[F1HAMMY]

Okay, 6 days and 400 miles in to my new 230, here are my thoughts.

1. Coming from Ford Focus ST and a E90 W/manual trans before that, the ST was a complete apex hunter, almost frenetic in how much it wanted to turn in. The steering doesn't feel anywhere near as quick as the ST, even in Sport Plus.

2. The ride is much more "Luxurious?" I guess that's the best word to describe, even in Sport Plus mode. Keep in mind that I never felt the ride of the ST to be too harsh so take that with a grain of salt.

3. Loving the natural feel and balance of rear wheel drive and a better balanced chassis [which is the reason why I bought it]. Although I greatly miss the Recaro's in the ST the seating position and adjustment simply blows the ST out of the water.

4. Power is in line with reported metrics. It feels quicker but not more powerful than the ST due to the natural advantage of rear wheel drive. My Butt-O-Meter says 0-60 in just under 6 seconds but my ass has not been balanced and rotated lately so take that as you will. [Nor will my ass be balanced and rotated anytime soon, merely an attempt at humour.]

5. I can't stop turning around and looking at it when I park and walk away. Really enamoured with the looks, fully realising that looks are subjective.

6. HK Audio is pretty good but feels a little dead in the middle. Not sure if I'm up for the fixes that are talked about here. In short, it's more than liveable.

7. There is too much body roll even in Sport Plus mode. If I do mod I think the Dinan Bump Stop kit would be my first one.

Hope this is helpful to someone.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thank you for the review, you should post couple pics of your car as well

[Uptempo80]

I think the HK sound system is fantastic...just saying.

[B_Rice]

Yeah, I chose to forgo the HK after hearing it in person. The one in the 3 series is pretty legit though.

[Uptempo80]

I guess I'm not a big audio guy..but it does just fine for me. I think it's fantastic.

My old 2011 128i vert had HK with logic 7 and I loved it....then I had a F30 3er with non-premium sound. The non-premium sound sucked.

HK in my new 2 series convertible. Must have option for any 2 series convertible.

[F1HAMMY]

Here's Chalupa Batman

[F1HAMMY]

With Tint

[F1HAMMY]

With Tint

[jet987]

I have 1600 miles on my mineral white 2017 230i from my 14-day European delivery trip. Manual trans with M-Sport, cold weather pkg, driver assist pkg, and moonroof. Did yours also have fog lights?

[boypaulkim]

Originally Posted by jet987

I have 1600 miles on my mineral white 2017 230i from my 14-day European delivery trip. Manual trans with M-Sport, cold weather pkg, driver assist pkg, and moonroof. Did yours also have fog lights?

i think MY2017 230i with m-sport gets the fog light regardless of any other option. mine did.

[F1HAMMY]

No because I have the THP

[Dylan86]

Nice car, OP

Nice comparo too, and I think you're going to fall further in love with the car as time goes on. I came from a strong FWD background, and as good as these newer cars are getting, the RWD cars are getting better themselves, too lol.

Any plans for mods ?

[2msport]

For the body roll, if you have the adaptive suspension, skip the bump stops and go straight to Dinan Shockware. I have it on my 228 and it made a huge difference. Squashed body roll and a ton of unnecessary rebound. I promise it will make a much bigger difference than the stops. Cheers

Originally Posted by F1HAMMY

Okay, 6 days and 400 miles in to my new 230, here are my thoughts.

1. Coming from Ford Focus ST and a E90 W/manual trans before that, the ST was a complete apex hunter, almost frenetic in how much it wanted to turn in. The steering doesn't feel anywhere near as quick as the ST, even in Sport Plus.

2. The ride is much more "Luxurious?" I guess that's the best word to describe, even in Sport Plus mode. Keep in mind that I never felt the ride of the ST to be too harsh so take that with a grain of salt.

3. Loving the natural feel and balance of rear wheel drive and a better balanced chassis [which is the reason why I bought it]. Although I greatly miss the Recaro's in the ST the seating position and adjustment simply blows the ST out of the water.

4. Power is in line with reported metrics. It feels quicker but not more powerful than the ST due to the natural advantage of rear wheel drive. My Butt-O-Meter says 0-60 in just under 6 seconds but my ass has not been balanced and rotated lately so take that as you will. [Nor will my ass be balanced and rotated anytime soon, merely an attempt at humour.]

5. I can't stop turning around and looking at it when I park and walk away. Really enamoured with the looks, fully realising that looks are subjective.

6. HK Audio is pretty good but feels a little dead in the middle. Not sure if I'm up for the fixes that are talked about here. In short, it's more than liveable.

7. There is too much body roll even in Sport Plus mode. If I do mod I think the Dinan Bump Stop kit would be my first one.

Hope this is helpful to someone.

[F1HAMMY]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

Nice car, OP

Nice comparo too, and I think you're going to fall further in love with the car as time goes on. I came from a strong FWD background, and as good as these newer cars are getting, the RWD cars are getting better themselves, too lol.

Any plans for mods ?

Thanks, Still considering options with regards to mods

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by Uptempo80

I think the HK sound system is fantastic...just saying.

I agree, don't need boom box audio and I love my 228ix estoril/oyster vert.

[rams]

How does the engine sound? The N20 sounded like a diesel.

[F1HAMMY]

Motor is not what I would call sweet but i really barely notice it

[xantdieselx]

Originally Posted by rams

How does the engine sound? The N20 sounded like a diesel.

+1 would like to know this as well. It would be nice to hear some comparisons between the new engine and the N20/N26. NVH, power etc.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by 2msport

For the body roll, if you have the adaptive suspension, skip the bump stops and go straight to Dinan Shockware. I have it on my 228 and it made a huge difference. Squashed body roll and a ton of unnecessary rebound. I promise it will make a much bigger difference than the stops. Cheers

This. All bump stops will do is shorten suspension travel -- particularly since the OEM springs are progressives (and with a relatively low-rate initial bite to make the ride compliant), body roll will not be reduced.

For the adaptive suspension, Shockware is by far the best cost-effective suspension mod (second: M3/4 LCAs). Just do it.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

This. All bump stops will do is shorten suspension travel -- particularly since the OEM springs are progressives (and with a relatively low-rate initial bite to make the ride compliant), body roll will not be reduced.

For the adaptive suspension, Shockware is by far the best cost-effective suspension mod (second: M3/4 LCAs). Just do it.

I've done the LCAs and agree it's a great mod. I just read on the Dinan site about Shockware and tried to submit a question, but their site Catcha security is so effective, it won't accept a submission, so perhaps I can ask here? Dinan says Shockware affects Normal and Sport settings. But, we have Ecopro, Comfort, Sport, and Sport+...nothing called "Normal". Can you describe what Shockware does to each of our four settings? Thanks!

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

This. All bump stops will do is shorten suspension travel -- particularly since the OEM springs are progressives (and with a relatively low-rate initial bite to make the ride compliant), body roll will not be reduced.

For the adaptive suspension, Shockware is by far the best cost-effective suspension mod (second: M3/4 LCAs). Just do it.

I can't, but BarryJI can. See this thread and this thread.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

I can't, but BarryJI can. See this thread and this thread.

Thanks....I can't do anything which stiffens up the Comfort setting (see: "wife"), so this is out for me, thanks anyway!