Well, I pulled the trigger on a 2017 BMW 340i xDrive. It was not the smartest decision as I am losing money on the Acura TLX it is replacing, but I'm OK with it. After lots of arguing with my service department about VCM vibrations and the quirky behavior of the 9 speed auto in the TLX, I gave up. Could I have gotten results from Acura? Most likely. Others have, but being an early adopter of the car my stress limit had already been reached before they started replacing transmissions in the 2015 models (and even now you still have to pass a burden of proof). My time is more valuable than that and I get very mad arguing things I know I'm right about with people who also know I'm right but argue anyway. This BMW is the first non Honda/Acura product of my life and its probably fair to say they didn't lose me on product, despite its issues, they lost me in the service department.
As for this BMW, it looks beautiful and drives beautifully. The powertrain is a revelation. The transmission, despite being made by the same manufacturer as the Acura, ZF, the 8AT in the BMW is unquestionably the best automatic transmission I've ever driven in any car, and that includes some dual clutch units. I have no desire for a manual with this trans. It's shifts are imperceptible and lightning quick at low-moderate throttle and at near full throttle and in sport mode it bangs off firm shifts like a champ. Then we have the new B58 engine (I6 w/ twin scroll turbo). I've yet to really exercise it but already I can tell this thing is almost stupid fast. Like the Acura, there's a learning curve to the infotainment system but it's becoming intuitive after a couple of weeks (German logic is different than Japanese/American logic). The bad? The paint. This thing has a bad paint job with excessive orange peel all over the sides of the car. Someone from BMW corporate is supposed to look at it next week.
So that's my story.
As for this BMW, it looks beautiful and drives beautifully. The powertrain is a revelation. The transmission, despite being made by the same manufacturer as the Acura, ZF, the 8AT in the BMW is unquestionably the best automatic transmission I've ever driven in any car, and that includes some dual clutch units. I have no desire for a manual with this trans. It's shifts are imperceptible and lightning quick at low-moderate throttle and at near full throttle and in sport mode it bangs off firm shifts like a champ. Then we have the new B58 engine (I6 w/ twin scroll turbo). I've yet to really exercise it but already I can tell this thing is almost stupid fast. Like the Acura, there's a learning curve to the infotainment system but it's becoming intuitive after a couple of weeks (German logic is different than Japanese/American logic). The bad? The paint. This thing has a bad paint job with excessive orange peel all over the sides of the car. Someone from BMW corporate is supposed to look at it next week.
So that's my story.