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josephvman · 07-25-2013, 04:32 PM

I feel a slight loss of power with the a/c on, but it's hardly noticeable. My biggest issue with the a/c is that it's freaking noisy as hell, and you can't get any of the vents to actually blow air directly at you in the driver's seat. I was driving a '13 328i loaner earlier this week while they replaced my charge pipe, and it was a little noisy on max air, but nothing like the 1M. It's the one thing about this car that makes me crazy, since you need the a/c running full-stop for half the year in Houston. The other annoyance is the location of the light for the rain-sensing wipers, which is all but impossible to see on the end of the wiper stalk; totally ridiculous location for it. Why not a dash light?

Back to the 328i loaner. The a/c was fantastic! Engine was very surprising too, huge snap of torque off the bottom and while it was no 1M I never felt that it was hugely underpowered. Pretty incredible fuel economy too, a good 10mpg better than I get on the 1M, and I was driving it like I stole it. Unfortunately it really doesn't sound sporty, or sound like much of anything. Once you get the revs up it starts to make some noise, but none of it is pleasant. The rest of the car is a disaster though. The 8 speed gearbox lurches and jerks terribly if you get on the power aggressively from a stop, and then back off, and the manual shifts are lazy. The steering is incredibly light and lifeless, and the brakes have zero initial bite, and I found myself having to get on them hard in situations that wouldn't never appear to need it. It has loads of body roll and dive under braking; not at all what I would expect from a BMW and not even close to the feel of an E36 or E46 sedan. The interior is a trainwreck in my opinion, with flat, overly-soft seats with no lateral support, and poor integration of the radio/nav display in the dash.

With the exception of the engine power and economy (but not the sound) and great a/c, the 328i was very disappointing. I haven't driven an Audi lately, but frankly if BMW's don't drive like BMW's anymore, and this one certainly doesn't, then I'd probably rather have an Audi in the garage. They're killing BMW in the styling (especially interior) dept. and from what I've seen the build quality and fit and finish are better.

07-25-2013, 04:32 PM	#34
josephvman Private First Class 25 Rep 154 Posts Drives: 2011 1M Valencia Orange Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: TX iTrader: (0)	A/C, my 328i loaner car impressions I feel a slight loss of power with the a/c on, but it's hardly noticeable. My biggest issue with the a/c is that it's freaking noisy as hell, and you can't get any of the vents to actually blow air directly at you in the driver's seat. I was driving a '13 328i loaner earlier this week while they replaced my charge pipe, and it was a little noisy on max air, but nothing like the 1M. It's the one thing about this car that makes me crazy, since you need the a/c running full-stop for half the year in Houston. The other annoyance is the location of the light for the rain-sensing wipers, which is all but impossible to see on the end of the wiper stalk; totally ridiculous location for it. Why not a dash light? Back to the 328i loaner. The a/c was fantastic! Engine was very surprising too, huge snap of torque off the bottom and while it was no 1M I never felt that it was hugely underpowered. Pretty incredible fuel economy too, a good 10mpg better than I get on the 1M, and I was driving it like I stole it. Unfortunately it really doesn't sound sporty, or sound like much of anything. Once you get the revs up it starts to make some noise, but none of it is pleasant. The rest of the car is a disaster though. The 8 speed gearbox lurches and jerks terribly if you get on the power aggressively from a stop, and then back off, and the manual shifts are lazy. The steering is incredibly light and lifeless, and the brakes have zero initial bite, and I found myself having to get on them hard in situations that wouldn't never appear to need it. It has loads of body roll and dive under braking; not at all what I would expect from a BMW and not even close to the feel of an E36 or E46 sedan. The interior is a trainwreck in my opinion, with flat, overly-soft seats with no lateral support, and poor integration of the radio/nav display in the dash. With the exception of the engine power and economy (but not the sound) and great a/c, the 328i was very disappointing. I haven't driven an Audi lately, but frankly if BMW's don't drive like BMW's anymore, and this one certainly doesn't, then I'd probably rather have an Audi in the garage. They're killing BMW in the styling (especially interior) dept. and from what I've seen the build quality and fit and finish are better.
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