BMW F30 Changes for the worse?

[h4tch3t]

Traded my beloved 335i E90 manual for a new F30 320D M-Sport with 8 speed sport box and flappy paddles...

And I know should be blessed to have the means for a new car, and that I should probably not whine with the bread under my arm.

I also realise it is the way fwd for infotainment, emissions and the environment, but I'm gonna have my whine anyways...

Cheese to follow...:rollsmile:

- No storage compartment under the headlight switch?

- No 2 peace adjustable center armrest?

- No light in the compartment under the arm rest? (money can be made here, if someone has some venture capital we can talk LOL)

- What happened to actual brushed aluminium for inserts (now plastic)

- Why has the plastics in the interior become so cheap?

- Steering leather on the M-sport steering wheel meh? Feels hollow

- The cup holders OMFG, now I have to deal with a loose cup holder lid in the car. Cups also end up sitting right in front of stuff I wanna touch on the dash. (not that I really use cups in my car, but still)

- Stupidest ashtray and size...no place for my change and lip-ice anymore and someone IS gonna burn their facia. Just wait and see. Not that I smoke either.

- The volume knob (why do I have to turn it 500 times to get something to happen)

- The steering from what it was to the electronically assisted kills it as a drivers car. Feels disconnected. Won't notice driving over small animals and pedestrians anymore :thumbdo:

- You can't permanently select a driving mode, the car resets every time you restart to comfort (Eco plus, Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport +)

- You can't shut down the auto-off on the engine, you have to hit the button every time you make a trip

- There's no slot for your key/fob to be dropped in, and being a big fob it's annoying to have it in your pocket the whole time, specially with Britt rocker or stove jeans.

- The doors feel lighter and don't shut as well and solid

- The door-inners actually vibrate with anything above medium stereo levels

- Road noise...from everywhere. At least this is white noise to the vibrating door panels.

- SO MANY NANNIES! The bells and chimes have been built around retarded people. I don't mind the safety belt, but automatically shoving the car into park while rolling with the door slightly closed?

- Can't adjust the flappy paddles to support proper hand position (forces you to drive at 15:45 instead of 13:50, some will get that :roflol Unless you have super long pinkies?

Overall a nice car. Looks purdy. Was it as good as the E90...? I'm not sure. Maybe the fuel bill will console my heart. Maybe I still need to get used to it. Based on the changes I had to make recently I'm still no converted...

Anyone else to add?

Laters

 

[RAArmstrong]

There's a reason I say E39/E46 FTW :fencelook:

 

[MaX]

- The cup holders OMFG, now I have to deal with a loose cup holder lid in the car. Cups also end up sitting right in front of stuff I wanna touch on the dash. (not that I really use cups in my car, but still)

There is a holder for that in the cubby.

---

Oh, congrats on the new ride, post some pics :thumbs:

 

[reloaded]

and the korean car quality improves....

 

[phantom]

IMO the F30 is a much better car than the E90 from steering,handling, performance.Build quality is down.
I think you have the same problem as i do.Coming from the 335 is where the problem comes in.Once you no longer hear that howling 6 other little things start to niggle you.
I have had a new 328i for two weeks now and little things started to irritate me till i sat down to evaluate what the problem is.I think it is all about what you are used to.The 335.

 

[h4tch3t]

LOL
I specifically avoided the 6 cylinder sound debate, and specifically because I know what I'm missing from that perspective. The performance I knew would be a HUGE factor going into the deal, and as a result I'm not letting that cloud my judgement...well that my story and I'm sticking to it :roflol:

@Phantom - How can you say steering is better? There's no feedback. Do you have the M-Sport variable steering, or do you just enjoy not having feedback? Several people are having mixed feedback on this. Perspective is required. The 335 did track days, rallies and skidpan stuff purely cos I like driving. So from that perspective I'll argue that I miss the feedback. As far as my daily drive to work and back is concerned I'll be happy with the no feel.

Steering feel/feedback is like boobs. Nice at a distance, but so much better if I can feel it in my hands :rollsmile:

 

[Jeppe777]

Quality is def down on the f30

 

[cRed001]

Nice write up... I am now under the impression that you are Jeremy Clarkson.

Anyway, I think you just missing the 335

 

[GGM]

NICE write up, ive asked the salesman why does everything feel hollow and made of plastic , they said its part of the drive to make it lighter and more fuel efficient , i think its to make it cheaper to produce and a bigger profit margin when selling .
:thumbdo:

 

[ChefDJ]

Re the hand position on the steering wheel... That's actually a safety concern. The ultimate driving positions for your hands on the steering wheel are around 22:00 and 14:00 for left and right respectively. There's a reason why racers hold the wheel in those positions.

Holding it lower down decreases your control over the vehicle...

 

[///Shaun]

Everybody is entitled to his/her opinion of a F30.

For me the F30 is worlds apart to the E90 and prefer the F30 anyday. (Also owned a E90 335i)

On a side note , I have owned every single 3series from E30 to F30 and feel the F30 has evolved into a perfect combination to match the era we live in but thats just my opinion.

Different strokes for different folks. Life would be boring if we all felt the same.


