[ar]

Hi all,

I am a current owner of an E90 328i LCI and very happy with it. Lease is coming up and I am currently debating options. I have had the chance to ride the F30 328i for a few days as a DD and noticed a few differences:

- F30 tech and cabin is greatly improved.
- E90 is more connected to the road in comparison
- F30 is better off the line but suspension does not feel as confident as E90
- No 6MT and xDrive available for F30 whereas I currently have that in E90

I have searched quite a bit on both E90 and F30 forums about this topic with mixed results. Given the community of F30 owners here from Canada and the experience with the winters here, I was hoping to get some insight from other F30 owners who have made the switch from an E90 to F30 as to if you love the new car or wish you hadn't switched.

TL;DR - F30 worth it over E90?

PS - Currently comparing xDrive for both. Price is negligible.

Thanks in advance.

[Echan330]

You pretty much have it dead on. I've come from a E90 330XI 6 spd manual to a F30 328i RWD 8 spd auto.

- F30 has a nicer cabin
- E90 feels more connected with the road, tighter suspension
- E90 sounds better to me with the inline 6 vs the 4-cyl turbo
- F30 is better on gas, getting about 8.4 l/100 km mixed city and hwy
- In the winter, I preferred the E90 due to being 4wd and having snow tires. The F30 I have now is RWD and without snow tires.

If I could choose again, I'd probably have stuck with the E90 as driving dynamics are important to me. My lease is coming up on the F30 and I am considering going back to the E90/E92 platform.

[Iceburg]

I went from e90prelci 328i manual to e92LCI 335xi to F30 335XI.

They all have their pros & cons but I do have to say I very much enjoy the F30, it is definitely not as connected, stock form, but the trade offs were worth it for me.

- Modern
- Cabin
- Efficiency
- Improved n55 reliability

Alot of people dislike the "disconnected" feel of the F30's initially but as you drive the vehicle more, you tend to udnerstand that it's building off the e90 and not meant to replicate it in a new chassis, its the evolution of the 3, hate it or love it, this is my humble opinion and I for one love have thoroughly enjoyed the F.

IMG_1413 by Iceburg, on Flickr

IMG_1499 by Iceburg, on Flickr

As she sits today:
IMAG0603 by Iceburg, on Flickr

[jhynes]

Switched from an E90 328 xDrive manual to an F30 335 xDrive auto about 4 weeks ago, and am absolutely in love with the new car. Yes the ride is a bit more disconnected and your other comments are bang on. I am planning on getting a set of springs in 2015 to address this. Otherwise everything about the F30 is great.

RE: the manual vs. auto debate, I told myself I would ALWAYS have a manual... until I spent some time driving this 8 speed. Try it for a few hours, particularly in full Sport+ mode -- the paddle shifters are incredibly responsive and faster than I could ever have shifted in my old manual. The xDrive with 8-speed is a beast.

[Iceburg]

Originally Posted by jhynes

Switched from an E90 328 xDrive manual to an F30 335 xDrive auto about 4 weeks ago, and am absolutely in love with the new car. Yes the ride is a bit more disconnected and your other comments are bang on. I am planning on getting a set of springs in 2015 to address this. Otherwise everything about the F30 is great.

RE: the manual vs. auto debate, I told myself I would ALWAYS have a manual... until I spent some time driving this 8 speed. Try it for a few hours, particularly in full Sport+ mode -- the paddle shifters are incredibly responsive and faster than I could ever have shifted in my old manual. The xDrive with 8-speed is a beast.

No doubt, forgot to mention the mucho sex 8 spd trans...like butter.

[crono06]

If you must have a manual on an xDrive, isn't it available on the 335? Unless they changed it...

[focal]

I debated hard about going to a 335xi 6MT F30, but in the end got a 328i RWD 6MT. The cost differences were too much. it would push my budget. I rather use the difference for additions that I always do with every new car over the years (tint, non run flats, snow tires on separate rims, the MPS, MPE and audio upgrades).

