Our "own" car reviews
- Thread starter NooDle
- Start date
thevictor390
Teen Wankeler
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
- Messages
- 11,892
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Car(s)
- '17 Mazda MX-5 RF, '89 Toyota Blizzard SX5
It's quite good in my RX-8, in fact I know of some people for whom the steering is the only thing about the car they will praise :lol:
But in general there are very few cars post-2006 that interest me over their predecessors.
I'll agree with you there.
Bretton Woods
Well-Known Member
Nice to see BroMic back on the forums and because feedback was asked for:
Great review, but at times the comparisons were a little muddled; it wasn't clear which car you were referring to. Otherwise, it covered a lot of the no spec sheet experience and gave a good conclusion.
NooDle
Ik ben niet alleen lekker met kaas!
I have a BMW 218d Active tourer at my disposal. It's surprisingly good for what is basically a small mpv. Powerful too.
And it has every option imaginable, which is nice. Proper review coming up as soon as I feel better
And it has every option imaginable, which is nice. Proper review coming up as soon as I feel better
Brother Michael
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the comment !
This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for - I've never written a comparison type article, so this was unfamiliar territory for me.
As for "being back" I never went anywhere, just can't be bothered to write three word replies to random threads so I resort to lurking
I'll try to free up some time to write more, as it is something I thoroughly enjoy. Been meaning to do a "season wrap up" for the F1 section and my thoughts on the new S-class as well.
NooDle
Ik ben niet alleen lekker met kaas!
So I had a BMW 218d for a couple of days.
Sadly I was sick for most of the time, so no pics (aside from this one I stole off the internet) and only a short review.
Outside : me likey. It's BMW aggressive, but not too much.
Inside : typical BMW again, seats are very nice and supremely comfortable. It had heated leather everything, which was a nice touch aswell.
Size wise the boot is a bit cramped but the rear seats are suitable for actual people, not just kids.
Toys : Oh. My. God. This one was fully loaded with the following (I'm just naming this off the top of my head) : Prof. Satnav, Head up display, Double USB port, Bluetooth, front and rear parking sensors with camera, blind spot detector, active cruise control, 'traffic mode', electric everything, gigantic panoramic sunroof that even opens, automatic opening/closing hatch, lane assistance, an excellent 8 speed autobox, different driving modes that actually felt different (sport/comfort/efficientdynamics)
This thing was an absolute joy for my miserable commute since my left foot didn't need to do anything. Neither did my right, because the cruise control would see the car in front, come to a complete stop if need be, and drive off keeping a safe (selectable) distance. It didn't have the standard BMW cruising distance of 1cm though, they must correct that.
Lane assist kept sure I was inbetween the lines on the road, so I had all the time in the world to play with everything else.
The newer Professional satnav is better, quicker animations and gives you a splitscreen option (for instance, music details with album art on one side, and satnav details on the other side). This Beemer did not hesitate to play my 10.000 file USB drive either, and handled 1000+ playlists with ease. Another cool feature was the HUD that rises when you start the car. This gave current gear, speed, current speed limit (known only by whichcraft, I'm sure, as it was sometimes different from what the satnav told me), and various other custimizible things like Sat nav info (arrows), entertainment details, etc.
It was so good I even forgot the car had actual dials.
Gearbox: I like the autobox a lot, in D it was comfortable and lazy, but it can afford to be, because it has eleventhousand gears (8 actually).
I had expected to get tired of the constant shifting but as it's so hard to notice it's no bother.
Sport mode is more fun, this allows you to rev the shit out of it (which is pointless, since it's a diesel, but still fun), and even blipped the throttle on the downshift. There's a fully manual mode aswell, but as this car only had the main gear lever and no paddles I found this confusing. Up = down and down = up, I'll never understand it.
Small stuff : Minor things annoyed me : the standard BMW indicator stalk that doesn't "stick" is back, but here it's even harder to engage since it has a 3 blink setting and a constant blink setting that I confused. More annoyingly, the other stalk (which controls wipers) has the same setup now so this means I was either wiping 1000 kph in dry weather or seeing through a blur of raindrops. I quickly discovered the 'auto' setting and left it alone though.
Engine : this 18d is a proper engine especially coupled to this relatively light chassis (you can get it in a 5 series but I wouldn't recommend it). Especially combined with the autobox made this an excellent engine for this car. Typical BMW with all the grunt down real low where you'd want it, but not complaining if you went to the redline either. Despite all this redlining I did not manage to use 5l/100 km which is impressive.
Handling : this is where this car sets itself apart from every other MPV I've ever driven : it actually has some handling. Yes, it's FWD, and yes, sometimes in the rain on a slick roundabout, you do feel it. But everywhere else it's proper brilliant. With my eyes closed I'd wager I was driving a 3 series when in fact what I was driving was much more van like than it felt. Despite ridiculously large 18" wheels and runflat tyres, it still was very comfortable over potholes, while still giving you some feel in the steering wheel in the faster corners. Extremely impressive.
Overall : properly impressed 8/10 easily.
If only all the toys didn't add up to 40k?...
Sadly I was sick for most of the time, so no pics (aside from this one I stole off the internet) and only a short review.
Outside : me likey. It's BMW aggressive, but not too much.
Inside : typical BMW again, seats are very nice and supremely comfortable. It had heated leather everything, which was a nice touch aswell.
Size wise the boot is a bit cramped but the rear seats are suitable for actual people, not just kids.
