325i Lives Up To Its Lofty Reputation--A Delightful And Desirable Sports Sedan
Written: Aug 18 '04 (Updated Nov 16 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Creamy inline six, magic chassis, perfectly-matched control feel. Plus, it comes in a wagon.
Cons: Dated interior styling and imperfect ergonomics betray the 325i's aging design.
The Bottom Line: I was especially critical when judging the 3-Series, but the truth is, it deserves all the praise it's received. Cliche or not, "Ultimate Driving Machine" is an appropriate description.
|
|
|
| drive571's Full Review: 2004 BMW 325 |
My Experience
I recently attended a Ride & Drive event hosted by Road and Track magazine. At the event, I got to drive three sport-luxury sedans on autocross-style tracks--three cone courses laid out at Alameda Point naval station. The vehicles were the new Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT, Volvo S60 2.5T, and this--the BMW 325i sedan. It was a great opportunity to compare vehicles in the same segment in demanding, at-the-limit situations. And, naturally, I had a blast squealing tires all afternoon--it was a car geek's dream! But let's get on with the review...
Performance
In spite of the 325i's all-star reputation, one of its specs always kept me from taking it seriously as a sporting car. The number is "184"--the number of horses generated by the 325i's engine. 184? As in, nine more horsepower than a four-cylinder Altima? Or nine less than a V6 Mustang? Surely, I thought, this makes the 325i a poser's model, for people who care more about brand image than performance.
Well, I was wrong. The 325i is plenty quick--and remember, I was driving it back-to-back against a 208-horsepower S60 and a 250-horsepower Legacy, so this wasn't a case of reduced expectations. In fact, the more-powerful competition only made me appreciate the BMW's natural-feeling power delivery and lack of turbo lag.
Give the 325i full throttle, and the inline-six provides strong, linear power that's remarkably consistent from idle to redline. There are no surges or flat spots in its power delivery--just a smooth, even flow of torque. It pulls pretty hard, but there's more to it than that--this is an engine that makes you instantly comfortable using it to its fullest. Between the quick throttle response, easy revving, and even-handed power delivery, the 325i's engine is a willing and dependable partner in hard driving.
It's also appropriately refined, a much-appreciated trait when the adrenaline wears off. From the driver's seat, the engine note is muted to a snarly hum, and it feels creamy-smooth when revved--no vibrations make their way into the cabin. However, I was surprised by how loud and husky the BMW sounds from the outside. While rotating from car to car, I heard the BMW take off a couple times, and its hoarse roaring was nothing like the noise I'd heard inside the cabin. I don't really consider this a downside, but it's worth knowing that you won't impress the valet when you power away from the restaurant.
Transmission/Clutch
Being the car nut that I am, you can imagine my disappointment when I learned that all the cars at the track event were automatics. I've driven other 3-Series BMWs with manuals, and I definitely think it adds to the experience. Their shifters are a bit rubbery and notchy, and BMW clutches tend to be smooth to the point of numbness. But the added involvement of choosing your own gears definitely enhances the 3-Series' feeling of confidence and control.
If you decide to go with the automatic, though, you'll be pleased to know that the 325i's slushbox is a very good one. In fact, it's not very slushy at all--throttle response is nearly as smooth and immediate as you'd expect from a manual. The automatic is also very intelligent in its gear selection, changing ratios swiftly and decisively. I always felt like the transmission was in the right gear, even when driving flat-out on the autocross track. I couldn't say the same for the other two cars at the event.
Steering/Handling
I've read plenty of rhapsodies about the 3-series' "telepathic" handling in car magazines, and was expecting to be disappointed. But the 325i lives up to its reputation in this area, too. The fun starts with the steering. Easing the BMW around the starting area, the steering felt firm, quick, smooth, and pinpoint-accurate. A few minutes later, I was pressing the BMW to its limits on the track, and you know how the steering felt? Firm, quick, smooth, and pinpoint-accurate. You won't find that kind of consistency in most cars. Equally amazing is the way the 325i's steering combines sporty confidence with a luxurious feel. The wheel keeps you perfectly informed of the road surface and available grip, but it's subtle--the steering still has the cushioned feel of a luxury car.
