Finally work out how to control iPod from radio. Previously could only get one track, which became tedious after a few days. The same one all the time. Seems quaint only having a two line display after a desk full of 20" screens. Reminds me of DOS days. After a couple of weeks dealer sends me Y cable which improves controllability. Can now access playlists. Promptly create too many.
Rear speakers in particular are awful. Harsh, bottomless, topless, muddy, thin, remote, low-rent, horrible. It would only have cost them a pittance to fit decent speakers as standard. Such cheap skating devalues the BMW brand, I think. On the plus side they don't look too difficult to replace with decent units. Well, from the face plates anyway. Initial impressions prove to be hopelessly optimistic. After two weeks of forum surfing - including correspondence with BMW UK - I have still not found a source for plug compatible upgrades.
The so called OBC doesn't actually seem to compute a great deal. It actually does less than the last BMW I had about 20 years ago, which would calculate an ETA given a distance. This one has a fiddly interface which I eventually crack on to after another session of pawing everything.
The indicator system is initially challenging. I pity anyone else on the road trying to work out where I'm going in the first few hours as I madly swing between right and left trying to get the wretched things to cancel. It seems counter intuitive to press it again in the same direction to cancel. I eventually get the hang of it by never manually cancelling and after a few minutes it seems to exhaust itself.
The cruise control system is excellent with a rich feature set, including braking. The novelty of seeing the little bug racing round the speedo has me setting and resetting it all the way along the road. I almost run into a truck in the process.
Gaining a little in confidence the temptation to experience the torque asserts itself. An excursion to 80mph ensues without getting anywhere near the initial 3000rpm limit. It does haul effortlessly, sure 'nuff. I could drive this car for years without exceeding 3k. On the dual carriage way it feels as there's a cross wind. I check the tree tops. Not a breath. Must be the run flats. Maybe all the tyres have burst. After a couple of weeks of even occasional use I seem to have adjusted to this idiosyncrasy and no longer notice it.
Even in an auto I sometimes like know to which gear I'm in without having to change manually to find out. Selecting "Sport" doesn't prove a gear indication. It's a two stage process, by which time I've forgotten why I wanted to know the cog. A one stage process is available by blindly flipping a steering wheel paddle. But with a tight engine I'm reluctant to take the chance of over revving it by accident. Couldn't they just tell you which gear you're in without such a fuss? In contrast the Audi would provide an immediate gear display after engaging Tiptronic but without changing gear.
Most of the first two weeks getting to know you has been conducted in my garage as I continued to drive the Audi until I sold it a few days ago. In the middle of week three a conservative 120 miles have been covered in the BM. It occurs to me that I probably don't need a car at all. In those few miles the "OBC" computes an average consumption of 36.2 mpg. If accurate then it's mission accomplished as this model was chosen for its claimed frugality.
With the radio off - which is often, for reasons aforesaid - I take to listening to the engine. It has a lovely growl when warm. A really solid sounding lump. My wife dispels this romantic notion by telling me it sounds like a black cab.
I have begun using it for commuting to work. Will report proper driving impressions in due course.
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>>Will report proper driving impressions in due course.
Yawn, we all know how well the things drive and go like so if you must, but TBH I much prefer your amusing ramblings on the idiosyncracies of the supporting technologies behind the "ultimate driving machine!" Look forward to your 3rd, 4th, 5th etc impressions!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 16/04/2008 at 22:56
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Excellent post.
I have to confess to a growing admiration for the E90 after an enthusiastic drive in a friend's 320d coupe recently. Put it this way, I can see why they consistently review (and sell) so well. When, after a good drive the only thing you can find fault with is a gear lever that wobbles on idle, you know you're in something pretty damn good.
Enjoy it.
Cheers
DP
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Absolutely excellent post, thoroughly enjoyable.
I have a question though. Why, given your apparent low mileage, did you chose a diesel? The saving in fuel must amount to only a few pounds, wouldnt a nice 330i petrol have been a better bet?
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I have a question though. Why given your apparent low mileage did you chose a diesel? The saving in fuel must amount to only a few pounds wouldnt a nice 330i petrol have been a better bet?
It?s not a bad question actually. I could conceded that it will take five year, eight months, three weeks and two days for the premium on the diesel engine price to be amortised by any reduction in fuel costs. Or quote unfathomable mumbo jumbo about capital and revenue accounts, declining balance depreciation curves, projected oil prices and other such mysteries. I laboured away for months performing these tortuous projections with my tongue sticking out the side of my mouth. But it wouldn?t be true to say that the purchasing decision was overly influenced by the mathematics. Ultimately I just bought the car I fancied with the engine I liked. Also my wife told me after I?d driven comparable Mercs and Audis that I?d only looked happy in the BMW. And that was a big influence because she knows about these things.
When next I have to buy a car I expect to be so impoverished that it will have to be a Lada, or whatever is the modern equivalent. So this last hurrah was always going to be an indulgence.
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"Ultimately I just bought the car I fancied with the engine I liked"
There you are ! That's why cars are special and washing machines are just washing machines !
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Why given your apparent low mileage did you ...
I can't see any references in your first post to guess your "apparent" low mileage.
>>Ultimately I just bought the car I fancied with the engine I liked.
I presume that means that you chose a 325d for its diesel torque characteristics in preference to the a 325i or other petrol versions.
Also my wife told me after I?d driven comparable Mercs and Audis that I?d only looked happy in the BMW.
But then isn't the 330i that MichaelR was referring to a BMW too?
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Why given your apparent low mileage did you ...
I can't see any references in your first post to guess your "apparent" low mileage.
Conservative 120 miles in three weeks.
>>Ultimately I just bought the car I fancied with the engine I liked.
I presume that means that you chose a 325d for its diesel torque characteristics in preference to the a 325i or other petrol versions.
Yes.
Also my wife told me after I?d driven comparable Mercs and Audis that I?d only looked happy in the BMW.
But then isn't the 330i that MichaelR was referring to a BMW too?
330i would have taken additional £2k out of capital account for performance I won?t use. Couldn?t get independent verification that it would really return 39mpg overall. Privately doubted it. Was able to get trusted data on 325d consumption.
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Conservative 120 miles in three weeks.
But as I read it, that low figure was qualified* by " first two weeks getting to know you has been conducted in my garage as I continued to drive the Audi until I sold it a few days ago. "
*unless are you predicting a similar rate of low mileage in future on the same basis.
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Sorry, I could have clarified this much earlier - 7500 miles pa.
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Ubi, you CAN cancel the indicators in the 'intuitive', familiar way. You just have to be subtle about it. Which it seems you're not... :-)
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Ubi said:
"It does haul effortlessly, sure 'nuff. I could drive this car for years without exceeding 3k."
I recently test-drove a 325i and a 325d - both autos. Both hugely capable and refined cars, and both sounded very similar once on the move. But TBH I would have preferred more engine noise at ordinary, legal speeds. If Plod catches you extending the engine in any gear beyond second...
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