[PrematureApex]

Not sure if reposted or not...but Road and Track did not enjoy their 228i in their recent FRS/228i/Mustang comparo...

Some notable quotes:

With absolutely no feedback coming through its wheel, the 228i was a bear to manage at its limits...

Man, does this BMW seem lost in the woods...

What a letdown.

Indeed, the second coming of BMWs legendary 2002 feel more Buick than Bimmer.

Every time we stop, the 228i's driver begs to get into something else.

The whole car feels disjointed.

The 228i demonstrates little of the magic we expect from BMW's chassis-tuning crew.

It feels like someone just ordered grippy tires, slapped on big brakes, and called it a day.

[2msport]

Please post the article

[BarryJI]

I've read nothing but euphoric reviews so far; this one sounds very perverse.

Here's the antidote: http://jalopnik.com/the-bmw-228i-is-...buy-1662847106

[CreativeFuel]

Ummm.... ok.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by CreativeFuel

Ummm.... ok.

Umm...no one said anything about its acceleration being lacking. They're talking about the chassis.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by 2msport

Please post the article

Don't have access to a scanner right now...edit...someone does.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by BarryJI

I've read nothing but euphoric reviews so far; this one sounds very perverse.

Here's the antidote: http://jalopnik.com/the-bmw-228i-is-...buy-1662847106

At least on my test drive of the 2 series, it seemed to suffer from the same (easily correctable) problems as the 1er.

Their comments mainly centered around the pogo'ing and unsettleness of the chassis at the limits.

Can't help but agree. There's so much windup in all the soft bushings they had to put on the car to make the ride compliant enough for the runflats, that it's a real mess when driving at the limit. Soft, not progressive, always hopping/jumping around over imperfections etc.

I'm thinking the same remedies used on the 1er to make it drive like a proper BMW will apply to the 2 series. Ditch all the comically soft bushings and put decent shocks/struts on the car. Not much you can do about the steering...that's something we're going to have to live with in the days of electronic racks.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by BarryJI

I've read nothing but euphoric reviews so far; this one sounds very perverse.

Here's the antidote: http://jalopnik.com/the-bmw-228i-is-...buy-1662847106

The author of the above piece George just stuffed a 2016 Camaro into a wall at a ride and drive
http://jalopnik.com/i-was-the-first-...evr-1705084839

[BarryJI]

The car's chassis tuning and ride is of a whole different character with the Track Handling Package and superb Michelin Pilot summer tires (not run flats). Driven in Sport mode, it settles much lower on its shocks and handles beautifully, with firm, accurate feedback from both suspension and steering. This reviewer must have been given a 228i with run flats and no adaptive suspension, which is is not a performance-orientated version of this car.

The review at Edmonds.com acknowledges this specifically:

http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/2-series/...id=reviews-tab

Here is a quote from that review, which certainly confirms my impression of the car's chassis tuning with the THP:

Driven normally, the 2 Series could fool you into thinking it's a personal luxury car. But if you feel like attacking some corners, the 2 responds with excellent body control, precise steering and unflappable poise -- especially with the M235i's (or Track Handling package's) upgrades. Few cars at any price are this composed at both ends of the spectrum.

[overcoil]

I'm no racer, but Peugot supposedly does a great softer set up.
In my 235 on back roads I need the comfort suspension set up because SPORT mode will launch the car off the road due to too little dampening. So don't let an article be too influential.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by BarryJI

The car's chassis tuning and ride is of a whole different character with the Track Handling Package and superb Michelin Pilot summer tires (not run flats). Driven in Sport mode, it settles much lower on its shocks and handles beautifully, with firm, accurate feedback from both suspension and steering. This reviewer must have been given a 228i with run flats and no adaptive suspension, which is is not a performance-orientated version of this car.

The review at Edmonds.com acknowledges this specifically:

http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/2-series/...id=reviews-tab

Nope, pretty sure it had the handling package.

I drove one with it, it was a mess at the limit, just like my 1er.

Again, they commented that it felt like they just tossed sticky tires onto a chassis not able to handle them.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

I'm no racer, but Peugot supposedly does a great softer set up.
In my 235 on back roads I need the comfort suspension set up because SPORT mode will launch the car off the road due to too little dampening. So don't let an article be too influential.

Well, you said it...there's an issue with the dampening.

BMW used to be the king of being able to retain ride quality with soft spring rates via superb shock tuning. They're lost their way in this regard, and it's not a new thing either.

[cehlion]

I looked on R&T and could not find this review. I would be very interested to see how the 228i is spec'd. And it has been said before that both the 228i and the M235i lack the steering feel of the e46 cars. But like I'm sure a lot of folks here, I'd be interested to see if said 228i was base, msport/sportline, and/or track & handling pkg equipped.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by cehlion

I looked on R&T and could not find this review. I would be very interested to see how the 228i is spec'd. And it has been said before that both the 228i and the M235i lack the steering feel of the e46 cars. But like I'm sure a lot of folks here, I'd be interested to see if said 228i was base, msport/sportline, and/or track & handling pkg equipped.

