bmw has yet to make an interior that impresses me. audi and benz on the other hand...
and to the fools going off topic and comparing handling... look at the thread title

 

Damn the new 330i interior looks almost exactly the same as the old one except for the screen and navi knob controller... I really like the new TL gauges and stereo knobs.. The TL wins hands down.

 

The 3's interior does not compare to the tl's. This is not even worth discussing. I'm making a big statement here but the current FIVE doesnt even compare to the tl when it comes to interior. Now people will say it comes down to tastes, but lets be real. The tls interior was what sold me the most, and when I got into my buddies new 5, any doubt had completely escaped my mind.

 

I think the reactions to the 3 interior are a little over the top. It's not nearly as flashy and nice as the TL's "cool jazz bar" interior, but it's definitely clean and no-nonsense. I never liked BMWs interiors much, and I still don't like the over simplicity of the gauge clusters on the new 3, but I did go sit in one yesterday and found the interior to be pretty nice. The materials and fit/finish was excellent. I was thinking originally about trading in my TL for a 330i sometime this year, but after sitting and feeling the drive, I realized that most people who buy 3s could care less about anything like in dash 6 disc, nice interiors, etc. The car's perfect balance and dynamics sell themselves. In 4 door trim, the 3 is likely the best handling car sedan on the planet. But I'm thinking of going something flashier next round.

 

Yes, the reason is BMW hired some smart marketing person(s) who coined the phrase. Not much different from Ford using "Quality is job one", or whatever else the auto marketing folks create phrases to sell automobiles.

 

Saying negative things about 330i without owning thw actual car is worthless.
Have one drive it for atleast a week or two and you'll understand whta it is. Qualitywise TL doesnt stand a chance aganst bimmer's interior, materials that are used are far superiour to most of japanese cars. Dont get me wrong TL is a nice family best bang for the buck car, but driving experience of BMW is a point that most car makers trying to atcheve and IS350 is the closest guess but still. For my wife I'll most likely get TL sometime next year but after owning BMW I wont drive anything else.

 

I love my TLs interior but I don't think the 3 series dash with nav is ugly at all. That said I would still rather the TLs.

Also, that picture with the TL's glowing purple is crap. I wish my guages glowed like that. And finally, that picture makes me so glad I pushed my parents to spend the extra so I could get the Nav. The dash looks so much nicer.

 

The TL's interior is clean and accessible. The BMW interior seems too cluttered and a big cluster f***. I'm spoiled now, the next car better live up to my TL or more.

 

OK, the BMW is a nice drive!. Why is it that most are leased then turned in at the end? There is a price to pay for every pleasure. Most here have decided that the BMW price is to high. If money, size and service time were not issues, I might have purchaed an '05 BMW.

 

I agree,
BMW's are nice cars.

I have two coworkers, one with a 545 and the other a 330. We take turns with our commute due to living in the same subdivision. I've spent more than 20 hrs in each car, and have driven both several times. Nice-yes, Solid-yes, rattles-yes. No different than any other car. Ironically, I personally took Tom, the 545 owner to the dealer 3 or 4 times for repairs in an 8 month period. The 330 has averaged only a few trips in the past year.. (My 04 TL, none in 2 years... But in all fairness I fixed a few rattles the dealer would have had to - but not mechanical/electrical issues like the two BMers)

I will also admit BMW has a good drivers feel but when it came time to purchase my next vehicle,,, I didn't even consider stepping foot on the BMW lot. Knowing and experiencing what I had with the 5 and 3 series, the price vs return didn't add up.

Now, I am not slamming BMW. The seat of the pants experience many feel with "a" car is very subjective. Those who own em tend to love em. The problem with me however was though financially capable of owning a 545, it just wasn't going to happen - their just wasn't enough substance for my buck.

 

I finally test drove a 06 330i (E90) w/sport package while my TL was being serviced at Acura. I took it for a spin and yes there is no car out there that can beat the driving experience with this new gen. I must say BMW did an awesome job for the E90. I have to give full marks. I drove my friend's previous (2003)gen that had DINAN products installed and the driving experience was ok and I did not find it fun to drive. The E90 was alot of fun to drive and everyone must test drive one to really understand what I am talking about. The only draw back about the E90 I found was the power wasn't there. I must say my TL feels faster still or maybe the one I took hasn't been broken in yet. But overall I was very impressed but still the front dash really bothers me (Real Ugly). Unless you get the IDrive (NAVI) which makes the dash looks 10 times better.

 

why does the TL still have a cassett player?

 

I'll go out on a limb and guess American Marketing. And or the market segment itself.

 

One of my friends has a BMW 3 series (bought new) and when the car starts to need serious repairs, he is going to buy a Lexus. Why is he going to Lexus? Because the repair bills and maintenance on BMW are ridiculous in comparison to Lexus.

 

If the time from final design to rollout is about 1 year, the design for 3gen TL would have been completed around Sept 2002. DVD-A was a real innovation at that time, MP3's players had not yet taken off, and there was a need to provide continuity from features of the 2gen.

