2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo: What's It Like to Live With?
Read the latest updates in our long-term road test of the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo as our editors live with this car for a year.
What do you want to know about?
- Introduction
- Fuel Economy Update for February
- Stop-Start Feature
- Last-Minute Road Trip
- Love the Hatchback
- Passing Quietly Through 5,000 Miles
- Hard To Argue Against a Hatchback
- A Better Hood Latch
- Non-Syncing Climate Control
- Drives Like a 3 Series
- Navigation at Your Fingertip
- A Hatchback With Prestige
- Head-Up Display
- Mega Fuel Range
- No Backup Camera? Really?
- Dash Rattle
- Best. Cruise. Control. Ever.
- Multiple Personalities
- Underfloor Storage, Cargo Space and the Sport Wagon
- Easy DIY Oil Change
- Cruise Control Counterpoint
- Strut Tower Suspension Trickery
- First Service
- Fuel Economy Update for April
- An Ideal Car, But...
- Windshield Glare
- Its Sweet Spot
- Album Artwork via Bluetooth
- 10,000 Miles
- Impressive Four-Cylinder Power
- Fuel Economy Update for May
- What Does M Sport Get You?
- 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo vs. 328d xDrive Sport Wagon
- Has a Premium Audio System
- Bluetooth Bummer
- Grocery Getter Hatch
- The Ultimate BMW Family Machine?
- Not Much Fun To Drive
- Like the Interior Design
- This Is the Engine I'd Get
- Understanding BMW ConnectedDrive
- Fuel Economy Update for June
- Plenty of Legroom, but Headroom Can Be Tight
- Room for People, Dogs and a Pinata
- Simple Button Operation
- Worthless Sport Displays
- Great Big Sunroof
- Screw in the Tire
- Fuel Economy Update for July
- Good for Odd Cargo
- Auto Stop-Start Conversion
- Performance Testing
- 15,000 Miles
- Start-Stop Fuel Savings Test
- The Bike Fits Easily
- Fuel Economy Update for August
- The Dark Horse
- Too Much Real-Time Traffic Info
- Dirty Work
- Due for Service
- Rear Seat Armrest
- Second Service
- Fuel Economy Update for September
- Objects Detected on Road
- Dual-Zone Mode Control
- Parking Grade: F-
- Cargo Features
- LED Lighting
- Tron-Inspired Navigation
- The Ultimate Errand Machine
- iDrive Is My Favorite Infotainment Interface
- Fuel Economy Update For October
- All-Wheel Drive Whether You Want It or Not
- Independent Upper and Lower Climate Control
- Features To Get
- Very Likeable as a Niche Vehicle
- Child Safety Seat Fitment
- I Want More Motor
- Fuel Economy Update for November
- Pop That Collar
- No Rear Wiper
- Rainy Day Companion
- Does the Tree Fit?
- The Great Engine Debate
- Key Holder
- Another Stop/Start Convert
- Fuel Economy Update for December
- 20,000 Miles in 10 Months
- Sharp Shifter
- Checking the Oil From the Driver Seat
- Too-Small Gear Readout
- Power Liftgate Video
- Extremely Comfortable
- Storage Convenience
- Fuel Economy Update for January
- Warning Message
- Austin Road Trip, Day 1
- Austin Road Trip, Day 2
- Austin Road Trip, Day 3
- Austin Road Trip, Day 4
- Adjustable Hatch Height
- Tire Wear After 25,000 Miles
- Needs Washer Fluid
- Third Service
- One Year With the 328i GT
- Wrap-Up
Introduction
BMW is taking a page out of Burger King's playbook these days with a strategy that says, "You can have it your way." The 3 Series lineup, and the related 4 Series lineup, is spread over coupes, sedans, wagons, crossovers and convertibles with a variety of engines and drivetrains. It's truly a marvel of modern, flexible car construction.
So when we decided to add a new 2014 BMW 3 Series to our Long-Term Road Test fleet, we had plenty of options. In the end, we decided to try one of the newest members of the family, the 3 Series Gran Turismo. It's a slightly longer version of the 3 Series sedan with a hatchback rear end. You get extra utility without the SUV look and feel. Sounded interesting, so we went for it.
What We Got
The least expensive version of the 2014 BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo is the one we got, the 328i xDrive. It's powered by a 2.0-liter, 240-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine hooked to a standard eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is also standard. Of course, we could've gotten BMW's slick six-cylinder 335i xDrive Gran Turismo for only $5,400 more, but the 328 will be the volume seller here and boasts 26 mpg combined. Sometimes you've gotta make grown-up decisions.
The 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo starts at $42,375. For this price, you get the aforementioned 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a Driving Dynamics Control module with four driving settings, halogen headlights, eight-way power front seats, leather-wrapped wheel, Bluetooth connectivity, iDrive with a 6.5-inch screen and a panoramic moonroof.
Our 328i GT also has the M Sport package ($3,750) that adds 18-inch wheels, sport seats, an M steering wheel, body kit and anthracite headliner, and also increases the top speed. We also got the Cold Weather package ($950) which heats the steering wheel and front and rear seats and adds headlight washers. The Dynamic Handling package ($1,000) includes the adaptive M suspension and variable sport steering, while the Premium package ($2,200) balances some of that sportiness with keyless entry, lumbar support and satellite radio. The final package option is the Technology package ($3,150) that adds navigation with a touchpad on top of the iDrive controller, head-up display, BMW Apps and enhanced Bluetooth smartphone connectivity.
Individual options beyond those big ones include M Sport brakes ($650) and a Harman Kardon stereo system ($875). Total cost, including a $925 destination and delivery fee is $55,500. BMW provided this vehicle for the purpose of this long-term road test.
Why We Got It
The 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo appears to tick all of the boxes: It's efficient. It's quick. It handles well. It's as close to a hatchback as we're likely to get out of BMW.
But does the reality of a $55,000 3 Series hatchback stand up to what we have in mind? We know this 2.0-liter produces good power, but is it any fun with the mandatory all-wheel drive? Is the slopeback body style an effective compromise between wagon and sedan, or would we have been better off going for either of those?
We've got 12 months and 20,000 miles to answer these questions and more. Follow along with our year-long test of the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo on the Long-Term Road Test page to find out.
Best mpg: 25.0
Worst mpg: 20.6
Average mpg over 419 miles: 21
The manufacturer provided this vehicle for the purpose of evaluation.
This 2014 BMW 328i GT hatchback is so new to us, it's not fair to report the fuel mileage numbers on so few fill-ups. After discounting the track testing fills, I was left with two tanks to calculate the numbers.
We're averaging 21.3 mpg in combined driving. That's a few miles off from the EPA estimates. But we have a whole year to show improvement.
Worst Fill MPG: 20.6 MPG
Best Fill MPG: 22.6 MPG
Average Lifetime MPG: 21.3 MPG
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 297.1 miles
Current Odometer: 3,667 miles
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has a Start-Stop feature on three of its four drive settings. I always find this feature disruptive so I usually turn it off.
I guess I'm going to have to get used to it eventually because Dan tells me this will be a feature in all new cars.
In our long-term Porsche 911, you could press a button to turn this feature off and it stayed off. But in our new BMW you have to switch it off every time you start the car. You do this by choosing Sport mode. All three of the other driving modes put Stop-Start back into play.
How do you feel about Stop-Start? I know its purpose is to save fuel. But do you find it annoying?
The call was unexpected. My brother and I had to get ourselves up to Oregon in short order, but air travel wasn't going to work because of flight schedules, the remote location of our ultimate destination and other complications. We had to drive.
If we left right now we'd get there about the same time (if not earlier) than airline travel because we could drive through the night. Once there we'd have our own wheels and we could depart on our own schedule when the situation improved.
Our route would mimic the one I followed on my most recent holiday road trip in the Tesla Model S. But this time the Tesla wouldn't do. Superchargers are plenty fast enough for vacation travel, but this was no vacation. We were staring down the barrel of a drive-straight-through run for the border.
I chose the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive GT because it isn't terribly thirsty and has a decent-sized 15.8-gallon tank. I also liked the idea of xDrive all-wheel drive because there was a chance we'd encounter snow and ice over the many interstate summits we would cross — a good chance because the forecast called for rain, and rain can turn to snow at altitude in early March.
We departed L.A. in the early afternoon. Our estimated arrival time was the wee hours after midnight so there was no reason to drive like idiots. We'd run a reasonable pace and stop as infrequently as possible for food and gasoline.
This image shows us passing Mount Shasta at 11:20 p.m., some 9 hours and 45 minutes after we left Santa Monica. To this point we'd stopped just once for fast food, fuel, water and energy drinks and had made a couple of brief visits to rest areas. Last December's Tesla vacation trip required 13 hours and 45 minutes to get this far, but that figure shrinks to 13 hours once I adjust that trip's starting point from Santa Ana to Santa Monica.
Bottom line: We shaved 3 hours and 15 minutes off the Tesla vacation trip to this point. We did this by eliminating two 1-hour meals and making fewer (and shorter) in-between stops. We took a more direct route through Sacramento (the Vacaville Supercharger isn't ideally located unless you're coming from the Bay Area) and we generally maintained a get-there mindset that kept us in the saddle longer.
And Shasta wasn't an overnight waypoint like it had been in the Model S vacation. Here we were able to keep on going a few more hours and arrive at our final destination in a single push.
The saved time is not to say this banzai run was better than the Tesla road trip. It wasn't. We arrived tired and cranky, essentially jet-lagged. And all that seat-time left me sore, stiff and miserable. I'd noticed the 328i GT's seats weren't very comfortable in the first few hours but had no choice but to press on and do what stretching I could during our infrequent stops.
In the absence of time pressure I'd be better off in the BMW 328i if I adopted a Tesla-style road trip pattern of longer and more frequent stops that included ample time for strolling and decompressing.
The point of all this is well known to everyone: You have the option of making this kind of straight-through run in a fossil-fuel powered car like our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive GT. You'd have to leave your Tesla at home in such circumstances, as we did. But this isn't necessarily damning news for the Model S. Anyone who has the coin to own one probably owns a few gas-powered cars they can choose from. Or they should, at least.
As for the reason for the trip, all is well after a couple of days.
It's a hatchback. That's the whole point of the 2014 BMW 328i Gran Turismo. But to me the term GT has evolved to represent performance. The term appears everywhere in motorsports. I think it's more accurate in this case to say that GT stands for Gigantic Trunk. After all, there are 24.6 cubic feet of storage under that hatch. A 3 Series sedan's trunk can offer but 13.0 cubic feet.
And that's with the seats up and occupied. Fold the rear seatbacks down flat and our 328i GT has 56.5 cubic feet of easily accessed cargo space. That's getting close to crossover territory in a car that drives like a 3 Series. Factor in the fact the xDrive all-wheel drive is standard and the 328i GT starts to make a kind of sense for those that would rather drive a car than a crossover.
My brother and I packed hastily for our recent road trip and threw a couple of bags each in the back. There was room for a whole lot more when we were done. The hatch made it easy to root around and find items we needed along the way without having to pull anything out for a better view.
At one point he needed something while we were rolling down the road. Neither of us wanted to stop so he instead folded down one of the 40/20/40 seatbacks and pulled the needed bag into the cabin so he could dig through it. Trunk pass-through portals (if the car in question has one at all) are usually small and a sedan's seatbacks rarely fold down as readily and as flat as these.
The hatch has a power close button as well as a close-and-lock button. The usual unlock-and-open button is located on the key fob, and there's an inside release on the dash by the driver's left knee. Pretty standard stuff, but very well executed.
I'm not sure about the butt-heavy styling, though. All I can say so far is the 3 Series GT looks better than the 5 Series GT because there is less of it to look at. And I think the designers have managed to keep the basic BMW 3 Series shape more intact.
Interstate road trips are a sure way to pile on the miles, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when our 2014 BMW 3281 GT clicked through 5,000 miles on the way back from Oregon.
It's not much of a milestone, I admit. Nothing much goes wrong this early on.
But it's a numbers thing. Some folks like to commemorate those occasions when the odometer rolls past a string of nines and replaces them with a neat row of zeroes. You can count me among this crowd, but I suppose it was more of an event in the days of mechanical odometers.
For those that are into this sort of thing, it's traditional to show where "it" happened.
Ready?
Are you sure?
Sadly, there's nothing particularly memorable about this location. It's just Interstate 5, southbound, in the rain, near Grant's Pass, Oregon.
*Golf clap*
Then again, 5,000 miles isn't much of an accomplishment these days. Perhaps 10,000 miles will be more memorable.
You may not like the way the 2014 BMW 3 Series GT looks, but it's hard to argue with the utility of its hatchback configuration. Compared to the 3 Series sedan, the GT offers nearly six additional cubic feet of cargo space. Not only that, it's far more accessible cargo space which makes it even more useful as Dan mention on his road trip.
There's something about being able to see the whole cargo area that makes the difference. Instead of shoving things toward the back, you can more easily configure things as you load them. Add to that the fact that there's no intrusion from any trunk lid arms or their covers and it's easy to see why this hatchback setup is so handy.
The way to open a car's hood hasn't changed much in years. The last big innovation came decades ago when inside releases were introduced to prevent "unauthorized individuals" from opening the hood and making off with, say, the battery.
Since then the opening process has been a predictable two-step affair with a secondary catch that must be groped-for under the popped-up edge of the hood before it can be lifted fully. Some are easy to find and manipulate, others aren't. There is no standard placement, even within the design studios of a single automaker.
This secondary catch is a required safety feature that prevents an improperly-closed hood from flying up against the windshield once a car gets underway and the rush of air builds to a point where it can lift steel (or aluminum as the case may be.)
What BMW has done is so obvious that we must all give ourselves a face-palm of monumental proportions. It's just a hood latch, and we can all recall incidents when we couldn't find the safety release without some probing and swearing. Why didn't we think of this?
Here they've got this new-fangled inside handle that, wait for it, you pull twice. That's what the "2x" is telling us. The first pull undoes the primary latch and the second one releases the safety catch. After that you simply walk to the front of the car and lift the hood.
No more fiddling around is required in unseen places where grime tends to collect, where hidden sharp edges sometimes lurk.
Nothing has changed with respect to the safety latch. It still stands guard in the event you drive off without fully closing the hood. And the inside handle isn't really new, either.
The key element in the system is instead a clever hood latch mechanism that has two catches that release in turn with consecutive pulls on the same cable via the same handle.
I'm not sure how long this has been out there. It seems to be new as of this latest generation of 3 Series. I'm fairly certain our last-generation 3 Series long-term test car didn't have anything like this.
Whenever it started, BMW is spreading it throughout their lineup. I noticed the same setup on the soon-to-be-released 2014 Mini Cooper when I test-drove one in Puerto Rico some weeks ago, and I think it was among the interesting features to be found on the new 2014 BMW i3 electric car I test-drove last fall in Amsterdam.
Of course, I don't personally open every hood of every car that comes through our doors for testing. I may have missed an earlier appearance. Have any of you seen it on other cars?
