stephendutton1963
Member
Hello guys any thoughts on the above mentioned car good buy or in few years will people look down their noses at it.I like idea of more torque low down.All advice greatly received, cheers Steve
sDrive 20i Msport
- Thread starter stephendutton1963
- Start date
Personally i think the 20i will hold better value than any current model. its the way of the world for most.. they want the look but not the cost. its the cheapest to buy and to insure, at least for now. get the car you want, not what you think others will comment on. life is too short. hence my stretching to the 35i. sense didnt come into it.
FYI im going to test drive one tomorrow (sheer curiosity) so ill no doubt have comment on that, stay tuned if you like for a Maniac thrash test report
FYI im going to test drive one tomorrow (sheer curiosity) so ill no doubt have comment on that, stay tuned if you like for a Maniac thrash test report
stephendutton1963
Member
Maniac ,thank you for the reply and will look forward to reading your comments on the test drive.
I've just bought exactly that model and coming out of a 986 boxster was worried I'd miss the power
I've had mine a week and thanks it's fantastic. It lacks the outright power of the Porsche but in real world driving I can honestly say I've not noticed any significant difference.
I popped the porker down a cog or two to overtake and do the same with the Z4, It had a fantastic wail above 5000rpm, the Z4 has a tuned exhaust and a terrific turbo hiss very attractive in a different way to the porsche.
I've never given 2 hoots what other people think of my cars and didn't buy this because it was the cheapest option. I could certainly afford the highr powered versions but for what I want this one is more than adequate
what attracted me was the looks, the quality, the dynamics, the equipment (go for the comfort pack), the speed and the price. In that order.
Make sure you try it with the roof down to hear the exhaust and turbo
:evil:
I've had mine a week and thanks it's fantastic. It lacks the outright power of the Porsche but in real world driving I can honestly say I've not noticed any significant difference.
I popped the porker down a cog or two to overtake and do the same with the Z4, It had a fantastic wail above 5000rpm, the Z4 has a tuned exhaust and a terrific turbo hiss very attractive in a different way to the porsche.
I've never given 2 hoots what other people think of my cars and didn't buy this because it was the cheapest option. I could certainly afford the highr powered versions but for what I want this one is more than adequate
what attracted me was the looks, the quality, the dynamics, the equipment (go for the comfort pack), the speed and the price. In that order.
Make sure you try it with the roof down to hear the exhaust and turbo
:evil:
Damn. I'm slightly shocked. I'm back from the test drive. Tried a 20i which I figured would feel absolutely pants compared to my 35i. It was also black so I was able to do a real comparison against mine in terms of looks, love the 326 wheels on a black car, hated the black grills.
After just a short blast on the motorway and around town the 20i has more than enough power for a daily driver. I can only assume the 28i would have that extra bit of reliable punch, but would you really pay another £3000 for that bit of punch (I'm sure ESS could probably do that for you for just a few hundred quid!).
Anyhow, the manual gearbox was very nice, no trace of slotty or sloppy behaviour. The ride quality was about the same as mine and this was a 20i with no adaptive suspension like mine which means for a real chuck about its gonna roll a bit, which mine doesn't, but how often would I miss that? The engine was a bit 'bored' and unresponsive tottering about, but drop a gear and WOT it and I have to say it feels a teeny bit snappier than the 23i it replaces, of which I've also driven.
The biggest remark I could make on it, is that it felt better built. Not massively so, but there was no noise, no rattles, no crashes over bumps etc. and this had 19" 326's on. I specifically headed for the same bumps in the road and took note. Where my car might sound crash, the 20i sounded solid. However I put most of that down to the fact that all the gubbins for my iDrive is the primary noise (presumably the screen kit) I hear on hitting a bump enough to shake the car. As the 20i had no iDrive (precious little kit in fact) perhaps thats part of why it didn't sound so crashy inside.
Given the fantastic 4.5% apr and huge dealer contributions on this car it really does make a lot of sense. Oh and here's another turn up... the steering is better! I can only put this down to the lighter engine, but the turn in is notably different. My car shows a little understeer before biting and going for it. The 20i bit much earlier and turned in more willingly. Definitely felt lighter on the front, probably a good and bad thing in different ways.
So there you go, not really a review, but a perspective, I really wanted to go 'oh god the 20i is sh*te n slow n this n that' but in fact I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there's no exhaust noise to speak of and the whole car just felt a bit more 'normal' rather than special which is where I might wonder over any decision.. but really not by that much.
I got back into my car really wondering over the experience, and got onto the motorway. Planted my foot and thought holy crap, and smiled (is the smile worth the cost?).
After just a short blast on the motorway and around town the 20i has more than enough power for a daily driver. I can only assume the 28i would have that extra bit of reliable punch, but would you really pay another £3000 for that bit of punch (I'm sure ESS could probably do that for you for just a few hundred quid!).
Anyhow, the manual gearbox was very nice, no trace of slotty or sloppy behaviour. The ride quality was about the same as mine and this was a 20i with no adaptive suspension like mine which means for a real chuck about its gonna roll a bit, which mine doesn't, but how often would I miss that? The engine was a bit 'bored' and unresponsive tottering about, but drop a gear and WOT it and I have to say it feels a teeny bit snappier than the 23i it replaces, of which I've also driven.
