I finally test drove a BMW 330Ci. NICE. But when I got back into my car I felt like I still liked my car better in the inside. The Beemer 330Ci is (in my opinion) one of the nicest looking cars on the street BUT it has a boxey, plain interior I can't overlook. And it cost 40 g's Anybody else test drive a 330 and like their car better still or am I just crazy.

Oh, the salesperson also told me that he gets a lot of CL's / TL's for the same reason I was there; Acura's terrible service department.

 

same here, was more comfy in my cl-s

330 is nice, but is not worth the 10k+ extra

 

CLS seats > 330 seats


I even can admit that

 

As stated before, the only thing better than CL-S is BMW's brakes!

 

I have the same feeling on the BMW 3 or even 5 series interiors. I know it's subjective but I can't understand/see how car mags always stress how luxurious and high quality these interiors are. I always find them bland and not ergonomics and kind of cheap. Just look at those little knobs all over the controls. And the red orange lighting is so... don't even know how to describe it. Same with Audi lighting.

The seats in the Bimmers are superb though.

 

What about the telescoping steering wheel? That was my big complaint with the V6 Accord which they finally fixed in the 7th gen.

The sports seats in the 330Ci are heaven if you enjoy spirited driving.

Two of my gripes with the 330Ci are the cheap azz sun visors. My Accord has more solid and sturdier sun visors than the 330Ci... gimme a break!!!

2nd is that I HATE not having a frame around the windows. You get a lot more wind noise with the 330Ci windows than you do with the 330i windows.

 

I wasn't too impressed either. Just my opinion... the orange is awful.

-Ash

 

i have an 03 CL-S six speed. It was $31,050 on the window sticker. It was a few days old when my 28 year old yuppie (dummie) nephew shows up with his USED 330ci with 9,000 miles on the odo, and he paid $38,600 for it. My God, 60 months of $475 car payments. The CL was in my garage, and we took the 330ci for a spin. He drove. Yes, it is a nice car, but it was an auto and a four door. It moves out ok, but is only 225 horsepower. When we got back, I let him drive the Cl-S. He drove me in the BMW about 10 miles, and we hit about 90 mph. He drove the CL-S about 80 miles, and I had to tell him too cool it once he hit 130 mph. I still felt safe at 130, but here in Illinois, that is not called speeding. It is called wreckless driving!

When he said "what does this thing cost? $45,000?" I told him the price of a NEW CL, and he noticibly sighed. He asked me if the BMW dealer would undo to deal. Fat chance, I told him. When he departed, he said he might try to sell the 330 and buy the CL-S with an auto (for his wife so she can drive it.)

Every BMW I have been in (and that is plenty) have always had seats that were as hard as rocks. I know there are people on this board who own a BMW or two, so, I will probably catch it over this. BMWs are fine cars that demand a high resale value, with good engines and great handeling. But they are, above all, status symbols (like our CL-S isn't? NOT). As another example of this, a friend just bought a Mercedes C-230 K (Kompressor) a less than $27,000 car. He's impressed, I'm not. 2.3 liters, blown, and only 192 hp? My little 02 RSX-S made 200 without a blower or turbo, so why does MB have to add all the extra crap that can only break and still end up 8 ponies short? No power seats, even for the driver, and a CLOTH interior in a MERCEDES? If I ever buy a MB, it would be loaded. Isn't that what owning a MB is all about? Another cases of a status symbol. This MB is like giving your fiancee the largest zirconium engagement ring you can buy. Impressive to be sure, but it is not just the real thing.

I'll take my CL-S anyday. It does nothing to perfection. But it does everything else quite, quite well. And I wish I had chairs in my house that were as comfortable as my seats in the CL. Espescially today, when I went to work and it was -2 f.

I'm 10 miles nw of O'hare, and next Tuesday, I have to be 50 miles east of cincinnatti by 9 am chicago time for a two hour meeting. It is about 375 miles each way, and I have to be back at work the next day. I should fly, but the hell with it, I'm driving! Most people think driving 750 miles in one day to be torture. Me? Lookin forward to it! Leave at 2am, be home 9 pm, same day. 3,000 on the odo now. Expect a post here in about a week, and I'll let you know what kind of mileage a CL-S will deliver at a constant 80 mph after I escape the illinois start and stop tollways.

