I8ABMR

BMWs have always felt more pleasurable to drive. The chassis is more communicative, steering is more direct, brakes seem to feel more responsive in how they are modulated, and they are pretty quick. BUT all that pleasure can , and in my case will, be diminished by repeated visits to the dealership for problems

jwong77

I'm very happy with mine, I would say its the best car I've owned (I haven't owned that many cars). Very reliable so far.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

One sweet ride you have.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

when the rx ORIGINALLY came out? not sure who these 'people' are, but the rx was unlike anything out there. it created a new segment. later bmw and mb followed with their attempts and variations. the rx though is still a pretty unique formula. if you mean the latest rx isn't viewed as revolutionary, well, the rx doesn't have as broad appeal as a 3 series, but it's certainly a great suv.

nothing wrong with evolution - just look at the porsche 911. but while many things are 'similar', tons of details get changed making a newer version significantly better.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

With the 3 series, and the rest bimmer's lines getting larger and heavier with every generation (as is with most car makers lately... with the exception of the GS!) has the 1 series supplanted the 3 as the best balanced sport sedan, or is it still the 3? I still hear all this praise thrown on the 3 where as I don't hear nearly as much for the 1 which I thought was to be more in line with the smaller, nimbler, sportier 3 series of yesteryear.

I8ABMR

With the current generation 3,5,and 7 they really and truly all look the same. They remind me of those old wooden toys that look like people and when you open them up they had a few smaller copies of it inside . I think BMW styling, although still handsome, has become a bit redundant and the handling softened a bit in the current 5 series and 3 series. It seems like the suspensions are a bit more forgiving and the weight is up. I think BMW is focusing a bit more on ride comfort to get some of their old customers back from Lexus. What you realize as you age is that the luxury is appreciated all of the time, whereas the sport side is used much less frequently

natnut

I prefer the new 3 series to the 5 series specifically the 328i which according to reviews, is a better balanced car than the 335i. Kudos to BMW for keeping the weight of the new 3 series under control unlike the bloated whale that the 5 series has become. If only BMW could refine the coarseness of the turbo 4 cylinder and work on their reliability issues,I'd get a 328i if I HAD to get a German car.

spwolf

B L A H.

I have just been at BMW dealer for 3 hours, driving around X1 and 318d/320d in Europe.

Best car what? I will tell you right now, in my HONEST opinion, i was disappointed, and left laughing.

I recommended my buddy to look at 320d based on rave reviews it was getting, since he wanted to get X1.
X1 is not an luxury car. Its fit and finish is worse than many Toyota's. You could cut your hand how sharp interior plastic handles are.

I have been in around 6 different 3 series on the floor (and drove 320d), and in all of them you had to slam the doors to close. X1 even worse as it had metalic sound when you close the doors.

5 series and X6 had no such issues.

And here was I thinking I have made stupid decision buying age old IS when new 3 series is obviously such awesome car.

I know many of you will not agree with me and I will say that loaded 3 series interior looks OK (wood and fake leather), but it also costs silly money here (80k), what we drove were Sport versions. In none of them doors would close properly. Am I being out of tuch, are you supposed to slam the doors in BMW? Some kind of German thing? Since VW/Audi is definetly not like that and nor is cheapest Toyota, at least since 2004 when 2nd gen Yaris was introduced (1st gen had same issues as BMW).

Best car my azz. Car is ok, nothing more than that.

mmarshall

Well, I'll agree to some extent, but not completely. BMWs, IMO, went noticeably downhill in the last decade with the advent of the Chris-bangle styling, thinning of the sheet-metal solidness (a trait shared by many newer vehicles), so-so paint jobs on some of the lower-line models, awkward flimsy electronic console-shifters, complex dash-controls, and, of course, the notorious I-Drives. But BMWs still have a lot going for them in several areas.....and their steering/chassis/suspension engineering, IMO, though Mercedes and Audi are catching up, still sets the industry-standard.

spwolf

orange peel was crazy on the boot lid too in the black car i saw... i never actually notice orange peel on cars, and always wonder why people like you make big deal out of it, but this was very obvious over the complete boot lid.I didnt check that much of other quality concerns, as I was mesmerized by the fact that you cant close doors properly. For the little bit i expected it to have soft door closer that would pull the door in, and that it was the reason it wouldnt close, but nope... none of them did. Germans used to take great pride how easy was to close their doors vs Japanese for instance, due to better build tolerances... well no more... Hyundai we checked out next had better build quality (ix35).

from the doors to the paint, it feels like production standards are nowhere up to the premium class.

i rode in the back, and space was ok, but sitting there you wouldnt know what car you were sitting in... could be Corolla. Textiles used in base grade are awful.

Now, if majority of people purchased real deal - you know optioned out car with proper interior materials (still crap paint job and crappy build quality) and proper engine, i would say great - pretty good car, although again, to call it best car in the world is idiotic, because it is not... but considering that most of the people dont buy $50k one, but cheap one for the badge, honestly, lol.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I just purchased a 09 750li, it is a fully optioned car, and I am amazed how well built it is. After having 25 lexus, including 2 ultra luxury LS430, lx470, I would say this is the best car I have ever owned. I did test drove a 2010 LS460 before I make the move, even though the LS was 12k cheaper. Can't wait to see the next LS, hopefully I can get back to Lexus soon.

spwolf

5 series and especially X6 were quite good...so I am sure 7 is as well.

But X1 and 3 were disappointing really (really, really), both materials used (in lesser versions) and build quality (in all versions).

I think mmarshal should test 3 series base model and let us know what he thinks. Car itself looked great on the outside BTW. By far better than E90 pre-facelift... Heck probably one of the best looking cars on the market right now.

stlgrym3

iTrader: (4)

the F30 328i is an awesome car. just as fast as the E90/92 335i (0-60 numbers) and gets 4 cylinder Camry like MPG, and the new chasis supposed to going back to the BMW's 50/50 balance root. something tells me BMW is going to change the model number for the I4 turbo from 328 to either 325 or 330, cuz 328 just doesn't make any sense to me.

xsh0tya

Maybe someone here can comment on this, why is BMW one of the few companies that kept the single tail pipe. When most if not all have switch all the models to the dual exhaust. I know that they do offer dual exhaust on some of their models, but it just seems its been almost a standard now on luxary brands.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

Lexus, offer one of the best built quality across the product line, while some base BMWs offer subpar quality. I sat in my friend's 05 base 528i, and was surprised how plain and cheap it was.