E90 325 Sports - 4 years of ownership experience

[Toffeeman]

BMW 3 series have been synonymous with the romantic affairs I had with cars in the past decade. I still remember the day (sometime in 2001) I took my E36 ride from it's previous owner in Damansara area and I have never looked back since. Thereafter, I have tried the gutsy E46 325 followed by my current ride ie the E90 325 Sports. The current E90 is by far the most complete BMW ride I had owned thus far. Since the day I took the car in September 2007, I have clocked close to 70000km. The mileage is a bit below average as it has been used as a second car mainly but it has enjoyed the journey across the country ranging from trips to Singapore to the far end of the Peninsula like the northern tip of the East Coast. After 4 years, one actually knows the car inside out and hence able to give a true perspective of what ownership experience is really like as compared to a simple test drive report that you normally see in the car magazines. OK here goes: TOP 5 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THE CAR 1. Seducer of speed and power - Packed with 218hp, it chalks up a better performance than my old 325. But the main thing I find about Beemers are that they tend to 'encourage you to speed'. When drives slow, the car feels lethargic but immediately purrs into a tiger the moment you step on the pedal. Being a natural aspirator, mid range acceleration is at its best in comparison to cars of similar class. 2. Road handling - 18 inch tyres shodded with Michelin Pilot Sports on a lowered sports suspension vehicle is a perfect recipe for exemplery road handling. Cornering has never felt so confident in the 325 Sports. 3. Battery life - Since the day I owned a Beemer in 2001, never once I have changed my battery ! Hopefully, it continues to keep that way. 4. I-Drive - Much as I read about the complaints of I-Drive, I have always wanted one given that I am a gadget freak. Navigation system is never comparable to what is available in the market. However, other features in the I-Drive are extremely helpful and the colours on the 8 inch screen actually adds variety and 'colour' to the relatively boring black laced cockpit. 5. New features I never had before - As always, some features embedded in the 325 Sports were a luxury in 2007 and even now. Examples are curtain for the back windows, memory seats, body hugging sport seats, rain sensor wipers amongst others. 5 THINGS THAT COULD BE IMPROVED 1. Gas guzzler - This car is by far the most fuel inefficient ride I ever owned. Although given the 2.5 litre engine, the expectation for fuel efficiency has always been on the low side, the experience has been very disappointing. North South Highway journey brings the statistics down to 7.4 litre/100km at best. My old E46 325 can fetch an average of 6.9 litre/100km at a cruising speed of 110 kph. Urban use chalks up an average of 12.9 to 13.5 litre per 100 km. This is rate I expect from say a SUV not a sedan. 2. Cost of updating (NOT UPGRADING) the Navigation System - I was made to understand an updating costs RM2K. This to me is a rip off by BMW Malaysia. Besides, its not the most user friendly system. Many times, you find that the search engine is not fleixible enough. An example is that in order to get to somewhere in Puchong, you need to know whether the road is at Puchong Jaya or Bandar Puteri or Puchong blah blah blah before you can detect the road. 3. Rock hard ride - Well, I guess this is the price to pay in return for excellent road handling capabilities. A quotable quote from my 5 year old son: "BMW makes me dizzy!!" 4. Ungenerous backseat legroom space - Despite claimed improvement on every 3 series version, this has never been the strength of the E90. Given the rear wheel drive system, the middle seat is never a proper one. I would say is a 2 1/2 seater at back rather than full 3. Hence, we improvise by putting the baby seat in the centre. Having said that, that did not completely solve the problem, becos the seat is sloping downwards; the baby seat will never be levelled up and in order to do so, we have to put pillow below the baby seat to level up the seat ! All in all, its not a suitable family car especially with young children. BUT having said that, who ever said the E90 is meant for this?? Its more suitable for couples or bachelors who wanted a fun performance ride with the need to carry extra passengers on 'occasional basis'. 5. The elusive spare tyre - You can call me conservative, I always feel that the benefits of the elusive spare tyre outweights the need to ensure a 50-50 weight distribution as BMW claimed and also the run flats as alternatives. Run flat tyres are hard and add to the rocky ride woes of a E90 325 Sports. More importantly, its replacement will burn a hole in the pocket. An average 18 inch Bridgestone run flat tyre will set one back by RM2,000. So times 4 means RM8,000! In the end, I made the major decision to replace the run flats with normal tyres at 30K km mark. As a precaution, I acquired the BMW Tyre Kit from Singapore at a cost of RM550 equivalent. Its quite easy to use actually. A number of times, the tyre pressure signal came up as and when there is a 'inbalance' in tyre pressure indicating problem with one of the 4 donuts,I manage to use the pump to load back the pressure and send to the shop to remove the nail. In short, the tyre pressure indicator and tyre kit acts as a first and second line of defence respectively. I thought this is a viable alternative to having run flats. In summary, the driving experience with the E90 325 Sports has been a memorable one. The thicker than thick M-Sport steering wheel, the smooth purring sound of the straight six cylinder engine and fighter jet lookalike orange colour lighted cockpit make you feel like a boy racer (once again) in control of a sophisticated machine. The seduction of a BMW is at its best when the ride makes an average Joe like me to feel that you are in a racing car and feeling young again. Alas, the fantasy will be short-lived if one's lifestyle changed (like me) Eg. when one starts to have a young family accompanied by a maid. The sport suspension ride while it gives maximum pleasure and satisfaction to the driver, its never a favourite with the rear seat passengers. A testimony of this is that my maid threw up on the way down from Frasers Hill, and my kids openly prefer to ride on the old fashioned Mercedes Benz E200K instead of sitting in the low hung aggressive looking black performance car. Well, would I buy a Beemer again? You bet I will, but given my age and new priorities in life, maybe a toned down F30 will be nice to have. Following new trends and given the high cost of fuel nowadays, a heavy cc version may not be my cup of tea anymore. A 2 litre twin turbo F30 will be something I am look forward to as I continue to enjoy the second half of my ownership experience with the E90 325 Sports.