Again, it had the track and handling package.

The online sites don't post the content of the latest issues right away.

[2msport]

So does this mean the same is true about the 235?

[cehlion]

Originally Posted by 2msport

So does this mean the same is true about the 235?

If it was in fact spec'd with track and handling then yes save the extra power and weight it would behave similar. But one negative review doesn't mean the previous 20 were all wrong. R&T did another write up about a year ago and they bagged on the steering then (10 things you need to know about the m235i).

They are the ONLY reviewer that I have come across that mentioned this and I have read 20+ reviews of the 2 series. Car and Driver removed the 3 series from the 10 best list for the first time in like forever (citing less driver involvement compared to previous years) but added the M235i to list citing it has what the 3 series lost.

[Pyewacket69]

Originally Posted by cehlion

If it was in fact spec'd with track and handling then yes save the extra power and weight it would behave similar. But one negative review doesn't mean the previous 20 were all wrong. R&T did another write up about a year ago and they bagged on the steering then (10 things you need to know about the m235i).

They are the ONLY reviewer that I have come across that mentioned this and I have read 20+ reviews of the 2 series. Car and Driver removed the 3 series from the 10 best list for the first time in like forever (citing less driver involvement compared to previous years) but added the M235i to list citing it has what the 3 series lost.

Oh, well...

Can't please everyone. It's a fool's errand to try...

[mfourn20]

Guessing it had the auto? I haven't seen a single review of the manual 228

[huveu]

Found this link:

http://dropcanvas.com/g8p4m0n67kc1Z2

Just started reading it...

Edit: It does have the Track Handling Package and it is a manual...

[BarryJI]

I wonder if it had the summer tires; I assume it did; the run-flats are not designed to please the sportier driver of this car.

It's an interesting read. I trust these guys to know how to drive a car on the edge of its traction envelope so I am sorry that the 228i with THP did not perform as they had hoped. In the small amount of reasonably aggressive cornering I've done in mine so far, I have found the car to be precise, predictable and I got no unpleasant surprises from the chassis/suspension but was was not driving -- nor am I likely to -- close to the edge. I do not think I would in a small coupe, actually; if one day I spring for a bucket-list 911, I'll do it in that.

I test drove the four-banger Mustang EcoBoost shortly before committing to the BMW and was very pleasantly surprised. The salesman allowed me to drive it very spiritedly once he saw I knew what I was doing and I found it really eager, revvy in a way a Mustang traditionally isn't, and genuinely quick. The car is, as they say, over-designed and a bit coarse but it is fun and the independent rear suspension gives it proper sports car manners. However, it feels heavy, like any Mustang, and I would no sooner get it going sideways through a turn than I would the BMW unless it was all decked out for the track.

The reason I think the review is a little unfair, even if it is technically accurate, is that where the BRZ is built to drive well under a lot of lateral G, neither the Mustang nor the 228i are designed to show well in this regime. Yes, there are sports coupes that do really well cornering at the limit but it's possible to fulfill -- in fact exceed -- almost every expectation of a performance sports coupe without cornering at speed by hanging out the rear end. My car just doesn't feel like it was built to get sideways and, yes, I would fully expect it to understeer if pushed too hard into a turn; I'd have to be pushing it really hard to loosen up the back end and I'm not sure I'd like how that feels. As I said, for me the ability to steer a car with my feet would be a requirement in a Lotus or a Porsche (or even the BRZ), not the BMW.

I hear what you guys all say about this being an endemic problem for BMW that applied to the 1-Series, too, and am disappointed that the car does not quite come up to scratch in this area (if it's true) but I still find it to be a fiercely quick and honest little car (with the THP) when driven hard in corners. I am a pretty competent and experienced driver of performance cars but taking my 228i to the edge of traction is probably beyond my talents, at least on regular roads, so these criticisms, while very strongly expressed, seem a bit esoteric to me.

Now we'll just have to see if they say the same thing about the M2.

[dah]

I was considering a '16 with track package, but this was a surprise. My local dealers never have a 228i track package to test drive, never mind a manual. Is the author right - BMW has overcomplicated the suspension? Anyone choose the msport suspension after driving both?

[BarryJI]

I have the M Sport suspension with the THP. Rather than go for a M235i I decided to get the most performance-equipped 228i that I could find. I like the way that the car hunkers down on its shocks in Sport and Sport + mode; you immediately feel a more immediate connection with the tires (those Michelins summers are significant) and the chassis/suspension. It enables you to take instant and aggressive advantage of the shortened gearing of the 8AT and the more sensitive throttle response. Yes, the car is over-engineered, like all BMWs but I find the adaptive suspension to be very well harmonized with the car's torquey personality and eagerness to move.