[AdamW]

So, after placing my M4 order, my supplying dealer kindly leant me their demonstrator for a few days.
Gave it back this morning and i was dreading getting back into my 320D..But, to be honest i was very pleasantly surprised.
Getting back into it made me realise just how good these cars are and made me think that they are so good they almost make an M car slightly ordinary.
Obviously take away the performance,noise etc, but the dash is the same, the 3 series seats are comfy, hold you in well. I have a well spec'd car so still have pro nav, heated seats, HK stereo and because of the M sport plus pack and M performance goodies even looks the business.
A F30 shouldnt be this good But it is and almost takes the shine off some of the M4 features as its the same on both cars!

I think if id gone for a 330/335 i would never have ended up buying the M4 because in reality i think the F30 is one of the best all rounders on the road for a mid-saloon sized car.

Dont get me wrong, i cannot wait to collect my M4 at the end of this month and having it in a convertible during this weather makes it even better. Is it worth double the monthly payments to my 320D, probably not, but i want an M car and im in the right position in my life where i can afford one without worrying about it.

Fairly pointless post i guess Just showing a bit of love for my little 320D

[Tengocity]

It's worth posting... I wonder if I have too high expectations from my car at times, and to be honest it does a lot of things really very well.

I still think a convertible M4 is worth twice the cost if you can afford it though!

[AdamW]

I do love the convertible M... Just made me think, would i love a convertible 4 series with a half decent engine just as much? probably not, but it would be close!
Alot of it is to do with the sense of occasion and kudos of driving an M car, most of my neighbours seem to think im an oil baron for being able to afford the M4, in reality when i tell them its less than £600 a month they are shocked. One neighbour has a fairly standard X6 which is over £700 per month (he's now on his way down to the dealer too!)

[gtsussex]

Originally Posted by AdamW

I do love the convertible M... Just made me think, would i love a convertible 4 series with a half decent engine just as much? probably not, but it would be close!
Alot of it is to do with the sense of occasion and kudos of driving an M car, most of my neighbours seem to think im an oil baron for being able to afford the M4, in reality when i tell them its less than £600 a month they are shocked. One neighbour has a fairly standard X6 which is over £700 per month (he's now on his way down to the dealer too!)

Less than £600 per month? Really? Surely you must be putting some money in at start to get it that low in which case the monthly figure is academic or am I missing something?

Oh and I agree with your post. Getting back in my car after driving an M4 for a while was an eye opener...

[Chompers]

Looks like the penny is dropping as to just how good f30/f31's are even in 4pot form

I tried very hard to move away from BMW this time, as much for a change of scenery as anything else. After driving other makes, I knew it would be hard and when my car came up for sale at the price, it was game over.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love an M3/M4/335d/335i for myself, just think that as a family car the f31 20d is very hard to beat.

[AdamW]

Looks like the penny is dropping as to just how good f30/f31's are even in 4pot form

I guess thats the point I was making to myself. Only now that im getting rid of it do i realise just how good the F30 is, such a great all rounder and miles ahead of the C class and A4 that i test drove 2 years ago when i got it

[AdamW]

The deal i got on the M4 was really, really good (circa 20% discount) plus service pack thrown in and the APR rate was less than half on a nearly new car. They also gave me more than my 320D was worth .They also had a M4 build slot which meant ill get the car in 20 days!
One of those deals i couldnt really say no too!

[pdk42]

Driving a 335i these days I'm finding the experience of a big petrol engine a very nice place to be. Fuel consumption is another matter of course (but I'm still averaging 30.1mpg over last 7 months and 5k miles - and lots of city driving too). I had a 320d manual loaner this week while my brakes were looked at and I agree that the interior didn't look much different. The performance of the 4-pot diesel wasn't half bad either - but the noise!!!! It was a manual too and it didn't play well at all with the diesel.

Overall, the F3x is a very good car. Not perfect, but pretty darn good! Put a 6-pot petrol in it though and it's definitely a better car.

[AdamW]

here are the two cars

[pdk42]

Whoa - that M4 looks the biz!!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by AdamW

...Getting back into it made me realise just how good these cars are and made me think that they are so good they almost make an M car slightly ordinary...

...I think if id gone for a 330/335 i would never have ended up buying the M4 because in reality i think the F30 is one of the best all rounders on the road for a mid-saloon sized car.

For me it confirms that cars have moved on over the years and we do take a lot for granted these days, but we still expect much more from top end models. I guess that is harder to achieve, when we take what is really a decent car to start with. We know spec' and trims do make cars feel very different, but it is much harder in my view to make top end models stand out, when we do get so much even lower down the chain.

It relates for me to product development. The old expression which goes something like, "it takes 10% of the effort to achieve 90% of the product, and 90% of the effort to achieve the last 10%. Think of that in M-division terms, takes a lot of work to improve the product just a little.

If we are willing to run at "90%" we get value for money, but must pay a lot more to get that final 10%.... the 'M' product.

I know enthusiast forums pick product apart, no issue in most instances, but if we are not careful we become dissatisfied and it can spoil what should be enjoyable ownership of what is a decent car.

HighlandPete

[NISFAN]

Not too long ago I was thinking how good my 330d actually is. OK I have modified it to get it like this (Bilstein PSS10 and Michelin PSS) but it gives an amazingly controlled ride with little road tyre noise, yet can handle probably as well as an M3. It has also averaged 46-47mpg over 60k miles.

I don't think there is any other car, including in the BMW range that gives all of this. I certainly can't think of one.

Right now I am driving an Infiniti Q50 Sport, that is fitted with a Mercedes engine / 7G auto gearbox, and full of spec. And as good as it is in terms of toys, interior storage space and nav functionality , I wouldn't swap it for my BMW in a million years.

