MY OPINIONS
Most of what you'll read from my ratings are based solely on my opinions and will not discuss deep details regarding car specifications. Detailed specs can, of course, be found at other websites such as

www.bmwusa.com
www.carpoint.com
www.edmunds.com

So here are my thoughts on the…

ENGINE
What can I say? I’ve driven a *lot* of cars. In terms of smoothness, availability of power (where and when you need it), strength all throughout the rev range, etc. look no further. The BMW 6 cylinder engines have been the best engines I’ve ever driven on any car. Unlike my old 325iS and my M3, you can hardly hear the engine on this car (see my reviews on the 1999 M3 and 1995 325iS).

BMW did a great job with isolating noise from the engine. But the question is, would you actually want it to be that way? In my epinion, this was not good. I felt that they “Honda-ized” the car. As a performance enthusiast, I prefer to hear some engine noise that I can refer to as “sweet engine sounds” emanating into the cabin. At one point before embarking on my glorious testdrive, I actually had to look at the tachometer to verify that the engine was running.

Feel free to draw your own conclusions on this one. To me, the lack of engine noise was a big negative since it removed an important sensation in driving the car.

TRANSMISSION
BMW transmissions have proven to be the best to me. I’m even comparing the smoothness of shifting against Porsche, Lotus, Mercedes, Audi and Mazda. When you shift gears on the 3 series BMWs, the shifting is incredibly smooth and direct. For model years above 1995, the shift action even gives a positive “click” feeling when you select a gear.

Just for comparison, the Porsche’s (911 and Boxster) up to model year 2000 felt *very* notchy. I would have expected the shifting action to be a lot smoother. The unusually long length of the shifter throw (distance of the top of the shifter from 2nd gear to 3rd gear) actually reminded me of driving the VW GTI and Corrado. I was quite disappointed since Porsches were supposed to be pure “sportscars”.

My complaint with the 328 Ci Coupe lies in the clutch feel. The pedal action feels like it’s gotten a little too soft. The positive clutch “engagement feel” also seem to have diminished. What I’m trying to describe is the sensation you feel when the clutch bites. It felt like a Honda clutch. It felt soft. It felt wimpy compared to the throttle response of the gas pedal and the sureness of the brake pedal.

PERFORMANCE/HANDLING
Like my experience with the E46 sedans (E46 being the latest body-style designation for the 3 series), the drive felt numb even with the sports package (stiffer sports suspension and bigger wheels). As the driver, I felt too isolated from the road. I didn’t feel as confident in this car as I do in my 1999 E36 M3 and did in my 1995 E36 325iS. In these two cars, you really felt the road. You felt as if you were “carving” the road as you would carve snow while skiing.

The 328Ci Coupe felt as if you had to muscle it into a turn. The great “turn-in” of the E36 cars seems to have been lost in this E46 version. I wish I could attribute this to the additional weight of the E46, but we are only talking about 100 to 150 lbs difference from the E36.

Like the other BMWs I’ve driven, the brakes on this car were awesome. No shortage of stopping power here. The brake feel was still great. This didn’t feel “softened” or isolated as did the clutch, suspension, steering and engine.

INTERIOR/ERGONOMICS
The car looks great from the outside. The car looks even better with the optional 17 inch sports package wheels. The aero effects make the car look more masculine when viewed from the front quarter panels. Viewing the car from the side gave it more of a feminine, softer appeal. But please don’t forget, these are just my epinions.

The interior of the E46 series seems to be a lot bigger than its predecessor. The car feels a lot roomier. The interior dashboard and amenities design also address what some feel to be a spartan accommodation from the past generation 3 series. I liked this interior better. It gave the car a more luxurious feel than the predecessor.

The steering wheel looked sharp! It was a very nice, three spoke steering wheel that controlled the radio, cruise control and phone functions. I found it interesting how they managed to squeeze the airbag into what appears to be a small triangular hub in the center of the steering wheel. Still, I liked the cruise control stick of the previous E36 models better. Pushing it forward makes the car go faster, pulling back slower. Pushing it up or down turns it off – very intuitive and that you don’t really have to look at the steering wheel to figure out what you’re doing. With this new steering wheel, you have to take your eyes off the road to push the right button.

The radio volume on later models rises and lowers depending on the speed of the car. The same goes for the windshield wipers. The windshield washer jets are heated. Same goes for the side mirrors.

The car came with rain sensors. Question: wouldn’t you know to turn the windshield wipers on if you see raindrops falling on your windshield? Knock off $300 from the price tag, please. At least, BMW has NOT instituted DRLs or “Daytime Running Lights”. I’ll turn my own lights on, thank you.

These cars now have memory seats and a power trunk release! The seats can have 3 different memory settings. The seats and side mirror settings can also be programmed into your key. If your significant other uses her key, the seats and mirrors will automatically adjust.

What I noticed to be new in this car are the POWER rear quarter windows. The windows don’t roll down, but open out instead! Pretty cool gadget. Of course, the pricey navigation system is great, too!

WHERE is the dual climate control? WHERE is the on board computer? These aren’t even options. I don’t understand why BMW eliminated these in these new E46 models. They worked very well in my M3 and 325iS.

MAINTENANCE
I would assume that the maintenance for this car would be very similar to my current and past BMWs. I pretty much follow BMW’s scheduled maintenance guidelines for the car. The car tells you when it’s time to have the oil change (a series of green lights go out-the intervals vary to your driving habits). I usually perform the oil changes myself. Otherwise the dealer can charge between $30 and $65 for an oil change (oil changes for BMW’s are free up to 3 years/36000 miles)!

Oil changes are *very* easy in that the oil filter is actually accessible from the top of the engine bay and not under. For this new model, I’ve noticed that BMW also relocated the power steering fluid reservoir to the top. The air filter location was also redesigned. Although it will not be as easy to change air filters as the previous car, it’s still pretty easy compared to the rest of the industry.

MY NITPICKS
You need to be a contortionist to use the coin holder which is located way towards the back of the armrest. BMW had it right when they placed it on the lower left side of the door pockets. Why change this?

People accessing the back seats will have an even harder time getting out than the previous generation. The roof line seems to drop sharper towards the back of the car. But once they’re there, they’ll have more room than inside the E36 series.

Where’s the dual climate control that worked pretty well in the previous generation?

Where’s the awesome on-board-computer available in the previous generation?

KNOWN PROBLEMS
None…yet! I’m waiting for YOU to buy it and tell us!

WHO DO I THINK WOULD BUY THIS VEHICLE?
I think BMW expanded the attraction to this car by making it "softer". I believe that BMW is trying to woo or capture the market upgrading from being loyal to Honda Accords, Toyota Camry's, etc.

Some enthusiasts, not previously owning an E36, may still buy this car. Fellow BMW enthusiasts I've talked to who's owned an E36 is NOT running out to trade into the E46 for performance reasons. Maybe we'll wait for the new 2001 M3...