I loved the idea of adding the MP Suspension to keep the handling I was used to and exceed it (not available on drive). I was not worry about RWD only too living in the city.

[ar]

Originally Posted by crono06

If you must have a manual on an xDrive, isn't it available on the 335? Unless they changed it...

I believe you are correct as I have come across a few vehicles with this combo for MY2013 on Autotrader. While I do love the 335, as someone stated here before, the 328 allows me to improve suspension without breaking the bank. For the cost of 335 new, I feel I could get better value for price with other vehicles 2 yrs used IMO.

[ar]

Originally Posted by jhynes

Switched from an E90 328 xDrive manual to an F30 335 xDrive auto about 4 weeks ago, and am absolutely in love with the new car. Yes the ride is a bit more disconnected and your other comments are bang on. I am planning on getting a set of springs in 2015 to address this. Otherwise everything about the F30 is great.

RE: the manual vs. auto debate, I told myself I would ALWAYS have a manual... until I spent some time driving this 8 speed. Try it for a few hours, particularly in full Sport+ mode -- the paddle shifters are incredibly responsive and faster than I could ever have shifted in my old manual. The xDrive with 8-speed is a beast.

I did put the 328 in Sport and Sport+ but found gas range to be hindered more so than the I6 E90. No paddle shifters though so I maybe should consider this as an option should I go with F30.

Anyone here find significant differences in gas consumption using comfort or sport vs E90? (I won't consider ECO PRO as I might as well not drive a BMW at all if I kept it in that mode all the time).

[ar]

Originally Posted by Iceburg

I went from e90prelci 328i manual to e92LCI 335xi to F30 335XI.

They all have their pros & cons but I do have to say I very much enjoy the F30, it is definitely not as connected, stock form, but the trade offs were worth it for me.

- Modern
- Cabin
- Efficiency
- Improved n55 reliability

Alot of people dislike the "disconnected" feel of the F30's initially but as you drive the vehicle more, you tend to udnerstand that it's building off the e90 and not meant to replicate it in a new chassis, its the evolution of the 3, hate it or love it, this is my humble opinion and I for one love have thoroughly enjoyed the F.

IMG_1413 by Iceburg, on Flickr

IMG_1499 by Iceburg, on Flickr

As she sits today:
IMAG0603 by Iceburg, on Flickr

Very nice vehicle you have there. Has it been lowered or is that OEM stock sport suspension?

[ar]

Originally Posted by Echan330

You pretty much have it dead on. I've come from a E90 330XI 6 spd manual to a F30 328i RWD 8 spd auto.

- F30 has a nicer cabin
- E90 feels more connected with the road, tighter suspension
- E90 sounds better to me with the inline 6 vs the 4-cyl turbo
- F30 is better on gas, getting about 8.4 l/100 km mixed city and hwy
- In the winter, I preferred the E90 due to being 4wd and having snow tires. The F30 I have now is RWD and without snow tires.

If I could choose again, I'd probably have stuck with the E90 as driving dynamics are important to me. My lease is coming up on the F30 and I am considering going back to the E90/E92 platform.

I am also leaning more to keeping the vehicle as I still am excited driving the NA I6 vs Turbo I4. Thanks for your perspective!

[CHCCubs]

Went from an E90 328i xDrive to a F30 328i xDrive about 2 years ago (both cars are auto). Thus far I've been really happy with F30. Yes the steering feel on the E90 was better IMO, but otherwise I find the F30 is a definite improvement over my old E90 in terms of power, interior, and gas mileage.

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Went from E46 320i - E90 325xi - E90 328xi - F30 328xi

Here's my honest review...

From the E46 - E90 LCI every car was a significant upgrade in every aspect (design, road feel, power and fuel economy).