My favorite part, though, is the 325i's suspension. The 3 is so well-calibrated, it doesn't feel like it's riding on springs and shocks. Instead, the body feels suspended by a viscous liquid--no matter how hard you drive, you can't make it slosh or spill. Hit the brakes hard, and the nose gently eases downward. Take a hard corner, and the weight gradually shifts to the side--you don't notice the body lean until you realize the horizon has tilted. Even when pushed to the limit on a track, the 325i remains totally unflappable.
"Unflappable" also describes the chassis balance of the 325i. Threading through the cones, the 325i's predictable nature made me feel instantly comfortable pushing the speeds. It had loads of grip, its balance felt impressively neutral, and the suspension shrugged off mid-corner bumps as if they simply weren't there. Fast turns became one fluid movement, with no corrections--I felt like I "knew" the car, right away. Even when I exceeded the car's limits, it let go gently, making slides easy and intuitive to catch. The Sport Wagon was a bit twitchier in fast back-and-forth maneuvers, with a feeling of oscillation that I didn't get from the sedan, but it still inspired immense confidence.
Unfortunately, there's another, less enjoyable aspect of the BMW's handling that makes it so composed, and that's the DSC--Dynamic Stability Control. This is an electronic nanny that kills throttle response when it senses the car sliding. On the track, this resulted in a few groans from everyone aboard. When I charged into slow hairpin turns with a bit of slip angle, and then hit the gas to power through the apex, nothing happened. No throttle. So the car went into understeer mode and tiptoed its way through the apex. The engine wouldn't wake up again until halfway through the corner exit. I'm sure DSC is a valuable safety feature most of the time, but in these circumstances, it was not fun.
Ride
I'll admit up front that I'm much pickier about handling than I am about ride quality, but I can't imagine anyone being disappointed here. Like the handling, the 325i's ride is composed and drama-free. Obviously, there were no potholes on our track, but the surface imperfections I did encounter were muted to faraway "thumps," with no harshness. The 325i's firm damping kept fidgeting to a minimum, and the body structure felt bank-vault solid. This combination of comfort and control is exactly what I look for in a car's ride quality.
The same applies to the 325i's noise levels. I've already mentioned the muted engine note, but the interior is also remarkably free of road noise or wind rush. Even at high speeds, the 325i's cabin was quiet and calm. It should be noted that the BMW doesn't provide the total road isolation that a Lexus would, but I'm personally glad it doesn't--I like to feel like I'm riding in a car, not someone's living room. The 325i makes you comfortable as it can without detaching you from the driving experience.
Interior
I wouldn't go so far as saying the 325i's interior is a "weak point"--this car doesn't really have any outstanding weak points. However, I would call it the car's "least-strong" point. Its design is starting to look dated, and it's easy to understand why. The 3-Series' last redesign was in 1999, and it was considered a conservative effort even at the time. Five years later, with cars like the Nissan Maxima and Cadillac CTS pushing the styling envelope forward, the look of the 3-Series' cabin is starting to get stale.
It's not only the styling that's behind the times. The 3-Series' interior materials are also starting to fall behind the standard set by newer competitors. The dashboard is harder to the touch than most near-luxury sedans, and its vinyl covering is more coarsely grained. Poke around a little, and you'll find that cheap plastics are in far greater abundance than most rivals. The 325i's age takes a toll on ergonomics, too: the radio and climate controls are mounted low on the dashboard, and they confuse the driver with a multiplicity of tiny buttons.
Of course, the 325i's interior has a lot of strengths that don't need updating. The perfectly firm and supportive front seats are one. The surprisingly roomy rear seat is another. And aside from the fiddly secondary controls mentioned earlier, the 325i's interior has a way of making you feel immediately at home. Your surroundings are simple, logical, and natural-feeling--much like a Honda's--and they're pleasing without distracting you from the business of driving.
