[chaswyck1]

Want a really unique car? Get a 228i in Valencia Orange!

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by 2msport

And yes I agree with that testimony. Of course the interior will eventually lose some of its initial shock and awe but every time i step into a Japanese or American car. Most seem cheaper with a less fluid design. The bmw interior just flows and the proportions are correct to my eye. After 9 months I still enjoy the look inside and out. And appreciate it even more than the day I took it home.

Shock and Awe? Hard plastic dash and trim and fake looking leather gives you shock and awe? My dads Ford pickup has a much nicer interior than my 2 series. If I was looking at a car with nice interior BMW would have been way down the list. The driving experience is why I bought my 2 series.

[uberspeed]

I plan on having a somewhat basic 228i build in the next few years. Funny enough I'd love to wait for the backup camera to be mandatory and CarPlay to be available though. IT pro still needs some tech to satisfy the geek in me, though I don't want leather and find the current Nav offering a bad joke.

[bluemeanie]

To answer an earlier question. I did test drive both the 228i and the M235i. No question that the 235i can rocket when you put the pedal down. It was a little bit alarming in the heavily patrolled area where my dealer is located. However, the smaller engine in the 228i is no slouch either. Having now spent more seat time in the 228i the handling is something to be experienced. It really is a dancer, light on its feet. Yet tight and muscular.

(OK it's not a Ferrari but a still a heck of a great little car)

[hans007]

Originally Posted by chaswyck@yahoo.com

Want a really unique car? Get a 228i in Valencia Orange!

i think really if you really wanted to be unique you'd get one in sparkling brown

[Demetrius Joel]

I had an 09 328i with no options at all and honestly regretted every minute of that purchase. Was it a fun car to drive? Well yes, kinda. was the quality way better than say a Toyota or Honda? Yes of course it was. But for me I needed all the tech stuff, especially for the 328i. I most likely would be singing a different tune if I had purchased a no option 335i.

[Demetrius Joel]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

Shock and Awe? Hard plastic dash and trim and fake looking leather gives you shock and awe? My dads Ford pickup has a much nicer interior than my 2 series. If I was looking at a car with nice interior BMW would have been way down the list. The driving experience is why I bought my 2 series.

No way.

[vladberca]

Originally Posted by CreativeFuel

228i with only M Sport package and Lighting package here. Oh... and 6-speed manual.

Love it.

This is the minimum required for an awesome overall pack! Congrats!

[hans007]

Originally Posted by Demetrius Joel

I had an 09 328i with no options at all and honestly regretted every minute of that purchase. Was it a fun car to drive? Well yes, kinda. was the quality way better than say a Toyota or Honda? Yes of course it was. But for me I needed all the tech stuff, especially for the 328i. I most likely would be singing a different tune if I had purchased a no option 335i.

honestly the tech stuff is just what, a crappy nav system that can't match up to the latest android phone.

on the 2 series you cant even get logic 7 so theres really nothing else.

a bmw is not a bmw without the sports package. and really after that the rest is just fluff. but if you dont get the sports suspension and sports seats, what were you buying a bmw for anyway

[Demetrius Joel]

Originally Posted by hans007

honestly the tech stuff is just what, a crappy nav system that can't match up to the latest android phone.

on the 2 series you cant even get logic 7 so theres really nothing else.

a bmw is not a bmw without the sports package. and really after that the rest is just fluff. but if you dont get the sports suspension and sports seats, what were you buying a bmw for anyway

I like the Nav system. It does its job for my needs. I rather have a built in nav system, I hate trying to look at my phone constantly. And like I said I needed all the tech stuff, maybe I should have said options instead of tech. Getting a "no option" BMW is silly IMO.

[akuan99]

Originally Posted by Demetrius Joel

I like the Nav system. It does its job for my needs. I rather have a built in nav system, I hate trying to look at my phone constantly. And like I said I needed all the tech stuff, maybe I should have said options instead of tech. Getting a "no option" BMW is silly IMO.

It is more silly getting options one does not need or use.

