[Esteban15]

your dealer can add a few parts at the port..like Grille...Mirror Caps....even after the car is produced but before arrives at port...if one thinks these are inexpensive they can add up well over a thousand before you even start with the L.S.D...which maybe priced end of the month..but I think will be available at dealer in July...and with parts and labor probably over 2000 for LSA ...and if you leased your car..you cannot get that back on the residual I believe..if you install it after you purchased the vehicle..i e...signed documents..took possession and come back after and say I want more ..

[Esteban15]

tires...summer tires are standard unless you ask for RunFlat..who would want Runflat?

[BD SM3RF]

Originally Posted by joatmon1967

I contacted the Dallas Auto show directly, and was told it will be the 228i making an appearance. Still going up on Sunday to at lteast see it in person.

Yes sadly that is true. I was at the Dallas Auto Show last night and while I did get to see the M3/4 they only had a 228i so no M235i

[Juswokap]

This color makes it exceptionally sexy

[pimp4cheddar]

Originally Posted by SoCali E36

It was black sapphire. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's son bought the car this morning.

That's fucking awesome.

Glad to hear it was Black Sapphire!



Thanks dude.

[FunRevn]

I also posted these in the correct color posts. Enjoy

[hsk26]

Thanks for the review and pics FunRevn. I noticed that the front air inlets didn't have the horizontal silver/chrome line in them? Not sure if this is market based but the official press pics had the red M235i with the silver line in the air inlets. Just wondering if anyone noticed? The other photos you posted of the black and blue M235i also don't have them.

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by hsk26

Thanks for the review and pics FunRevn. I noticed that the front air inlets didn't have the horizontal silver/chrome line in them? Not sure if this is market based but the official press pics had the red M235i with the silver line in the air inlets. Just wondering if anyone noticed? The other photos you posted of the black and blue M235i also don't have them.

Good spot,all the BMW promo films and photos show them fitted.

They're fitted to this European model.

[FunRevn]

The USA cars don't get the slats for better or for worse.

[pimp4cheddar]

Originally Posted by FunRevn

I also posted these in the correct color posts. Enjoy

[FunRevn]

Thx. 😉

[lichenlt]

Originally Posted by FunRevn

The USA cars don't get the slates for better or for worse.

darn, I like it better with the slate.

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by lichenlt

darn, I like it better with the slate.

Would that be slats you are referring to? As in the front lower section of the bumper?

[lichenlt]

Originally Posted by tuco44

Would that be slats you are referring to? As in the front lower section of the bumper?

yeah, the silver line.

[BMW F22]

A local dealer received a 228i and an M 235i in stock today. I got a call from a CA that helped me out last time so I came in and test drove it. My impressions and pictures are below. I got a few short videos too but they're all upside down after transferring from my iPhone to my laptop. I don't know how to straighten them out. Anyhow, on to my short review (didn't want to start a new thread).

A little background: I am currently in the market for a car. I am coming from an E90 335i and wanted something a little different. I thought I was set on a 428i so I went and test drove one. I was impressed with the engine and the pick up it had. The car rode pretty well. Overall the experience was kind of mediocre for me: impressed by the engine but wasn't impressed by the car over all. I also thought the 4 was a bit too big (for me). I then started looking around and for kicks I poked my head into the 2 series forum. I was curious at first and was later intrigued by it. This was a car that I ignored completely. It wasn't even on my radar. However, the more I read about it and the more I see it, the more interest it got from me. With that, I have been calling some people I know to see when they would have a 2 series in stock. Well, today Stevens Creek BMW got them in.

My first impression of the car was a great one. It looked absolutely beautiful in person. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with a few 3 series loaners I drove. I found them to be a little too big (just like the 4) as well as having lost some of its characters (mainly driving dynamics). So naturally I wanted a vehicle that is fun to drive; hopefully one that would bring me back to the good old days. From the pictures I have seen online, the 2 started to grow on me. I had some reservations about it though. I was hoping that the proportion would be good. Oftentimes it's hard to tell from pictures because they could have distortion. Well, seeing the car in person put all of that to rest. I was taken aback by its beauty. Frankly, I have not been as excited about a car in a long time, until today. Everything about the car was good in my book. The wheels actually looked good in person. In pictures they seem a little bit smaller.

First thing when I got into the car was how much room it had. Surprisingly, the back seats had quite a bit of room. As you can see the pictures below, I had plenty of room when sitting in the back (a buddy and I swapped places so we can both test drive the car). I am 5'8 for reference. The one thing I noticed missing was the center arm rest for rear passengers. While the rear seats are 40-60 folding, they do not come with a center arm rest. That means there are not cup holders for the rear people. Headroom was ample. I noticed that the roof curves up by about an inch or so where the head is. That gives it a little bit more room than if it was even through out.

