Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
BMW owners love their cars. That's a great thing. But BMW has lost their laser focus on DRIVERS and instead is giving us economy.
I actually drove a new turbo 4 banger model at a stealership recently and it had the jerkiest stop/start system I have ever experienced. Plus the unrefined noises/vibratiions that go with any 4 cylinder. Add to that the AC was a bit overwhelmed by the Florida heat, I am not used to that in any of my other cars, no matter their color.
It did have a nicer power curve than most turbo 4's, and climbed nicely to the redline without a lot of dips and sags in the torque delivery.
IMO the steering is terrible, completely numb to me. Factor in the ridiculous pricing (36k base!) and it would be easy for me to look elsewhere. I just don't see the value, and all the brand new untested tech is a bit sketchy, too.
My opinion is that BMW is not what it used to be, and this may be the end of their rep as great driver's cars. Cadillac is making the ATS, and other makers are gunning for BMW as well. They need to up their game!
I don't even think their focus is so much on economy as it is couture. Economy has become a big deal too, but only in the sense that you need an interactive tree doing things in the gauge cluster and maybe some badges that indicate the car is green somehow.
It seems like all the high end brands used to have their niche. BMW built driver's cars, Rolls built rider's cars, Mercedes built vaults on wheels, Land Rover made classy hardcore off roaders, etc. Now it's all about "couture," who can pack the most blingy [censored] into their crossover utility vehicle or active sport five door or whatever. Now regardless of brand and image, high end means touchscreens, infotainment, bling, living room comfort, and not much else.
The first BMW I drove was such a bag of [censored] it was amazing it could somehow scrape through a safety inspection. It was a '91 or '92 325i with about 280K miles on it and past use as a track car. Factory cloth seats that smelled horrible, oil leaks, rattles, etc., but it sounded mean with aftermarket exhaust and you could still have a blast ripping it through the gears. Even ragged out with a bunch of miles, that car was STILL a driver's car, and drove better than most vehicles would with that kind of a past and miles. The only hint at luxury was electronic climate control.
Now, you have to have the touch screen, some sort of iDrive or whatever, Bootoof, 50 air bags, a bunch of "green" features, etc. All this trendy must have [censored] takes priority over building an exceptional platform with a purpose.
It's sad that even BMW is on the bandwagon of eking out 0.00005 MPG at the expense of reliability/feel. I haven't driven an EPS equipped BMW yet, but if it's remotely like the EPS in various GM vehicles I have driven, no thanks. I'll take a pump and a belt thank you.
It will be interesting to see how the current generation of cars is doing a decade down the road. I'll bet the end of life problems they have and the reasons they get junked will change a lot.
This is why the G wagon still rocks. Its the last bastion, of FU middle finger to this whole thing, a proper capitalist pig on wheels.
Stop start? Gas is cheap.