Toys : Oh. My. God. This one was fully loaded with the following (I'm just naming this off the top of my head) : Prof. Satnav, Head up display, Double USB port, Bluetooth, front and rear parking sensors with camera, blind spot detector, active cruise control, 'traffic mode', electric everything, gigantic panoramic sunroof that even opens, automatic opening/closing hatch, lane assistance, an excellent 8 speed autobox, different driving modes that actually felt different (sport/comfort/efficientdynamics)
This thing was an absolute joy for my miserable commute since my left foot didn't need to do anything. Neither did my right, because the cruise control would see the car in front, come to a complete stop if need be, and drive off keeping a safe (selectable) distance. It didn't have the standard BMW cruising distance of 1cm though, they must correct that.
Lane assist kept sure I was inbetween the lines on the road, so I had all the time in the world to play with everything else.
The newer Professional satnav is better, quicker animations and gives you a splitscreen option (for instance, music details with album art on one side, and satnav details on the other side). This Beemer did not hesitate to play my 10.000 file USB drive either, and handled 1000+ playlists with ease. Another cool feature was the HUD that rises when you start the car. This gave current gear, speed, current speed limit (known only by whichcraft, I'm sure, as it was sometimes different from what the satnav told me), and various other custimizible things like Sat nav info (arrows), entertainment details, etc.
It was so good I even forgot the car had actual dials.
Gearbox: I like the autobox a lot, in D it was comfortable and lazy, but it can afford to be, because it has eleventhousand gears (8 actually).
I had expected to get tired of the constant shifting but as it's so hard to notice it's no bother.
Sport mode is more fun, this allows you to rev the shit out of it (which is pointless, since it's a diesel, but still fun), and even blipped the throttle on the downshift. There's a fully manual mode aswell, but as this car only had the main gear lever and no paddles I found this confusing. Up = down and down = up, I'll never understand it.
Small stuff : Minor things annoyed me : the standard BMW indicator stalk that doesn't "stick" is back, but here it's even harder to engage since it has a 3 blink setting and a constant blink setting that I confused. More annoyingly, the other stalk (which controls wipers) has the same setup now so this means I was either wiping 1000 kph in dry weather or seeing through a blur of raindrops. I quickly discovered the 'auto' setting and left it alone though.
Engine : this 18d is a proper engine especially coupled to this relatively light chassis (you can get it in a 5 series but I wouldn't recommend it). Especially combined with the autobox made this an excellent engine for this car. Typical BMW with all the grunt down real low where you'd want it, but not complaining if you went to the redline either. Despite all this redlining I did not manage to use 5l/100 km which is impressive.
Handling : this is where this car sets itself apart from every other MPV I've ever driven : it actually has some handling. Yes, it's FWD, and yes, sometimes in the rain on a slick roundabout, you do feel it. But everywhere else it's proper brilliant. With my eyes closed I'd wager I was driving a 3 series when in fact what I was driving was much more van like than it felt. Despite ridiculously large 18" wheels and runflat tyres, it still was very comfortable over potholes, while still giving you some feel in the steering wheel in the faster corners. Extremely impressive.
Overall : properly impressed 8/10 easily.
If only all the toys didn't add up to 40k?...
PelicanHazard
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2008
- Messages
- 2,507
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Car(s)
- '13 Dart, '03 Ranger, '20 390 Duke, '22 K16GTL
I don't care who knows it, I like this BMW. Was rather disappointed when the news came that the launch here would be delayed and possibly not happen at all due to the niche market it occupies, thereby dashing my hopes of owning a CPO one by the time my Dart is paid off. No matter, we still have the 3 Touring. Still, great to hear that the FWD Bee-ehm-mommy-u is good enough to impress.
rickhamilton620
has a fetish for terrible cars
Of course, one could say that this speaks volumes about the handling of the current 3 series compared to previous generations.
And I thought MY tastes were ...different from the forum norm..
I like the BMW too, its interesting!
Spectre
The Deported
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 36,832
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
- Car(s)
- 00 4Runner | 02 919 | 87 XJ6 | 86 CB700SC
That's okay, rick just doomed the thing should it ever come to the US.
Rules state this or a similar image must be posted any time a FWD BMW is posted:
This image must also be posted:
Last edited:
Spectre
The Deported
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 36,832
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
- Car(s)
- 00 4Runner | 02 919 | 87 XJ6 | 86 CB700SC
Srsly? This particular Beemer sucks because fwd? I thought we hated all BMWs becauseAt least be consistent
Because FWD = selling out for BMW - that's an actual BMW ad posted up there.
The usual reasons to hate modern BMWs do of course still (and also) apply.
Hbriz
Ballroom Blitz
The BMW B-Class. I hate the name, why is it a 2 Series? Didn't BMW name the actual 2 Series that to make a differentiation between the more bread and butter 1 Series and the sportier coupe model? And then they go and name this Renault Scenic with the same name as a coupe to which it has no relation? What?
BMWs naming was almost starting to make sense until they came up with this thing and realised it doesn't fit anywhere in the line up and so gave it a name that doesn't make sense either.
BMWs naming was almost starting to make sense until they came up with this thing and realised it doesn't fit anywhere in the line up and so gave it a name that doesn't make sense either.
PelicanHazard
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2008
- Messages
- 2,507
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Car(s)
- '13 Dart, '03 Ranger, '20 390 Duke, '22 K16GTL
I immediately ignored BMW's nonsense talk about their model realignment and just use the Series number to tell me the approximate length of the thing. the 1 Series and 2 Series are tiny, the 7 is huge. Easy enough.
DanRoM
Forum Addict
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2009
- Messages
- 10,402
- Location
- Ruhr Area, Germany
- Car(s)
- MX-5 ND, Tracer 900 GT & two bikes
I thought "BMW" is the surname