So… 3000 miles down on everything from perfectly smooth French motorways, our more rutted back roads and most things in between! Here are my first thoughts….
So – What’s good…..
- Most of the time car feels effortless and in fact faster than it feels. More at home on motorways, however the adaptive suspension firms up well in Dynamic mode – it is not quite the ‘drivers car’ may last 3 series was (but in most other ways it is so much better).
- Engine is quiet and refined, impressive for a 4-pot diesel and a million miles away from the BMW which was rough and noisy.
- I was concerned that 19” wheels would result in a hard and uncomfortable ride. This is not the case and whilst the ride is firm, it is well damped. Possibly the adaptive damping improves things – I tend to leave it in Auto and most of the time it feels fine.
- I am new to a DSG box – my everyday cars have always been manual although I have driven a variety of auto boxes from the current BMW 8 speed ZF through to the 4 speeder on my 1989 Mercedes 560 SEC. I am really impressed with the DSG box, in most cases the changes are completely imperceptible and most of the time box does exactly what you would expect.
- Fit and finish, along with cabin material quality is excellent and certainly streets ahead of my previous BMW. The seats are superbly comfortable, and I can cover several hundred miles without the backside tinges I have become used to. It really is a nice place to be.
- Matrix lights are amazing – so much better than everything I have had before. The system works perfectly, and I have never had any ‘flashes’ from oncoming drivers. Really pleased I chose these.
- Tech and Satnav works well and is intuitive. I did not choose the tech pack.
- MPG is around the 45 mark, by BMW was closer to 55 but am thinking this may improve with a few more miles.
And what could be better
- Could be quicker off the line, you need to take this into consideration (especially when pulling out of junctions). It sometimes feels reluctant to change down without big throttle inputs but at least you can switch to manual. Lastly, I sometimes notice a slight ‘judder’ when shifting from D2 to 1 (as you approach a standstill).
- Stop / start if fine for when you are ‘trickling’ along gently in stop / start traffic. But when you need to move off the line quickly it is utterly terrible, and I would go as far as to say it is quite dangerous. The box is not the quickest of the line to start with and this is the last thing the system needs. Going quickly from the brake to the accelerator results in what feels like clutch slip and it is very difficult to control the ‘off the line’ acceleration. I tend to knock the box into Dynamic when approaching roundabouts / junctions or simply turn the system off – is anyone aware of a way to disable it permanently?
- The parking sensors sometimes have a mind of their own and sometimes trigger when driving in stop / start traffic for no apparent reason.
- No apparent way of checking how much AdBlue is in the tank until the system warns you that level if getting low.
- An annoying buzz / resonance coming from somewhere around the passenger side air vent / ‘A’ pillar. This only happens when cruising on certain road surfaces (the old ‘concrete’ section of the M25 seems to set it off). It is a minor issue but given the rest of the car is totally devoid of buzzes / rattles it is annoying me. Any ideas welcome as I would like to get this one sorted.
All in all – really pleased. In most areas feels a real ‘step up’ from my 3 series.
So – What’s good…..
- Most of the time car feels effortless and in fact faster than it feels. More at home on motorways, however the adaptive suspension firms up well in Dynamic mode – it is not quite the ‘drivers car’ may last 3 series was (but in most other ways it is so much better).
- Engine is quiet and refined, impressive for a 4-pot diesel and a million miles away from the BMW which was rough and noisy.
- I was concerned that 19” wheels would result in a hard and uncomfortable ride. This is not the case and whilst the ride is firm, it is well damped. Possibly the adaptive damping improves things – I tend to leave it in Auto and most of the time it feels fine.
- I am new to a DSG box – my everyday cars have always been manual although I have driven a variety of auto boxes from the current BMW 8 speed ZF through to the 4 speeder on my 1989 Mercedes 560 SEC. I am really impressed with the DSG box, in most cases the changes are completely imperceptible and most of the time box does exactly what you would expect.
- Fit and finish, along with cabin material quality is excellent and certainly streets ahead of my previous BMW. The seats are superbly comfortable, and I can cover several hundred miles without the backside tinges I have become used to. It really is a nice place to be.
- Matrix lights are amazing – so much better than everything I have had before. The system works perfectly, and I have never had any ‘flashes’ from oncoming drivers. Really pleased I chose these.
- Tech and Satnav works well and is intuitive. I did not choose the tech pack.
- MPG is around the 45 mark, by BMW was closer to 55 but am thinking this may improve with a few more miles.
And what could be better
- Could be quicker off the line, you need to take this into consideration (especially when pulling out of junctions). It sometimes feels reluctant to change down without big throttle inputs but at least you can switch to manual. Lastly, I sometimes notice a slight ‘judder’ when shifting from D2 to 1 (as you approach a standstill).
- Stop / start if fine for when you are ‘trickling’ along gently in stop / start traffic. But when you need to move off the line quickly it is utterly terrible, and I would go as far as to say it is quite dangerous. The box is not the quickest of the line to start with and this is the last thing the system needs. Going quickly from the brake to the accelerator results in what feels like clutch slip and it is very difficult to control the ‘off the line’ acceleration. I tend to knock the box into Dynamic when approaching roundabouts / junctions or simply turn the system off – is anyone aware of a way to disable it permanently?
- The parking sensors sometimes have a mind of their own and sometimes trigger when driving in stop / start traffic for no apparent reason.
- No apparent way of checking how much AdBlue is in the tank until the system warns you that level if getting low.
- An annoying buzz / resonance coming from somewhere around the passenger side air vent / ‘A’ pillar. This only happens when cruising on certain road surfaces (the old ‘concrete’ section of the M25 seems to set it off). It is a minor issue but given the rest of the car is totally devoid of buzzes / rattles it is annoying me. Any ideas welcome as I would like to get this one sorted.
All in all – really pleased. In most areas feels a real ‘step up’ from my 3 series.
