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      06-21-2014, 02:29 PM   #1
hoyasaxa
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Drives: GTI | 982 4.0
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: USA

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March 2017 EDIT:
My lease is up in June, and I'll be returning the car and getting an M2 (provided everything goes smoothly). I may at some point write a review of my "ownership" but if anyone has questions, I'll gladly answer them.

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Just wanted to share some impressions now that I've had the car for a full week.

Consumption:
I burned through the dealer-filled tank relatively quickly, didn't bother to calculate since it was mystery gas and the trip hadn't been reset. I filled it up myself using shell and reset the trip. I have had a very mixed bag of driving. Lots of freeway driving with moderate traffic, some driving around town. These are a few shots of the trip computer after the morning/afternoon commutes:

[img]http://s5.postimg.org/xtgdmo4tv/IMG_5604.jpg[/img][img]http://s5.postimg.org/kqkr3eelv/IMG_5655.jpg[/img][img]http://s5.postimg.org/u8ki3g0ab/IMG_5658.jpg[/img]

I filled up today and calculated by hand. I filled it up to the cutoff and then topped off just to make sure it was actually full. Probably .05 or .1 gallon wasted by doing that, but worth it on a new car to learn how the tank fills.
When calculated by hand on a full tank I averaged 31.4 mpg. I am very impressed with that.


Transmission / Throttle
The 8AT is phenomenal. The fact that its capable of full lockup is obvious in how it behaves. Every time I've thought "let's have a bit of fun" I am blown away by how good this transmission is. I am scared to say it, but it may be better than the DSG in my GTI, which is widely regarded as one of the best dual-clutch transmissions available. When driving in sport (or in manual mode while in sport) changes under acceleration are instant and hard (in a good way, not a bone-jarring way).

I'm trying to behave myself and keep it below around 4k revs during break-in, but the combination of throttle response and the transmission in sport mode means the engine revs quickly and happily. I can barely wait to really wring it out once break-in is over.

Sound
I am waiting for an E-net cable or for someone on here to confirm whether we have active sound. I do not believe that I have read anywhere that the exhaust profile changes based on the car being in sport mode. However, the sound of the engine is clearly better when you are in sport. So, whether that's just because I happen to rev higher/quicker, or because active sound kicks in, I don't know. However, when you do hear the sound, it's nice.

At freeway speeds the car is quiet. It is significantly quieter than my GTI was. However, it's also not quite so quiet as other BMW/Mercedes vehicles I've been in. Part of that may be the RFTs

Suspension (M Sport)
I am loving the suspension. It is more firm than my GTI and it also absorbs road imperfections better. I feel more confident driving this car.

Speed
It's fast. It just is. I'm impressed with it while trying to behave myself during break-in. I can only imagine what this thing is going to feel like at WOT going through the gears.

Also, at least in comfort (not so much in eco pro) it will effortlessly cruise at 80mph on the freeway. It gets there swiftly, stays there comfortably, and is quiet.

Trunk
It's huge. The first day I got the car I had to load bags into it. I was able to fit the "large" size roller (i.e., checked bag size) and a small size "carryon" roll aboard in the trunk. There was room leftover if I had needed to squeeze soft items or bags in.
The 60/40 split is disappointing because I miss having a passthrough as with the 40/20/40. Oh well.
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2014 228i (lease return) | 2018 ///M2 - ED Thread (sold) | 2023 Cayman GTS 4.0 (ordered)

Last edited by hoyasaxa; 06-21-2014 at 02:36 PM..
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