 

[kimi yap]

Great write up :top: ! Nice sharing....
To me, the top 1st should goes to the musical sound frm the I6, it always encourage you to push harder...

 

[Eggie86]

Thanks for the write-up. Very detailed and such a joy to read! :top:

 

[SapphireBlack]

You effectively sums up my experiences with my 325i Sports. And honestly, I have no complain about the car with the exception of the rock hard ride for the passenger sitting behind (but I have already expected this when I purchased the car) and the higher than expected fuel consumption of the inline 6. As mentioned by you, the urban use chalks up an average of 12.9 to 13.5 litre per 100 km and that's something I thought only in the SUV or MPV category.

But seeing that sporty nature of this sedan and the smooth purr of the inline 6... this is something i'm willing to compromise.

And like you, I'm thinking bout upgrading to the F30 because I believes that I should start embracing fuel efficiency as the way to go for the 21st century and perhaps the electronic damper system would allow me to switch the ride quality (family to sports) on the go :rock:

Thanks once again for a wonderful write up..

 

[AnGeLiCdEmOn108]

Great summary Toffeeman... Similarly my 1st bimmer was a e36 328. However after a bitter sweet experience + some cut throat mechanics from Senawang, I settled for a brand new 2.4 Accorrd. Had no worries and the Accord was a worker. However at the back of my head, I always missed driving a bimmer. After 4 years my wife got fed up with me always looking beemers, buying beemer magazines etc, I am back with the e90 325. Even though the Japs have good tech and good cars but the straight6 is a muscle by itself... The road handling in awesome. Speechless...

 

[Yeow]

Nice write up. And I lol'd at the maid throwing up. Sure hope she did it outside the car.

 

[NKTOB]

Having 3 kids (yes ALL 3 of them plus maid!!!), I still opt for the IL6 over the 5+2 SUV or even the 7 seater MPVs.

Get's bit crampy for them, but for my driving pleasure nothing else comes close as work/drive takes most of the time. Rear seats usage mostly on weekends.

my current ride : e90 325 LCI Msport & e46 M3. Both will go for a ride when my in-laws decides to join in.

Beats having to drive anything else besides the above :rock:

Let's enjoy the very last of it's kind.

Nice review.

 

[SapphireBlack]

Having 3 kids (yes ALL 3 of them plus maid!!!), I still opt for the IL6 over the 5+2 SUV or even the 7 seater MPVs.

Get's bit crampy for them, but for my driving pleasure nothing else comes close as work/drive takes most of the time. Rear seats usage mostly on weekends.

my current ride : e90 325 LCI Msport & e46 M3. Both will go for a ride when my in-laws decides to join in.

Beats having to drive anything else besides the above :rock:

Let's enjoy the very last of it's kind.

