[npd2983]

Originally Posted by Seagull

Hmmm just noticed the door speaker and its funky shape.

Yeah like other's I hope the interior quality materials is good. The photos seem to convey hard cheap plastics to me. Hope I'm wrong.

Is it just me, but it looks like the tweeters just inside the rear view mirrors are missing on the 228i. The prior gen 128i had them, then they were missing for some model years, and then put back. Looks like Harmon Kardon will be a must to avoid disappointment.

Cheers!

[The J-Man]

Originally Posted by Technic

That's what $30-$44,000 will get you nowadays, I guess.

I disagree. Every other manufacturer on the face of the earth is increasing interior quality. BMW is the only one pulling this crap.

An $18k Civic doesn't have as much hard plastic.

I guarantee the Audi S3 will have a vastly superior interior in this price range.

The CLA while not great, also has a better interior.

I could go on and on.

BMW is only cutting about $200/car in manufacturing costs by building these crappy interiors. I would rather they raise the price $200 and give me something nice. The current strategy, however, seems to be to keep the nice interiors at 5 series and above levels. This I don't understand. Why do I have to drive a big car to get a nice interior?

[Wild_Will]

Hmmmm may have to consider 1 before I leave Germany and take advantage of the Military pricing.

[Jadar]

The rims on the 228i look way better then the ones on the m235!

[Saphirschwarz]

My car is also Black Sapphire Metallic but it doesnt look like that 228. It looks like a very deep grey here.

Autoshow colours are sometimes completely different !

[JustChris]

What do people think of rear seat space and getting a 7 and 9 year old in their comfortably. Me the driver 5'10. Looks feasible, would the M135 5 door have more rear space?

[EdM5]

Looking forward to test drive one!

[Technic]

My hobby at car shows is to get in cars and look for hard plastic in their interiors just because I hate hard plastics in $30,000-and-above cars. Seriously. Back in Sept 2011 I sat in the new-by-then-F20 1-Series hatch in display at the Munich airport while doing ED. The level of hard plastic was disappointing, to say the least. That is the same interior in this 2-Series.

You can see in the photos in this thread the division between what is covered by soft and hard platic easily -the simulated grain and color of the plastic is different. The most obvious split is in the doors panels, the storage pocket section is hard plastic.

By the way, the Civic, the Accord and worst of all, all Acuras (except the RLX) have more hard plastic in their interior than this 2-Series. The CLA does have quite a number of interior panels in hard plastic, as well.

Just check them out.

Originally Posted by The J-Man

I disagree. Every other manufacturer on the face of the earth is increasing interior quality. BMW is the only one pulling this crap.

An $18k Civic doesn't have as much hard plastic.

I guarantee the Audi S3 will have a vastly superior interior in this price range.

The CLA while not great, also has a better interior.

I could go on and on.

BMW is only cutting about $200/car in manufacturing costs by building these crappy interiors. I would rather they raise the price $200 and give me something nice. The current strategy, however, seems to be to keep the nice interiors at 5 series and above levels. This I don't understand. Why do I have to drive a big car to get a nice interior?

[Pure]

Amazing!

[csween86]

For the most part, everything about this car looks better than the 135i... Except the rear end, it's just so boring.

[GTATX]

228i wheels look so much better.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Saphirschwarz

My car is also Black Sapphire Metallic but it doesnt look like that 228. It looks like a very deep grey here.

Autoshow colours are sometimes completely different !

I think BSM is one of the hardest colors to really "see" in pictures--I am getting on my M235 too by the way--my dad had it on his Z4MC, and it would look like a really dark grey at time, almost a purple hue at times, and then of course, it looked black at times too.

It's an interesting color--very different than JB, which I had a few times as well.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Technic

Interior is as cheap as the E82 1-Series'... bottom dash, lower door panels and center console are hard plastic.

That's what $30-$44,000 will get you nowadays, I guess.

In my mind, it is definitely nice to have soft materials and plastic everywhere--with that being said, if the things I touch all the time (gear shifter, steering wheel, arm rest, center arm rest) are nice and soft, then that's all that matters to me.

It's certainly cool if the other parts of the inside are soft, but it won't bother me too much if they aren't. That's not why I am in the car, if you get my drift.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by dd1981

The rims on the 228i look way better then the ones on the m235!

I like the desgin of the standard wheels on the M235, I just wish they were 19s and not gunmetal.

[Chill72]

Originally Posted by The J-Man

I disagree. Every other manufacturer on the face of the earth is increasing interior quality. BMW is the only one pulling this crap.

An $18k Civic doesn't have as much hard plastic.

I guarantee the Audi S3 will have a vastly superior interior in this price range.

The CLA while not great, also has a better interior.

I could go on and on.