Near as I can tell, you can't sync the dual-zone climate control on the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo.
With many dual-zone systems you can hit a "sync" button so that anytime the driver changes the temp both the driver and passenger sides change to that temp automatically.
And yes, I RTEM'd (Read The Entire Manual). Or at least the areas related to climate control. Nothing about syncing the two sides.
Is this a big deal? Not really. I'd just prefer if it could.
I wasn't sure what to make of a 3 Series version of BMW's rear-heavy-looking Gran Turismo experiment.
Then I took it through some twisty bits on California's famous Mulholland Drive.
So how did it perform?
Even with a wheelbase extended by 4.4 inches versus a regular 3 Series sedan, and fitted with standard all-wheel drive (or xDrive, in BMW-speak), the 328i GT handled pretty much like a normal 3 Series.
Meaning it was responsive, sure-footed and, yes, fun. In spite of the fact the all-season tires (Pirelli Cinturato P7s) on our long-term 328i GT seem particularly grip-less, squealing earlier than you'd expect.
That just means the action happens sooner and at lower speeds, and on a public road that's okay. With sharp steering fed to your hands through a thick leather-wrapped wheel, you can really toss this 3 Series GT around. Its initial desire to understeer can be controlled with throttle adjustments, and even though I didn't fully defeat the stability system (had it in the Sport Plus dynamic mode), it still allowed a degree of tail-out action exiting slow turns.
Like I said, unexpected fun.
The diameter of the iDrive controller on the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is half again as big as the one in my 2011 BMW 328i coupe. But there is a good reason for it: Its top is a touchpad that lets you write in some destination info, such as the street name, address and city, rather than dialing around the system's wheel of fortune.
The touchpad had no trouble interpreting my fingertip writing and it was easier to use than the scroll wheel. I know that the iDrive has a lot of haters, but I like it, and I like this neatly integrated approach to better, faster destination delineation.
How easy is it for you to input a destination in your car's nav system?
There's no question that our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is great to drive. For me, it genuinely splits the difference between the 3 Series sedan and the X3 in areas like ride comfort, handling and interior room. But its exterior styling is an acquired taste. Or so I thought until I left it in a Trader Joe's parking lot for 15 minutes one evening. (Note: Parking lot not pictured.)
I emerged from the store with an armful of groceries and noticed that the cars parked on either side of me hadn't moved since I entered the store. But in a row of eight or 10 cars, only the 3 Series GT had a piece of paper secured to its windshield. It was the only BMW in the vicinity. But I hadn't parked badly, so there was no obvious provocation for anyone to leave a hate-gram.
I flipped over the paper and found this house ad from a local real estate agent.
If you know much about the West Side of Los Angeles, you know that $1.5 million will not buy you an extravagant house. Else, why would the ad mention that a (public) charter school is within walking distance?
Still, you need a certain level of economic comfort to get a loan for such a dwelling. And upon spotting our gray 328i Gran Turismo, said realtor knew that a BMW driver would almost certainly have it, whereas the owner of the Camry next to me probably would not. That's profiling at its shallowest, but in a small way, it bodes well for the success of the 3 Series hatchback.
I'm becoming a fan of head-up displays. Our 2014 Mazda3 has one that I like quite a bit. And the HUD on this new 2014 BMW 328i GT is pretty great, too.
They're similar in that both show speed, cruise control set speed and next-turn information if a navigation route is active. Mazda uses a single color for all of these elements while BMW uses at least three.
Both have similar settings for elevation and brightness in their respective iDrive controllers. Mazda doesn't call theirs iDrive, of course, but the knob and the on-screen HUD menu choices (including off, for certain colleagues that think I'm nuts) is strikingly similar.
The display surface itself is where the two really differ. The Mazda projects its info through a small aperture onto a thin plastic screen that flips up when the car is started. This BMW has a large dashtop opening that shines directly onto the windshield.
I'm not bothered by the Mazda approach, but the BMW layout works great, too.
The trip back south from Oregon wasn't as rushed as the northern leg had been. We wanted to get home, but we were too frazzled to drive back on high alert.
So after our first California fuel stop in sleepy Yreka we decided to set the cruise control at a reasonable speed in the low 70's, settle in and let Interstate 5 stream past.
We didn't stop for gas again until we were over 497 miles down the road at Lost Hills.
That was a 33.2 mpg tank. The following fill-up, the one that brought us the rest of the way home from Lost Hills, was 33.0 mpg.
The EPA highway rating for this car is 33 mpg. Nailed it.
The worst tank on our northern leg (winding two-lane road, rain, elevation changes, passing through small one-horse towns) had been 27.4 mpg. Our overall trip average for the 2,100-mile round trip and associated side trips came out to 29.7 mpg.
All of this compares quite favorably to the EPA combined rating of 26 mpg.
Not sure if anyone will break the 500-mile range barrier in this car, but I'm convinced it can be done with the cruise control set between 65 and 70 mph on cruise control. The 2.0-liter turbo-4 in the 328i can be quite efficient when you relax and go with the flow.
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has many things.
It has a base price of $42,375. Our particular example has options such as the $2,200 Premium package and the $3,150 Technology package. This last one includes a hard-drive navigation system with a large color display.
It also has a big butt and rearward visibility that's worse than many SUVs.
Despite the large screen and the enlarged posterior, what our 2014 BMW 328i GT doesn't have is a backup camera.
To get one we'd have to spend another $950 on the Driver Assistance package, which bundles the rear camera with front and rear parking proximity sensors, active blind spot detection and side- and top-view cameras.
Seems to me the GT should come with a rear backup camera. Seeing out the back shouldn't be an option here, especially since the cameras are starting to come standard on cars that cost less than half as much as this one.
I suppose it's like Internet access at hotels. Cheap ones give it away for free while some five-star places charge as much per day as you pay at home for a full month.
This state of affairs won't persist past 2018, the point in time that the NHTSA backup camera mandate comes into full force on 100% of vehicles sold in the USA.
I took our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo (that's a mouthful) on our 116-mile evaluation loop last week so I could do an Edmunds Rating on it. If you've ever seen our Ratings on the Web site, then you know we get pretty in-depth.
As such, this is not just a carefree drive through the countryside with the stereo blasting. We're assessing ride comfort, tire noise, wind noise, seat comfort, cubby storage and even how easy it is to get in/out of the car (the latter usually not while we're driving). And lots more.
What's my point?
That it's surprising the extra sounds you hear when you don't have the radio on. And in the case of our 328i GT, I noticed an occasional dash rattle over certain sections of road.
My guess is it's related to the plastic surround of the optional Head-Up Display, but I couldn't quite pinpoint that while I was driving. And it is pretty faint.
So we'll monitor and see if it gets worse. Or if anyone else even notices.
That's right. I'm not afraid to say it. The cruise control on our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is the best I've ever sampled.
I should note, for the record, that I am talking about standard cruise control here. Our 3 Series GT is not equipped with the optional adaptive cruise control system that's built to maintain a following distance if other cars are present.
It starts with the controls on the steering wheel. Buttons for power, set and resume are set in an array around a thumb wheel for making speed adjustments. Roll it up or down against the detent to trim the set speed in 1 mph increments. Push past this initial resistance and you'll get a 5 mph bump.
On the instrument panel, a ring around the outer rim of the speedo contains lights that pinpoint your current set speed. Orange indicates an inactive speed that you'll get back to when you hit resume, green indicates an active speed you're at or, if you just made an adjustment, heading towards. The chosen set speed also shows up digitally and lingers for a few seconds on the head-up display whenever you make a change.
All of that is great, but it's not the best part.
I have never seen a cruise control that holds speed this accurately with so much apparent ease. And I'm not just talking about flat ground. My brother and I crossed several mountain passes on our recent road trip, and the 328i didn't gain so much as a single mph going downhill, even on steep grades. It didn't lag behind by as much as 1 mph on the uphill climbs, either.
The 2-liter turbo-4 and the 8-speed transmission are seemingly programmed to do whatever it takes to hold the line. And they do it smoothly. We were never once bothered by any action either one chose to make to maintain our desired cruising speed. Driver-induced adjustments via the thumbwheel resulted in a smooth yet steady and determined march to the newly requested velocity, which stands in sharp contrast to our Tesla Model S, a car that overreacts with a desperate step-function lurch that is so abrupt that heads bob and passengers glare with dirty looks.
Meanwhile, many gas-powered vehicles seem to lack enthusiasm. More than a few seem unwilling to trigger a downshift, especially downhill, in the interest of managing speed. If and when they do it seems to come after a period of brooding indecision. Or the downshift never comes at all and speed climbs and climbs until the driver intervenes and dabs the brakes. Uphill, it's not uncommon for throttle applications to lag behind until speed sags two or three (or four, or more) mph below the set speed. Some never apply enough gas and or won't kick down a gear and eventually throw in the towel and shut off of their own accord.
Why do so many systems seem so indifferent to what seems like a very simple job?
Our BMW benefits from eight gears that are more closely spaced than they would be if it had a 6-speed gearbox. The smaller rpm steps that result make it easier to execute smooth downshifts without raising a ruckus. And the 2.0-liter turbo engine makes a lot of torque down low in the rev range. Its peak output of 255 lb-ft is first available at just 1,250 rpm and maintains that level all the way to 4,800 revs. These factors can only help the cause of accurate speed management.
But that's not just that. Someone somewhere within BMW decided that their cruise control shouldn't just work well on flat ground or gently rolling terrain. This attitude served my brother and I well on the mountainous freeway route up and back to Oregon. It's one of the key factors that made our 328i GT feel like a very capable road trip machine.
Depending on what drive setting you select, sport, normal or "Eco Pro," the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has very different personalities. In sport, I'm an impatient lane changer. In normal, I'm relaxed until I see some open road, then I explore the German heritage of this sport sedan. But when the freeways are clogged I'm a mellow Eco Pro guy.
This morning's 32-mile commute restricted me to a blazing top speed of 35 mph. So I switched into Eco Pro and watched my bonus miles begin to build. By the time I reached the office I had amassed a whopping 1.3 bonus miles. What, may you ask, are bonus miles?
Finding the answer to this question was only a few clicks away. I discovered that not only is the owner's manual online, but it's easier to read than its bulky paper counterpart. I quickly got my answer. It appears that by driving in the torpid "Eco Pro" I had extended my range on this tank of gas by 1.3 miles. Frankly, I'm not sure it was worth it. But day in day out, it might add up to a real savings.
I needed a place to stash some hand tools in our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. I really didn't want them loose in the cabin with me, as they'd be pretty nasty projectiles in the event of a crash.
When I ventured into the 328i GT's cargo area, I recalled that it is equipped with run-flat tires, which means there might be a handy place for a few loose tools back there.
I was more right than I expected.
The cargo area's floor access door is supported by a gas strut (sure, a little hook and tether would be fine, too). There are several voluminous storage bins beneath, perfect for exactly what I needed in this instance.
Using that as a segue, no discussion of the 3 Series Gran Turismo's cargo space is complete without addressing its stablemate. It's easy to be cynical about the idea of this car when the 3 Series Sport Wagon exists. The 3 Series Gran Turismo delivers less than one cubic foot of additional cargo volume over the wagon (this grows to 3.5 cubic feet with the seats folded), yet is larger and weighs 135 pounds more.
However, the Gran Turismo has a higher seating position, its much-longer wheelbase delivers far more backseat legroom and its base price is the same as that of the wagon. Much as I'm a wagon guy, I recognize that this is one of those horses-for-courses things.
Before we get too far into this, let me just say that I'm not sure how relevant this feature really is. I mean, how many 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo owners are ever going to change their own oil? Not many, I'd wager.
If they did they'd have no trouble reaching the top-mount cartridge style oil filter housing, which practically stares you in the face when you open the hood. Unlike our 2012 Jeep Wrangler, there's no cowering under the engine cover going on here. And the tightening torque spec is embossed right there on the cap. There's even a helpful arrow for those that haven't yet heard the "righty-tighty" rhyme.
Sadly, this state of affairs will go unappreciated. Lessees won't bother and owners won't need to for 4 years or 50,000 miles because of BMW's generous Ultimate Service Program, which even includes free brake service.
A few hardy souls might be tempted to go under the hood after that period passes, however, because it costs $2,495 to extend the free maintenance program out to 6 years or 100,000 miles.
I feel compelled to add a "yeah, but" regarding the cruise control system in our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. Dan Edmunds reckons that its cruise control is pretty dandy; nay, the best ever.
I agree with Dan regarding the aspects of its effectiveness he identified. These are calibration-related performance factors, and in this regard the system is very good. However, the system's ergonomics fall short of many other automakers' systems...and even BMW's own previous efforts.
Here's where I take issue. The primary glaring issue with the 328i Gran Turismo's cruise control system is the on/off/cancel button. Namely, this cruise defaults to off upon every key cycle. Yes, this means you have to re-turn on the cruise control every single time you restart the car.
This is unnecessary and aggravating in any car but is made especially so since previous incarnations of BMW's cruise didn't include an on/off button at all. In the past, it was always armed: You want to set the cruise? You set it. Bam. Done. You never needed to turn it on before turning it on. This system (known as the BMW paddle or stalk) was the best cruise control interface in the history of controlled cruising, for this and other reasons. The next-best approach in this regard to the BMW paddle is an on/off button with a discrete state for either setting, so once on, it stays on, even after a key cycle. A few other automakers employ this strategy.
Where were we? Right, the Gran Turismo's cruise control system. The buttons themselves also lack tactility. Aside from the prominent rocker lever (which works quite well) to set speed up/down, the resume and on/off/cancel buttons are all rather smooth and same-same-y, with minimal distinct features to facilitate finding the right button quickly and by feel alone. Instead, they appear to be designed for aesthetic symmetry among the steering wheel spokes rather than for ergonomic functionality. See for yourself in the photo above.
Yeah, go ahead and say it, I'm being nitpicky. Sure. But it's just a shame to see such weaksauce ergonomics from the same company that already produced the ideal cruise control interface years ago.
I noticed something interesting when I was poking around under the hood of our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo the other day. It wasn't the engine or any system associated with it, but it is something that's shared with another newly redesigned BMW product, the 2014 Mini Cooper.
What am I going on about? It has to do with the washers under the heads of the bolts that hold the front suspension struts to the body. They're super thick.
There's nothing new about a washer under the head of a bolt. They help spread the load out and they prevent galling when the bolt is wrenched tight.
But the extra thickness we see here has another purpose that isn't obvious to the untrained eye.
The sheet metal of the typical strut tower is pretty thin. This bolt doesn't need to be very long to punch through the other side and engage the threads.
But that's not ideal because of the way bolted joints work. For a given tightening torque, the clamping force of a bolted joint has to do with how much the bolt stretches (and they do stretch) as it's tightened down. But bolted joints also tend to relax slightly as the various layers in the metal sandwich seat and settle on a near-microscopic level. Some of this happens right away (which is why you should go through the star pattern of wheel nut torqueing two times) and some happens over the course of use, especially if there's vibration involved.