Going from the E90 to F30 it feels like BMW decided that they will upgrade some aspects but downgrade to balance out the cost. Thats my OPINION

The E90 felt much more solid for the interior. Dont know how many people (if at all) have issues with their interior panels creaking when I take corners/go over speed bumps and what not. Basically when the body of the car flexes, a whole bunch of my interior components creak along with it.

Stock suspension and brakes that comes with the E90 is much more sport orientated for sure, the suspension in the F30 is more road comfort orientated unless you buy the sports or m suspension. I tracked my stock E90 before no issues but when i took my Stock Suspension for the track it was terrible. Suspension on the F30 is soft and it has lots of body roll. Brakes are definitely bigger, but BMW went with low dust, street pads that dont perform as well. All of this can be fixed with money, if you are willing to spend it.
Steering does not "feel" as connected to the road but it is definitely much sharper than the E90.

Also the one thing that really gets to me is the lack of sound isolation in the F30. There is always a huge amount of wind, road and engine noise that fills the cabin. I always has to turn the volume up just to drown out the noise.
it was so bad that after 1 month of owning the car i had to get sound deadening mats and lines my doors and trunk with it.

Upside to the F30 though. Loads of power, lots of tuning opportunities, amazing fuel economy (i get 9.2L/100Km never been in eco pro mode, never used auto start stop) almost reach 700km before filling up on daily home to work driving. During the summer when there are lots of cruises and car meets i still get 10L/100km and i go 600km between pumping gas. The max i have ever seen with my E90 328xi was 500 before i needed to stop.

All in all, I still love my F30, just wished BMW didnt cheap out on building this car. If someone swapped the interior and engine for the F30 into the E90 body, i would buy it in a heart beat though.
Im not into modding my car too much for performance since im not a hard core track monster, but i do feel that the F30 definitely needs work with its suspension stock in order to enjoy tracking.

Like i said, this is just my opinion. but i do think you will enjoy your F30 if you choose to get one.

[joleel7]

Traded my E90 335i xDrive to F30 328i xDrive Sportline, the E90 is like a pitbull and the F30 is like lab. I love the power and the joy of driving the E90 but it had failed on me 3 times, 3 injectors gone, water pump failed, and valve cover gasket leak and no warranty. I think it is time to let this baby go

[bbog2008]

I switched from a E90 325i RWD to F30 328i xDrive Sport Line and I hated it. The new car felt like playing NFS on Play Station. No connection to the road, no sense of speed or braking and to much bouncing in the corners, not to say how awkward it felt when accelerating or braking hard - like a boat.
On the other hand the tech in the new car was really something else - and the engine and auto transmission absolutely amazing for an i4.
So I decided to do something about the ride feel and I installed Dinan performance springs and bump stoppers. And now I have a BMW again, and what a change that made. Everything is how it should have been from the begging - the car feels so connected and rides superbly, and even the steering wheel feedback improved a lot - I actually like it now. The car is very responsive again, does not tilt, lean or roll anymore. Even the brakes feel very very improved now.
We have already had our winter big storm not long a go and the car felt like a tank (on all season tires).
In conclusion, I really really love my car again. It put the smile back on my face.

I hope this helps. Choose wisely.

[Slalom]

1lyfe

Your review is spot on.

I am fortunate to be able to keep my E92 as well as having the F34. One is practical, full of technology and a lovely superhighway cruiser. The other is a sports car in every sense.

In terms of fuel economy, the F34 is averaging 8l/100km at super highway speeds. In the city it is not nearly as good - to be expected since there is considerable mass to move from 0. It is far better than the E91 328xi auto that it replaced.

[ar]

Thanks to everyone who responded to the thread. I believe I will have to consider getting a suspension upgrade if I were to consider the move to the F30. The F30 is a great car but so far I am more happy with E90 LCI in that I know the car very well and feel the drive is more connected. I may wait until the F30 LCI comes out to reconsider.

[bobblehead]

that's only 6 months or so away from the LCI 340 with new engine and all. If you order in about April, that would be the time the ordering guide is due out.