[Sportstick]

What one needs or uses or just wants is a personal preference decision, so calling each other's choices "silly" or any thing else negative is not helpful to anyone. May we please nicely stay on the car stuff?

[F22santiago]

Im getting a base 228i with the only option being the lighting package and a 6 speed manual. I know inwont have any regrets considering the deal i got. To me in a bmw the lights and manual transmission is a must.

[Demetrius Joel]

Originally Posted by akuan99

It is more silly getting options one does not need or use.

Obviously.

[Monoblock]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

dads Ford pickup has a much nicer interior than my 2 series.

Really? You think this is nicer? There's icky hard plastic all over the place. And talk about a jumbled confused mess of controls :/

[2msport]

Originally Posted by Monoblock

Really? You think this is nicer? There's icky hard plastic all over the place. And talk about a jumbled confused mess of controls :/

exactly. its not always about whats there, but also whats not there. the 2 interior is simple but elegant to my eye. the left side flows to the right. no broken lines and controls that seem out of place. its very easy on the eyes and I feel like I rarely see that in other cars

that ford interior looks like a transformer. not that theres anything wrong with transformers...

[nachob]

Originally Posted by perryair

i have a question that's more geared towards folks who have experience owning the more 'everyday' type of BMW's - 328's, 128's, etc.

I'll probably be in the market for a car later this year but have spent quite a bit of time planning what that purchase may be. the 228 is a beautiful car and when i test drove one spec'ed close to how i would with M sport and MT (this one had premium pack, which i would gladly save $4k and not get, which is just my preference), proved to be a really quick and nimble machine. i didn't like it on pure driving feel quite as much as i liked the subaru brz (which i'm also considering) but it seems to be a nice compromise for a sporty car that's usable enough in everyday life to be a daily for someone with a child and is deeeeep into his 30's.

my question is, and please bear with me, that it seems like there are quite a few bmw owners that are really roped in by the technology, and rightly so. parking assist, xenon lights, 5 cameras, haptic input on idrive systems.. the list and the options spec costs go on and on and all the tech really seems like a really cool thing to have.. for a driver that never plans on having to own a car long enough to say.. replace the motors on an adaptive headlight or pay out of warranty to replace a heads up display.. etc..

were i to buy a 228 it would be purely for the driver's car side of the equation - knowingly paying a 10k (or more?) premium for a car with fairly limited stock options in relation to what many japanese manufacturers offer in their cars just for the sake of having a solid feeling, buttoned up car with sporting intentions.

for any of you out there who have gone that route - owned a BMW merely for the driving enjoyment part of it.. do you find the purchase to be worth it in the end?

i enjoy nice brands as much as the next guy and i know that a little part of me will experience badge pride over the purchase of a bmw over say a subaru or a ford. but does the overall package when you remove all the advanced tech still feel worthwhile over owning something that provides a alternate sporting driving experience like a brz or a mustang? because this is probably going to be 'THE' big car purchase for this part of life and something that i intend on keeping around for a decade or more.

Dear Poster, there seems to be several common threads going these days. 1 is if you disagree with someone online, you are labeled a hater and discarded. The other common thread is most popular means better. This is one of the great fallacies of today. You hear it all the time....this is the most popular...people rarely say better, but they use more popular as some sort of double-strong version of better and more popular.

If you are looking at BRZ, then my guess is that you are like me looking for the purest, lightest experience driving. So my recommendation is be your own man or woman and get it as light, nimble and focused as possible.

I would get the M-Sport because you get additional aerodynamic effects, a great steering wheel, dead pedal and shift knob. Get the manual transmission for most enjoyment and rarity. Get the manual seats that are lighter and give you more headroom if you decide to put on a helmet. Don't get girly folding mirrors, be a man and let them hang out with pride knowing that you saved another lb in motorized componenents for something that is really unnecesary and when really needed, a 6 year old can push the mirrors in. Get the track package solely for the brakes. Normally, I would recommend the firm, fixed suspension over the electro-dynamic job which adds weight and is still somewhat soft but the brakes are so good that you will just have to live with a comfort button on your sports car. Don't get a sunroof that adds weight in wrong place and eventually ends up rattling 10 years later.
The only option worth a damn is the HID headlights. I see these as a safety enhancement whereas most just think they look cool.