Here's the kicker: For a given amount of relaxation, shorter bolts lose a greater percentage of their overall clamping force than longer ones. Longer fasteners produce bolted joints that are more stable and stay tighter over time.
This thick washer and the longer bolt that goes with it increases the distance between the head of the bolt and the threads below by what appears to be a factor of two or perhaps three.
Why not just tighten them to a higher torque value to start with? You'd over-stress the bolt and possibly even snap the head off, that's why. And you'd still have the relaxation susceptibility of a short bolt.
Cool as this is, we're not looking at some new BMW innovation. I first saw something like them on Toyota products when I worked at their Arizona Proving Ground in the 1990s, and the idea is much older than that.
Here's a picture of what Toyota calls "performance nuts" on our departed 2004 Prius long-term test car. These special nuts are as broad as a washer across the bottom and they lack internal threads until you get halfway up. This initial lack of threads is crucial because that's where the extra bolt-stretch length is gained. That's what allows this nut to do the same job as BMW's thick washer but without an extra part to keep track of in the assembly plant.
Here's a picture of what Toyota calls "performance nuts" on our departed 2004 Prius long-term test car. These special nuts are as broad as a washer across the bottom and they lack internal threads until you get halfway up. This initial lack of threads is crucial because that's where the extra bolt-stretch length is gained. That's what allows this nut to do the same job as BMW's thick washer but without an extra part to keep track of in the assembly plant.
And these are the lower strut mounting nuts and bolts. It's hard to see the benefit here, though, because the bolts are quite long to begin with. I suppose it's because lower strut clamps of this sort are apt to scoot around in the course of use, which can lead to changes in wheel alignment. I guess they're looking for any improvement they can get.
So now you know what you might be dealing with if you're doing a DIY maintenance project and run across a thick washer or a weird-looking nut of this sort. And you'll know you should make sure to replace them as you found them because they have a specific reason for being.
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has only been with us since late February, and already it's got over 8,000 miles on its odometer. It's also just called for its first oil change.
We got the "10 miles until service" warning on the instrument panel on the way home. By the next morning when we dropped it off at BMW of Santa Monica, it read "Service Due Since 30mi." Sheesh, judge much?
We showed up at the dealership without an appointment and that was no trouble at all. The car required an oil change, scope, a software update (the advisor wasn't aware of anything driver-facing that would change with this update) and a TSB for a water drain grommet that could, maybe, leak.
It took them about 4 hours to have everything settled and give us a call. Total cost: $0.00 thanks to BMW's free maintenance which is available for 4 years or 50,000 miles.
Since our last fuel economy update, the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has added more than 4,000 miles to its odometer. Over that distance we've managed the best range thus far (497.1 bladder-busting miles), the most efficient tank (33.2 mpg), the least efficient (14.9 mpg) and upped the lifetime fuel economy up considerably to 24 mpg.
That still falls below its EPA combined estimate of 26 mpg, though in March we ran the GT on our 116-mile Edmunds evaluation loop where it returned 27 mpg.
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9 MPG
Best Fill MPG: 33.2 MPG
Average Lifetime MPG: 24.0 MPG
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1 miles
Current Odometer: 8,022 miles
The 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo in many ways represents my ideal car. It's engaging to drive, yet possesses a comfortable ride. It doesn't feel enormous when you're behind the wheel, yet it has enormous passenger space. The engine provides spirited acceleration, yet is commendably fuel efficient. It also has some of the most highly adjustable, tall-friendly seats around in a cabin that's attractive (love the blue accents) and user-friendly. Perhaps most notably for the GT, it's a hatchback, which as all card-carrying automotive journalists will attest, is a truly wonderful thing.
As I said, our 328i could be my ideal car. Unfortunately...
It's ugly. Oh boy, is it ugly. Specifically, it's bulbous in both proportion and detail. Whereas the fastback-style hatchback works/worked so wonderfully on an Audi A7 and the original Mazda 6, creating a more elegant profile than their more conventional three-box siblings, the Gran Turismo looks like a 3 Series inflated by a month-long lard and bacon binge. I also dislike the flared nostril kidney grilles, which rob the 3 Series of its athletic, streamlined front end. Ditto the puffy rear end that lacks any semblance of that taut, handsome simplicity indicative of all the great Bimmers. Look at the tail end of a 2000 5 Series and you'll see what I mean.
A BMW doesn't have to be beautiful to get me on board, but it can't be ugly. The 3 GT is. But, thankfully, it seems like the forthcoming 4 Series Gran Coupe possesses many of the same properties (it too is a 3 Series-based four-door hatchback). It presumably sacrifices some practicality for its good looks, but that's a trade I'd be happy to make.
I get this a lot when I drive our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. It's a big bright glare on the window. I stays right in front of my face for long portions of my drive. And it's always that same shape.
Is it reflecting up from the head-up display? I haven't seen this happen in any other car.
On an unrelated note: 4 mph on the freeway. Woohoo.
When you're traveling about 40 mph and you get a chance for a burst of speed, this is my favorite time in our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. It provides powerful mid-range torque combined with a quick-thinking transmission. It's satisfyingly responsive.
It's that BMW moment. A sweet spot. There's no hesitation, no doubt, the car just obeys, like spurring on a trustworthy horse.
In this MP3 era, seeing the album artwork on a display is the closest thing we have to holding the CD insert and looking at it while listening to the music. In 2004, I bought a fourth generation iPod, the first to display album artwork. Despite the artwork being smaller than a postage stamp, I was blown away. Years later, I continue to be impressed whenever a car has the ability to display cover art.
In the past few years, the cars that have offered album artwork have required that the phone be hard wired with a USB cable or proprietary Apple cable. But now, Bluetooth technology has improved to the point where it can transmit album artwork wirelessly. The long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is an example of a car in which this works.
The album artwork takes up a nice portion of the 328i's screen and refreshes fairly quickly when you skip tracks. I even tried to throw it for a loop by switching to a podcast. For the non-Apple users out there, music and podcasts are separate apps, and some cars will only see the music app. There was a slightly longer transition to the podcast app, but the 328i's screen eventually loaded the proper artwork.
The above photo shows what the screen looks like when you don't have the album artwork. Pretty bland, right?
What do you think? Is the display of album artwork a gimmick? Or part of the modern infotainment experience?
Over the long holiday weekend, our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo reached a milestone: It has covered 10,000 miles in our care.
At this rate, we'll easily reach our goal of accumulating 20,000 miles in twelve months of use. No wonder, as this long-wheelbase hatchback is well-suited for long-distance travel. Comfort, ride, power and space all converge here, and it's been trouble-free to boot.
It doesn't look like much, especially with a healthy coat of dust on it, but the turbocharged 2.0-liter in our 2014 BMW 328i GT is a real piece of work.
It produces a strong punch off the line despite its small size and sounds good doing it. All those gears in the eight-speed transmission certainly help the cause. At higher engine speeds, it remains smooth and relatively quiet. Sure, one of BMW's legendary straight sixes is smoother and quieter, but this engine is as close as a four-cylinder is likely to get.
Best of all, there's plenty of power left up top for quick passes at highway speeds. So much so that I'm often left thinking that it's all the engine this car needs. If I were buying one I would have a hard time spending the extra cash for the 3.0-liter six.
With just over 11,000 miles now on the clock, our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has racked up another 3,000 miles in the month of May. The best mpg, worst mpg and best range numbers all stood pat, while the average mpg nearly did. The latter dropped a mere tenth of an mpg.
So we're still averaging about two mpg less than the EPA's combined number. But as noted in the last update, this all-wheel-drive sport hatchback managed 27 mpg overall on Edmunds' 116-mile, mixed-driving evaluation loop.
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9
Best Fill MPG: 33.2
Average Lifetime MPG: 23.9
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City / 33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1
Current Odometer: 11,147
Our 2014 BMW 328i has the M Sport package, or M Sport "line" as BMW calls it. It's a $3,750 option over the base setup and it includes these sporty wheels, some minor exterior changes, an M Sport steering wheel, sport seats and a few unique interior colors and trim.
Not a bad collection of parts, but for $1,250 less you can go with the Sport line package that also adds a set of slick looking 18-inch wheels, sport seats, unique interior treatments and even a few exterior changes.
What don't you get? Blue brake calipers. They're signature elements of BMW's M Sport packages. They're also the most easily recognizable sign that you paid up for the more expensive package. Not a bad piece of marketing by BMW.
Two cars: one our long-term 2014 BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo and the other a 2014 BMW 3 Series Sport Wagon. They're both 3 Series, they both have extra cargo space compared to the regular sedan, both come standard with the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and they even have the same base price at $42,375.
And yet, they are quite different.
The Gran Turismo weighs 135 pounds more than the wagon and has 4.4 extra inches of wheelbase. Not surprisingly, it also has 4 extra inches of rear legroom and that makes a big difference for rear occupants. You'd be a bit squished when sitting behind me in the wagon, but not so in the GT. Quite surprisingly, though, the GT actually has more cargo capacity than the wagon. With seats up it has 18.4 cubic feet versus 17.5, while the difference in maximum capacity is 56.5 cubic feet versus 53.
Of course, cubic feet don't tell the whole story. The wagon's more traditional cargo area shape is ultimately more versatile and useful. You'll be more likely to carry something tall and bulky like a large flatscreen TV back there. The wagon's rear window can also open separately from the rest of the tailgate (remember when everything did that?), allowing you to carry surfboards, rakes from the Home Depot or other long objects. Finally, the wagon comes with a roller dog net that can be affixed just behind the cargo cover or on the folded rear seats, giving your four-legged friend(s) two possible spaces in which to roam without fear that they'll come careering into passengers (by choice or inertia).
Then there's the matter of athletics and aesthetics. It's not a terribly significant difference, but the wagon is better to drive, with less weight and smaller dimensions to lug about. It also looks exponentially better than the bloated, awkward GT. Especially with our wagon test car's M Sport package and Melbourne Red Metallic paint. Yum. Oh, and you can get it with a diesel engine.
So there you have it, stop the presses: Auto Journalist Prefers Diesel-Powered 3 Series Wagon.
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has a premium audio system, when it's hauling two re-coned Jennings Research speaker stacks encased in walnut cabinets, that is. A defunct speaker maker started by a former JBL engineer, Jennings made really nice product, but apparently lacked the business sense to succeed. The speakers sing sweetly again, given new life by the pros at Orange County Speaker.
Sure, I could have used a 3 Series sedan with its rear seats folded for the same task, but I doubt the speakers would've loaded as easily. In this case, it was as simple as dropping them in and tucking a small towel underneath to protect from the metal tracks on the trunk floor.
I've had to swallow my general contempt for the shape and style of this oddball 3 Series when confronted with genuine moments of utility and usefulness like this. Still looks weird and I still question its existence, but it helped me get the speakers home so I could begin disturbing the peace, so it's not all bad.
The 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo doesn't remember me. Or rather, it doesn't remember my phone. Returning to the car with phone in pocket, the Gran Turismo often won't reconnect with my phone as an audio device. In this case, I'd slid back into the driver's seat after a visit to the car wash. I tried to launch a podcast, but no luck. The system indicated that it wasn't connected to my phone as an external audio device.
I tried several fixes. I made a quick phone call, no problem. I tried listening to the program through the phone's speaker, no problem. I power-cycled the phone and audio system with no luck. I swirled the iDrive controller, switched inputs, checked and unchecked boxes. Finally I tried what seems obvious now, but eluded me until then: I simply turned off the GT's Bluetooth function, waited a couple of seconds, then turned it back on. Success connecting with both phone and audio streaming.
This has happened before and each time it seems like a different method re-established the Bluetooth streaming link. But it's irritating when it happens in a car that carries this kind of premium. I don't recall experiencing any Bluetooth kinks in our Kia Forte or Mazda 3, for example.
I may be punished for calling the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo a grocery-getter. But in this case, that's not a bad thing.
Four quality reusable grocery bags, plus my purse, fit snuggly across the BMW's cargo bay.
No tippage = no spillage = no clean up.
If BMW made a minivan, my update here would end immediately. You can't beat a big box on wheels with sliding doors for maximum family-oriented versatility and practicality. But, of course, BMW doesn't make a minivan (much to the relief of BMW enthusiasts everywhere.)
But that does lead to the question: What's the best vehicle in BMW's current lineup for families? Could it be our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo?
As always, the definition of "best" could be quite varied and dependent on what family we're talking about. Maybe the old X5 M crossover SUV would be your ultimate BMW family truckster. Nonetheless, I'll lay out five points on why I think our Gran Turismo could be the best choice for a lot of folks.
The hatchback. Yes, the Gran Turismo's hatchback body style does lead to some awkward proportions. But you can't argue against the versatility and cargo-loading ease that it provides. For daily family use (think groceries, soccer gear and strollers), it's great.
Car agility. True, you can carry bulkier items in BMW's X3 or X5. But neither of those "car-like" crossover SUVs has the handling agility offered by the lower-sitting 3 Series Gran Turismo.
Standard all-wheel drive. If it's wet-weather traction you're worried about, which would have most people thinking "SUV!" BMW still has you covered. All-wheel drive is standard equipment.
Big back seat. "So what about the 3 Series wagon?" you say. Good point. It also has standard AWD and certainly looks better. But the Gran Turismo, besides being easier to load items into, has the advantage of enhanced rear seat space. If you've got lanky teenagers or small children in need of bulky rear-facing child safety seats, the GT is what you want.
Good fuel economy. The 328i Gran Turismo has an EPA combined driving estimate of 26 mpg. Yes, the 3 Series wagon can match that, or better it with its available diesel. But the X3, X5 and 5 Series Gran Turismo are all worse. So is the marginally quicker yet more expensive 335i GT.
What do you think? Have I made a strong case for the Ultimate BMW Family Machine?
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has many desirable attributes. It's practical. It's classy. It's also pretty quick when you give it the boot. But from the traditional 3 Series sedan standpoint, I don't find our GT particularly rewarding or enjoyable to drive.
The 3 Series has long offered balanced ride and handling with quick communicative steering that could provide you with a lot of driver confidence. It's been a car that could subtly encourage you to take the long way home, skipping the super-slab highway in favor of a curvy back road. Given that the Gran Turismo relies on that name heritage, it deserves a little more scrutiny than it would otherwise.
Now, our 328i GT is equipped to be just about as sporty as possible. It's got the M Sport styling package with 18-inch wheels. It also has the optional brake upgrade and the Dynamic Handling package, which includes adaptive suspension dampers and adaptive, variable-ratio steering.
Even so, I just don't get a feeling of sport or fun. Around town with the programmable drive mode set on Comfort (the default mode that the car picks every time you start the car) the suspension has plenty of softness to it. The steering is very light. Drive through a turn and you get, well, a squishy sense of comfortable. Press on a little harder and the tires squeal early, almost embarrassingly so. While it's obviously a lighter and different class of car, our long-term Mazda 3 is substantially more zippy and engaging.
Pirelli Cinturato P7: It could be Italian for "I have no grip."
