[norberts]

Hi, in my second post I wanted to share my experience looking for a car in the last month.

Some background, I currently own a 2011 X3 (mostly for my wife) and I drive a leased 2013 Boxster base manual. Since now I need the option to drive my wife and 6 months old daughter around and my 2 years lease on the Boxster is about to end, I opted for a car that can seat 4 people. My other requirement was for the car to feel at least as powerful as the Boxster, possibly better low rev torque (the base Boxster's biggest problem). I leaned towards a manual but I wasn't set on it.

I test drove the following cars in this order:

VW Golf GTI manual (because I couldn't find the R to test drive drive): I loved the interior and the power delivery even though it was not as powerful. Good ride and handling. Didn't feel connected to the road as much as I imagined. Very soft manual gear (made me realize that after the Boxster, everything will feel soft). Three problems with the Golf R - only automatic, bad navigation (important for my wife) and no sunroof.

For Fiesta ST - this was the car that made me feel the most connected to the road. I loved it. Not as powerful but it does very well how to make you smile with the power it has. Cons: cheap plasticky interior, pretty small.

Audi S3 - I liked everything about this car except the it felt a little sterile to drive. Four doors, good looking in and out, customizable driving mode options. I figured the manual version would feel better but no such option. Another problem it has is that it's around the same price as the M235i.

BMW M235i (conv, auto) - the dealer only had the convertible so I took it to a spin. The biggest surprise I had is how much I liked the automatic (and I didn't even like the Porsche's PDK compared to the manual). Great power delivery at all revs, handling, ride and my wife was surprisingly comfortable in the back seat (she sat in a coupe 228i). I didn't like how light was the wheel in comfort mode and it's not individually customizable like in the S3. At this point I was strongly considering the auto.

BMW M235i (coupe, manual) - the sale guy at the dealer was awesome and let me drive his manual M235i. As someone who was looking for a manual primarily, I really needed to feel it especially since I never drove a manual BMW before. I was not impressed. Again, I might have high standard coming from the Boxster but I didn't make me feel as connected to the car and road. It wasn't bad, just not good enough for me.

Two days later I put an ED order for a M235i Auto, White exterior, Terra interior, loaded for almost all options except Advanced Drive Assist.

[configt]

Love hearing these. I also tested the S3 prior to picking the M235i. I felt the S3 was a pretty dull ride. Yes it was nice looking but it was pretty boring to drive.

[SmoWilly]

Thanks..finally someone who isn't admonishing others for picking the transmission of their choice.

For me, the auto outperforms and gets better gas mileage than the manual..but in the end, it was my 45 mile roundtrip commute in bumper to bumper traffic that made the decision easy.

[Dr Fatpuss]

I went with the auto....this is my first auto. My only rant with the auto is you get a lot of nanny aids with it by default. if you put the hand brake up and let go of the brake pedal the car goes into park. If the door is not fully closed and you put in drive and try to go it puts it back in park. these are little issues i would never even notice in a manual but its a small problem and i am sure you can code these nanny aids off somehow. The fact that the auto bangs thru the gears perfectly to 60 or 100mph exactly the same way ever time is a huge plus. Also in comfort mode i doubt if i was shifting i could be disciplined enough to shift at 1 1/2 rpm. the auto for that reason alone is worth it. you are getting more bang for you buck in the auto my only concern is how long it will last vs just replacing a clutch in a manual. but so far so good the auto box has grown on me and i cant say i made a bad choice. you will love it its so smooth off the line banging thru the gears perfectly everytime.

[configt]

Originally Posted by Dr Fatpuss

I went with the auto....this is my first auto. My only rant with the auto is you get a lot of nanny aids with it by default. if you put the hand brake up and let go of the brake pedal the car goes into park. If the door is not fully closed and you put in drive and try to go it puts it back in park. these are little issues i would never even notice in a manual but its a small problem and i am sure you can code these nanny aids off somehow. The fact that the auto bangs thru the gears perfectly to 60 or 100mph exactly the same way ever time is a huge plus. Also in comfort mode i doubt if i was shifting i could be disciplined enough to shift at 1 1/2 rpm. the auto for that reason alone is worth it. you are getting more bang for you buck in the auto my only concern is how long it will last vs just replacing a clutch in a manual. but so far so good the auto box has grown on me and i cant say i made a bad choice. you will love it its so smooth off the line banging thru the gears perfectly everytime.

Yep, I get a special feeling whenever you shift hard and you feel that jolt and burble from the exhaust. Love the auto in this thing!

[Dr Fatpuss]

Originally Posted by configt

Yep, I get a special feeling whenever you shift hard and you feel that jolt and burble from the exhaust. Love the auto in this thing!

yeah i forgot to mention that thumping burble noise you get in sport mode on upshifts. i grin so big every time i hear that!! i dunno if you get that thump noise in the manual maybe just the exhaust burble. the auto has a lot of ups to it now that i think about it.

[norberts]

Choosing the auto was not an easy decision. I still love manual shifts. With this specific car I preferred the auto. If I bought a Porsche now, I'd probably take the manual again.

[midwest 340xi 6sp]

Its the best auto I've had and much preferable by me to dual clutch...But I aint going to say auto is better than manual. Thats a very personal choice and preference..

Be glad there are choices - for now

[midwest 340xi 6sp]

Originally Posted by norberts

Hi, in my second post I wanted to share my experience looking for a car in the last month.

