Looking at buying an E90 320i...

[Jakkals_F30]

i wish they kept the 320i a 6cyl.... Still they weren't the fastest thing on the road but it had more torgue.
When i sent my car in last week they gave me a brand new 320i with 5km on it while they had my baby and i got into the car with the thought that this is gonna be way too underpowered and you would need to almost redline to get somewhere... However this was not the case and i was pleasantly surprised with the car.

Ok it drives softer than mine even though it's on RFT's like mine but also having said that i have the sport suspension on mine. From standstill the 320 is really not bad at all... where there is a bit of a problem is if you have to go past someone quickly you would probably need to gear down to get that extra power as it is a bit lazy to pick up speed from lower revs in a higher gear.. Can be expected with a heavy body on a 2litre car.

For the 2 days i had the car i must say it's a very pleasant drive and on my side i would get one as a 2nd car or even a weekend car..

I personally went for the 323i because of the sound of the 6's and it has more performance.

Loom - If you do decide on the 320i it's really not a bad car and good luck with your hunt oh and btw... when you get your baby we want pics...:thumb:

 

[hiltonfa]

My wife has a 320i which I drive occasionally, the power is not bad as we live in Durban. Maybe it suffers at altitude as all n/a cars do.

 

[AshG108]

Eish! eish, eish, eish!

This guy must be busy reading the 16 page thread BMW M put in here ha ha! nothng wrong with a 320i,if you like it, go for it. like Sabre said, each to his own, to me the car doesnt feel so under-powered, it is because it is a huge ass body on that engine and its being driven from the rear but it aint as bad as you would use 2nd gear to get up a hill sometimes. look, my 320 has a upgraded exhaust system and i dont know what other changes but it goes well and i am happy with it, i would be happier with more power, who wouldnt be but for it is worth, the car is worth the price cause of the spec. dont take the guy's comments to heart or too personally, if i did, i would have thrown alot of insults towards them but remember, not everyone knows about cars and some people base opinions on other opinions from some person who doesnt even own the car, hence i say test the car yourself and if you like it, buy it! Fark the rest, your money, your car, your enjoyment...klaar! i am sure the gys would agree with me on this.

Sabre, good on you for backing the beemer 320's up :thumbsup:

I'm quite curious to know what differences your 320i has from the standard M-sport ones (pre-facelift) and how much of a difference it makes and what it would cost...

Coming from a Citroen C2 1.4 to an E90 320i M-Sport, the 320i is a massive upgrade for me and I always have a lot of fun driving it

howsit bud.

differences on my car as such:
Pearl Paint(Stratus Grey)
Motorsport rims(18") diff design, not sure if leightened
the dash inserts are honey-comb silver
the seats are embossed with 'Sport Edition'
the step sills say 'Sport Edition'
The engine is the N46N with valvetonic(double vanos+valvetronic unit controller) thats found on the LCi models and upward, actually late 2008 and onwards(October to be exact)
The SA at the dealership told me the Individual Sport Edition comes with slightly bigger headers and exhaust(stand to be corrected cause he is a stealership peron after all, not all or majority dont have much of details on cars TBH)
The rest of the car was the Sport Edition package stuff that came with it STD, ie. PDC, 6 CD MP3 changer, M-Tech Kit,interior & exterior, suspension etc, Extended Lights package, Hi-Fi Loudspeaker system(10 Speaker) and thats about it i can remember for now dude.

so there isnt much differences, it just is listed as the 320i Individual Sport Edition, basically half individual with full sport accessories and alot cosmetic, although my buddy and i tested against his 320i E90 LCi M-Sport 09 model, has the same engine but my car is louder than his and pulls a bit quicker thats why i say i am a bit unsure of the rest of the differences, i tried googling and the dealerships arent much help either. If you in JHB, you welcome to come check it out and spot anything else, i would appreciate it alot lol

 

[PsyLenT]

I would have loved to come spot the differences - if I actually knew anything more than cosmetic differences lol. I have an '08 pre-facelift 320i M-Sport, although it was manufactured in '07 and only sold in '08. But it only has the M-Sport package on it so all cosmetic changes and the sports suspension, with the 18" rims instead of 17".

As for gearing down to over-take, coming from a 1300 tazz and a 1.4 C2, planning for overtakes and gearing down is pretty much all I know, so I don't miss the added power of the bigger models, and in that comparison at least the BMW does it a lot faster than what I'm used to.

I was reading that other 320i thread now and one thing occurred to me - every time I'm on an onramp or on a highway, hell, on any road - I don't have a chance to notice power lacking on the car because there's always some stupid slow idiot in front of me. ALWAYS. I'm always shocked because they have the audacity to drive so slow (I never understand people who drive 60 on an onramp and only speed up once they join the highway) but they won't even pull over for a BMW! The cheek!

 

[Loom]

Thanks for all the feedback. I won't buy an E90, if only for the lack of space in the boot for a spare wheel. Driving on normal tyres with only a puncture repair kit is not an option for me.

What good used car websites are there besides Gumtree, Autotrader, Junkmail (car section is junk) and Automart?

 

[AshG108]

ha ha ha good stuff guys!

 

[BMW M]

Thanks for all the feedback. I won't buy an E90, if only for the lack of space in the boot for a spare wheel. Driving on normal tyres with only a puncture repair kit is not an option for me.

What good used car websites are there besides Gumtree, Autotrader, Junkmail (car section is junk) and Automart?

Carfind.co.za
Aautobay.co.za
Berchmores.co.za - Auctions
Macarthy.co.za

 

[AshG108]

Thanks for all the feedback. I won't buy an E90, if only for the lack of space in the boot for a spare wheel. Driving on normal tyres with only a puncture repair kit is not an option for me.

What good used car websites are there besides Gumtree, Autotrader, Junkmail (car section is junk) and Automart?

Carfind.co.za
Aautobay.co.za
Burchmores.co.za - Auctions
McCarthy.co.za

FIXED!:thumb:

 

[BMW M]

Thanks for all the feedback. I won't buy an E90, if only for the lack of space in the boot for a spare wheel. Driving on normal tyres with only a puncture repair kit is not an option for me.

What good used car websites are there besides Gumtree, Autotrader, Junkmail (car section is junk) and Automart?

Carfind.co.za
Aautobay.co.za
Burchmores.co.za - Auctions
McCarthy.co.za

FIXED!:thumb:

Thanx Ash! :thumb:

 

[AshG108]

always a pleasure bud!:thumbsup:

 

[moranor@axis]

e46 ftw :mmm: