Pros/cons of 23i/30i/35i

[Jellybaby38]

Hello folks,

Haveing done a decent amount of reading on the forum, i'm set on one of the 6cylinder e89 models - and have seen 23i/30i and a 35i in my rough budget. It's a daily car for me, as well as longer work trips (as mentioned in another post), so need a reasonable balance of performance vs efficiency/maintenance cost. I'm not wedded to a manual, although have never owned an auto, so I assume you get used to it pretty quickly. Driving is generally a 60:40 balance of Broads:motorway, and being able to nip round corners quickly is more fun than trying to go as fast in a straight line possible.

I get the impression that the 30i is cheaper to maintain than the 35i, and that other than top end speed it doesn't lose out much. The 23i from what I gather pulls less hard than the 30i and doesn't have quite the same bark/noise as the 30 or 35. Of these, the only one I've driven is the 23i so far, so don't yet have a basis for comparison (having to work all day is a shame).

On my previous post I thought colour would trump performance, but because I don't want to miss the summer waiting and the colour combo I want is relatively rare (grey + walnut), I figure better to get one that performs well, even if the colour isn't perfect. Let's face it, none of them are complete rotters.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

 

[mmm-five]

Might want to ask in the e89 part of the forum, as we may be a bit biased towards the e85/86 here

 

[Argyll Andy]

Good afternoon, unfortunately you’re asking a many times asked question which ultimately only you will have the answer too, not particularly helpful I know

I’ve had a 23i, a 35iS and now an M40i all of the following is my personal opinion

The 23i was a great introduction and I liked the car. Did everything well and without fuss, but almost every time I took it out for a blast (mine is a weekend car) I was left feeling I wanted more power. I live in rural Scotland with some fantastic roads but limited opportunities to overtake. The 23i wasn’t cutting it for ME.

I then got the 35iS not the same as the 35i you’re asking about but in the same ballpark. Completely different animal and was not lacking in power and for me ticked all the boxes. Very fast, in fact just plainly put, did all the things that I felt the 23i was lacking, but…….. you’re in a completely different place budget wise re running costs, maintenance etc.

Never driven a 30i but there’s been many on forum runs with us. Never felt any were lacking or at a great disadvantage to the more powerful cars.

If budget, and maintenance cost is no concern then I’d personally be going for the 35i. The 30i seem to be the sweet-spot of the three, plenty of power but NA so not the same worries with the 35i about turbos leaking injectors, may possibly have adaptive shock, enough to keep most folks awake at night if not under warranty. The 23i as I said earlier but there’s plenty of people on here who they perfectly meet all of there needs. Running costs of the 23i and 30i are pretty much identical, that’s a reason a lot of people will opt for the 30i, if they can find one.

You’ll pay a slight premium for a 30i but as has been said, including by yourself, it’s often spec and condition that determines what car you’ll likely end up in and that’s what I’d do. Draw up a list of complete must haves that you’ll not deviate from and only look for cars meeting that spec, anything else is a bonus.

Good luck with your search

 

[Argyll Andy]

Might want to ask in the e89 part of the forum, as we may be a bit biased towards the e85/86 here

Never even noticed that and I’ve bloody replied

 

[Jellybaby38]

Might want to ask in the e89 part of the forum, as we may be a bit biased towards the e85/86 here

Pretty sure this is in the E89 part of the forum, no?

 

[Jellybaby38]

Good afternoon, unfortunately you’re asking a many times asked question which ultimately only you will have the answer too, not particularly helpful I know

I’ve had a 23i, a 35iS and now an M40i all of the following is my personal opinion
[...]
Good luck with your search

Thanks Andy, appreciate this!
Sounds like you're in a great part of the country to play! I think for me the potential (not guaranteed) maintenance costs of the 35i might be a bit too much of a worry (especially with the ever increasing costs of small people), but i'll try and stick to my list!

 

[Argyll Andy]

Pretty sure this is in the E89 part of the forum, no?

It was originally in the E85/86 section, a mod must’ve moved it. Don’t worry we have all done it :lol:

Thanks Andy, appreciate this!
Sounds like you're in a great part of the country to play!

No problem, yes I am completely spoiled with the roads on my doorstep

 

[Jellybaby38]

Oops! Thanks kind mod, whoever you may be!

 

[B21]

23i and 30i have good strong motors..the only thing is that as they were replaced in 2012 by the 20i/28i they are by definition ageing..so they suffer from age induced issues typically plastics and gaskets cracking and leaking..

But any 35i/35is of a similar price would be even older and they are generally more troublesome to start with.

The other issue with the 23i/30i is that they tended to be less well spec'd options wise than later cars..that may or may not matter to you..

