Before I started getting formally involved in the world of automotive press I always had a strong interest in automobiles and wondered what it would be like to drive some of the best of the best. In particular I always had a high interest for four brands in particular General Motors, Ford Motor company, Jaguar and the brand featured in today’s review BMW. All four brands are very common in my neck of the woods and it’s always cool to see one drive by. I originally intended to drive the BMW 1 series which is the brands entrant in the heated entry level luxury car market and offers a combination of small size, RWD, and a cheap admission price. Unfortunately the local BMW dealership I went to had none on their demo lot but they did offer me the chance to take a 328i Xdrive for a spin instead and I just couldn’t refuse. How will the BMW 328i measure up out in the real world? Let's hop in and find out...
Exterior
The Exterior styling of my BMW 328i X drive tester was crisp and very good looking up front is the distinctive BMW face with trademark dual kidney grilles. The side of the car has a distinctive bodyline that goes from front to back giving the 3 series a performance oriented flair. The lights are standard halogens all around with corona high intensity units in the headlights.
Interior
Typical BMW interiors are known for two things having excellent material quality and for also having the rather frustrating I-Drive system. Thankfully my 328i tester spared me the I-Drive sized headache and gave me a cabin that was a pleasure to be in. Real wood and leather are used in the cabin and the result is a premium grade effort that looks good and feels good to the touch. The seats were very supportive and were comfortable to sit in on long trips. Finding a good driving position was very simple to do and the front seats built in heat feature felt great and it actually helped make my lumbar region (I tend to have back pain in that area) feel much more relaxed. Passengers have plenty of leg room but it can become cramped if a taller driver is behind the wheel.
Many of the controls for the various features on the instrument panel were simple and easy to use and despite being a tad too button heavy it wasn’t too much of an issue. My only two major complaints about the interior are that navigating between the menus on the otherwise excellent sound system can be frustrating and setting up the car to be compatible with a Bluetooth phone is extremely difficult. To use this feature you will need a pass key from your local dealer (which I did not get) and then hit the owners manual and go through a very comprehensive and excessive step by step procedure to sync your phone with the radio. Because of the lack of Pass Key and the laundry list of steps involved I chose to not use this feature.
Performance
Whereas the interior of the 3 series was a mixed bag of hit or miss items, it is out on the open road where this BMW is truly in its comfort zone. Once you’re done fiddling with the cars various techno bits and start driving you are greeted by eye opening performance that is typical of a BMW. The 328i will not beat a BMW M3 anytime soon in performance but power delivery from its 3.0 liter 230 horsepower inline six was smooth and consistent and once you reached 3,000 RPM the power surges like a sledgehammer and continues to do so through out the rev band. Shifts from my cars 6 speed steptronic transmission were smooth and consistent and when placed in manual mode up shifts and down shifts were very accurate and it was a lot of fun when out on the freeway. Pedal feel was excellent and the steering wheel provided great feed back and precise turns. The optional AWD system on my tester helped keep all four wheels on the ground and provided stable acceleration.
For drivers wanting more zest when going to the office or just a weekend drive out on winding canyon roads the up level 335i offers a twin turbocharged variant of the 3.0 which is good for 300 brake horsepower. Finally the top of the line BMW M3 offers a 414 horsepower V8 and plenty of goodies but that model is in league of its own when it comes to performance and price.
My 328i’s suspension was firm but not to the point where it was uncomfortable and it kept its composure even on rough gravel roads where it did a good job absorbing the various ruts and bumps though deep holes reminded me that this is a sports sedan not a luxury liner. My one complaint about the cars driving behavior was something that I did not expect to see in a BMW and that was the rather abundant amount of wind noise at highway speeds. At highway speed the buffeting was very noticeable and it made it very difficult to hear the stereo even when it was turned up a slight disappointment in an otherwise very entertaining package.
Final Thoughts
The 328i was a very entertaining car to drive and despite a few niggles my time with it was very memorable. This cars list of competitors includes such products as the Audi A4, the Lexus IS, and the Mercedes C class. My cars $35,150,00 MSRP sounds pretty good but with options and other extras my cars final sticker price ballooned to just over $40,000 dollars. Fuel mileage for my 328i X drive tester is a modest 17 MPG city and 25 MPG highway with a total combined average of 20 MPG not bad numbers despite its sporty intentions. For those that think the 3 series is either too big or a potential wallet buster they should check out the smaller BMW 1 series. Granted it is smaller and offers less equipment than the 3 series but it does share many of its parts with its bigger sibling and offers the same engine choices as the 3 series in a lighter cheaper package.
I would like to end things here by saying a big thank you to Bavarian Motor Village BMW over in Shelby Township for providing the car I drove today. There customer service was very helpful and kind and I look forward to continue visiting there dealership for future projects.