 

BMW seats are hard, yes, but after a few hours in the seat, you really apreciate that firmness. I am seriously looking at a 330Ci or 330i when my lease is up in June. Of course there is always the G35 Coupe. RWD and overall balance is the BMW's strong suit. You hafta admit the CL-S is a li'l heavy in the nose. If you don't think so, apply the brakes hard in a turn and say hello to Mr. Guardrail.

 

I once had a Mercedes E300. I thought the interior shit. It was very... sparce. Not much in the luxury dept. And...the friggin' thing burned oil like no tomorrow.

 

Hate the orange interior lights on the BMW. Always have.

Friend has a 540 and the seats are comfortable, even on long drives.

For the guy who is driving east of Cinci from NW of ORD, have fun! I'd do the same thing.

-Rob M.

 

Keeping cars for the long term: Hey guys (gals?) thanks for your replys. One word of caution here. If you keep your cars for the long term, and plan on trading soon, be prepared for a shock. This zero percent financing thing almost all most inferior brands are offering has created a glut on the used car market.

Think about it. Why pay 6 or 7% interest on a one or two year old good used car, when you can get a new one for zero percent.

My father has a loaded, pristine Dodge grand caravan es. It has everything. It was $36,000 new. It has 32,000 miles on it. We went to trade it. The dealer(s) will take his trade, as long as he forks over $27,000 for a new 2003. Rediculous! Depending upon how you count model years, $7,000 to $9,000 depreciation per year?

Like I said, expect to be shocked. I know many people who donate their cars to charitable organizations, rather than accept what the dealer offers. The used car market is flodded!

 

I sold hondas for a little while and Dodge Caravans and their Chrysler counterparts never pulled in money for trade period. The market is flooded with them and they are cheaply made and fall apart rather quickly, especially their trannies. Even most dodge dealers dont deal much in trade on them. We would only take one in on trade if a dodge dealer would buy it from us right away. those cars just end up worthless right off the lot. Sad but True

 

I own neither. Drove a CLS 6speed and 330Ci stick. Only advantage the Acura has is 1) Better quality interior 2) Better value and 3) Better dealers. Other than that the 330 is flat out a better car period. The chassis is better, the handling is better and the engine is flat out seductive (ruined by the automatic IMO.) Hopefully the new CL will be better competition but the 330 rules the roost right now. Don't mention price either because this thread is about driving impressions only

 

You have the sports package seats, right?

 

I agree with you on the interior, I love my CL's interior, which is basically why I haven't liked many of the other cars I've seen lately...I compare their interiors to the CL's. And while BMW's materials may be of a higher quality (better leather, real wood), the interior is just overly plain, very bland. Not that the CL's interior has any things that totally stand out (the navi perhaps), it's rather simple too, but most things are located perfectly and the car feels like it hugs you...no matter how much of a boat it really is.

 

I honestly can't blame you for driving! I love taking my CL on trips. My girlfriend has a Land Rover and that thing is just WAY too impractical and SLOW. The CL is TRULY a joy to drive.

I'd never consider going for a 330CI. Same exact styling for WAY too long, and it looks like a POOR MAN's //M3.

If I was going to get a BMW, I'd get an //M3, X5, //M5, or the 7 series.

The rest of them are too small and goofy looking.

 

Yeah I agree with ROD, I had a bimmer and the quality is good but for the price you pay its nothing to jump about. I think the Big daddy LS430 by Lexus has a more luxurious interior than any of those bimmers, and for about the same price range you'd prob. be better off too!

 

You don't know what "firm" seats are until you have test driven an S4.

 

i own 03 CL-typeS and early january my friend came over with his 02 330Ci. as you guys know, it snowed a lot here in NY. i had to run some errands so we decided to take both our cars. he said he knew of a good restaurant so i decided to follow him. my goodness, the more i followed him the farther i got from him. my car would not stay on the snowy road. it kept on losing grip and wheels spinning. FWD SUCKS!!
i still love my car, but you guys need to admit FWD just sucks.
and to be honest when i got in his car, the seats were as comfortable, if not more comfortable, than mine. the only 2 things i liked about my CL-typeS over his 330 were PRICE and INTERIOR LAYOUT. i really realized why BMW is the king of automobiles. they truly deserve to be called "the ultimate driving machine"

 

The happiest day of my life with my 'lil Bimmer -- and it was a peach, was putting in a couple of Scheel seats. They were so comfortable for my butt and back; I bought an office chair version I've had for over 15 years! I still have one for use as an office chair and while heavier than the Recaros, they made my back and ride pure heaven.