Why does the 06 model still have it? Well it is very costly to make major changes during mid model cycle. The planners constantly have to make a judgment call between incremental cost vs loss/new sales. It would be a nice surprise if the 07 dropped the cassette, added MP3 capability, and even provided the iPod connection as standard. This would be a good transition to a 4gen for 08.

 

Now that I know what BMW performance means I couldn't care less about interior...the driving experience with BMW is so amazing! (Please no offense TL owners....TL is a nice car)

 

The TL is way nicer and I have gotten many complements in The 6 weeks that I've had my 05 TL.

 

i really dont think that the 3 series w/navi looks bad inside... i actually think it's somewat classy

wish we had some type of that wood

but tl>3 series still

 

i've driven 330i old and new + M3 more than few times. if the car has no badge and the sales said $40K~50K+ for the "Civic size object" after u test drove it, would you buy it? enough said there. u be the judge.

BMW dashes are ugly. i have few friends who own BMW 5, 3, M3 and Z currently ALL said TL dash beats their dash hands down. 3 series guys all ride my car to our golf games cuz you can't fit golf bags and people the same time (I am not sure you can fit people in the back anyway). of course i think so too but that don't count cuz i own a TL.

BTW, whenever i rode their BMWs, i notice rattles and problems on some of them too. we don't have to keep beating the dead horse here. every car brand's got its problems from time to time (if you are the unlucky ones) and i think we all know that by now. if u still don't, you need to get out more.

 

I like the BMW's interior more than the TL's. The reason why the BMW's interior looks similar to the last model is because it was done well. I do not think something has to be flashy to look good. I do like most of the TL's interior, but I don't like its gauge cluster at all. All this being said, I am probably going to get a TSX instead of a 330 to save myselt about ten grand, but I would probably get a 330 over a TL.

 

And somewhere out there on a BMW forum, they are laughing at your bunch.

"They have to bring down BMW to make themselves feel better." And I would have to agree to a certain extent. I've never seen so much bashing on other cars so often, than on any other forums.

 

10k? a comparable 330i vs TL will ezly be 10K more already. even tsx with navi you woulda saved at least close to 15K. that's without active steering and some other stuff on the "Civic size object" (42K+ vs 27K+).

 

Subjectivity at its finest.


I've test driven a BMW before every car purchase I've made. They drive well but their interiors are so bland and tasteless that I could not see myself using it as a daily driver. This is why I turned down the m3, and the latest 3 series.

I cant even fathum how someone could look at that interior and find it to be "amazing." Yes it has great features, and I can certainly find plenty that look like shit in comparison, but when you compare it to much more aesthetically pleasing interiors of Acura, Lexus, and some Infiniti, it loses badly.

Save your psychological theories for when you have kids.

 

i just love that excuse that the 3 is supposed to be a drivers car. it definitely is, but so what? that doesn't mean the interior has to be ugly. bmw owners, you don't have to be ashamed and make excuses.

 

Ahh... so you can play cassettes??

 

how to change the color to purple? I think mine is blue...

 

TL for sure..... that interior looks exactly like mine only mine has the Navi. I thought about going with the tan, but so glad I got this interior instead now.

 

3 series' Wood looks NICE. It handles super as I test drove one before. Steering wheel looks cheap. Clusters looks cheap(kind of that chrysler, dodge feel). Not a big fan of red lighting in night. To me, lines don't connect. Looks like it has no legroom.

 

This folks, is why they make different cars that are available in different colors with different tranmissions; all available at.....different prices. Do any of you really care?

 

Ergonomically, the TL >> E90. That said the driving experience of the E90 more than makes up for its ergonomic shortcomings. I had a blast driving the E90 330i.

 

The TL is a great car with a great interior. The 3 series is a great car with an acceptable interior. The seats in my buddy's 3 series (sport package) blow away the TL's seats.

Are you trying to convince yourself you made the "right" choice? If I was comfortable spending $40K on a car, I would have bought a 330i. They are a great drivers car. The TL is also a great car, but it's a little large, heavy and undersprung to be a true sport sedan.

I love my TL none the less.

 

I like the older style of the BMW cars, the inside is not bad, but I think its unfair to compare a little car like the 3 series to the TL. The 5 series might even be smaller inside. I am sure the BMW is a great car, its likely got a lot of stuff that is better than the TL or any Japanese car, better paint, better leather, better controls and displays, etc. If one is clever, one could get a good used low mile 5 series for
the same price as a new TL. If you do your own work, you do not have to pay the
very high price for maintance and repairs, just like I did with the Jaguar.
Brake jobs on the Jaguar ran between $2000.00 and $3000.00 depending
on what you had done and what part of the country you live in, while I could mail order parts and do a brake job (all new rotors and pads) for around $300.00.
Everything else was the same, you could get low cost parts, some better than
OEM for much less, and not pay high labor rates.

And while most German cars are very nice and good, they are not reliable. It seems the entire German auto industry is having problems with the quality of the parts they use, maybe they have moved production to East Germany, or other Eastern Europe countries to get lower production costs, and quality has gone down the tubes. It makes little difference where the car is assembled, as the assembly is not a problem, nor is design so much, they are just seem to be made with sub standard parts that have a high early failure rate.