Nice review.

I agree with you! The E90 325i M-Sports is really such an enjoyable ride when you push it hard past the corners and accelerate to the sweet sounding scream of the I6!

p/s: they used the same model as training cars in the BMW Advanced Driving school recently @ Sepang

 

[NKTOB]

I agree with you! The E90 325i M-Sports is really such an enjoyable ride when you push it hard past the corners and accelerate to the sweet sounding scream of the I6!

p/s: they used the same model as training cars in the BMW Advanced Driving school recently @ Sepang

yup, I couldn't be more happier there. Damn, you shd've seen how they run on the track!

 

[gameover]

Having 3 kids (yes ALL 3 of them plus maid!!!), I still opt for the IL6 over the 5+2 SUV or even the 7 seater MPVs.

Get's bit crampy for them, but for my driving pleasure nothing else comes close as work/drive takes most of the time. Rear seats usage mostly on weekends.

my current ride : e90 325 LCI Msport & e46 M3. Both will go for a ride when my in-laws decides to join in.

My 3 kids also prefer the E90 over the Grand Livina every time though.

 

[VKS]

For an average person like me it's a good family+sports car. In today's car world there are many straight road speeders but I believe power is nothing without proper control.. Still learning many things and until I master the 325 there's no upgrade for me.. I have seen and experienced how well does the E90 325sports behaved during the recent drivers training..

By the way nice write up Toffeeman and if you haven't attended the drivers training..this is the time : )

 

[Vroom325]

yup, I couldn't be more happier there. Damn, you shd've seen how they run on the track!

I was amazed a stock standard car is capable of doing that on the track!!! Awesome!

 

[Vroom325]

For an average person like me it's a good family+sports car. In today's car world there are many straight road speeders but I believe power is nothing without proper control.. Still learning many things and until I master the 325 there's no upgrade for me.. I have seen and experienced how well does the E90 325sports behaved during the recent drivers training..

By the way nice write up Toffeeman and if you haven't attended the drivers training..this is the time : )

Exactly! This is the time for you to get to know the real capability of the car. It can do a lot more wonders then you thought!

 

[JFT63]

From my experience during the driver training I attended, e90 325 behaves so well on the tarmac and the confidence feeling starts to grow after a few runs..the body roll is so minimal and remains composed in every twists and turns i did..i'm not a pro driver, but I agree that it surely can do more wonders than we can ever think of..

 

[morrogan]

I believe the lastest generation of Run Flat Tyres will improve the ride quality.

 

[SapphireBlack]

I believe the lastest generation of Run Flat Tyres will improve the ride quality.

On my next tire change, I am thinking about Goodyear Eagle F1 AS2? Found the tire pattern to cater for both wet and dry conditions and good water dispersion. Very suitable for country like Malaysia whereby torrential rain hits certain part of Klang Valley from time to time.

And the Sports Ride pattern cater for high speed spirited driving... :rock:

Anyone using it at the moment for their Beemer?

 

[kimi yap]

On my next tire change, I am thinking about Goodyear Eagle F1 AS2? Found the tire pattern to cater for both wet and dry conditions and good water dispersion. Very suitable for country like Malaysia whereby torrential rain hits certain part of Klang Valley from time to time.

And the Sports Ride pattern cater for high speed spirited driving... :rock:

Anyone using it at the moment for their Beemer?

Yes.... My ride is on F1 As2, for about 3 weeks. Speechless...
Smooth & quiet, and truly WET Tyre. Is another good alternative for Michelin. 325 M Sport fitted with this, is truly UDM, bro :rock:

say no to RFT .. hehe...

 

[initialM]

Yes.... My ride is on F1 As2, for about 3 weeks. Speechless...
Smooth & quiet, and truly WET Tyre. Is another good alternative for Michelin. 325 M Sport fitted with this, is truly UDM, bro :rock:

say no to RFT .. hehe...

What size r u running & how much it cost you the AS2? Even the AS1 is good enuff i believe AS2 is better rite.

 

[kimi yap]

front 225/40/18, rear 255/35/18...
Done in klang, RM3.3k++, it was not the cheapest one from what i survey around, but no choice, that time AS2 not arrive yet in all other shop, and my RFT really koyak..
Want the cheapest one, Quicksave USJ..

 

[Vroom325]

Wah, that cheap???

My PS2 225/45/17 changed couple of months back cost me