The biggest remark I could make on it, is that it felt better built. Not massively so, but there was no noise, no rattles, no crashes over bumps etc. and this had 19" 326's on. I specifically headed for the same bumps in the road and took note. Where my car might sound crash, the 20i sounded solid. However I put most of that down to the fact that all the gubbins for my iDrive is the primary noise (presumably the screen kit) I hear on hitting a bump enough to shake the car. As the 20i had no iDrive (precious little kit in fact) perhaps thats part of why it didn't sound so crashy inside.
Given the fantastic 4.5% apr and huge dealer contributions on this car it really does make a lot of sense. Oh and here's another turn up... the steering is better! I can only put this down to the lighter engine, but the turn in is notably different. My car shows a little understeer before biting and going for it. The 20i bit much earlier and turned in more willingly. Definitely felt lighter on the front, probably a good and bad thing in different ways.
So there you go, not really a review, but a perspective, I really wanted to go 'oh god the 20i is sh*te n slow n this n that' but in fact I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there's no exhaust noise to speak of and the whole car just felt a bit more 'normal' rather than special which is where I might wonder over any decision.. but really not by that much.
I got back into my car really wondering over the experience, and got onto the motorway. Planted my foot and thought holy crap, and smiled (is the smile worth the cost?).
A
Anonymous
Guest
I have also though the same, if I go for another one now, it wold be the 2.0. But I would spend 10K on extras which I will surely lose after trade in again...but it will hold its money better than the 35i....but, and it's a big but, the car we have now is so special and pretty much perfect, I would miss the speed and the sound...
A
Anonymous
Guest
The 20iM sport would be quite enough for me and most others on here I'd think 
stephendutton1963
Member
Maniac thanks for the "review" assume the weather was to bad to drive topless was the lack of sound off putting or did you just have high expectations coming from the 35i. but overall is it fair to say its a "proper" BMW ? thanks guys for taking time to reply,cheers Steve
Ooh 'proper BMW' there's a phrase... While the new 4 pot did impress me for a 4 pot, its clearly not a str8 6. This is sort of what I meant about the engine being 'bored'. Its not 'ready' like the NA or even twin turbo str8 six is. You move the throttle and it behaves like a normal car, and moves forward a bit quicker. There's a certain punch missing that the str8 6's have. Floor it however and you can feel plenty of willing. Its a sort of two modes engine, around town you'd have to get into a potter around mode of driving, otherwise you'd need to drop it two gears and keep revs up to feel some urge. Its hard to express, its definitely different to the str8 6 feel in a slightly 'boring' way. As for whether its a proper BMW, everything seemed the same other than the engine, perhaps slightly better in terms of the steering. I'll have to reserver judgement on the 4 pot, it was a 20 minute drive, not really long enough to test it, but it certainly wasn't bad. As for sound, on the 35i there's no need to drop the top to hear it!
All happened a little quick...navid.v said:gannet said:my new car is also a smaller engined turbo and from initial impressions from driving around today - it's more than enough
Gannet,
you kept that quiet or I missed something? let us know what you are having and why the change?
look out for the reveal when I've written it later tonight...
Here you go...Adamski said:gannet said:look out for the reveal when I've written it later tonight...
Which forum/subject will it be in? Watching with interest
Interesting review. I'd have to agree and say that I would also probably be happy with the 20i in 95% of driving. Yeah I wouldn't be happy for the other 5% but is it really a price worth paying?
Oh I just remembered something from the test drive, speaking of improved build quality.
The heated seats were stuck on full blast, with no lights in the buttons an the buttons unresponsive.
So when I said better built I meant in terms of a more solid feel. Clearly there are still gremlins at BMWs Z build line!
The heated seats were stuck on full blast, with no lights in the buttons an the buttons unresponsive.
So when I said better built I meant in terms of a more solid feel. Clearly there are still gremlins at BMWs Z build line!
Does anyone know if it has the same feel of a 4pot turbo like hot hatches or have bmw managed to create something a bit more special?
I cant stand the 4 pot turbos in hot hatches, hate the way the power is delivered and the drab engine noise.
I guess it also comes down to how you use the Z4 - for a daily drive I think 184bhp would be more than enough but I only use my mine for weekends and I want every drive to be an occassion so I would defiinitly miss the extra 81bhp I have in the 3.0si.
If the characterisitcs of the engine are more to my liking that the hot hatches then I think the 2.8i is the one to go for as there is nothing in the fuek economy/road tax.
I cant stand the 4 pot turbos in hot hatches, hate the way the power is delivered and the drab engine noise.
I guess it also comes down to how you use the Z4 - for a daily drive I think 184bhp would be more than enough but I only use my mine for weekends and I want every drive to be an occassion so I would defiinitly miss the extra 81bhp I have in the 3.0si.
If the characterisitcs of the engine are more to my liking that the hot hatches then I think the 2.8i is the one to go for as there is nothing in the fuek economy/road tax.