Tough decision for me as I am about to change cars........can't see past getting another 330d. Man maths has me in a 435i, but I can't help thinking I will regret that. Help!!!!

[gtsussex]

Got into mine this morning having spent last night driving the new toy. Immediate thoughts were - mine handled SO much better, I wouldn't trade my tractor engine's torque wallop for anything (despite the petrol sounding so nice) and I wish we had lumbar support on the M235i!

I had a long chat with sales guy yesterday when picking up the car. Now I've tried pretty much everything and my car is as I want it, there is absolutely nothing that BMW makes that I would trade mine for at the moment (M cars included). As an allrounder, it's nigh-on unbeatable. And I certainly wouldn't want to trade it for a 335i. Cracking engine, don't get me wrong but I'd get pissed off with having to kickdown all the bloody time.

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by gtsussex

Got into mine this morning having spent last night driving the new toy. Immediate thoughts were - mine handled SO much better, I wouldn't trade my tractor engine's torque wallop for anything (despite the petrol sounding so nice) and I wish we had lumbar support on the M235i!

I had a long chat with sales guy yesterday when picking up the car. Now I've tried pretty much everything and my car is as I want it, there is absolutely nothing that BMW makes that I would trade mine for at the moment (M cars included). As an allrounder, it's nigh-on unbeatable. And I certainly wouldn't want to trade it for a 335i. Cracking engine, don't get me wrong but I'd get pissed off with having to kickdown all the bloody time.

This is the thing I am deliberating about, as much as I like petrol, it just doesn't seem to offer any sort of real advantage other than smoothness and noise....traded off with strangling the engine type gear changes and very poor fuel economy in comparison. The track day I did courtesy of BMW at Oulton park, really showed up the 35i engined cars....I was quite disappointed, instead of being more involving I found the opposite. And fuel consumption is not far off M3/4, which is on a different level altogether.

New car decisions are so problematic

[gtsussex]

Hah! I'm hoping that they do a 6 pot petrol hybrid. Smooth and lovely noise combined with diesel like wallop at lower revs. More likely to be in the new 5 rather than the 3 (suspect that'll get a 4 pot hybrid).

THAT will be the car to get me out of mine I suspect.

[leon1984]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

This is the thing I am deliberating about, as much as I like petrol, it just doesn't seem to offer any sort of real advantage other than smoothness and noise....traded off with strangling the engine type gear changes and very poor fuel economy in comparison. The track day I did courtesy of BMW at Oulton park, really showed up the 35i engined cars....I was quite disappointed, instead of being more involving I found the opposite. And fuel consumption is not far off M3/4, which is on a different level altogether.

New car decisions are so problematic

If you get an auto for both cars (330d vs 335i) then I would agree, however the 8sp auto creates a very flat and uninspiring power delivery for the petrol engines. Very efficient, very little noticeable lag etc but doesn't provide the excitement that sort of engine should.

Spec a 6 speed manual on the 35i engine though and you get a much more exciting power delivery that you just won't get in a diesel.

[dazzapb]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

.....

I know enthusiast forums pick product apart, no issue in most instances, but if we are not careful we become dissatisfied and it can spoil what should be enjoyable ownership of what is a decent car.

HighlandPete

So so true Pete. I love my 335d and it was this forum that I have to thank. But also to swear at. I was more than happy with the interior and I still am but I always think it's rubbish subconsciously lol. Yes competition has moved on but the g20 should leapfrog again

Ps OP beautiful car and a cracking deal!

[teaston]

Originally Posted by AdamW

The deal i got on the M4 was really, really good (circa 20% discount) plus service pack thrown in and the APR rate was less than half on a nearly new car. They also gave me more than my 320D was worth .They also had a M4 build slot which meant ill get the car in 20 days!
One of those deals i couldnt really say no too!

How much was your total deposit including equity from your old car?

[Chris330]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

Not too long ago I was thinking how good my 330d actually is. OK I have modified it to get it like this (Bilstein PSS10 and Michelin PSS) but it gives an amazingly controlled ride with little road tyre noise, yet can handle probably as well as an M3. It has also averaged 46-47mpg over 60k miles.

I don't think there is any other car, including in the BMW range that gives all of this. I certainly can't think of one.

Right now I am driving an Infiniti Q50 Sport, that is fitted with a Mercedes engine / 7G auto gearbox, and full of spec. And as good as it is in terms of toys, interior storage space and nav functionality , I wouldn't swap it for my BMW in a million years.

Tough decision for me as I am about to change cars........can't see past getting another 330d. Man maths has me in a 435i, but I can't help thinking I will regret that. Help!!!!

Agree, after just buying a loaded 435i - (1.5k miles in) I do keep wondering should I have bought the M4. 35i is great and quick, but I can't shake off that feeling.

[AdamW]

Originally Posted by teaston

How much was your total deposit including equity from your old car?

I put 13K cash deposit in . Old car sold elsewhere.

[Ali Shiralian]

In my opinion, 335 is the best ever package. Can't think of any other car that's even close for the price. Cheers...

[Kal101]

Looks like you got a deal you're happy with and going to driving a car you're happy with without having to worry about financials etc.

Sounds like a superb result all round - we don't hear about these often enough.

Congratulations on your soon to be car enjoy and make the most of the last few days of summer

On a similar point I got talked into a 335xd on this forum then theACS springs and am loving the experience. Changed to diesel a few years back as got sick of paying £120 plus a week in fuel after driving the same car for about 15 yrs and was amazed at how things had progressed and that a 320d could give me almost the same performance.

So yes they are good cars.