However, your satisfaction with the 325i's driving position is less of a sure thing. It depends on your point of reference. If you're used to Japanese cars, with their low beltlines and big windows, you might find the 325i a bit cocoon-like. The dash rises fairly high in front of you, and the windowsills come up to your shoulders. Personally, I like the BMW's enclosed driving position--I think it makes the car feel more Teutonic and substantial. But if you're a driver of shorter stature, or if this just doesn't click with your personal preferences, then the 325i's "turtleneck" fit might put you off.
Practicality
In sedan form, the 325i isn't as practical as I thought it would be. I've mentioned the roomy back seat already, so don't get me wrong--the 325i will happily accommodate four adults, with room for five in a pinch. But in terms of cargo hauling, the 325i comes up short. Its trunk is fairly small, and the load floor is shallow. Cargo volume is just 10.7 cubic feet--compare that to a Toyota Camry's 16.7 cubic feet, or a Volkswagen Jetta's 13.0. Making matters worse is the fact that there's no folding rear seat, even as an option. If load capacity is a high priority for you, the 325i's competitors have a major advantage.
But then again, most of the 325i's competitors don't offer a wagon body style, and the 325i does. It's still not particularly roomy by wagon standards--there's not a great deal of load floor between the tailgate and the rear seatbacks. But the Sport Wagon comes with split-folding rear seats, so the trunk is easily expandable. Curb weight is a bit higher than the sedan, and the tail feels just a bit twitchier in hard driving, but otherwise, the Sport Wagon offers all the dynamic capability of the sedan, with more versatility. If I had this much money to spend on a new car, the 3-Series wagon would be very tempting indeed.
Reliability
The 3-Series range receives an Average reliability rating from Consumer Reports. That's not bad, considering the low number of defects in the average new car. But the probability of mechanical troubles is higher than in, say, a Lexus. And since this is a European car, the cost of parts and maintenance is frighteningly high--one of my friends owns an older 3-Series, and recently paid hundreds of dollars to replace an interior trim piece. However, the 3-Series also earns Consumer Reports' highest rating for owner satisfaction, so maybe the rest of the BMW experience is fair compensation.
Overall
I'm always skeptical when a successful car receives repeated, glowing praise in the automotive press. Very often, I find that the actual product fails to live up to its hype. After all, hyperbole is easier to write--and sells more magazines--than cold-eyed assessments of perennial consumer favorites. But the 325i is a different story. This is one of those rare cars that's actually as good as its reputation suggests--which is saying a lot, considering the "do-no-wrong" halo it's developed over the years.
So why, you ask, would a shopper in the near-luxury class buy anything else? Well, I said the 3-Series was good--I didn't say it was perfect. There's not much cargo space, so if you want a roomy sedan that's still fun to drive, you might be happier with an Infiniti G35 or Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT. Also, most BMWs on dealer lots are optioned up to several thousand dollars over the base price, so if cost is an issue, try looking at an Acura TSX. Finally, the 3-Series isn't much of an individual's car--it's the obvious choice, the Honda Accord of sports sedans. For something more unique, you may want to check out the Saab 9-3, Volvo S40, or Cadillac CTS.
But then again, there's a reason for the 3-Series' ubiquity. It's classy, understated, comfortable, and a heck of a lot of fun to drive. Between the creamy engine, athletic chassis, and perfectly-matched control weights and responses, it's got the "sports" part of "sports sedan" nailed. And let's not forget that Sport Wagon version--the thinking driver's alternative to an SUV. The current 3-Series may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but it's still the one to beat for driving enjoyment in its class. If you're in the market for a sport-luxury sedan, make sure you give the 325i a look. It's a jewel of a car, even in its old age, and one of the cars I'd most like to own myself.
Feel free to check out my reviews on some of the 325i's competitors:
Acura TL
Acura TSX
Infiniti G35
Lexus IS300
Nissan Maxima SE
Saab 9-2X
Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT
Volvo S60 2.5T
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 31,200
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
drive571
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: P.J. McCombs
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Reviews written: 138
Trusted by: 68 members
About Me:
New baby at home: a 1999 Mazda Miata in British Racing Green!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.