Some background, I currently own a 2011 X3 (mostly for my wife) and I drive a leased 2013 Boxster base manual. Since now I need the option to drive my wife and 6 months old daughter around and my 2 years lease on the Boxster is about to end, I opted for a car that can seat 4 people. My other requirement was for the car to feel at least as powerful as the Boxster, possibly better low rev torque (the base Boxster's biggest problem). I leaned towards a manual but I wasn't set on it.

I test drove the following cars in this order:

VW Golf GTI manual (because I couldn't find the R to test drive drive): I loved the interior and the power delivery even though it was not as powerful. Good ride and handling. Didn't feel connected to the road as much as I imagined. Very soft manual gear (made me realize that after the Boxster, everything will feel soft). Three problems with the Golf R - only automatic, bad navigation (important for my wife) and no sunroof.

For Fiesta ST - this was the car that made me feel the most connected to the road. I loved it. Not as powerful but it does very well how to make you smile with the power it has. Cons: cheap plasticky interior, pretty small.

Audi S3 - I liked everything about this car except the it felt a little sterile to drive. Four doors, good looking in and out, customizable driving mode options. I figured the manual version would feel better but no such option. Another problem it has is that it's around the same price as the M235i.

BMW M235i (conv, auto) - the dealer only had the convertible so I took it to a spin. The biggest surprise I had is how much I liked the automatic (and I didn't even like the Porsche's PDK compared to the manual). Great power delivery at all revs, handling, ride and my wife was surprisingly comfortable in the back seat (she sat in a coupe 228i). I didn't like how light was the wheel in comfort mode and it's not individually customizable like in the S3. At this point I was strongly considering the auto.

BMW M235i (coupe, manual) - the sale guy at the dealer was awesome and let me drive his manual M235i. As someone who was looking for a manual primarily, I really needed to feel it especially since I never drove a manual BMW before. I was not impressed. Again, I might have high standard coming from the Boxster but I didn't make me feel as connected to the car and road. It wasn't bad, just not good enough for me.

Two days later I put an ED order for a M235i Auto, White exterior, Terra interior, loaded for almost all options except Advanced Drive Assist.

No CLA considered??

[norberts]

Originally Posted by Midwest M235i

No CLA considered??

I considered test driving it but at its price point I knew I won't want it over the BMW.

[den525]

No need to test drive the cla... M235i is the superior car

[BMW335iOn18s]

You didn't like the manual on the M235i? I found it very similar to the 2014 Cayman....what didn't you like about it? But yes, VW MTs are soft, inaccurate trash.

[rosenbergendo]

I have a GT3 and I love the 8AT. It fits this car perfect and isn't bad at track also.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Midwest M235i

No CLA considered??

Once he drove the GTI, he was already superior to the CLA!

[Glassjaw047]

I came from an 11' Inifiniti G37xS Coupe w/ that 7 speed auto and going into this car w/ the 8 spd sport auto tranny.....I said to myself "How on earth did I ever think that the G Coupe was great?!"

You will have no regrets what so ever! As all reviews say, best bang for your buck for sports car that is super quick, handles great w/ the perk of good gas mileage.

[norberts]

Originally Posted by BMW335iOn18s

You didn't like the manual on the M235i? I found it very similar to the 2014 Cayman....what didn't you like about it? But yes, VW MTs are soft, inaccurate trash.

With my Boxster I feel that shifting the manual is part of me operating and feeling the car. Clutch is hard and I almost feel every pin moving when I change gears. In traffic it can be tiring but thankfully my commute these days is short.

In the M235i, it felt like an extra thing I have to do that sometimes I enjoyed and sometimes didn't. Also the position of the gearshift when I put my elbow on the armrest was not ideal. It was a lil bit too close to the armrest (again compared to what I'm used to in the Porsche).

I can't judge anybody who gets the manual, on the contrary I'm a 'manual' guy too and I wish they keep selling them forever, but in this case the auto won me over

(Btw in my past I had the wonderful MX-5 manual which was perfection and the 09' 335i Coupe Auto in which I had no desire at all to use the paddle shifters, it was just a very average 'manual' auto)

[BMW335iOn18s]

Originally Posted by norberts

With my Boxster I feel that shifting the manual is part of me operating and feeling the car. Clutch is hard and I almost feel every pin moving when I change gears. In traffic it can be tiring but thankfully my commute these days is short.

In the M235i, it felt like an extra thing I have to do that sometimes I enjoyed and sometimes didn't. Also the position of the gearshift when I put my elbow on the armrest was not ideal. It was a lil bit too close to the armrest (again compared to what I'm used to in the Porsche).

I can't judge anybody who gets the manual, on the contrary I'm a 'manual' guy too and I wish they keep selling them forever, but in this case the auto won me over

(Btw in my past I had the wonderful MX-5 manual which was perfection and the 09' 335i Coupe Auto in which I had no desire at all to use the paddle shifters, it was just a very average 'manual' auto)

Ah I see. The cayman was simply perfect, and I 'd give the M235i a 9/10. Just as a frame of reference I owned a 5 speed E36 328i a years back which I thought was excellent and more recently a 2012 VW GLI 6 speed which had a really nasty manual.

I firmly believe that if we could do a CDV delete on the M235i, it would be as perfect as the Porsche...we need someone to come up with a fix for the slight delay/vagueness!

[norberts]

I have to say, BMW are fast!
I put the order a little over two weeks ago for ED, car is already in production, I signed the contract today, picking it up 4/28.

Ahh Germany, I missed the food and the beer!
Now the wait..........

[pocoyo_3]

4/28? Picking up my M235i in Munich I the same day

[norberts]

Ah cool!
And I see you have Alpine White. Mine is MW, would be interesting to see them side by side
When is your delivery time?