2014 BMW 328i 1500 Mile Review

Finally Named the New BMW 328i.

Elle as in Elle Driver from Kill Bill.
 

The 2011 xDrive was Alex Forrest - a tempting, slightly wild seductress. Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct) and Matilda Ratched (One Flew Over the Cockoo's Nest) were high on the list. 

We'll get to the reason for our selection a bit later. 

Click for larger image.

Previous Posts: 

• The First 100 Miles
• The First 500 Miles 
• Tech: BMW 328i - and MS Outlook Contacts (Part 1)
• Tech: BMW 328i - Outlook Contacts (Part 2) 
• 2011 BMW 328i XDrive Farewell 

2014 BMW 328i 1500 Mile Review

The Good

The fuel economy is phenomenal - up from Alex's 30 months average of 20.6 to nearly 26 mpg. On Friday we did a loop from Round Rock to Anderson (College Station) and back -- over 30 mpg. Acceleration is solid, turns are a bit soft, but well controlled, and braking is excellent. She pulls with gusto from the line, and a hard press on the accelerator will always deliver a bit more. I was worried about all of the shifting (horrific in Eco mode, tolerable in Comfort mode), but in Sport mode, Elle was in the right gear most of the time.     

The Bad

The only way to have fun is to drive in Sport mode or Manual, and to drive well over the speed limit. Not that I haven't tried, but Elle performs under normal conditions without complaint. It's almost tragic - her good manners (cool professionalism) belie her skill. 

The Ugly

The double-tap to turn off the accessories does not work well. ECO-mode makes politicians happy, but I can't imaging anyone else liking this feature.  The Auto-Stop Start (or AS/S) is rough on the restart. 

The Bottom Line

The 2014 BMW 328i is Elle, cold, efficient, professional. She is not the super hot, sultry Catherine, or the super-controlling Nurse Ratched. Deep down inside you know she is trouble. 

“It's the first villain [Elle Driver] that I've played in a movie that has absolutely no vulnerability and no innocence, nothing whatsoever that is like-able about her, other than she's so bad. All the other Deadly Vipers have some empathetic quality: O-Ren Ishii has this horrible past, [Vernita Green] just wants to be a mom, the Bride has been abused, but my character is just bad all the way through, there's nothing to like about her, and you're going to hate her so much.”
–Daryl Hannah (on Elle Driver) from the Kill Bill Wiki. 

The first road trip: Hwy 79, 6, 30, 21, 77, 112 - none of them posed the slightest challenge. Next weekend, a run to Stephenville (183, 281, maybe back on 36).

I just know that one day I'm going to do something, and Elle is going to pluck out my eye.

[Update 11/11]: We took an unexpected run to Cabela's - from Round Rock to Buda via Toll 130. The toll road has a speed limit of 80, so I anticipated some exciting driving. Well, not so much. I would actually slow down behind a truck, down to 65-70 MPH, then pass them. But, it was decidedly effortless (sigh). Elle was loafing along, just over 2000 RPM. I finally turned on the cruise control - which is a HUGE improvement over the '11 version. 

~Tot1

2014 BMW 328i First 500 Miles

2014 BMW 328i First 500 Miles

The Good

My previous BMW 328ix (Alex) averaged just under 21 MPG over 27,000 miles. Not bad for an xDrive used for a boring commute from Woodinville, WA to Redmond, WA. Alex didn't get a lot of freeway miles, so performance was pretty solid. 

The new 2014 BMW 328 has averaged out at 24.5 MPG. I have been hot-rodding a bit, and Texas roads speeds are much higher (even in town). Gas prices in Round Rock (Austin, TX) have been under $3.00 for awhile and this morning they dropped below $2.70/gal for regular. The 17% increase in fuel economy is pretty nice.

Review: The First 100 Miles
Review: 2011 328i xDrive aka Alex

Driving in Sport Mode is amazing.  

We took a short freeway run on IH-35 and the ride was scary. Scary, in that the BMW felt like it was doing 45... when we were (a bit) north of 70 MPH.

One of Alex's attributes was that she was not much fun to drive at 25 MPG, especially in parking lots and in crowded neighborhoods. At freeway speeds she was great, and at Texas Toll Road speeds (85 MPH) she was a joy to drive. Once the new plates arrive we're going to drive to San Antonio, and see if the new car can fly.

The Bad

ECO-Mode is still icky, although it is growing on me. Now that morning and evening temperatures have fallen, the reduced air-conditioning in ECO-Mode is more tolerable. Acceleration is non-existent, gear shifts are frequent, and the ride is econo-car. But, picking up the kids at school and driving through the neighborhood doesn't require more than a Corolla, and ECO-Mode effectively renders the 328i into a Corolla.

The Ugly AS/S

Texas uses flashing yellow lights to allow left turns. Roll out, pick your spot, accelerate, and you're on your way. The Auto-Start/Stop (AS/S) complicates this process alot. In addition to the calculation of on-coming car speed, and my ability to move through the turn, I now have to factor in AS/S. I've already worked on strategies to defeat it (shift to Sport mode, never come to a complete stop, lift the foot slightly off the brake). AS/S is very aggressive in ECO-Mode, so the calculation of Corolla like acceleration needs to be added to the momentary AS/S restart.

The Bottom Line

I denied the idea that  the new Turbo-4 couldn't compete with the inline-6.  I was angry that BMW would tinker with the engines, suspension, and drive characteristics that made Alex such a great ride. I struggled with keeping Alex... for days, trying to find a way to justify the purchase of an all-wheel drive 20MPG sedan in Texas.  