My wife, who owns a first-generation BMW X3, recently drove the long-term Gran Turismo. She came home after driving it and said to me: "What's with your car? I don't get a feel of the road at all." Basically, she didn't care for the way the GT drove.
To clarify things for myself, I took it out on one of those curvy back roads. With the GT's drive mode set to Sport, the suspension does become firmer and the steering gains some heft and precision. It's more stable when in Sport, certainly. But I still didn't get much enjoyment from the drive. I drove back to the highway and I think both the car and I were happier.
Now, I will point out that what I've just written stands in direct contrast to what Mike Monticello wrote a few months ago with Drives Like a 3 Series. He said the car was "unexpected fun." Mike is also one of our performance test drivers and can school me on a race track. Does his opinion carry more weight? Probably.
So perhaps you can just consider what I've got here as a second opinion.
If you bought a 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo like our car, I suspect there's a good chance you'd be pretty pleased every time you took a seat and looked around at the GT's high quality interior.
Now, I'll say right up front that the color and trim combination in our 328i Gran Turismo isn't one that I would have selected if it were my car. The sporty aluminum metallic trim and blue accent highlights don't really seem to fit the relaxed, practical character of the car. (They would, however, fit quite naturally on a blue BMW 435i coupe, don't you think?)
But the good thing about BMW is that you can do a fair amount of customization. On the GT, there are three "Lines" to start from: Sport, Luxury and M Sport (the latter being selected for our car.) Each one has different exterior and interior trim and styling aspects. With Luxury, for instance, I think the saddle brown leather with the burled walnut trim would be pretty classy for a Gran Turismo. (Use the BMW configurator to check it out.)
Beyond that, I just like the aesthetics of the 3 Series design, including the classic BMW gauges, the gentle arc of the dash, the overall symmetry and how the large, fixed display screen doesn't seem like a tacked-on addition. The solid feel of the controls is another bonus. Overall, the interior says "luxury" to me, which is exactly what you want from this class of car.
As you likely know, BMW offers two engines for the 328i Gran Turismo: the 240-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the 328i (like our car) or the 300-hp, 3.0-liter six-cylinder in the 335i Gran Turismo.
So which one to get? Well, I suppose my title has already given the answer away. But here are my reasons why.
First of all, BMW's 2.0-liter is a strong little mill. My fellow editors have already written some updates about this, including how it develops impressive four-cylinder power and has a nice sweet spot. Sure, you'll get marginally quicker acceleration in the 335i. But I've driven the 335i. Our 328i feels plenty quick already. I'm not pining for the 335i GT at all.
The eight-speed automatic is fantastic, too. It shifts quickly and unobtrusively and responds nicely to your gas pedal inputs. The manual shifting mode is excellent, too. Under full acceleration and using the shift paddles, the upshifts are so quick that they seem nearly as quick as those you get from an automated manual gearbox (BMW's DSG, for example).
Of course, you get better fuel economy with the 328i. EPA combined is 26 mpg combined compared to 24 mpg for the 335i.
Finally, there's the price. The 335i GT starts about $5,000 more than the 328i GT, or about $4,000 if you figure that the 335i comes standard with the 328i's optional xenon headlights.
On a lot of cars, I find myself recommending upgrade engines to car shoppers. But for this car, go with the 328i.
When you order a 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo with the optional Technology package (as with our test car), it comes with a navigation system, an upgraded display screen and a head-up display. You also get BMW's latest telematics and smartphone app integration services.
But understanding exactly what you're getting with those services can be confusing.
A large part of the problem is that BMW has a bunch of different names for this stuff. There's ConnectedDrive, BMW Apps, BMW Assist, BMW Online, BMW Remote Services and MyBMWTouch Intellilink.
(Yes, I just made that last one up. Just checking to see if you're paying attention.)
ConnectedDrive is the umbrella name for everything listed here. Underneath that, Apps and Online are the connectivity-based features. Assist and Remote Services are the service-based ones.
The latter two are easier to understand. BMW Assist (which is actually standard without the Technology package) gets you basic emergency assistance and automatic crash collision notification. BMW Remote Services (comes with the Technology package) expands upon that with stolen vehicle recovery, remote door unlocking and use of the BMW Remote smartphone app.
BMW Online with MyInfo is the in-car information service. This is a Google-based service which allows you to access info (news, weather, etc.) or send information to your car for later use (such as sending a Google Maps location to your BMW, as seen in this commercial.)
BMW Apps is related to that, but it mostly refers to the main functionality for smartphone app integration. With this, you can use BMW Connected, which is BMW's main app you'll install on your smartphone. (And, again, don't confuse that with ConnectedDrive, which is just the overall branded name for all of this.)
By using Connected, there are various in-app functions you can use, including Web radio, Facebook, Twitter, Wiki Local and BMW's Eco Pro Analyser. The Connected app also supports the use of other apps, such as Pandora Radio, Rhapsody, Stitcher Radio and Audible.
I've only dabbled with these BMW Apps functions in our 328i Gran Turismo. I own an Apple iPhone 5S. The ratings and reviews in Apple's App Store for the Connected app weren't promising — just two stars, with many people saying the latest version wasn't working with their phones.
Personally, I didn't have any problems installing the app or connecting it to our car (with the USB charger cord). And the first "in-app" app I tried, Twitter, seemed to work fine. Our car was even reading tweets to me from fellow editor Mike Magrath.
I also tried out the Web radio, which also worked. Who wouldn't want to listen to "Power Turk" radio from Turkey while in Southern California?
Understand, though, that with all services like this, your phone is the link, and you'll be using your cellular data plan to power it.
So far, though, that's all I've tried. But going through this reminded me we've got a story with some tips on testing how well technology features work on a car before you buy it. The article is titled How To Test-Drive Car Technology.
The lifetime fuel economy of our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has gone up by two tenths to 24.1 mpg in a month. That means we're within 2 mpg of the EPA combined figure. Our best tank and best range records remained unbeaten, but it's hard to think that 497 miles and 33.2 mpg ever will be.
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9
Best Fill MPG: 33.2
Average Lifetime MPG: 24.1
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City / 33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1
Current Odometer: 12,679
Part of the appeal of the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is its longer wheelbase and body than the regular 3 Series sedan and wagon. BMW has put that extra length to use for expanding the amount of rear legroom and cargo space.
If you're an adult seated in back, you'll probably be impressed by the amount of space you have to stretch out your legs. It's excellent for any entry-level luxury car. At the same time, however, you could be disappointed in the amount of headroom the 3 GT has.
I've sat in the back of our 328i and I've been surprised by how my head rubs up against the headliner. I'm pretty normal for height, too, at 5-foot 10-inches tall. In order for my head to not touch the roof, I have to tilt it inwards. That's hardly comfortable.
Curiously, BMW's measurements for rear headroom are very similar for the 3 Series sedan, wagon and Gran Turismo. This is just my guess, but I think the issue is the pair of internal protrusions in the headliner (where the C-pillars are) that occur in the GT because of its hatchback's hinge mechanisms. They're right where your head would normally be if you're sitting in the rear outboard positions and take up a couple inches of space. I doubt they are factored into those headroom measurements.
There is a workaround, so to speak. If you scoot yourself inward just a couple inches, you'll clear the protrusions, and headroom goes back to normal. But the downside is that you've moved away from the door, so in all likelihood you won't be able to rest your outward arm on that door's armrest anymore.
The trip requirements were as follows: Room for three people, a small weekend bag each and a whole heap of surprise party stuff. The latter included decorations, food and two boxes of booze — for the 15-plus attendees, not just the three in the car. Any number of our Edmunds long-term cars could get the job done, but as the journey would take us up into the mountains around Lake Arrowhead, California, a car of some athleticism was preferred.
If that doesn't call for our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo I'm not sure what does. It's certainly more spacious and practical than our new Porsche Macan.
Not surprisingly, this is exactly the type of journey this car was made for. With the exception of a piñata that rode rather comically in the empty rear seat (yes, a piñata), all our stuff fit in the trunk, including in the awesome contraband hold under the floor (pictured below). Plus, the GT's additional rear legroom compared to the regular 3 Series sedan or wagon provided abundant stretch-out space for the piñata's human companion.
After the weekend was over, with the consumables consumed, the decorations taken by someone else and the piñata dispatched to the great Mexican party store in the sky, the 3 Series GT's duty expanded to include picking up three dogs from their sitters. With Maggie in her admittedly useless dog seat, Nellie strapped into the middle and guest star French Bulldog Olive wheezing on her human's lap, we successful increased the GT's passenger capacity to six.
So while I'm still not sold on the GT's styling or its appeal over the wagon, it's without question an excellent road trip car.
Sometimes simple is best. Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo still has a simple one-touch button to reset its trip meter.
You may never bother to do this, but every time we fill the tank of our long-term vehicles, we reset the trip meter and fill in its fuel log. In some of our long-term cars, I've actually had to break out the manual just to figure out how to reset the meter.
Why did any car company ever think of making this a more complex operation? BMW keeps it simple.
Playing aimlessly with the iDrive system of our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo can have its rewards, but it can also be a bit like surfing eBay Motors after a few hard lemonades. You wake up the next day with a bad headache and keen sense of regret.
So I found out.
No, I didn't use iDrive to buy a 1977 AMC Gremlin X with the factory slot mags. Although that would be cool. But I did poke around in the bowels of the system and regretfully discovered something called Sport Displays, which sounded cool.
It isn't.
Two gauges appear on the screen. According to the owner's manual they display the engine's current values for horsepower and torque.
Forget the fact that focusing on these gauges while driving down the road is a bad idea. The real issue here is: How are you benefiting from this information? And of course the answer is that there is no benefit. It's completely worthless.
Sure, when parked, it was fun to rev the car's engine and watch the needles move up and down, as I did for the photo op. But it was fun once. I'll never do it again.
I suspect that 99.9% of the folks that buy this car are smarter than me and won't even bother.
This is not an inexpensive car. Base price is $42,375 and our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo, which has more than its fair share of options, carries an MSRP of $55,500.
At those numbers it should be equipped with plenty of cool stuff, which it is. Check out its big sunroof.
BMW describes it as a "panoramic moonroof with fully automatic, 2-piece glass panels, power slide and lift control, wind deflector and power interior sunshade". And I was surprised to learn that it is standard equipment on all 3 Series hatchbacks.
As you can see the glass panels make up the majority of the car's roof. Although it's a bit disappointing that only the front panel opens, wind and noise control when it's retracted is outstanding. Even the sunshade is a quality piece. It operates smoothly and quietly and when it's closed it takes on the appearance of a high quality headliner.
As usual, BMW got the details right.
Someone on staff has great aim. For the second time in just a few weeks, I hopped into a car with a low tire-pressure-warning light and a screw in the tire. The victim this week was one of the rear Pirelli run-flats affixed to our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo.
No warning light on Friday night when I drove the 328i my sub 10-mile commute, but on Saturday AM, there it was. Since BMW is content with just a dummy light and gives no actual PSI readout, I resorted to the trusty manual tire-pressure gauges which confirmed that we were low. The tire was hovering at 25 psi when 35 is required by the sticker on the door jamb. To me, this says slow leak and not doing much/any damage to the run-flat system.
Instead of pushing it in any ways, I drove straight to the tire shop. Not exactly the way I like to spend my Saturday mornings, but the guys at Stokes Tire Pros here in Santa Monica aren't a bad group. Plus, they would fix my tire.
Car on lift. Drats, it's dangerously close to the sidewall. Wheel off tire. Tire off wheel. Drats, it's too close to be repaired reliably. (Pirelli doesn't prohibit patching/plugging their run-flats, but advise against it.)
Ok. We'll take a new tire.
No dice. None in stock. None at the warehouse.
Ok. I'll walk over to the BMW shop next door. A Pirelli Cintuarato P7 in 225/50R18 has gotta be a common size. They'll have one in stock.
Nope.
Ok. I'll call every single BMW and tire shop within 50 miles. Someone will have one.
Nope. Everyone would have to order one. I got time estimates of 5 days to two weeks.
Stokes says they can get one from Pirelli by Tuesday. They put on a patch that they say won't last. It's got run-flats and I'm only going to drive it 20 miles. If it fails, it fails.
Tuesday rolls around and the tire shows up. It costs $339.95 installed and ran up another $36.30 in sales tax and fees. Thanks, California.
Run-flats are great. They've saved my butt more than a few times letting me get to a safe spot or a tire shop. Run-flats aren't great when you don't have a spare, too. Let's try to stretch and imagine a world where I don't live very, very close to the office and have the flexibility to skip out on coming to the office on Monday due to a tire issue. Let's try to then imagine that world where I don't have a working tire for four days.
Long live the full-size spare.
It's the summer traveling season, but our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo hatchback failed to find its way onto the open road much this month. Only 1,330 miles got added to its odometer, and a substantial fraction of them were in-town city miles.
But not every single mile was driven in city traffic, of course. Some of them had to be freeway miles. We just don't know how many.
Whatever the mix, this month's average of 18.7 mpg is not a good number. It falls well short of the BMW's 22-mpg City mpg rating, and it pales in comparison with the Gran Turismo's 26-mpg combined rating. Theoretically, our unknown city-heavy driving mix should fall somewhere between the two, not below the lowest one.
What's up? There are a couple of theories.
West Side city traffic is worse than what EPA calls city traffic. The driving environment is more cut-and-thrust and there's a lot more idle time. Strike one.
It's hot outside, so the start-stop system isn't cutting the engine at those idle points as often or as long as it does when the weather is cooler. It's all about keeping the A/C running. Strike two.
And there are those staffers that don't like the start-stop system in the first place, so they switch it completely off. Strike three.
Maybe someday I'll run my 4-hour city mpg loop two times (once off, once on) to see if I can quantify the effects of disabling the start-stop system. Oh yeah, that'll be a party. I can hardly wait.
Whatever the underlying reason, this month's disappointing 18.7-mpg performance dropped the Gran Turismo's lifetime average from 24.1 mpg to 23.5 mpg.
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9
Best Fill MPG: 33.2
Average Lifetime MPG: 23.5 (down from 24.1 mpg)
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City / 33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1
Current Odometer: 14,009
The dog days have arrived, and so it was time to buy a fan, and get it home. As others have noted, the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo can easily haul a lot of cargo. For me, the important thing was that it could take in the fan's long box. And now I'm cool.
Like the rest of the world, I've hated the auto stop-start feature that's been cropping up in cars for the last couple of years. But after two days of letting it operate as intended in our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo, I think it may be a good thing.
Once I got past the "my engine is dead" reaction that the auto stop-start system evokes when you first find it in use, I noticed that it brings a moment of welcome quiet into the cabin. The systems also save on gas. Industry estimates say they can cut combined city-highway fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 3-10 percent. So I figured, let the little guy do his job.
Our review of the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo criticized auto stop-start for not restarting smoothly. But with use, I didn't find it particularly rough or jarring. Manufacturers such as BMW will undoubtedly work on refining these systems so that drivers will stop turning them off.
In any event, we're going to find auto stop-start on more and more cars in the future. Johnson Controls, a maker of the advanced batteries used in the systems, predicted in 2012 that global production would rise from 3 million that year to 35 million per year in 2025.
