2010 BMW 328i – An Inside Look
Until now my, exposure to the E90 chassis was rather limited; a quick drive in a friend’s 335i and a stint at the BMW Performance Driving School in an M3. Recently, however, I got to spend a weekend with a brand new 328i and I must say that it really frustrated me. It was the kind of maddening frustration that many teachers and few employers have expressed about me; I knew it could be so much more if it just tried a little harder, if it just paid attention to details and did not take the easy way out.
Despite being equipped with all-wheel-drive and an automatic transmission, it was not the handling or the power that frustrated me. It was neither the common complaints about run-flat tires nor the lack of a dipstick. No, it was the updated 2010 interior that aggravated me. Often overshadowed by its more prominent brother, the exterior, the interior is the part of the car that we look at and live with the most. It would therefore make sense that the designers would pay more attention to it than they do to the hue of rear license plate bulbs.
Usually an update signifies improvement, but that is definitely not the case here. The twenty-ten seems to be a case of less-is-more, except it is not. The front seats, for instance, are missing the mesh map pockets on their backs. Improved headrests cannot be lowered all the way or moved front-to-back. Seatbelt height adjusters have also magically disappeared which has direct impact not only on comfort but also safety.
Once seated, you will notice that the ashtray, along with the power receptacle, have been replaced with a rubber strip. The power outlet was moved to the center armrest, next to the auxiliary and iPod adapters. That actually makes sense, until you plug in your portable navigational system or a radar detector, at which point you have a wire running up the center console. It gets worse; the armrest cannot be fully closed when just about anything is plugged in, as there is not enough clearance. Only after looking into the owner’s manual did I learn that there is another power point located deep in the passenger’s footwell, which is rather useless to the driver.
Please do not open the glove-box because when you do, you will notice that the little flashlight which has been a prominent BMW fixture for decades is prominently absent. Along with the flashlight, missing is the BMW-proprietary power socket. The key reason for not opening the glove-box however, is that fact that you simply won’t be able to close it. The owner’s manual has grown so big and thick that it simply does not allow the glove-box to close easily.
In the past, BMW interiors were designed by engineers who happen to be car enthusiasts; the wrap-around dash, clear and logical controls and indications were all evidence of that. Everything was designed around the driver, to be used without taking eyes from the road. Sadly, this is clearly not the case in this non-iDrive E90. The dash is dead flat and filled with many small buttons, all positioned low out of driver’s view. The controls are not difficult to use once you get familiar with them but they could be simpler and there could be fewer of them.
For instance, does such a small car as the 3-series really need a dual climate control? No, no one will ever use it. Why were the heated-seat buttons moved to the middle of the mosaic that is climate control? Before they were located in a row of auxiliary buttons, lower in the dash, separate from everything as they should be. Lastly, why couldn’t the non-iDrive cars have a proper cup-holder in the center console like the E46 did? And where the heck are the power window switches!?
It may sound silly, but the interior alone has made me very disappointed with this car. Yes, it is a very nice place to be, but the things that made BMWs special are quickly disappearing. It is missing not only the charm and but also the attention to detail that once made me lust for these cars. Had it not be for the availability of a taut rear-wheel-drive chassis and a proper manual transmission, the 3-series would be close to becoming just another average entry-lever luxury car.
Yo CGD–Maintenance is 4yrs 50k miles-peace out
pfft, whatever, an oil change every 15k miles.
By the way, I forgot about the irritating turn signal stalk, run-flat tires, and lack of a spare tire.
Also, I was informed that there is another cigarette lighter located way down in the front passenger foot well, which evidently is impossible to see.
A cigarette lighter in the foot well? Seriously? And they expect people to use these things?
Oh yeah I use that power outlet in footwell for radar and run 10 miles of wire thru glove box, a pillar, headliner and to mirror and radar.
Maybe this needs to looked at the point of view of a “NEW” BMW buyer as they can not compare it from previous models……
For what it’s worth, I use the dual-zone climate control in my Audi S5 every day of the week. I always want my side five or six degrees below the girlfriend’s side.
You forgot to mention that they stuck with those crappy pop out cup holders. I’ve heard dual climate control called “the marriage saver” and I believe it. If you drive with a spouse in your car, it is a good thing. I never used it back when I was single and had an E36 M3. I had my E46 when I met my now wife and wished I had dual zone again! Now, I’m in a G8 GT and dual zone A/C definitely saves some fights over the A/C settings. It’s pretty much going to be a requirement in any future daily driver.
All these subtle changes are why BMW just posted a huge profit. Always profitable, BMW North America’s corporate greed means they are using the recession to charge more for less.
And you forgot to mention the 328i has cheap standard audio system and ridiculous option pricing for logic 7. And is the only car in its segment without standard Bi-Xenon lights! A $2000 aftermarket cost, or $900 from the factory at delivery. More greed obviously per their al la carte option pricing.
Bottom line: Audi will continue to beat BMW up, eating away at their market share until the 3 series turns into a C class.
Hi, i happen to agree with just about everything you mentioned. I bought a BMW 328i off the internet, sight unseen. Biggest mistake of my life. I had a VW Jetta TDI GLS. I thought a BMW was supposed to be a luxury car. WRONG. My Jetta had many “little” things that the BMW doesn’t, for example the fold down rear seats.. i didn’t know that was a special option on BMW, thought it was standard, Also the seats, who puts leather seats in a car and doesn’t make heated seats standard? The few things that the BMW has over my Jetta doesn’t make it a luxury car, my opinion. My Jetta didnt have the led lights on door handles, or the automatic headlights, I hate to admit it but I’ve been in a Chevy pickup truck that had more options. I love the way the BMW looks from the outside but that’s the only thing its got going for it. At least when people see me in one they’ll think that guy drives in style. little do they know. Think my next car will be a Lincoln MKZ. gonna go back to a US company. I think us Americans have surpassed they Europeans in how much we like to spoil ourselves.
Your email says it all. I have purchased three BMW’s in my lifetime – all new. 1985 318; 1994 325i; and now a 328xi 2010. I would take back the 1985 318 any day new. The cockpit everything in it’s place is gone. What remains is the ultimate drive –suspension, handling, engine, etc. The interior is a mess. The sound system is 8″ too low causing serious eye diversion when driving; the cigarette lighter/cell phone connection where you can’t close the compartment; power window location changed; run flat tires are noisy, The climate control took me 6 months to figure out; three headrests in the rear seat that completely blackout viewing when changing lanes; I keep the back seats down all the time so I can see out. Let’s get with the program BMW please!!!!!
has anyone had any problems with their battery running down after long runs and short ones, eg not enough juice for the rear window defrost and sometimes the radio
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Totally agree. My wife wanted the bmw name so we got a 2011 328i and I am very disappointed in lots of the interior features or lack thereof:
the power outlet/center console issue
crappy cup holders,
lame turn signal stalk,
steering wheel feels blocky even with the sport package,
memory seats that don’t remember lumbar,
auto dimming mirrors that can’t be disabled,
lack of cooled seats as an option
fold down seats not standard,
rear doors that only open what seems like 45 degrees,
no spare tire, and not even a roadside fix it kit as a standard replacement,
on and on and on, my 2008 VW R32 kicks ass in almost all of these catergories and cost 10k less, and has more power!