I am 33 years old and two years ago was in a quest to buy my dream car. Why? Well I was single, no kids, had already bought a condo and now could afford a decent car. I decided to buy the car that best met what I was looking for. I wanted styling, quality, performance, handling, and refinement as top criteria. It had to be a 2 door coupe, rear wheel drive, and have enough room to carry passengers comfortably.

After performing lots of research i decided to buy the BMW 328IS Coupe. My car was black/black, 5spd, with sport suspension, M-Sport Interior package, and besides the standard fully loaded options (leather, sunroof, AC, dual climate, cruise, traction control, computer, etc.) it included heated seats. I have now owned the car for two years and this is my conclusion.

Bottom line - Almost the perfect car.

The car handles amazing, and to truly appreciate the handling you need to go over the speed limit. This is where this car will stand out from all the rest. Put the car in an emergency situation and it will astonish you. One day I was on a long trip to Alberta (>1000miles). I happened to be driving down a two lane stretch of highway that had no vehicles on it for a 5 kms so I decided to open the car up a bit. Well I was doing about 132m/hr when the unexpected happened. A dear bolted from the bush, ran across the ditch and started heading in the path my car was going. I swerved left, then after realizing it was going to try to cross the road swerved right and avoided the deer. Hitting the brakes was not an option. After a few seconds of passing the dear my reaction was astonishment. The car handled like it was on rails is all I can say. No screeching tires, minimal body roll, and no loss of control. It's handling surprised me as no other car I have driven would have done this. That pretty well sums up handling....

Engine has adequate torque and the 190 horsepower seems underrated. From 0 to 60 m/hr the car accelerates in a fairly quick manner. However from 60 on the car simply continues accelerating at the same rate. This is likely due to the engines impressive torque and aerodynamic styling. The transmission and clutch seemed perfect. The brakes took a while to get used to cause my previous cars were not able to stop like this. They are very sensitive and can stop the car very quickly.

I also really like the exterior styling and aerodynamics. If you were accelerate to speed limit and then place the car in neutral you will be amazed how far this car will roll before losing speed. I guess that explains the excellent fuel economy this car gets on the highway. On long trips I was averaging 28 - 30 mpg. It also explains why this car is so quiet on the highway.

I love the interior. It is like a cockpit of a fighter aircraft with all controls where they should be. The cruise control situated on the lower right of the steering column makes it very easy to pass people simply by pushing forward slightly to accelerate the car. This results in a very relaxed driving style. One feature I really liked was the rear seats. These seats fold down individually so you can place objects in the trunk all the way to the back of the front seats. I have carried skis, snowboards, and a huge 6 foot cabinet I bought from IKEA in my car with no problem. I was even able to place two mountain bikes inside just by removing the front wheels and seats of the mountain bikes. You can tell that just because I drive a 2 door coupe does not mean I am not a practical guy... The roominess in the car due to the fold down rear seats is impressive.

I have performed the following repairs to my car since I have owned it for two years. Changed spark plugs, air filter, oil changes, 2 brake lights. The only problem I had with my car is an annoying emissions light in the dashboard. Apparently this light will come on if you do not tighten the gas cap enough and the light takes a few days driving to go away. Oh well it bugged me a few times and after taking it to a dealership they said nothing was wrong. So I removed the light from the dashboard (the no-problem was solved). That was it, no other problems and the car I describe now as in perfect mechanical shape with everything working 100% correct. I have heard from other owners that sometimes you need to replace the power windows after a while (because they open 1 cm if you open the door and then go up automatically 1 cm for a proper seal so their is no wind noise on the frameless doors), but I have had no problems.

If I were to make this car any better I would give it about 50 more horsepower, but I am a guy and I love power. But the amount it has currently is enough to make me happy. Drive this car on a long trip and you will just smile. Other than that it is and will always be my dream car because yet I have not driven one that better fits my needs. I unfortunately will be selling it (none of which has to do with the car) and I know I will miss it the most. Only owners of this car will know what I am talking about.

There is a reason why this car is the standard by which other cars are judged...
Amount Paid (US$): 20,000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1998
Model and Options: 328IS Coupe