Things like coil packs, coolant temp sensors, evap solinoids, fuel pumps, water
pumps, ecu's, etc.

Brett

 

Although there is a size difference (albeit not major), the price point makes for a fair comparison.

IMHO, the TL (when coupled with an A-Spec package and 6MT) is about the most balanced FWD sports sedan on the market with a strong ability to perform nearly as well as a number of it's RWD counterparts (i.e.: E90, G35).

As far as the quality debate goes (as applied to German cars), BMWs are generally nowhere near as troublesome as its MB and Audi counterparts. So the argument against BMW quality gets a overplayed. JD Power's VDS shows that BMW ranks right behind Acura. While by no means perfect, BMWs are generally reliable.

 

Some shots of upcomming e90 with M-package, hopefuly will be available in US.
I've got same stuff on my e46 called ZHP or performance package.




and at last the beast him self

 

So old guys like me, with a big box of cassettes, can live the old days. Some of us still have 8-tracks.

 

Get outta town! 8-track? No kidding.. bet I'm older than you.

Seriously, I must have sounded like a jerk when I responded to this thread, but I'm actually quite pleased that Acura saw fit to include a tape player with their sound system. I still have a boatload of recorded tapes that I like to play from time to time and it's nice to know I can do this in my car.

 

Apparently you missed the point of this post

Interior Comparison!

Not a performance comparison...but since you brought it up!

I bet the right driver in a TL could beat the wrong driver in a 330.

We don't mind if you come and give the Beemers props, just do it in the right thread or in the right way.

This is to compare the interior.

 

There are alot of members and guest that come here and compare cars all the time.

I saw a thread comparing the G35Coupe w/SC to the TL which is a sedan and does not have a SC.

I think this comparison doesn't necessarily put the BMW down, it is simply an opinion.

Just cuz someone says my girlfriend is ugly doesn't mean I am gonna leave her.
She may be the most beautiful girl in the world to me.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Lets not get too sensitive about this stuff.

In my book there are some nice beemers and some ugly ones, I am sure they all perform well in some one's opinion.

 

See this is what I mean..... This is your opinion but you state it as if it were fact!!!

This is what you call OVER ANALYZING!!!
Just cuz I own a TL doesn't mean I can't like other cars.
In fact I own a Fully Loaded Suburban... that doesn't mean I don't like the Escalade, just cuz I couldn't afford it.

HOGWASH!! you guys are taking all this out of prospective.

Just let people state their opinions and stick to yours.
No need to try to prove others wrong.

 

I looked very hard at a 330i, almost bought one instead of the TL, but the cost was just too high, I leased it through my company and in spite of all of the $450 a month lease adds, it's just not true. A comparably equipped 330i was nearly $10k more than a loaded TL... and the one I really wanted was the 330xi AWD. Oh, they really don't negotiate at all on BMWs, so you're going to pay darn near retail price on them for starters.

Navi? Expensive extra option
Good stereo? Expensive extra option
Auto trans? Expensive and optional
Bluetooth... same..
Heated seats? you guessed it..
Leather seats! Nope..not standard..
Decent rims... not standard..

At the end of hours of negotiation after assuring me they could get down to my price range (I had to keep my lease payment under $600 per month)... guess what..they couldn't! The sales knucklehead actually had the audacity to suggest that I get a 325i instead...with leatherette seats (aka Vinyl, yuck!!).. to keep the payments in my range... and this with no navi / bluetooth / etc of course. I said no thanks...the Acura TL blows it away for the value, and blows away a 325 IMO (she agreed with me btw).

Oh...and in spite of offering free scheduled maintenance with the BMW (which you really pay for up front)... they didn't offer free carwashes with the car like Acura did! The premium BMW 330i with navi / etc ended up around $44,700... a lot of extra money.

Great cars, and they drive just amazingly well, the interior layout is simple on purpose to keep you focused on the road not on the dash. One thing they had that I wish the TL has is in addition to the "tiptronic" manual shift mode (in an automatic)...they have a "sport" shift mode where the car shifts gears at higher RPMs if you want to go faster, kind of cool, but just not worth all the extra cash it would have taken to get this car. I think the car with Navi and the iDrive Navigation screen is really cool, and the phone integration with bluetooth actually works a lot better than Acura's...you can load your phonebook from the phone right into the car's phonebook then dial from the car / idrive..wish we had something similar.

Oh...satellite radio...you guessed it..extra! And it's Sirius.. I already had XM in my Acura MDX and wanted the 2 cars to be similar. The one thing they used to have is the iPod hookup and we'll have that shortly.

One other thing about the new BMW body style...that I consider practical..is you can no longer get Body Side Moldings on the car...I put these on both my new Acura's since I hate door dings and they help a lot (I know some don't like them but I really wanted them). Their answer when I asked about this was that you can get dent repair done cheaply these days, I'd rather not get them in the first place personally.