BMW is only cutting about $200/car in manufacturing costs by building these crappy interiors. I would rather they raise the price $200 and give me something nice. The current strategy, however, seems to be to keep the nice interiors at 5 series and above levels. This I don't understand. Why do I have to drive a big car to get a nice interior?

You're way off base. First go sit in the cars you assumed have more plastic and then come on here and post something that makes sense.

[jrstech]

Originally Posted by Technic

My hobby at car shows is to get in cars and look for hard plastic in their interiors just because I hate hard plastics in $30,000-and-above cars. Seriously. Back in Sept 2011 I sat in the new-by-then-F20 1-Series hatch in display at the Munich airport while doing ED. The level of hard plastic was disappointing, to say the least. That is the same interior in this 2-Series.

You can see in the photos in this thread the division between what is covered by soft and hard platic easily -the simulated grain and color of the plastic is different. The most obvious split is in the doors panels, the storage pocket section is hard plastic.

By the way, the Civic, the Accord and worst of all, all Acuras (except the RLX) have more hard plastic in their interior than this 2-Series. The CLA does have quite a number of interior panels in hard plastic, as well.

Just check them out.

I came across this site trying to see how much more hard plastics are used in the 2 vs. the 4 series door panels. Bottom section of the 2 looks like hard plastic, just hope the top sill area isn't.

http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/search/sele...SA/51/51_8919/
http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/search/sele...SA/51/51_9238/

[The J-Man]

Originally Posted by Technic

My hobby at car shows is to get in cars and look for hard plastic in their interiors just because I hate hard plastics in $30,000-and-above cars. Seriously. Back in Sept 2011 I sat in the new-by-then-F20 1-Series hatch in display at the Munich airport while doing ED. The level of hard plastic was disappointing, to say the least. That is the same interior in this 2-Series.

You can see in the photos in this thread the division between what is covered by soft and hard platic easily -the simulated grain and color of the plastic is different. The most obvious split is in the doors panels, the storage pocket section is hard plastic.

By the way, the Civic, the Accord and worst of all, all Acuras (except the RLX) have more hard plastic in their interior than this 2-Series. The CLA does have quite a number of interior panels in hard plastic, as well.

Just check them out.

Do you think the upper dash is hard plastic? Almost looks like it from these photos, which would he inexcusable. My wife had a 2007 Civic and both upper and lower dash was soft material, which I think is better than the 2 series is going to have.

[Technic]

Upper dash is soft/padded plastic.

Originally Posted by The J-Man

Do you think the upper dash is hard plastic? Almost looks like it from these photos, which would he inexcusable. My wife had a 2007 Civic and both upper and lower dash was soft material, which I think is better than the 2 series is going to have.

[Technic]

Upper door panels are soft/padded, the bottom (storage pocket section) is hard plastic.

Originally Posted by jrstech

I came across this site trying to see how much more hard plastics are used in the 2 vs. the 4 series door panels. Bottom section of the 2 looks like hard plastic, just hope the top sill area isn't.

http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/search/sele...SA/51/51_8919/
http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/search/sele...SA/51/51_9238/

[Technic]

My problem is that there should be a level of interior fit, finish and quality commensurate with the cost to pay. And hard plastics have no place in a car interior above $30,000, IMO. An interior that looks and feels decent at $30,000 kind of look and feels cheap at $50,000.

I guess that when BMW does product evaluation clinics they invite more people like you than people like me...

Originally Posted by dmboone25

In my mind, it is definitely nice to have soft materials and plastic everywhere--with that being said, if the things I touch all the time (gear shifter, steering wheel, arm rest, center arm rest) are nice and soft, then that's all that matters to me.

It's certainly cool if the other parts of the inside are soft, but it won't bother me too much if they aren't. That's not why I am in the car, if you get my drift.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Technic

My problem is that there should be a level of interior fit, finish and quality commensurate with the cost to pay. And hard plastics have no place in a car interior above $30,000, IMO. An interior that looks and feels decent at $30,000 kind of look and feels cheap at $50,000.

I guess that when BMW does product evaluation clinics they invite more people like you than people like me...

Perhaps.

I think I have noticed the E82's less than perfect interior "more" as time has gone along...plus this is my second one, so a different and refreshed interior, plus a new exterior, will likely keep me from complaining too much.

But you make a good point--in fact my mom has a Kia Forte, which was about 20 grand, and her interior isn't any less nice than mine. And my 135 was 43K. So it's a valid topic to discuss for sure...

[BwoodBMW]

Originally Posted by The J-Man

Ouch, the interior looks even worse than I was expecting. Everything appears to be hard plastic, possibly even the upper dash. The only soft touch materials appear to be the upper doors.

Yeah I'm pissed about the interior on this... only good thing I can say about it is that I think its more interesting than the S3 interior (although the quilted seats on the S3 are bad ass... just a boring dash)