...
I like BMW's a lot... but when we are talking about reliability, thats different story. Thats why they dont score anywhere as well in 3 year reliability surveys.
My E36 325 seemed to have held up much better than yours. I did have the odd electrical problems because of the trunk boot wireharness wires being slightly frayed and shorting out, but once kown it was an easy fix. Tranny wasn't that great either, but body and interior was flawless except for that damn dent I got in the passanger door. Mine was a 1995 model which I traded in back in 2003.
#342
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Reliabilty issues are always overstated. I've owned two BMW's now with a combine mileage of about 75k with one issue on the second one in the first 100 miles (radio malfunctioned, 30 min fix under warranty). I know other people have horror stories, but eh. Unless it's endemic to the entire brand I think most cars now are generally pretty reliable.
#345
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umm..... the car definitely looks better than the sedan, but somehow i feel that the car is losing a bit of the bmw status? maybe coz' it reminds me of the accord/civic?
i have no doubt on the performance though, that's always going to be bmw. just like no matter how ugly the 5 series is, it drives like heaven when you need the performance
i have no doubt on the performance though, that's always going to be bmw. just like no matter how ugly the 5 series is, it drives like heaven when you need the performance