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Old 11-11-22, 07:44 AM
  #1711  
JDR76
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Last weekend's car rental for me was a 330i XDrive. Had been wanting to check one out for a while, and wanted an AWD sedan for this trip.



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Old 11-11-22, 08:29 AM
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Originally Posted by AJT123
This isn't a Lexus loaner, it's an Enterprise rental.
Was I saying anything about loaners?

Originally Posted by geko29
It was fine. Steering was extremely vague, but overall it drove well enough. Dramatically more comfortable and easier to get in/out of than the Tacoma, which surprised me--I expected them to be more similar. There was something really weird about how Android Auto worked, but I don't remember what it was anymore.
Good to know. Must be something good about them. I never knew anyone with a pair in their garage.

Originally Posted by JDR76
Last weekend's car rental for me was a 330i XDrive. Had been wanting to check one out for a while, and wanted an AWD sedan for this trip.
How was it? Was it similar to the GS?
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Old 11-11-22, 08:56 AM
  #1713  
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Originally Posted by 1111GS
How was it? Was it similar to the GS?
To be honest, I was fairly disappointed. Low end grunt was non-existent, which I thought was supposed to be a benefit of that engine. Not sure if it was turbo lag or throttle response, but there was a noticeable pause in getting going. Took me some time to get used to.

It also had a lot more road noise than I had expected, but I am not sure what tires it had on it. I forgot to look.

I couldn't get CarPlay to work (it said I needed a BMW app?) so I just used the native navigation system, which was fine, but the graphics were certainly nothing to write home about. It did its job though. Interior material quality was so-so, but build quality was top notch.

The pluses? Fantastic gas mileage, comfortable front seats (didn't try out the rears), roomy trunk, and handled lots of snow and ice really well. In only one place did we almost slide off the road, but it was on solid ice so not the fault of the car. Weather conditions didn't really allow me to put the car through its handling paces, but I am sure it would do well.

If I was willing to go down a size, I'd probably consider one, but only the 340i. I remember back in 2011-ish I really wanted a 335i and went and test drove several. I remember being really "wowed" by that car. I just didn't have that same feeling this time, which could be the result of many factors, including ones that are not related to the car (my age, for example).

When we got back home, I was happy to hop back into my GS.
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Old 11-11-22, 09:25 AM
  #1714  
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we were doing some long distance driving in my new SUV. Finally driving in the states again. And to be honest, we really haven’t done my much highway or interstate driving since Covid.

Some observations

-hate radar based cruise
-auto high beams are a must
-LEDs. No question about them
-my new 4R is ultimate long distance cruiser. So much interior space. Especially front headroom
-349 mile range

-I’ve come to really admire Apple car play. But I still like the factory nav as well









Last edited by Toys4RJill; 11-11-22 at 09:31 AM.
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Old 11-11-22, 10:21 AM
  #1715  
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I bet that thing picks up a LOT of bugs with the big flat windshield!
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Old 11-11-22, 10:26 AM
  #1716  
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Originally Posted by SW17LS
I bet that thing picks up a LOT of bugs with the big flat windshield!
Tons. Here is my radar.



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Old 11-11-22, 10:27 AM
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Lots of bugs!
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Old 11-11-22, 10:28 AM
  #1718  
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Originally Posted by SW17LS
Lots of bugs!
yeah. but it is days and days of driving.
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Old 11-11-22, 10:48 AM
  #1719  
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Originally Posted by JDR76
To be honest, I was fairly disappointed. Low end grunt was non-existent, which I thought was supposed to be a benefit of that engine. Not sure if it was turbo lag or throttle response, but there was a noticeable pause in getting going. Took me some time to get used to.

It also had a lot more road noise than I had expected, but I am not sure what tires it had on it. I forgot to look.

I couldn't get CarPlay to work (it said I needed a BMW app?) so I just used the native navigation system, which was fine, but the graphics were certainly nothing to write home about. It did its job though. Interior material quality was so-so, but build quality was top notch.