[Wikipedia Article]: Kübler-Ross model, or the five stages of grief, is a series of emotional stages experienced when faced with impending death or death of someone. The five stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

I'm finally coming out of depression, and into a reluctant acceptance that the new BMW (still unnamed) is a very different car, and is a good car.

Not a great car, yet... but you never forget your first.

Tot1

P.S. Elle Driver, from Kill Bill is currently at the top of the list, although the lobotomizing Matilda Ratched, RN is still in the hunt (Maybe Elle in Sport mode and Matilda in Eco-Mode)?

2014 BMW 328i First 100 Miles

The First 100 Miles

Alex, my 2011 328i xDrive, the last of the straight-six models, went off lease last week (farewell review). I replaced her with a brand new 2014 328i, which is a very different driving experience. I drove Alex about 27750 miles which equates to ~1500 hours of time in motion. Most of the driving was in Woodinville and Redmond, WA at 30-45 miles per hour with very limited freeway time. 

I moved from WA to Round Rock, TX (just north of Austin) and found much better driving opportunities. Surface streets often run up to 60 MPH and the Toll Roads top out at 85. Alex didn't get many miles in TX, but they sure were fun. 

Now that I have had time to fiddle with the seat adjustments and the different driving modes, here are my first impressions of my new 2014 BMW 328i, RWD.  

I'm not convinced this one is "The Ultimate Driving Machine". 

The Good

Wow, the engine is responsive and actually pulls really well. Many reviews point to Turbo-lag, but pushing Alex from 1500 RPM to 4000 RPM also took some time. The steering is light and easy, and does firm up based on the driving mode. In Sport or Sport manual mode this is a great ride.

I had a loaner 328i (fully loaded) for a couple days in August. The run-flat tires and suspension setup were harsh, jarring, pugilistic. This new car doesn't seem to have the same setup. The ride is smooth, bumps are minimized, and the road is still very tangible. 95% of my 27750 miles were casual commute miles, not high-speed, racetrack oriented. 

I did not get any bling on this car. None. No lines, no exterior colors, no interior package, no Dynamic Handling, Cold Weather, Driver Assistance, Technology, or Premium package, no options or accessories. The only item listed on the window sticker was the 8-speed Steptronic. So, my car was a steal, a rock bottom priced BMW leading to a great lease. 

The Bad

8-Speeds means plenty of gear changes. In Comfort mode 4-5 gear changes take place driving in the neighborhood at speeds around 30 MPH. A good deal of work is going on between the engine, the computer, and and the transmission to get good mileage. Sport mode fixes this, but it seems like the jumps from Eco to Comfort to Sport are a bit wide. 

In Eco Mode I kept checking the floor to see if it was going to open so I could give her a push by going full retro Fred Flintstone. Sorry, I know the government is involved, and MPG figures must be met, but I suspect that ECO mode will be lightly used by all BMW drivers. Those frequent gear changes in Comfort evolve from noticeable to annoying in ECO where 2000 RPM is the shift point. I'll need a lot of convincing to see ECO as a feature. 

The Auto-Start/Stop (can I call it the ASS Function?) is also a bit of a work-in-progress. After measuring 20 something variables, including the price of tea in China, the AS/S function will decide whether to turn the engine off when you reach a full (and complete) stop. Don't try to out-guess the system, it knows what's best for you. 

Managing the interior temp to save gas, presents a bit of a problem. Sitting in the Texas sun (even in October) for a couple minutes will raise the interior temp just enough to re-start the engine. Defogging the windows (front or back) is also a hurdle for the AS/S. Essentially, the car is saying "I'm going to save a sip of gas and make you hot... deal with it". In Woodinville, WA., not an issue... in Round Rock, TX., fail. 

Yes, yes, yes, you can push a button to kill the feature, and heck, I have already learned how much relief to give the brake to get to a restart, but like the ECO mode, I'm not convinced that this is really useful. 

You know those Yellow-light must yield left-hand turn lanes? Confidence takes a hit when you are searching for a hole to jump through, and the AS/S decides to cut-off the engine. 

"Look Ma, I'm sitting in the middle of an intersection with my engine cut-off!" 

This is a pretty direct user experience, and a pretty poor experience. 

The Ugly 

The "Park" mode is a bit odd. The engine goes into "Ready" status, just like in AS/S. And the iDrive and accessory plugs remain active. Had the weird experience of having the car restart while sitting in the parking lot at CVS. My foot was on the brake, so the behavior was not "wrong" it was just unexpected. My Garmin is plugged into the 12-volt power receptacle and doesn't seem to turn off at all. In Alex, you turn the car off and the accessories go off as well. 

The iDrive Multimedia functionality is also a bit off. I plugged in my USB drive with 617 songs, scrolled through the menu options to set to Random... and off I went. The next time the car started it started at song #1/617. Pushing the right arrow on the stereo would send it to a new random song. Park (for some unknown period of time) and it's back to song #1 again. Alex would keep remember the track, even if the USB drive was removed and later replaced. 

The delivery specialist told me that the first time I linked my phone to the 328i, it would download my address book. My phone is both work and personal, with 707 contact cards (I checked in Outlook). I am actually scared to sync the Bluetooth for fear of the mess. I just need eight (8) entries, one for each storage location on the dash, but there is just no simple way to get there. 

The Bottom Line

The new 328i is much more enjoyable for my standard driving experience, smoother, quicker, better mileage (Alex reported 20.5 MPG combined after 30 months of driving). Purists, those that think fast is the only answer, will probably not be happy. People that want options will have to juggle the various packages, lines, and accessories to find a suitable combination -- at an eye-popping price. Driving modes, AS/S, and other minor annoyances will probably get worked out over time. 

My lease expires in 36 months... which gives BMW time to figure it out. 



~Tot1