How do you vote: Stop the stop-start? Or let them roll?
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is trying to bridge a gap between compact crossover and station wagon that we're not 100% sure exists. But we've spent months talking about the function and the styling and the way it drives on the road. What happens when we really put the spurs to it and get our 240-horsepower, M Sport package equipped crosswagon on the track? Will it perform like a 3 Series should, or did they split the difference here, too?
Vehicle: 2014 BMW 328i XDrive Gran Turismo
Odometer: 3,117
Date: 2/18/2014
Driver: Chris Walton
Price: $55,500
Specifications:
Drive Type: Front engine, All-wheel drive
Transmission Type: 8-speed automatic
Engine Type:
Turbocharged, direct-injected, inline-4 with auto stop-start
Displacement (cc/cu-in): 1,997/122
Redline (rpm): 7,000
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 240 @ 5,000
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 255 @ 1,250
Brake Type (front): ventilated disc with four-piston fixed calipers
Brake Type (rear): ventilated disc with two-piston fixed calipers
Suspension Type (front): Independent MacPherson struts with dual lower ball joints, coil springs, stabilizer bar
Suspension Type (rear): Independent multilink, coil springs, stabilizer bar
Tire Size (front): 225/50R18 M+S 99V
Tire Size (rear): 225/50R18 M+S 99V
Tire Brand: Pirelli
Tire Model: Cinturato P7
Tire Type: All-Season Run-Flat
As tested Curb Weight (lb): 3,964
Test Results:
Acceleration:
0-30 (sec): 2.2 (w/ TC on 2.8)
0-45 (sec): 3.8 (w/ TC on 4.5)
0-60 (sec): 5.9 (w/TC on 6.8)
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 5.7 (w/TC on 6.4)
0-75 (sec): 8.7 (w/TC on 9.6)
1/4-Mile (sec @ mph): 14.3 @ 95.5 (w/TC on 14.9 @ 95.1)
Braking:
30-0 (ft): 31
60-0 (ft): 122
Handling:
Slalom (mph): 64.8 w/ESC off (64.5 w/ESC on)
Skid Pad Lateral acceleration (g): 0.87 (0.83 w/ESC on)
RPM @ 70: 1,800
Comments:
Acceleration comments: Besides the lumpy, vibrating idle, there's a quite a delay from when the throttle is pressed until the engine room gets the message and puts the car into motion. Then, there's quite a surge and things pick up considerably. In Comf, upshifts are smooth and about 500 rpm shy of indicated redline. In Sport and Sport Plus, shift speed is slightly quicker, but right at redline (accounting for about a tenth quicker accel). But when you overlap brake+throttle in Sport Plus, it accesses a special quick-shift schedule that, while shifts are noticeably quicker, it also shifts well below redline ('short-shift') from 1-2, but runs it all the way up to redline thereafter. Because of the AWD, there's no advantage to shutting off traction control.
Braking comments: Straight, steady, short, and fade-free each and every time. Pretty pronounced dive and pedal effort is pretty high and remained so throughout.
Handling comments:
Slalom: Egads. Were it not for electronic stability control (ESC), this car would be sideways after the second flick around the cone. Front/rear weight distribution may be 49/51 percent, but it feels like there's more rear bias than that, as well as a very high center of gravity. Even in Sport Plus with Dynamic ESC/TC, it struggles to maintain a smooth path following the steering input. Best technique was to enter slower than what the tires can hold, and constantly/progressively add throttle to keep the rear planted and the AWD busy from start to end. Elsewise, it stabs at the brakes (quickly and briefly), but with such force that it disrupts the chassis in other ways that then require steering corrections. Steering weight feels light-ish and feedback is minimal.
Skidpad: Remarkably consistent in either direction (C.W. or C.C.W.) and here, the ESC is far less intrusive and merely bleeds off the throttle at the exact moment the tires begin losing grip (hence identical results in SportPlus/Sport with traction control set to Dyn/Off), but in Comfort with ESC fully engaged, the car leans more so it chokes off the throttle earlier.
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo just hit the 15,000-mile mark, apparently when someone was driving it at 5:36 in the morning.
Aside from feeling sorry for that poor sap for being up so early, at least he was probably happy to be driving this BMW wagon-ish/crossover thing. It's been a staff favorite since it arrived.
Aside from a recent nail-in-the-tire incident (and the travails of finding a quick replacement tire) and the occasional reluctant Bluetooth pairing, this car has been bulletproof.
What's more, if you happen to get into it after not having driven it in a while (like I did the other day), it feels just as tight and solid as it did on day one of this long-term test.
Get used to automatic start-stop systems like the one on our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo because they're only going to become more widespread in years to come. Such systems are quickly gaining favor as a fuel-saving and pollution-reducing measure because they temporarily shut down the engine when a vehicle is going nowhere at stoplights.
The basic logic of the concept is hard to argue with, but anything that's this much of a departure from the norm is bound to earn itself a heaping helping of detractors. Some can't get past the feeling that their engine just stalled. Others can't stand it when their car does something they didn't initiate. And there will always be those that give a thumbs-down to anything that stands in the way of a quick getaway.
For them there's an off button.
But what are the disablers missing out on? Are the fuel savings big enough to be noticeable or is this just another one of those theoretical decimal-place increases that automakers chase after because they're desperate for anything that can nudge their CAFE score up a peg?
I cooked up a test to see if I could find out.
We already have an established One Lap of Orange County hybrid fuel economy loop, but it's a bit longer than necessary for this test. A Prius is rated at 50 mpg in the city, but our BMW has a city rating of just 22 mpg. It'll burn enough fuel for a good measurement even after I prune about 30 miles and one hour out of the loop.
This gave me the opportunity to chop out some of the One Lap route's longer cruising sections and increase the signal density. The result is a 76.9-mile course that takes about three hours to complete.
I drove our BMW 328i GT around this modified loop on successive days, starting at 7:45 a.m. each time so the traffic pattern would be similar. I kept the start-stop system fully operational for the first circuit and disabled it for the second one. I used the same pump at the same station at the beginning and end of each loop.
Here's what I found.
Start-Stop Disabled: 25.1 mpg (4.0 gallons per 100 miles)
Start-Stop Enabled: 27.5 mpg (3.6 gallons per 100 miles)
Our BMW delivered 2.4 more mpg when the start-stop system was allowed to do its thing, a 9.4-percent improvement. Presuming you do a lot of city driving, that's about a gallon per fill-up. I don't know about you, but that's more significant than I expected.
The system did have one thing going for it in this test. My early morning start made it unnecessary to run the air conditioning, which ensured the climate control system would never force a premature engine restart at the longer red lights in the name of comfort.
As for technique, once I stopped I never released the brake to "pack up" behind the cars ahead if their drivers decided to creep forward. Such a move would have restarted the engine and disabled the system until the next cycle. I made sure to stand my ground until it was time to go.
So, yeah, hot weather and heavy A/C use will trim the benefit somewhat. And anxious types that can't bear to let a small gap develop in front of them as they wait for the light can nullify the system almost entirely with packing behavior.
This test is only the beginning. I need to repeat this test a couple more times, of course, and expand it to include other vehicles. And the fact that I beat the BMW's city mpg rating in both cases suggests I need to add some more stops to my route.
But I don't expect any of that to negate the basic result. The start-stop system in our 2014 BMW 328i GT appears to deliver much more than a theoretical benefit. The potential savings seem to be big enough and real enough to leave the system on and make peace with it.
I knew it would be no big deal to put my road bike into the back of the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo.
But I wasn't expecting it would have a large enough seats-down cargo area that I could just throw it in there, all-wheels-on.
Yet the 3 Series Gran Turismo makes it truly that simple. When you combine the car's huge cargo room with its overall pleasant personality, I think I may have just found my new go-to bike hauler.
In the month of August, our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo added a tick more than 1,500 miles to its odometer while consuming just shy of 70 gallons of 91-octane. The abacus says it delivered 21.6 miles per gallon for the month.
This result is far short of its EPA combined rating of 26 mpg, and even dips below its city rating. Overall its lifetime fuel economy looks a bit better at 23.2 mpg over 15,518 miles, but that's still short of its EPA combined rating.
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9 mpg
Best Fill MPG: 33.2 mpg
Average Lifetime MPG: 23.2 mpg
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1 miles
Current Odometer: 15,518 miles
Note: Cars are sometimes refueled before their fuel tanks are nearly empty. As such, "best" and "worst" fuel economy entries above are not necessarily the result of an entire tank's worth of driving.
I didn't expect it, but our long-term 2014 BMW 328i Gran Turismo has really grown on me.
For this we can thank the Chinese.
Culturally speaking, the Chinese automotive market places a heavy priority on rear seat legroom. Nothing says status like space. As such, long-wheelbase models are increasingly being designed by automakers specifically for China.
The 3 Series Gran Turismo is built on the long-wheelbase platform spawned by BMW to address this demand. We here in North America are simply the incidental beneficiary of the Chinese market's demands.
In any case, the 3 Series Gran Turismo's long wheelbase is the key here. For me, it's not solely about rear seat legroom or cargo-hauling ability, although both of these areas expand as a result. What I find most noticeable about the long wheelbase is the long-legged gait it confers the car on the road, allowing it to stride gracefully over the pavement in a way no other 3 Series can.
The Gran Turismo carves out a unique niche among 3 Series in this regard.
No, the Gran Tursimo is not the nimble, lightweight and relatively elemental 3 Series of the E21 and E30 generations in the ‘70s and ‘80s. But it is a surprisingly well-rounded and eminently pleasant car to drive.
I find myself liking it more every time I drive it.
I'm one of the lucky ones. On my commute between Edmunds H.Q. in Santa Monica and Orange County, I get to drive 41 miles each way. Naturally, this gives me plenty of time to familiarize myself with each test vehicle and evaluate, in many cases, navigation systems and their real-time traffic capabilities.
I'm afraid our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has a case of T.M.I., or Too Much Information.
As you can see from the photo, BMW is proud to display traffic conditions not only on the main highway arteries, but also on surface streets. The problem is that I have trouble teasing out the part in which I'm mainly interested, the highways.
The surface street traffic disappears if I un-zoom far enough, but then I'm looking at the entire L.A. metropolitan area and I lose the detail of interchanges, etc.
Thank you, BMW, for all of this wonderful information, but I'd like to select or de-select surface-street traffic in one of your many iDrive menu screens.
You can never have a truck often enough when moving homes. It's an invaluable tool before, during and for weeks after the move. I might make the costs of a pickup part of the escrow package next time I move. I didn't have a truck when I needed to dispose of old paint cans, some decaying chemicals and other junk left behind by the previous owners, but the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo was available.
Pretty blue-collar work for our 3 Series hatch, but with 18.4 cubic feet behind the rear seats (56.5 cubes max), this run to the municipal household hazmat center was cake, and shows that the Ultimate Young Professional's Accessory is not above a bit of dirty work. In one way, it was probably a better choice than a pickup, which would have required securing this relatively small load in a large bed.
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is due for its second scheduled service at 16,000 miles. The opening image flashes immediately after the car is started up and goes away nearly as quickly. These pictures accompanied the service request...
Delve into the iDrive system a bit to find this screen. It's the running countdown to service and a breakdown of everything needing attention. If this didn't supply enough information, the owner's manual is also available in the iDrive menus, so you can read more about the car's maintenance needs.
Coincidentally, the car is also due for wiper fluid. We'll get the BMW to the dealer for service and let you know how it goes.
"You know what? My arms are tired. I need a place to put them. A place to rest them, in fact. Those suckers have just been dangling at the ends of my shoulders since birth. It's getting old."
It was after this bit of naval-gazing self-reflection that I discovered the surprise hidden inside the rear armrest of our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo.
Cup holders. Small-item storage. All in one foldable arm-resting apparatus.
Booyah!
As we reported last week, it was time to bring our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo to the dealer for maintenance. It was calling for a basic oil change and nothing more. Pretty straightforward, right?
For the most part, it was. We arrived at Santa Monica BMW early in the morning without an appointment. There were plenty of cars in the service bay, but we were told our car would be ready for pickup in the afternoon. It would have been ready as promised, but while the car was at the dealer we received an email from a BMW representative asking us to take the car in for an update to its computer.
We contacted our service advisor and left the 328i at the dealer overnight so they could address the reflash the next day. When we picked up the car, the computer had received its updates and BMW's maintenance program covered the oil change and air filter.
Total cost: $0.00
We've reached a new low in our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. Our worst tank is now at 9.8 mpg, which also helped drop our overall lifetime fuel economy to 22.8 mpg.
Our BMW didn't do anything too strenuous this month, outside of hauling some old paint cans to a disposal center. We only added about 900 miles to its odometer, averaging 19.9 mpg for September. It also went in for its second service appointment.
Worst Fill MPG: 9.8 mpg
Best Fill MPG: 33.2 mpg
Average Lifetime MPG: 22.8 mpg
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1 miles
Current Odometer: 16,444 miles
This warning came up on the instrument panel and navigation screen while I was driving the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo in heavy traffic the other day: "Objects detected on road!"
I never actually saw anything untoward on the road, but then the highway I was on had four lanes in my direction of travel, and was jammed full of cars, so there was a lot to work with. Regardless, I appreciated the warning.
Cynics will no doubt snark at me that I didn't see the object simply because I was too busy taking a photo of the instrument panel. Fair point, but my passenger never saw anything, either.
We're used to seeing dual-zone climate controls in cars these days. Most of the time the dual-zone-ness of the system is in terms of separate temperature controls between the driver and front passenger.
But the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo offers something that's not as common: dual-zone mode control.
With this dual-mode control the front passenger can adjust his/her vents so they get air just on their face, just on their feet, or both together.
I pretty much always like lots of cold air on my face, but many people who ride with me immediately want to divert the air coming out of their vents away from them. The feature in this BMW means it's easier for passengers to have the air exactly as they want it, making it more of a true dual-zone climate control system.
I make an attempt to keep our test cars from getting door dings. That means doing things like parking far away from other cars in parking lots (much to the annoyance of whoever is riding with me) and/or grabbing that coveted end spot. At least with the last you can keep one side of the car safe.
That's what I was trying to do with our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo when I parked at the Redondo Beach pier to watch some football at a sports bar with friends.
When I got back to the car, I found this Ford Mustang "parked" next to the BMW. And there's your proof for why we go to lengths to protect the test cars. Because, apparently, some people are parking bozos.
The person who drove this Mustang gets a parking grade of F- in my book. There was no reason for the Mustang to crowd over the parking lines onto the BMW's side, other than, I'm guessing, sheer laziness or complete indifference. The car to their right was parked normally.
Another sure sign of poor parking form: The Mustang's front tires are cocked to the left.
For the record, I give myself a B- because, in looking at this photo, there was still room to park a bit closer to the driver's side curb to leave even more space for fun folks like this Mustang driver. Although there would have been little room to open the door thanks to that small wall.