:thumbs:

---

Re the hand position on the steering wheel... That's actually a safety concern. The ultimate driving positions for your hands on the steering wheel are around 22:00 and 14:00 for left and right respectively. There's a reason why racers hold the wheel in those positions.

Holding it lower down decreases your control over the vehicle...

Just saying , F30 MSport steering wheel has places in the steering wheel that actually highlight (steering protrudes for thumb positioning) what you just said above.

:thumbs:

 

[Jerez]

Interesting write up but I'm sure you appreciate that they are both very different cars.
Yes to the cup holder... Bloody annoying and strange place too.
Re the steering wheel.... We'll I've just changed from a 2year old F30 to a 2014 - both M Sports- the earlier model had a firmer wheel. Perhaps the new leather needs to settle in.
I'm cool with the Eco comfort sport button- just like my ///M- I only hit the "///Mayhem" button if required

Let it grow on you.... That extra dosh in your pockets going to great

 

[phantom]

LOL
I specifically avoided the 6 cylinder sound debate, and specifically because I know what I'm missing from that perspective. The performance I knew would be a HUGE factor going into the deal, and as a result I'm not letting that cloud my judgement...well that my story and I'm sticking to it :roflol:

@Phantom - How can you say steering is better? There's no feedback. Do you have the M-Sport variable steering, or do you just enjoy not having feedback? Several people are having mixed feedback on this. Perspective is required. The 335 did track days, rallies and skidpan stuff purely cos I like driving. So from that perspective I'll argue that I miss the feedback. As far as my daily drive to work and back is concerned I'll be happy with the no feel.

Steering feel/feedback is like boobs. Nice at a distance, but so much better if I can feel it in my hands :rollsmile:

The steering comment is related to in town driving with lots of parallel parking.The F30 steering is just so much lighter.Go back to your E90 and feel it after you have driven your F30 and the difference will surprise you.

 

[Rayzor]

Re the hand position on the steering wheel... That's actually a safety concern. The ultimate driving positions for your hands on the steering wheel are around 22:00 and 14:00 for left and right respectively. There's a reason why racers hold the wheel in those positions.

Holding it lower down decreases your control over the vehicle...

Its actually 9 and 3 :thumbs:

 

[h4tch3t]

Uhm, in reply to the steering position, every course I've been on (BMW, Merc AMG, Renault and Audi) recommend this position:

Ten to two

In F1, or if you're doing the Fantastic Racing experience on Kyalami it's 9 and 3, seeing as the cars have different steering ratio's compared to normal road vehicles. (IE you can reach full left to right in the same 360, while road cars allow for more subtle movement)

Regardless, if you put your thumbs just above the indicated positions on the M-sport wheel you still only have minimal finger/surface area to touch, without even trying to shift while turning...

I actually spent 20 mins trying to see if they're adjustable in any way.

Anyways, what I'm getting at is that steering is loose enough to feel like an Xbox speedwheel, those jobbies you hold in thin air with no feedback (jokes)

I was gonna add an inappropriate loose mom joke, but realized this is the BMW forum, not Opel...(chuckles)

Anyways, I'll come post more on my opinion as the car grows on me...Make no mistake, I've been through BMW for most my life...so will always be a fan. Just thought they could have done better...not what I expected.

 

[MaX]

[video=youtube]

 

[Crash_Nemesis]

E46 FoREVERRRR

 

[Rayzor]

Uhm, in reply to the steering position, every course I've been on (BMW, Merc AMG, Renault and Audi) recommend this position:

Ten to two

In F1, or if you're doing the Fantastic Racing experience on Kyalami it's 9 and 3, seeing as the cars have different steering ratio's compared to normal road vehicles. (IE you can reach full left to right in the same 360, while road cars allow for more subtle movement)

Regardless, if you put your thumbs just above the indicated positions on the M-sport wheel you still only have minimal finger/surface area to touch, without even trying to shift while turning...

I actually spent 20 mins trying to see if they're adjustable in any way.

Anyways, what I'm getting at is that steering is loose enough to feel like an Xbox speedwheel, those jobbies you hold in thin air with no feedback (jokes)

I was gonna add an inappropriate loose mom joke, but realized this is the BMW forum, not Opel...(chuckles)

Anyways, I'll come post more on my opinion as the car grows on me...Make no mistake, I've been through BMW for most my life...so will always be a fan. Just thought they could have done better...not what I expected.

My response was to this comment "There's a reason why racers hold the wheel in those positions." :thumbs:

 

[///Shaun]

My response was to this comment "There's a reason why racers hold the wheel in those positions." :thumbs:

My two cents worth.

On my EX G5 GTi K04 , FWD

I found that holding the steering at the bottom when drag racing allowed me to control the car much nicer when leaving the line hard.

I initially thought this was the case cause car was FWD but i then found myself doing the same with a E90 335i. I always felt more in control with the car with hard launches. Once i got going my hand where back on top of the steering.

Funny part is one is FWD vs RWD , the other part is one was DSG vs Manual.

So in short , i agree for track drag events, holding bottom of steering seemed to be more comfortable.

:thumbs:

 

[kabal]

the dealer can code the stop/start to "last mode"