 

[Nictrix]

Andy has put it all very well.
We had a 23i for 7 years and it was a great car, did everything we wanted it to do and didn't feel underpowered on any forum runs even though the other more powerful models would almost leave it standing in a drag race.
What we deliberately didn't do though was try any of the more powerful engines while we owned the 23i. Our thoughts being that it could have potentially spoiled it for us.
Moving on from that we now have a 35i and other than the slightly deeper growl pootling around just feels the same until you give it the beans then it takes off.
My advice would be if you are happy with the test drives of the 23i and feel that that is the model you may buy do not test drive a 35i or 35is.

 

[ronk]

Buy the best you can sensibly afford ( and maybe a little more) as in the future you will maybe have that “If only I had spent £? more.

As said previously, decide what are essentials and what are desirables then stick to your plan if you’re able

 

[Ole gits rule]

If the 23i is good enough try to get an M-Sport highline, has iDrive, comfort pack, light pack etc - pretty well specced car although they hold a premium over a standard 23i

Just watch for SE Highline spec cars advertised incorrectly, they have Msport seats but no iDrive so can be seen easily.

Highline is also available as a 30i

Otherwise Andy is pretty much spot on with his advice.

 

[Pondrew]

so need a reasonable balance of performance vs efficiency/maintenance cost.

I personally wouldn't buy any of the 6 pots if those are your needs.
Any of them are fine as a weekend/ summer car but the 4 pot turbo engine (with a £300 remap) will give better performance than any other than the 35i or 35is and be 25% more fuel efficient. With petrol at £9 a gallon it's a no-brainer as a daily.
Not to mention the very deep pockets required to keep an N54 engined one (35i) on the road, especially as a daily.

Would be interested to know what budget you are thinking of?

 

[ronk]

It’s not necessarily the power or torque of the six that appeals to me on its own. It’s more the smoothness of that config.
Yes it’s got some oomph but also very smooth and relaxing when the mood takes you .Smoothness that a four cylinder engine can never achieve.

 

[tiglon]

I had a 30i and now drive Andy's old 35is. Maintenance costs of the 35is are exagerated in my experience - in my 14 months of ownership it's cost me slightly less than my Focus 1.0 which is the same age and mileage.

That said, the 30i is definitely the sweet spot. I lived in Essex and now Berkshire, and I have almost never had the opportunity to drive the 35is faster than the 30i could go. Still, it's fun to know I could, and the exhaust sound alone is worth it for me.

Sensible advice? Get the best 30i you can rather than a 35i from the cheaper end of the market. The N52 engine is an absolute peach - more than fast enough, smooth as you like and sounds lovely at high revs.

 

[Smartbear]

It’s not necessarily the power or torque of the six that appeals to me on its own. It’s more the smoothness of that config.
Yes it’s got some oomph but also very smooth and relaxing when the mood takes you .Smoothness that a four cylinder engine can never achieve.

I’m not sure how many n20 engined z4’s you’ve owned Ron? I’ve had a couple of 3litre z4’s and the 2litre runs extremely smoothly-you can’t feel it running when driving.
Bmw fitted this engine with twin balance shafts to achieve this.
The smaller/lighter engine also makes for a more agile car compared to the heavier 6pots, this has all been discussed many times on here
Rob

 

[B21]

It’s not necessarily the power or torque of the six that appeals to me on its own. It’s more the smoothness of that config.
Yes it’s got some oomph but also very smooth and relaxing when the mood takes you .Smoothness that a four cylinder engine can never achieve.

The smoothness of an in-line 6 versus an inline 4 is based on the assumption that both these engines do not use any supplementary devices as part of NVH minimisations.

In the case if 4 cylinder engines there has been now many decades of engineering refinements to address this issue.

Smoothness is measured in many different dimensions..primary balance, secondary balance, torsional vibration etc etc

So the actual smoothness of a power plant is based on many factors way beyond the simple theoretical argument of 6 cylinders are smoother than 4.

As someone who ran a N20 powered E89 and a N54 powered E89 side by side for 8 months..sometimes swapping daily.

I can say without doubt that the N20 powered car felt smoother under almost all circumstances than the N54 powered car.

If people want to buy a N52/N54 powered version for reasons of emotion, like an engine bay filled with engine or any other thing that floats their boat that’s great..

But the smoothness logic is flawed and not valid.

 

[ronk]

None!

Only ever owned BMW sixes so probably not the best judge!
I’m thinking back to previous 4cyl Mercedes I’ve owned - never been in a z4 - 4cyl car

Im not bothered what it looks like with the lid up! It’s just a bit of plastic cover.

 

[Nictrix]

I actually think that our 23i was slightly smoother than our 35i.

 

[Pondrew]

Having an N20, and a B58 in the household, and previously an N54, I can honestly say I've never noticed any difference in 'smoothness' in any of them.

We are not talking about Merc S classes here, so can't really see the relevance.

The OP said he needs reasonable running costs, as the car will be a daily. N20 all day long if those are the criteria.