I picked up my daughter from school the other day, and as is always the case, we loaded her roller-bag, lunch box, and water bottle into the trunk. Often, we struggle with a place to put her water bottle so that it doesn't roll to the deep, dark recesses of the trunk, but lo and behold, our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo made our search a short one.
There's another, larger elastic band on the other side as well, but this one could be used for a variety of items: a quart of oil, a bottle of wine, really any small item you'd like to keep upright or keep in place near the hatch. I know, I know, big deal? But it's little touches like this that make life just a little easier.
The steady influx of LED lighting into the automotive industry is a good thing. The crisp light it provides with substantially less electricity, its lower operating temperature and the compact/multi-contour dimensions are all an engineer/designer's dream come true. We had fun with our 2011 Ford Mustang GT's LED ambient and instrument panel "MyColor," lighting, purposely setting the most unattractive combinations of gauge/surround color for the next driver to find.
Be that as it may, our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo also uses LED lighting. There are a couple of strings hidden in the cargo area that offer an even swath of white light rather than a yellow spot that an incandescent lamp would have.
Many navigation systems display a blank screen or some sort of message that implores you to wait, the proverbial spinning pinwheel or progress bar, while the computer readies the system for use. However, our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo puts on a little Tron-inspired show while you wait. It's not much, a schematic of a cityscape that variously illuminates, but it's a nice touch that makes us feel less like we're waiting for something to happen.
Easy. That's what comes to mind when I think about our 2014 BMW 328i Gran Turismo. Over a late October weekend, for example, I used our 328 GT to grocery shop, take my wife and two kids to a Halloween party, hit up my local hardware store for various items and perform a few other around-town trips of minor consequence. (Yep, welcome to my very exciting domesticated life.) Each time, the BMW stayed in the background, effortlessly doing its transportation job.
The GT's higher driving position of the front seats (relative to the sedan) makes it easier to enter and exit the vehicle, which could certainly be advantageous for car shoppers with limited mobility. If you've got kids like me, the GT's roomier backseat and longer doors makes it easier to get my kids in and out of their child safety seats. And as we've covered extensively in previous updates, the hatchback design is preferable to a sedan's trunk for loading up groceries and cargo items.
It's true that I don't find our 2014 328i Gran Turismo to be an "Ultimate Driving Machine." It doesn't encourage me to drive through turns enthusiastically or hit up some lightly trafficked country road the way a regular 3 Series can. In return, though, it's a much more practical type of car.
If you polled our editors about which luxury automaker's infotainment interface they like best, I don't know if you'd get a majority opinion. Personal preference plays a large part. But spending some time with our long-term 2014 BMW 328i Gran Turismo has reminded me that, of the current systems, I like BMW's iDrive the best.
The main reason is that iDrive's menu structure is logical to me. With the left-to-right flow of more in-depth options combined with the scrolling and clicking action of the knob, I am able to find what I want without having to do a lot of potentially frustrating searching. The tool tip explanations for what certain icons represent are useful, too. On the downside, it does seem to take a few more inputs to controller knob sometimes to get what I want compared to, say, Mercedes' COMAND. But that's a trade-off I'll take.
I also like the feel of the knob itself in my hand. The newest iDrive knob with the touchpad on top, in particular, feels solid and easy to use because of its larger size. The surrounding set of physical buttons provide just enough on-screen menu shortcuts without taking up too much space or adding clutter. Of course, there's a lot of underlying functionality and feature content of iDrive that I appreciate, too.
The tricky part is that my opinion has come about only by spending quality time with our test cars and their infotainment systems. From a car-shopping standpoint, it's probably going to be hard to figure out which interface you like best. A lot of little details or preferences only come out with longer amounts of time that might not be possible during a vehicle test-drive at a dealer. But we do have an article titled "How To Test-Drive Car Technology" that provides some helpful tips on getting the most out of your dealership test-drive for evaluating these systems.
October was a pretty quiet month for our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo as we added only around 650 miles. Those miles were spent just commuting around Southern California as well.
For the month, we averaged 22.2 mpg. I've also got an explanation about last month's low 9.8 mpg entry.
First, our 22.2 mpg for the month was a little worse than our lifetime average of 23 mpg. We're also still off from the EPA's estimate for combined driving, which stands at 26 mpg. I'm discouraged to see that, honestly, as I've previously has the impression that BMW's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder is a pretty efficient little mill. Granted, we're almost always a couple of mpg lower than EPA combined in our long-term cars, but we've also racked up more than 17,000 miles of testing in our 3 GT so far. I don't think the car's numbers are going to improve much.
As for September's fuel entry, we noted how we observed a record-low 9.8 mpg on a tank of gas. Some of our readers added comments asking for more explanation. Well, here you go: someone wrote the wrong digits. I looked at the numbers and found the actual fuel economy for that tank of gas was 21.1 mpg.
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9
Best Fill MPG: 33.2
Average Lifetime MPG: 22.8
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway Combined)
Best Range: 497.1 miles
Current Odometer: 17,372 miles
All-wheel drive can be a nice feature to have on a vehicle if you frequently drive in wet or snowy conditions. But what if you live in, say, Southern California, and don't think you want all-wheel drive on your next new vehicle? You'll be out of luck with the 2014 or 2015 BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo.
At least for now, BMW only offers its 3 Series Gran Turismo 328i and 335i with all-wheel drive ("xDrive"). This is actually somewhat unusual for BMW, as it does typically offer one rear-wheel-drive ("sDrive") version of its other utility-oriented vehicles, such as the 3 Series wagon, the 5 Series Gran Turismo and the X3 and X5.
Based on the pricing of these vehicles, BMW seems to charge around $2,000 extra for all-wheel drive. Fuel economy estimates are a little lower, too, when you get AWD.
If you're singularly focused on a 3 Series Gran Turismo purchase then all of this probably won't be an issue. But if you're cross-shopping other vehicles as well and don't think you want AWD on your next car, it's something you'll want to factor in.
I could explain at length to my mom about how the 2015 Ford Mustang's new independent rear suspension is cool. Trouble is, I suspect my car guy enthusiasm would quickly turn into a Charlie Brown "wa-wa-wa" talk for her. But how about a climate control system that lets you independently set the temperature of the upper vents from the lower ones? Now that's a feature my mom would like to know about. And our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has it.
On most cars, whatever temperature you set on the automatic climate control is what you get coming out of the vents. That's still true for a dual-zone climate system, which just lets you vary the temperature for the driver and front passenger independently. But on BMWs, there's typically a dial with blue to red temperature markings that allows you to independently adjust the temperature of the upper vents from the main climate control setting as well.
So, if you want warm air applied to your feet but cooler air to your upper body, like my mom has asked for when riding in Edmunds test cars more than once, you can do it here.
On our Gran Turismo, that dial is between the center stack's main vents and below the central locking button. As for what's pictured above, I've got the main automatic climate control system set at 78 degrees but the upper vents blowing colder air as the dial is set to its furthest blue mark.
If you've decided to buy a 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo you'll likely be looking at certain models on Edmunds' inventory listings (or dealer lots). Or you might be thinking you'd like to have one custom ordered. Either way, you'll have to decide which options or packages you want. I've spent a lot of time with our 3 GT, and that's given me the opportunity to think about the feature packages I really like or ones I wish we had.
Our car has the Premium package ($2,200 MSRP) which includes keyless ignition and entry, leather upholstery, front seat adjustable lumbar support and satellite radio. I like the leather upholstery, and the keyless ignition/entry is very handy for a family-oriented vehicle such as this. I'd get this package.
We also have the Technology package ($3,150) that gets you Bluetooth audio connectivity, a navigation system, a higher-resolution 8.8-inch display, BMW Connect (smartphone app integration), BMW Remote Services and a head-up display. I suppose the value of this depends on how tech-oriented you are. I don't often use Bluetooth audio streaming or the connectivity app functions. The head-up display is useful, though, and the bigger screen almost seems mandatory for a luxury sedan. I'm on the fence for this.
For safer driving, the Driver Assistance package ($950 MSRP) provides a rearview camera and front and rear parking sensors. We've already noted how we're bummed about the lack of a rearview camera on our car. The 3 Gran Turismo doesn't have a rear wiper, either. So it's a must-have.
If I were trying to keep costs in check, I'd skip the extra safety features in the Driver Assistance Plus package ($1,900) that include blind-spot monitoring; a top-down parking camera system; lane-departure and frontal-collision warnings; and a speed limit info display. Our car doesn't have this package and I haven't felt the need for these features.
Cold weather package ($950)? Makes sense if you live somewhere cold. Lighting package ($900)? I do wish our car had xenon headlights.
Then there's the Dynamic Handling package ($1,000) that bundles variable-ratio steering with adaptive suspension dampers. I don't find our car overly fun to drive even with this package, so I'd skip it and just stick with the standard setup.
There are a few other stand-alone features, and some things in the above packages are available individually, but these are my overarching thoughts. If you've got a 3 Series Gran Turismo, or you think you could own one, would you do anything differently?
A few days ago, a friend of mine was asking what I thought about the long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo I was driving. "Oh, it's very nice. Very practical." I said. He nodded his head as he walked around the car more. "Yeah, but do you like it?" he further asked. Now that question gave me pause.
It's true that our 3 GT doesn't fill me with excitement the way some other BMWs can, so something along the lines of "Yeah, it's awesome!" just didn't immediately come to mind. But I do have a strong appreciation of what BMW has created. So, yes, I told my friend, I do find the car quite likable for what it is.
The 3 Series Gran Turismo is the car to get if, for whatever reason, the traditional choices of a luxury sedan, wagon or crossover just aren't ideal for you. Maybe you just want something that blends all three to provide a roomy backseat, easy cargo loading, all-wheel-drive utility and a slightly elevated driving position. Then the 3 GT knocks it out of the park.
I've written some earlier updates highlighting the family-friendly nature of our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. Here's another supporting reason: the easy installation of child safety seats.
The main photo shows my typical setup for my two children: a Recaro booster seat and a Britax Marathon reversible child safety seat. Installing the Recaro in a car is rarely a problem, and that was true here as well. Trying out the Britax seat was also straightforward in its front-facing position.
The rear seat in the 3 Series Gran Turismo is actually quite ideal for installing safety seats. A lot of times you'll encounter sporty contouring on a luxury car's rear seat cushions, which can give occupants better lower lateral support, but it makes it harder to get a proper fit with a safety seat's base. Considering the 3 GT's flat seat bottoms, it almost seems like BMW's designers had safety seats as the priority. The angle of the seatback is also well matched to my Britax seat. Finally, the Gran Turismo's LATCH anchors, located behind the black flip-up covers, are very easy to locate and use.
It was similarly trouble-free when I switched the seat around to test out the rear-facing position. (You typically use the rear-facing position for toddlers who are too big to be in an infant-style safety seat but are still too small to be forward-facing.) Rear-facing always require a lot of rear legroom, and it just so happens that rear legroom is a Gran Turismo specialty. In the photo I had both front seats positioned for me (I'm 5-foot 10-inches). Yet there were still a few inches of clearance between the front seatbacks/headrests and the safety seat.
Overall, I was very happy with how easy it was to install my safety seats in the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo. If you have young children and are considering a 3 GT purchase, it's definitely a positive factor to consider.
Our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has a peach of a motor. There's a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder under hood that spins out 240 horsepower and 255 lb-feet of torque. It's butter-smooth, free-revving, produces power across its entire RPM band, clears 60 mph at the same time as a Lexus IS350 (5.9 seconds) and just isn't enough for me.
If I were buying a BMW without any prior knowledge, I'd test out a 328i and say "Wow, this is great. Tons of power. I don't need to spend $5,400 for 60 more horsepower."
But I do have prior knowledge. I've driven our 328i extensively and each time, right around day 2 of driving it, I find myself with the pedal to the floor wishing I had more power and I've driven enough x35i cars to know that the 3.0-liter I6 keeps me pretty satisfied.
We haven't tested a 335i xDrive Gran Turismo, so we're wading into bench-racing here but we've generally seen that upping from the x28i to the x35i subtracts about a second from quarter-mile and 0-60 times. More than that, the x35i cars feel really fast.
A second might not be worth $5,400, but that feeling of having more power than you need is priceless.
It was a fuel-efficient Thanksgiving holiday weekend for the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo and my family as we managed a thoroughly impressive 31.9 mpg in a mix of highway and Los Angeles city driving. That's only 1.3 mpg off its best tank ever. Color me impressed.
I'll also be patting myself on the back as it was most assuredly my thriftiness that contributed to the 3 GT's lifetime fuel economy being bumped up to 23.2 mpg from 22.8. Huzzah!
Of course, we're still well below EPA estimated combined. Not so huzzah.
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9
Best Fill MPG: 33.2
Average Lifetime MPG: 23.2
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway Combined)
Best Range: 497.1 miles
Current Odometer: 18,758 miles
I've always equated driving around with your moveable rear spoiler in the raised position when not at highway speeds to walking around with a popped collar. In the past, this was really only something Porsche drivers could do, but these rising spoilers have been popping up more and more recently. See what I did there? Popping, it's a homonym.
My pseudo-cleverness aside, should you decide to partake in such disagreeable behavior that I would label with a word that starts with a "d" and rhymes with "Belushi," you can do so in the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo by pressing a little button placed curiously with the window controls. I suppose that was an easy place to put a button that hopefully won't be used much.
It's raining here in Southern California this week for the first time since 2009 (I'm guessing), and as such, ready yourself for the requisite comments about the performance of our myriad long-termers' windshield wipers. In the case of our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo, they were streaky and indicative of wipers that have been sporadically used. However, I'm here to talk about the wiper it does not have.
Although the Gran Turismo's hatchback/sedan body style may seem novel to some, it's really not. Although the GT's tall roof and extra wheelbase are unique, that hatch design is essentially what you could get on the first-generation Mazda 6 as well as any number of older European midsize sedans like the Ford Mondeo, Opel Vectra and Renault Laguna just to name a few. They all had long hatches with a similar angle as the Gran Turismo's and they also all had rear windshield wipers. The GT doesn't even offer one as an option. It should.
It rained in Los Angeles last week. I know this doesn't seem like an extreme weather event to many of you, but in L.A. a few things happen when it rains.
For one thing, everyone goes crazy. But also the roads get a slick oily top coat, and if you're not careful, you could have a problem with sudden stops. Potholes form out of nowhere as if the rain disintegrates the asphalt. And last but not least, three traffic lights were out (and blinking red) on my way home from the office.
I learned to drive on the east coast, so rain and snow don't bother me. But the road conditions are out of my control. Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has all-wheel drive standard so that helps the situation.
The interior of the BMW is what I found most comforting though. Our long-termer has the Cold Weather package which comes with a heated steering wheel and heated front and rear seats. After being caught out in the rain and getting into the driver seat with somewhat damp clothing, the heat all the way up my back provided some relief. And a heated steering wheel is like holding your mother's hand. So sweet.
Although rain-sensing wipers are not a new feature, they work very well in the BMW. You can turn them off too, which is a nice bonus. So you can use the windshield wipers in a standard way by putting them on normal, fast, intermittent, or switch them to automatic and let them choose as needed.