The front seats were very supportive and comfortable to sit in. The rear seats were nothing special to write home about. In fact, I would venture to say that during long trips, the rear passengers might feel a little bit of discomfort due to the rear seats not having as much cushion. It could just have been me as I have never had a coupe before. Anyhow, on to the drive.

Boy, does this car fly!! The exhaust note from the outside was pretty nice. Inside the car also growls a bit. The active noise didn't bother me. In other words, it sounded nice even though I knew it was funneled in through the speakers. Just step on the gas a little and the car just took off. Because there was some traffic on the inside roads, I kept reminding myself not to accidentally hit the gas too hard because it would scream trouble. When merging onto the freeway, I took it up to about 4500 RPM for a few seconds and we were already hitting 85 mph. I didn't even notice it was going that fast. The pick up was very quick and smooth! The handling was very nice, firm, and tight. The suspension was actually very nice. It wasn't so firm as to give you a backache and it wasn't too soft for a sports car either. I wish it had a bit more "road feel" (or a little bit more of that connected feel) but what was there was good enough.

Over all I was very impressed with the car. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I got home a few hours ago. I have a final to study for my last MBA course so I didn't get a chance to write a review until now. My buddy who drove it was also very impressed. He's probably going to go with a 228i though because the 235i has a lot more power than he needs/wants. Anyhow, the pictures are below. They are in no particular order. I mixed some 228i pictures in there as well.

[FunRevn]

Thanks for sharing. White looks good.

[Tåst]

Overall this 2-series looks very good.

But it looks like BMW not wan´t smaller, less expensive coupe look as good as bigger and more expensive 4-series. That rear, whit big tail-lights just want to say "i am just baby 4er"
It is possible that I change my mind when I see it real.

[Mark's M]

Just to add to those who've had the pleasure....took out an M235 auto today for about half an hour and my thoughts are very similar to Funrevn who's owned the same stable of cars that I have. The day was fairly sunny, roads were dry but the temperature was about -4.5 celcius. Having said that:

1) It's very, very quick but at these temperatures the Pilot Super Sports do not perform well at all. I repeatedly kicked in the "pulled back" DSC which configures itself in the Sport + mode. Wow, this car is gonna need some serious high performance winter rubber for days like this!! I turned off the DTC completely for a couple of minutes for some straight-line runs (0-60)which of course allowed the rear wheel (s) to spin much more freely and without the trauma of the DTC kicking up a fuss. A little more fun but defeats the purpose of getting to speed quicker. I can`t imagine what a Dinan tune, whenever they come out with it, will do to this car. It`s just that quick already!!

2) 8 Sp. Sport Auto is brilliant. Drove it in both manual and auto mode. Loved it!! Manual mode with the paddles may or may not be necessary for spirited driving as the thing downshifts itself (and nicely rev matched) when you`re heading into a corner and brake hard before so. The auto will keep you in whatever gear it had downshifted to until you`re done and straightened up to accelerate out. Nice. Very, very similar to an S4 that I drove at length a couple of months ago in terms of how the tranny operated. BMW`s is traditional and Audi`s S-Tronic is dual clutch. In terms of real world feel, you`d be hard pressed to tell the difference.

3) Steering feel was excellent and after having had electric steering in my BMW`s already, there`s nothing tragic here to report.

4) Fit and finish was excellent, typical BMW but a little spartan in the interior compared to what I`m used to. But it ain`t pretending to be a luxury car - far from it - so it`ll work. The car was BSM with red leather.

5) Sound - inside and out - excellent. MPerf exhaust will no doubt make it brilliant.

That`s it. Here`s a couple of pics taken on my BBRY but we`ve already seen a few BSM`s so not really necessary. The wheels look almost silver in the pics but they`re definitely a shade or two or three off (darker) from the silver mirror caps and I don`t like that the difference is very noticeable.

Biggest decision I`ll have to make is sticking with the RWD version and adding the MPerf LSD and exhaust or waiting a few months to order the x-Drive version at the risk of having a little less fun on my yearly track jaunts. The x-Drive version of this car shares the same lowered stance as the 2WD version so I`ve no worries that it`ll sit too high like M-Sport x-Drives, eg. the 3 and 4 series. Just don`t know what to do but this never ending winter is killing me for having to consider this option.

Cheers - Mark

[FunRevn]

Great review Mark and nice pictures. Decisions decisions

[SmallTownBoy]

Mark - thanks for the review and the close-up pic of the tire, which I like to think was intended especially for me, eh?

[Mark's M]

Originally Posted by SmallTownBoy

Mark - thanks for the review and the close-up pic of the tire, which I like to think was intended especially for me, eh?

Absolutely not brother!! It was meant for another Cdn near and dear to my heart lol. Need I say more?

[SmallTownBoy]

Originally Posted by Mark's M

Absolutely not brother!! It was meant for another Cdn near and dear to my heart lol. Need I say more?

Lol. No - a picture's worth a thousand words!