Finally, as you said this was a big purchase, then for maximum enjoyment take the money you saved that would've ruined this great car and use it for European Delivery in the spring. Pick up your car at the factory and negotiate a deal of $1000 over Euro Delivery Invoice! Take all that money and pick it up in Munich. See the cradle of BMWs, have some big beers and drive it around, until you get your 1200 miles in. Drop it off at the dealer next to BMW Welt and get the oil changed, then head off toward Gindolfing on the Autobah and experience 150 mph legally on some of the most beautiful roads ever built with some great scenery. Drive to Switzerland and Austria and have a blast full of substance that will outlast anything ridiculous like folding mirrors. Your wife or girlfriend will also appreciate it more.

Just because everyone is hell-bent on creating rolling lazy boy arcades doesn't mean you should too. Be one of the the few and proud real car nuts that values the nimblest and most engaging driving over fluff. You will have a truly rare machine that will draw praise from the knowing. How many times I see a nice BMW only to approach it and see all the fluff and sluff but when I or many of my car nut friends see a guy with sunroof delete and a manual trans...we give him The Nod. And he knows it and we do too.

That's my two cents worth. Best wishes. If you have any questions about Euro Delivery, PM me, I would be happy to share my experience.

[hans007]

Originally Posted by Demetrius Joel

I like the Nav system. It does its job for my needs. I rather have a built in nav system, I hate trying to look at my phone constantly. And like I said I needed all the tech stuff, maybe I should have said options instead of tech. Getting a "no option" BMW is silly IMO.

well i do agree with you there that i'd rather be able to look at the screen for nav. if bmw did something like hondalink (in the new FIT) , where you link the screen to your phone with an app that gets update (and also is cheap) i think that would be for me much more ideal

[mvallido]

When I bought my E36 in 1992 I had the same mentality like you do. Did not do any mods until the warranty was up. I took timely upgrades to replace stock parts when it broke. For example, I change to angel eyes when a rock hit my headlights, looked for parts in the junk yard, changed the body kit when it was dirt cheap, changed the rims when it was bent, changed the suspension after a decade, upgrade the speakers when it blew, bought a garmin gps, etc. I ended keeping the car for 20 years (original paint) until my daugther was T-boned and totalled the car. The car saved her without a scratch. This is how the car looked like after 17 years. My advise is follow your heart and do not put too much money in the car. Consider it as a daily necessity and you should be just fine.

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by Monoblock

Really? You think this is nicer? There's icky hard plastic all over the place. And talk about a jumbled confused mess of controls :/

The 2 series is all plastic too! Hard...soft...plastic is plastic. The leather seats in the Ford are much nicer and do not look like vinyl from a 1976 Pinto. To each his own...I just think the 2 series interior looks cheap...but it drives beautifully.

[hans007]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

The 2 series is all plastic too! Hard...soft...plastic is plastic. The leather seats in the Ford are much nicer and do not look like vinyl from a 1976 Pinto. To each his own...I just think the 2 series interior looks cheap...but it drives beautifully.

the 2 series interior is barely any different than the 3 or 4 series.

honestly even a lower end 5 series (without leather dash, or the nicer trim, like on most 528s is pretty similar).

in the end, its plastic. the ford though aesthetically looks terrible. maybe its just the design language , but thats an awful lot of squares, and buttons in boring layouts.

[akuan99]

I optioned my 228i strictly as the ultimate driver's car.
The car has M-sport, track package, xenon and 6MT.
I only wanted M brakes from track package but it was not possible to order it as stand alone option in 2015.
This is first time I've ordered a car without premium package and I absolutely do not regret it.
I like sensatec and manual sport seats much better that my previous powered/leather sport seats.
6MT matches particular well with N20 engine and you really do not loose much performance and you will gain significant driving enjoyment with the lighter and more nimble configuration.