As James mentioned in an earlier post, the hatchback does not have a rear wiper. But I found that by putting on the rear window defogger, the glass not only cleared up but it helped to either move the raindrops along or dry the window. I didn't feel I needed a wiper. Visibility was fine.
All in all, the BMW is not a bad car to drive in the rain.
My six-foot Christmas tree fit perfectly inside our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo and was able to close fully, even with the stand already attached. This is why I love hatchbacks.
The GT's cargo capacity with all seats in place is 25.0 cu.ft. Drop the two back seats and this hatchback is simply cavernous.
I didn't get a picture of the tree in the car. You'll have to make do with this close-up shot. Yes, that is a ballet dress next to a Star Destroyer and fully operational Death Star. Don't judge.
After not having been in our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo for a while, driving it had the exact opposite effect on me as it did on our incredibly esteemed Features Editor, Mike Magrath. Click here for his take.
Magrath wants more motor, says the 2.0-liter turbo-four with 240 horsepower "just isn't enough for me." Which is funny, because while I was driving it I was thinking, "man, there's always plenty of oomph, enough that it's easy to forget this thing is just a four-cylinder. It wouldn't be hard to mistake it for a six."
And hey, I've gone on record as saying this is one of the best four-cylinder engines out there. And by that I mean I just said it right now.
But I'm not going to channel my inner Scott Oldham and call Magrath crazy (he is, of course, but I would never put that in writing. That would be mean.), because he is entitled to his own opinion. And there's nothing wrong with wanting more power.
Except I think for what this vehicle is (some sort of wagon/crossover type thing), who it's aimed at and that it's not intended to be as outright sporty of a machine as the smaller 3 Series sedan, this four-cylinder turbo is plenty fine.
Would I mind more power? No. Do I need it? Heck no.
One of my weirder traits, and there are many, is that I don't like anything in my pockets while I'm driving. I mean nothing. It's not that I wear tight jeans, although I have admittedly gained a few pounds since my shoulder surgery. Even when I wear cargo shorts with big pockets I like to be free of all paraphernalia.
So one of the first things I do when I get into a car with keyless ignition (which seems to be nearly every car we test here at Edmunds these days) is to find a good spot to store the key fob.
As you can see in the photo, I found such a location in our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. There's a tiny tray next to the 12V power outlet, near-perfect for holding the fob in place, even during cornering.
I always have the lid open, which is good because it's actually not a great design for closing. There really isn't a spot for your fingers to grab it and pull the lid closed.
No biggie, I'm just glad the key isn't sliding around somewhere in one of the cupholders like it is in most of the cars I drive.
Like many on our staff, I'm a little adverse to stop/start systems like the one in our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. It's usually one of the first things I turn off when I get in a car. But that didn't happen this weekend and I was a little surprised that I didn't think much about it.
Much of it has to do with the fact that the system in our 3 Series is fairly seamless. It shuts off and on without much shuddering or noise. The fact that it's a relatively small four-cylinder engine helps. Tougher to do that with a supercharged V8 like in our Jaguar F-Type.
With the radio on at a decent volume I didn't even notice the system working half the time. Fellow editor Carroll Lachnit says she actually appreciates the added silence at stops, while Dan Edmunds found that keeping the system on delivers nearly two and a half extra miles per gallon. Not bad for something that works entirely on its own.
If more systems become as unobtrusive as the one in our 3 Series I think I could get used to them.
December was fairly commonplace for our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. There weren't any epic road trips or anything else that was unusual, save for transporting Donna's Christmas tree.
See the stats after the jump...
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9
Best Fill MPG: 33.2
Average Lifetime MPG: 23.1
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1
Current Odometer: 20,164
Our Mineral Gray Metallic 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo joined our long-term fleet back in February and we've already driven it 20,000 miles.
That's 20,000 miles in just 10 months.
Yes we love driving the all-wheel drive, four-door hatchback, and its reliability has proven to be noteworthy.
Maintenance has been limited to the scheduled variety, one at 8,000 miles and a second at 16,000 miles.
We used Santa Monica BMW for both, and service was excellent. As expected, there was no charge for either as BMWs come standard with no-cost scheduled maintenance for the first 4 years or 50,000 miles.
File this one in the "Mark's a whiny little wuss" folder. When I'm driving in normal conditions, I tend to fiddle with things. I'll tap incessantly on a shifter emblem, push the parking brake release button, scratch at the stitching on the steering wheel. Hey, it's better than digging for gold or putting on makeup, right?
In my restlessness, I started tapping on the paddle shifters and discovered a minor misstep. And by minor, this isn't even a first-world problem. The edges of the paddles are sharp. Boo-freaking-hoo, I know, but here's my point (finally): For something that drivers would potentially be touching on a regular basis, the finish should be excellent.
The sharp edge seems to be a byproduct of the manufacturing process. This excess material left over from the casting is called flashing and it could've been removed in a matter of seconds by a buffer wheel.
So being a compulsive fiddler, all I did all week was scratch at this sharp edge. No, this scratching didn't wear down the flashing. It just kept gouging tiny little ridges in my fingernail. It's slightly more annoying that other manufacturers get it right with their paddles. C'mon BMW, step it up.
Checking this car's engine oil level could not be easier. Or unmessy. You don't even have to open the hood. Heck, you don't even have to leave its leather-covered driver seat.
Like many luxury cars these days, our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo has no traditional oil dipstick. Instead, you check its engine oil level with a few twists and turns of its iDrive dial.
Within seconds the graphic on the screen tells you if the level is low or not. Ours was OK.
Although I've never had a problem with the tried-and-true traditional dipstick, I have to say this was quite nice during Saturday afternoon's rainstorm.
I really like this car. Our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is so exceptional I not only often recommend it to my friends and family, I would happily own one myself.
But it's not perfect. No car is perfect.
First of all I think it's a crime that a car at this price point does not have a rear backup camera or parking sensors. But we've covered that ground before.
Today I want to talk about the BMW's teeny tiny gear readout, which you can see in the photo located on the bottom right of the instrument cluster underneath the tachometer. Its size is fine in normal driving. And it's sufficient most of the time for most drivers.
But this is the Ultimate Driving Machine. And the self-proclaimed UDM should have a bigger gear callout in Sport+ mode or anytime the driver takes manual control of its eight-speed automatic transmission.
Often I find myself driving the 328i in Sport+ mode while taking advantage of its excellent paddle shifters. The BMW's smooth, high-revving engine is a favorite of mine, and its transmission rev matches downshifts perfectly. It really is a great powertrain.
But drive this car hard and its small gear readout becomes a disappointment. Should I really have to scan for it? Should my eyes really have to focus on it? It quickly becomes a glaring oversight in an otherwise wonderful high-performance driving experience. Especially at this price point.
I think some consumers get the wrong impression of BMW. One of my neighbors, a Lexus owner, told me recently how BMWs are drivers' cars and he wants something comfortable.
This may have been true in 1972. But today it's a misinterpretation of the BMW's long running Ultimate Driving Machine tagline.
Unless you're talking about an M3 GTS, which lacked air conditioning to save weight and came with a factory roll bar and fire extinguisher, modern BMWs put a high priority on luxury and comfort. Some more than others.
Our long-term 2014 BMW 328i GT, for instance, is extremely comfortable. Extremely.
From its driver seat to its seating position to its ride quality, our 328i is a luxury car first and foremost. Sure it's more fun and interesting to drive than my neighbor's five-year-old ES350, but it by no means demands even the smallest sacrifice in comfort from its occupants.
I personally love the shape and support of the BMW's driver seat. I'm 5' 11" 185 lbs., and it fits me perfectly. It's also radically adjustable, including power adjustment for lumbar support and the amount of "hug" you want from its side bolsters. I like to sit low when I drive, so I also appreciate that its height is adjustable (also power).
When you combine all of that with the 328i's tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel and its well-placed pedals and other controls I find it to be one of the most comfortable cars in our fleet.
Next chance I get I'll let my neighbor take the BMW 328i GT for a ride and see how he feels about it. I think he'll realize that his impression of BMWs, which was shaped back in college by his roommate's 2002, is more than outdated, it's just flat wrong.
Every time I think our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo is just like any other 3 Series I get another reminder of how it's different.
It's easy to forget about the back half of the car from the driver seat as it drives just like the sedan. Then I go shopping for some bedroom décor for my daughter and all that extra space suddenly becomes the perfect storage area for all the random stuff we bought.
Could we have fit it all in a BMW 3 Series sedan? Probably, but it would have taken a little more creativity. And as you can see, all my creativity was spent on choosing a mirror, some artwork and a wall thing.
Say what you will about the way the 3 GT looks, but when it comes to utility it's pretty much on par with any SUV of its size.
During the month of January we put 4,350 miles on our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. We averaged 26.3 mpg for the month on 165.5 gallons of mostly 91 (but a few fill-ups of 93, when out of state) octane fuel, helping the car's lifetime fuel economy average rise from 23.1 mpg to 23.7.
That high (for us) monthly average was aided by a road trip to Austin, Texas and back. Look for more on that soon. The 26.3 mpg average for the month means the Gran Turismo achieved the EPA's estimated combined average of 26 mpg for the 328i xDrive, but of course there were considerable highway miles along the way.
Our worst tank for the month was 18.6 mpg, our best was 32.7 (during that Texas road trip) and our best range for the month was 448.3 (also during the road trip).
Worst Fill MPG: 14.9
Best Fill MPG: 33.2
Average Lifetime MPG: 23.7
EPA MPG Rating: 26 Combined (22 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 497.1
Current Odometer: 24,244
I was driving to work in our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo minding my own business when this warning flashed on the instrument panel and on the head-up display.
Objects detected on road!
As you can see from this picture, there are no objects on the road. I'm not sure what caused our BMW to get all nervous but it kept warning me for about a mile. Our 3 Series GT is going in for its regular service appointment, so I'll mention it to our vehicle testing manager.
Day 1: Lake Forest, California to Deming, New Mexico, 692 miles.
I'm not sure why I keep getting sent to Austin, Texas for press drive events. What with the state capital's unofficial slogan of "Keep Austin Weird," the bosses might have been thinking, "Let's see, Monticello is a weirdo, if we send him there enough maybe he'll finally find a place he fits in."
Regardless of the reasoning, I was on another road trip to Austin, this time in our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo, as opposed to the 2014 Volkswagen Passat TSI I took on my previous trip to the Lone Star State.
Since it's about a 1,400-mile journey, I'd take two days to get there, just like last time. Ah yes, but unlike the last trip, which saw me procrastinate and not hit the road until 1:30 p.m., this time I was determined to get going much earlier.
And you know what? Mission accomplished.
At least, if you consider leaving at 1:20 p.m. any kind of accomplishment. "Baby steps, Mike, baby steps" my therapist keeps telling me.
Since I left late in the day again, it meant there was zero time to do anything fun along the way, just a continuous slog on Interstate 10 East.
To make up time on the road, I drank little in the way of fluids, in an effort to keep stops to a minimum. But the couple of times I did get off the highway, I enjoyed the 328i's peppy turbo-four when getting back on. It gets up to the speed of traffic in a hurry, and that's a nice bonus when you're dodging semis.
The optional Adaptive M Suspension was nice, too, for the most part I just had it set to Comfort and enjoyed the supple ride.
One thing that surprised me, though, was that after several hundred miles in the saddle my outer thighs were getting sore. For whatever reason, the seat bottom bolsters were digging in. They're admittedly pretty hard and can't be adjusted like the bolsters on the seatback. This is doubly weird because I'm usually all about the bolsters. I loves me a good sport seat.
Further, in my driving of the car previously I don't recall ever being bothered by the seat. Course, I had also never put in nearly 700 miles in a day. That got me to thinking it could be in part because of my heavy use of cruise control: I was probably sitting with my legs more spread out and not even thinking about it, possibly resting my thighs more on the bolsters than usual.
I'll fiddle further with my seating position as the trip progresses and report back.
The BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo averaged 31.8 mpg for the day.
Day 2: Deming, New Mexico to Austin, Texas, 689 miles.
Getting through El Paso, Texas is one of the worst parts of the road trip to Austin. The traffic is always thick and slow, and by sure dumb luck (with the emphasis on "dumb") the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo and I were trying to get through right at morning rush hour.
Google Maps re-routed me around a good portion of the city on a mountainous loop. Of course I blindly followed its instructions. This took me well outside of the city, and I'm not sure it was any faster. Quite a bit more scenic, though, and considerably less aggravating. We'll call it a win.
Once past El Paso the trip got much better, even though west Texas isn't exactly known for its scenic beauty. I definitely like the 80 mph speed limit on Interstate 10 and the wide-open, plenty-of-space character.
What struck me today about the BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo was its amazingly precise cruise control system. Dan Edmunds touched on this previously. He said "the 328i didn't gain so much as a single mph going downhill." I didn't have quite that success, as I did see it overshoot by 2 mph downhill...maybe twice. But it would instantly react and get the speed right back to where I had set it. I never witnessed it drop below the set speed by more than 1 mph. But for the huge majority of the time it would stay EXACTLY at the speed you set it.
I agree with Dan, this is easily the most accurate non-adaptive cruise control system I've ever used. I've seen other cars overshoot by as much as 8 mph on downhills.
Other than the re-route around El Paso, this was a nice, smooth-sailing kinda day, aided by Texas' high speed limits.
That is, until the last three to four miles navigating to the hotel in downtown Austin. It took like a half-hour, at times just inching forward. Construction was partly to blame, but I talked to some Austinites and they pointed to the city's rapid population growth as a huge problem for everyone. Guess who the guys I talked to blame most for this? You guessed it, Californians.
The BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo's fuel economy for this leg of the journey was 29.3 mpg.
Day 3: Austin, Texas to Willcox, Arizona, 871 miles.
This being my second road trip to Austin in the past six months, I wanted to do something other than slog along Interstate 10 west on the way home. So I came up with a plan: I would head northwest in the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo to some mountain roads in southern New Mexico and Arizona, the same ones Automotive Editor Dan Frio and photog "Krazy" Kurt Niebuhr took during their trip back from Houston in our long-term 2015 Audi A3.
I planned it all out the night before I left Austin, including a texting conversation with Frio (no way was I actually going to talk on the phone with that dude, that would be nuts) for road specifics and recommendations for lodging.
But then I checked the weather forecast. The parts of New Mexico and Arizona I was heading for, which were at significant elevation, were going to be getting something like a half-foot of snow during the time I'd be driving through. Snowy conditions, mountain roads, elevation...even with the Gran Turismo's all-wheel drive I just didn't have it in me, especially without snow tires or chains. There was potential for disaster, not to mention hours and hours of slow going.
I needed a new plan.
I headed west on Interstate 10 as usual. But to mix things up I exited at the tiny town of Sheffield, Texas to head south on State Highway 349, heading toward U.S. Route 90 West in Sanderson. On the map Route 90 looked like it went through the middle of Nowhere, Texas, exactly what I was looking for.
