first E90 Test Drive, a few questions . . .

Greetings everyone,
New here, looking to get rid of my MBC320 sport (which I HATE) and get back in the BMW fold, since my explorations at various other makers have left me wanting. Finally had the chance to test trive a 330 today, thought I'd share ask a few questions from the experienced members of this forum after my drive.

There was "triangle with exclamation point" light on the dash never went off. I'm not sure what this is -- traction control perhaps, but shouldn't this light only go on when the system is active? Is this normally on?

Performance: They didn't have a 6 speed sport 330 for me to drive, so I drove a non-sport auto. Handling was fantastic, even without the sport, and the ride was as good as my MB, with better handling. The steering felt communicative, but a bit light (could be just used to my MB steering, which is overly heavy -- perhaps the sport package will feel a bit heavier?). Engine sound is wonderful, but I was a bit disappointed with the acceleration. Granted the car was not broken in, it was an auto, the AC was on, and I had a generously sized saleseman in the car, but I didn't feel like it had the "push" in the back during hard acceleration that I certainly felt with other cars with similar performance numbers, including the last E46 330 I drove (which was an auto as well but seemed to have much better push off the line).
Can those who have driven both tell a performance difference between the manual and auto, particularly with low-end torque?
Does the "active steering" change the weighty feel of the steering at all (forgot to ask if the car I drove had it or not).

Lastly, I've searched and found some info in the forum, but can you fit a jogging stroller in the trunk?

Thanks for any help -- hopefully will pull the trigger in the next few months so I can post here as an owner!

Reply » first E90 Test Drive, a few questions . . .

I test drove both auto and manual, but a few weeks apart. Actually I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the automatic. I would have to drive the two back to back to really be able to describe more clear performance differences, but I remember feeling the manual had more off the line. It's just more fun to drive too and 'you' can control the shift points

Either one is great and the debate will always go on and on about which people prefer. In heavy traffic, etc, there is something to be said for the auto by many people's argument. I'm still one of those hanging on to the enjoyment of driving a manual though. I was also very impressed with the sport package. The ride is not too harsh, but 'just right' and very obvious just how stable and agile it feels. I had compared it to the G35 sedan and I noticed a significant difference between the two cars. I'm not sure what you mean by 'heavy' in reference to the sport package; I describe it as very light feeling for the size of the car, very agile, and it just goes exactly where you point it and responds amazingly well to the throttle. It doesn't quite have that shove-you-in-the-back-of-your-seat push that the big muscle-cars have, but it's adequate and overall the most 'balanced' car I've ever driven.

Minus the 'generous' sized weight in the car, it will be even better

Reply » first E90 Test Drive, a few questions . . .

Quote:

I'm not sure what you mean by 'heavy' in reference to the sport package; I describe it as very light feeling for the size of the car, very agile, and it just goes exactly where you point it and responds amazingly well to the throttle. It doesn't quite have that shove-you-in-the-back-of-your-seat push that the big muscle-cars have, but it's adequate and overall the most 'balanced' car I've ever driven.

Minus the 'generous' sized weight in the car, it will be even better

Thanks for your thoughts.
By heavy I actually meant the steering effort/feel, not the handling. My MB has very heavy steering, the TL I drove a few weeks back had ridiculously light steering. Neither has the communication of the BMW's steering, but I seem to remember a bit more effort involved in steering my old E46. As I said, however, it may just be from my current acclimation to the MB steering, which requires much more effort to turn the wheel.

Reply » first E90 Test Drive, a few questions . . .

when you get the sports package,it does help make the steering wheel have that more heavy feeling,and the handling difference,is very noticable between sport and non sport.The ride is still good,and you get that glued to the road,on rails,feeling.you must get the sports package,i think the sports package is what really seperates this car from the other cars out there.Also,get the manual,big difference in the feeling of speed.I have a 325 with manual,and it feels fast enough.

Good luck

Reply » first E90 Test Drive, a few questions . . .

The triangle/exclamation point light is indeed the traction control (DSC), but I don't know why it wouldn't turn off (or why it would be on in the first place, unless you pressed the DSC button). Perhaps the E90 allows you to keep DSC disabled even when turning the car off; my E46 does not.

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