If you like a car enough, there are nice seats that can really transform it.

Also nice to have nice seats in the car from the start...

 

Hey dfreder, what did you nephew end up doing? Does he still have the 330? Or did he become one of the converted?

 

my last car before the 01 cl-s was a 1994 525i. I loved the damn car but knew when I had to give it up. It was reliable as hell and everything about it was fantastic. I actually really like the orange BMW interior lights because of the nice memories in the car...call me crazy. I do agree that the CL is by far the better bang for the buck. I love BMWs and the 330ci but i will never shell out $10k extra for a recognizable badge on the hood and 35 less horsepower. If anything, I would get the m3, m5 (rumored to get a v10 for the redesign!!) or 7 series if I had that kind of dough. But then again, if i did have the $$ i would up it and buy an Aston Martin Vantage....2nd choice DB7

 

I own an E-36 M3 and CL S and I like both for different reasons. Bimmers have always looked plain inside, but they are truly great road cars. The handling is second to none.

For everyday driving I like my CL S. I have looked at the 330 a few times and considered trading my E-36 M3, but I have decided that I'm going to buy the G35 instead.

I happen to like the 330 interior as well as the Cl S interior for different reasons. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.

 

hmm, first post huh? *cough* *cough* *troll* *cough*

 

Dude, you're so right Zoot. What was this guy running on his CLS? Racing slicks? Obviously this guy is either trolling, has never driven in snow before, or never driven RWD in snow to compare.

 

S2000 has some FIRM seats

 

CLS seats are VERY comfy, muuuch more comfy than my A4....

 

the new RS6 or S4, (cant remember ) seats look COOOOOOOOOOOMMMFFFYYYY AS HELLL

i think its the RS6....dayam

 

The seats in the CL are "comfy" but I feel more like I am sitting on them instead of in them. The seats have always felt high to me.

 

That the funniest thing I’ve read on the Internet in a LOOOOOOOOOONG time.
Either you’re the worst driver in the world or your friend is the best.
Or maybe he has snow tires and yours are as bald as your ASS.

One thing is for sure, you don’t know how to drive in SNOW !!!

Shawn S

 

Dude... this guy either does not know how to drive a car or he simply is lying... FWD has advantage over RWD in snow. maybe he still have those old gripless summer tires on this CL-S.

FWD maybe has trouble keeping up with RWD in drag race, but definitely not in snow or rain.

 

He clearly is a troll

 

Hey Acurafan: Nephew (he's really a good kid, I shouldn't have called him a dummy, he is just "new" at buying cars, and they saw him coming on this one), is still trying to unload the 330CI. His dad (my Brother) did his damndest to try to talk him out of this. He is gonna have to earn his knocks on this one.

Another fault I have with BMW is that they seel you some sort of tool that you need (for about $50) to get the damn "oil change" light to turn off after the oil is changed. Don't hold my feet to the fire on this one, my knowledge is only vague. But it smacks of Mercedes Benz oil change policies, you cannot change the oil yourself, as there is no drain plug! MB "sucks" your old oil out with a special machine that other dealers/oil change shops do not have. $50 bucks to turn off a warning light? C'mon. At least Acura will tell you how to turn off the light by pushing certain buttons.

By the way, I like what my dealer does to people who think they can ignore changing their oil at reccommended intervals, certainly a foolish choice on a $30,000 car (or even an RSX). They fax them the cost of a new engine. Scarry! Please visit my other thread titled "anyone seen the new 03 Accord coupe?" on this board. I'm sticking with the Acura 3.2 Cl-S six speed, but rumors abound that our car might go out of production. Nice car, nice looks, and 5 large cheaper than what we have, with a few less features. Pondering, pinky, pondering. Rumored to have the 260 hp engine with the 6 speed in march, 2003.