The pluses? Fantastic gas mileage, comfortable front seats (didn't try out the rears), roomy trunk, and handled lots of snow and ice really well. In only one place did we almost slide off the road, but it was on solid ice so not the fault of the car. Weather conditions didn't really allow me to put the car through its handling paces, but I am sure it would do well.

If I was willing to go down a size, I'd probably consider one, but only the 340i. I remember back in 2011-ish I really wanted a 335i and went and test drove several. I remember being really "wowed" by that car. I just didn't have that same feeling this time, which could be the result of many factors, including ones that are not related to the car (my age, for example).

When we got back home, I was happy to hop back into my GS.
Of course. My bad. I was under impression it had I6. Just looked it up. It's I4. So of course not as good as the fine GS. In order to use wireless carplay, you need to connect to the car's wifi, turn BT on. I'm not a carplay guy but it's the best carplay I've seen. And of course the M340i will be a much better car no doubt.

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Old 11-11-22, 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by 1111GS
Of course. My bad. I was under impression it had I6. Just looked it up. It's I4. So of course not as good as the fine GS. In order to use wireless carplay, you need to connect to the car's wifi, turn BT on. I'm not a carplay guy but it's the best carplay I've seen. And of course the M340i will be a much better car no doubt.
To be honest, I didn't even consider that the CarPlay would be wireless. I just plugged it in via USB and got a message stating that I needed to download the BMW app, which I wasn't willing to do.
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Old 11-11-22, 10:56 AM
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Originally Posted by LexsCTJill
-hate radar based cruise
-auto high beams are a must
My opinion of these two features is the exact opposite of yours.

I love radar cruise and would never buy another car without it. But I strongly dislike the auto high beams. They don't work well in any of my cars. They are very slow to react, and by then, I've already either given up and dimmed them myself, or I'm too late and I've blinded the other driver.
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Old 11-11-22, 11:15 AM
  #1722  
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Originally Posted by JDR76
My opinion of these two features is the exact opposite of yours.

I love radar cruise and would never buy another car without it. But I strongly dislike the auto high beams. They don't work well in any of my cars. They are very slow to react, and by then, I've already either given up and dimmed them myself, or I'm too late and I've blinded the other driver.
So intersting. I am so opposite of you lol.

Is there a difference in the high beam calibration about your 3 vehicles? My 4Runner seems to be reserved in the calibration whereas I am also driving a TNGA product and the high beams are super overly aggressive.

As for radar. I just don't like how it slows down. I don't like the feeling of it. I appreciate the value of it, but I can't seem to be able to defeat it (if I wanted to)
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Old 11-11-22, 11:39 AM
  #1723  
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Originally Posted by LexsCTJill
So intersting. I am so opposite of you lol.

Is there a difference in the high beam calibration about your 3 vehicles? My 4Runner seems to be reserved in the calibration whereas I am also driving a TNGA product and the high beams are super overly aggressive.

As for radar. I just don't like how it slows down. I don't like the feeling of it. I appreciate the value of it, but I can't seem to be able to defeat it (if I wanted to)
Not much of a difference. If I had to declare any difference at all, I'd say they are better on my Tundra than on my GS. The Highlander is probably in between the two.

For the cruise, when you turn it on, if you just hold down the ON switch for about 3 seconds it disables the radar and turns into normal/traditional cruise control.
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Old 11-11-22, 11:42 AM
  #1724  
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Originally Posted by JDR76

For the cruise, when you turn it on, if you just hold down the ON switch for about 3 seconds it disables the radar and turns into normal/traditional cruise control.
Ok. I will give it a shot. I can't seem to figure that out . Thanks
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Old 11-11-22, 11:48 AM
  #1725  
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Originally Posted by LexsCTJill
Ok. I will give it a shot. I can't seem to figure that out . Thanks
You need to be parked, having just turned the car on press cruse on, then hold the stick forward till it says it's in normal mode. My sequoia has the same system, I never use it.
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