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      01-23-2014, 08:30 PM   #16
StealYourFace
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Drives: F30 328i M 6mt, E36 M3
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Shakedown Street, Buffalo NY

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I just got home from the Detroit auto show, this car is fantastic (altho bmw na could have hired a good detailer like the forum sponsor in nj that a lot of us buy our supplies from to do a quick paint correction/wax to make the cars pop).

I really love the proportions of this car. From the driver's seat, you get outstanding, classic bmw visibility thanks to a substantial greenhouse and the ergonomics, and of course the sport seats seem to fit like a familiar pair of running shoes. Just like every time when I buy a new pair of asics 2100s the new version feels just like the last one, familiar, comfortable and slightly different/better. Just a great job on a no frills driver centric interior.

The exterior looks outstanding as well, great flow and the first car they have made that makes the eu pedestrian crash standards truly seamless into the design (M3 similarly so). I was worried the longer overhangs as compared to the 1er would make the car look lazy and less athletic, just not the case. And that Sedona red really is a great color, I didn't realize it had a subtle metallic. For me, it would be a toss between that and estoril II. The car really does have a modern e46 vibe. I didn't check the dimensions but it might be a touch more narrow than the e46, but it really is a great back to basics bmw that people like us appreciate, just as the 1er was. If I put an M235i next to a 135is (Jesus, just call it a 235is!) next to eachother it would really be a coin toss. The 135is is a tad shorter, with short overhangs and that bulldog stance, but the new car is great too, for different reasons. Neither car a loser, though I would bet the longer wheelbase of the 235i really has to help the dynamics. I dislike all the standard stuff I wouldn't want like nav (I think that's standard and so is the goofy backup cam, its a small car, I don't like costly gimmicks) but it really is a winner.

Or like I've said before a 228i M sport (why not M228i? Remember when bmw nomenclature was so easy and followed logic??!!) with less standard gimmicky bullshit and it's light weight over the nose might truly be the enthusiast car. I'm sure with that non adaptive suspension, the dealer installed lsd, the n20's short gearing, the Michelin PSS rubber and a stick, that would really be the e36/e46ish drivers car that people like us would really appreciate.

Now give us 4 doors!!

(PS what was up with bmw not having a 328i or 335i at the Detroit show???!)
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