Before I got to Route 90, I took a shortcut on Ranch to Market Road 2400 (RM 2400). I was thinking/hoping it might be dirt, but it wasn't. Still, plenty of nice scenery (for west Texas) and almost zero cars. Little in the way of anything human, in fact.
Route 90 was a more open two-lane road, but traffic, towns and people were still minimal. Friendly folks, though. I noticed several people in oncoming cars wave to me, as if they knew me or my car. I kinda liked it. No one waves to me in southern California, although they do occasionally flash a different gesture...
Route 90 meanders through small towns like Marathon, Alpine, Marfa and Valentine. Everyone seemed to be driving mud-splattered pickup trucks.
A couple of miles outside Valentine I came across this.
"What the...?" was my immediate reaction. No, it's not a Prada store in the Texas desert, but actually a sculpture created in 2005. Come to think of it, "what the?" is my current reaction, too.
The lower bolsters in the 328i Gran Turismo's sport seats continued to bother my outer thighs, as mentioned in Day One. I even tried to use less of the cruise control "spread-leg position," as Senior Editor Josh Jacquot calls it, to see if that would help. Nope. For whatever reason, my 5-foot-8-inch body (perfect for a race-car driver, of which I've made zero professional use whatsoever) just doesn't work with these seats.
To further confuse things, six-foot-two-inch Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds says he has similar issues with these seats, while our resident giant, six-foot-four Cameron Rogers, says he loves them.
No matter. I was on the road in a quiet, stable, good-driving car, exploring new areas I'd never seen before, enjoying Texas' vast landscape. It was cold and a bit rainy. In other words...I was happy.
Once back on Interstate 10 near Van Horn, Texas I pushed to make it to Willcox, Arizona. My off-Interstate excursion added miles and time to the day, but it was worth it to do something a little different.
The BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo's fuel economy for this leg of the journey was 29.1 mpg.
During the press drive of the 2015 BMW 228i Convertible (the reason I was in Texas in the first place), we came across this guy. Insert Matthew McConaughey joke here.
Day 4: Willcox, Arizona to Lake Forest, California, 562 miles.
Although I guess you could say I was "working" on a Saturday for the last day of my Austin Road Trip, the nice thing about driving on the weekend is that there isn't so much of a "rush hour" period that you have to make sure to avoid. I veered off Interstate 10 to Interstate 8 West toward San Diego, but to be honest it's a crapshoot as to how bad traffic will be down there, too.
The 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo and I hit considerable rain all morning in Arizona, but the GT pushed through without any trouble. As I mentioned previously, this is a solid and stable car. It gives you a good sense of security to press on at reasonable speed even in less-than-perfect road conditions.
But the day wasn't without problems.
I stopped at a rest area midmorning for a quick break, and as I got hard into the throttle to enter the highway at speed, the BMW started sputtering, bogging, and just generally hesitating. Around that same time a warning came up on the navigation screen and a check-engine light popped up on the instrument panel.
The readout said: "Drivetrain malfunction: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output not available. Consult service center."
Maximum power was definitely not available, as the Gran Turismo could barely maintain 70 mph. And if you booted the gas pedal any further it would just buck. I slowed down, then pulled off at the next exit and shut the car off. I did the requisite lift the hood and look around the engine bay thing. I couldn't see anything specifically wrong, other than the fact that the entire engine compartment was covered in dirt and dust. I'm not blamestorming here, but it looks like someone did some off-roading recently.
A few minutes later I fired the BMW back up and, like a computer reboot, magically everything seemed fine again. I had no further issues the rest of the drive, but we're going to bring the car to the dealer to have them check it out.
Not the best way to end the trip, but on the bright side at least the car didn't leave me completely stranded on the side of the road.
The BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo's fuel economy for Day Four was 30.3 mpg.
Total trip miles: 2,813
Overall trip MPG: 30.0
Besides driving the 2015 BMW 228i Convertible while in Austin, we also got to test out the 2015 BMW X6 M on track at the Circuit of the Americas. Pretty awesome. Both the X6 M and the track.
A few weeks ago I shot a video of our BMW's power liftgate in action. It did not break YouTube, but I thought it well illustrated the unique hatchbackness of our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo.
However, what I didn't show you was the adjustability of the hatch's opening height which is accomplished with just a few twists and turns of BMW's iDrive dial.
There are four settings, from highest, which is what I used in the video, to lowest, which keeps your tailgate from smashing itself into a low ceiling, but obviously doesn't leave much space for loading and unloading.
The car's owner's manual says, "Ensure that there is sufficient clearance when the tailgate opens; otherwise, damage may result. Adjust the opening height of the tailgate according to the given situation. The tailgate opens automatically to the adjusted opening height."
Tires ain't cheap.
Our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo wears a set of Pirellis (Cinturato P7 All-Season Run Flat) sized 225/50R18.
They're far from the most expensive tire in the land, but according to TireRack.com they cost $189 dollars each on closeout. Not exactly chump change. And the last time we had a puncture back about 11,000 miles ago we paid over $350 for one.
The good news is that these tires last a good long time.
We've been driving our all-wheel-drive 328i for 12 months and nearly 25,000 miles. As you can see in the photos its three original Pirellis still have plenty of life left in them. They're not even close to being down on the wear indicators and they don't look much more worn than the newer right rear tire.
We've also been very satisfied with the ride and handling the P7's have provided. Plus, we have yet to have another puncture.
Although I probably just jinxed us.
Our 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo requested windshield wiper fluid despite receiving scheduled maintenance at Santa Monica BMW just a few months ago. Coolant, power steering, brake and windshield wiper fluids are topped off during normal service. So we couldn't explain why it was low again already.
I called Santa Monica BMW, and the advisor said that they would be happy to top it off at no charge, but what fun is that? Adding wiper fluid is one of the few activities BMW allows drivers to do themselves. The process is straightforward enough. Just pop the cap and pour wiper fluid until the line is full and backs up into the reservoir.
The office was in full party mode, celebrating Mike Monticello's return from Austin, when he strode to my desk and threw the keys to the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo in my face. "It needs to go in for service now," he bellowed like a demon lord perched atop a pile of skulls. It was typical Monty, but the car did need to visit the dealer for basic maintenance.
The 328i doesn't have a standard service schedule. It instead has an onboard computer that calculates the interval based on how it is driven. An oil change was all the computer requested this time. The drivetrain malfunction that Mike experienced and the warning message Donna saw also needed addressing.
I arrived at the dealer at noon without an appointment. I was promptly greeted by a porter and introduced to my advisor. I explained what I needed and showed him the pictures Mike and Donna took of the respective problems they encountered. He told me the oil change would be finished by the end of the day. They would keep the car overnight to investigate the other issues.
My advisor called the next morning to inform me the car was ready for pickup. The oil change was done but no fault code was stored for the "objects detected" warning. There was only a code for multiple cylinder misfires, which was likely evidence of Mike's drivetrain malfunction message. This one-time fault had not happened before and has not happened since. Even though it left us scratching our head at the time, there was no longer a problem to be fixed. So we moved on..
We paid nothing. BMW's maintenance program provides complimentary routine service for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Total cost: $0.00
It's the end of the road for us with the 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. It was an odd-lookin' thing and, loaded with options up to a cool $55,500, wasn't exactly entry-level luxury. But we liked it well enough. It offered loads of rear legroom and more cargo space than the sedan, and in some respects made more sense than a 3 Series wagon.
But we also observed some minor build quality issues and never quite achieved the EPA combined fuel economy estimates. We also had a check-engine hiccup that came and went, and which the dealer chalked up to a freak fault, but the code that was diagnosed is apparently a real problem for some owners. The sloping roof also compromised headroom for our taller drivers.
Read our complete wrap-up here.
Wrap-Up
What We Got
We opted for the volume-selling powertrain configuration when selecting our long-term 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo. This included a 240-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo-4, eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive as standard equipment. At 26 mpg combined, the EPA fuel economy estimate was competitive.
This vehicle was a loaner from BMW and as such, had optional equipment we may not have otherwise selected. While these extras offered us more features to test, they quickly elevated the $41,450 starting MSRP of our 328i Gran Turismo. Big-ticket packages contributed most heavily: M Sport ($3,750) added 18-inch wheels and sport seats; Cold Weather ($950) gave us a heated steering wheel and seats; Dynamic Handling ($1,000) included an adaptive suspension and variable-ratio steering; Premium ($2,200) offered keyless entry and satellite radio; and, Technology ($3,150) got us navigation and online BMW app access. Options ordered individually were the M Sport brakes ($650), Harman Kardon audio ($875) and Mineral Grey Metallic paint ($550).
The as-tested MSRP of our 328i GT was $55,500.
Performance
"The turbocharged 2.0-liter in our 2014 BMW 328i GT is a real piece of work. It produces a strong punch off the line despite its small size and sounds good doing it. All those gears in the eight-speed transmission certainly help the cause. At higher engine speeds, it remains smooth and relatively quiet. Sure, one of BMW's legendary straight sixes is smoother and quieter, but this engine is as close as a four-cylinder is likely to get." — Ed Hellwig
"Even with a wheelbase extended by 4.4 inches versus a regular 3 Series sedan, and fitted with standard all-wheel drive (or xDrive, in BMW-speak), the 328i GT handled pretty much like a normal 3 Series. Meaning it was responsive, sure-footed and, yes, fun." — Mike Monticello
MPG
"So after our first California fuel stop in sleepy Yreka we decided to set the cruise control at a reasonable speed in the low 70s, settle in and let Interstate 5 stream past. We didn't stop for gas again until we were more than 497 miles down the road at Lost Hills. That was a 33.2-mpg tank. The following fill-up, the one that brought us the rest of the way home from Lost Hills, was 33 mpg. The EPA highway rating for this car is 33 mpg. Nailed it." — Dan Edmunds
"The result is a 76.9-mile course that takes about three hours to complete.... I kept the stop-start system fully operational for the first circuit and disabled it for the second one.... Here is what I found: Stop-Start disabled: 25.1 mpg (4.0 gallons per 100 miles); Stop-Start enabled: 27.5 mpg (3.6 gallons per 100 miles). Our BMW delivered 2.4 more mpg when the stop-start system was allowed to do its thing, a 9.4-percent improvement. Presuming you do a lot of city driving, that's about a gallon per fill-up. I don't know about you, but that's more significant than I expected." — Dan Edmunds
Comfort
"We arrived tired and cranky, essentially jet-lagged. And all that seat time left me sore, stiff and miserable. I'd noticed the 328i GT's seats weren't very comfortable in the first few hours but had no choice but to press on and do what stretching I could during our infrequent stops." — Dan Edmunds
"Our long-term 2014 BMW 328i GT, for instance, is extremely comfortable. Extremely. From its driver seat to its seating position to its ride quality, our 328i is a luxury car first and foremost.... It by no means demands even the smallest sacrifice in comfort from its occupants. I personally love the shape and support of the BMW's driver seat. I'm 5' 11", 185 pounds, and it fits me perfectly." — Scott Oldham
Cargo Space
"I needed a place to stash some hand tools.... When I ventured into the 328i GT's cargo area, I recalled that it was equipped with run-flat tires, which meant there might be a handy place for a few loose tools back there. I was more right than I expected. The cargo area's floor access door is supported by a gas strut.... There are several voluminous storage bins beneath, perfect for exactly what I needed in this instance." — Jason Kavanagh
"Two cars: one our long-term 3 Series Gran Turismo and the other a 3 Series Sport Wagon. They're both 3 Series, they both have extra cargo space compared to the regular sedan...and yet, they are quite different. The GT actually has more cargo capacity than the wagon. With seats up it has 18.4 cubic feet versus 17.5, while the difference in maximum capacity is 56.5 cubic feet versus 53. Of course, cubic feet don't tell the whole story. The wagon's more traditional cargo area shape is ultimately more versatile and useful." — James Riswick
Interior
"I really like this car...but it's not perfect. No car is perfect.... Today I want to talk about the BMW's teeny tiny gear readout, which you can see in the photo located on the bottom right of the instrument cluster underneath the tachometer. Its size is fine in normal driving. And it's sufficient most of the time for most drivers.... But drive this car hard and its small gear readout becomes a disappointment.... Especially at this price point." — Scott Oldham
"Part of the appeal of the 328i Gran Turismo is a wheelbase and body longer than the regular 3 Series sedan and wagon. BMW has put that extra length to use for expanding the amount of rear legroom and cargo space. If you're an adult seated in back, you'll probably be impressed by the amount of space you have to stretch out your legs. It's excellent for any entry-level luxury car. At the same time, however, you could be disappointed in the amount of headroom the 3 GT has.... My head rubs up against the headliner. I'm pretty normal for height, too, at 5-feet, 10-inches tall. In order for my head to not touch the roof, I have to tilt it inwards. That's hardly comfortable." — Brent Romans
Audio and Technology
"The iDrive controller.... Its top is a touchpad that lets you write in some destination info, such as the street name, address and city, rather than dialing around the system's wheel of fortune. The touchpad had no trouble interpreting my fingertip writing and it was easier to use than the scroll wheel. I know that the iDrive has a lot of haters, but I like it, and I like this neatly integrated approach to better, faster destination delineation." — Carroll Lachnit
"Our 328i Gran Turismo has a case of T.M.I., or Too Much Information.... BMW is proud to display traffic conditions not only on the main highway arteries, but also on surface streets. The problem is that I have trouble teasing out the part in which I'm mainly interested, the highways. The surface street traffic disappears if I un-zoom far enough, but then I'm looking at the entire L.A. metropolitan area and I lose the detail of interchanges, etc." — Chris Walton
Maintenance
"Run-flats are great. They've saved my butt more than a few times letting me get to a safe spot or a tire shop. Run-flats aren't great when you don't have a spare, too. Let's try to stretch and imagine a world where I don't live very, very close to the office and where I lack the flexibility to skip a day of work. Let's try to then imagine that world where I don't have a functional car for four days while I wait for a tire. Long live the full-size spare." — Mike Magrath
"I stopped at a rest area midmorning for a quick break, and as I got hard into the throttle to enter the highway at speed, the BMW started sputtering, bogging and just generally hesitating. Around that same time a warning came up on the navigation screen and a check-engine light popped up on the instrument panel. The readout said: 'Drivetrain malfunction: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output not available. Consult service center.'" — Mike Monticello
Miscellaneous
"When I'm driving in normal conditions, I tend to fiddle with things. I'll tap incessantly on a shifter emblem, push the parking brake release button, scratch at the stitching on the steering wheel.... In my restlessness, I started tapping on the paddle shifters and discovered a minor misstep.... The edges of the paddles are sharp.... For something that drivers would potentially be touching on a regular basis, the finish should be excellent." — Mark Takahashi
"The rear seat in the 3 Series Gran Turismo is actually quite ideal for installing safety seats. A lot of times you'll encounter sporty contouring on a luxury car's rear-seat cushions, which can give occupants better lower lateral support, but it makes it harder to get a proper fit with a safety seat's base. Considering the 3 GT's flat seat bottoms, it almost seems like BMW's designers had safety seats as the priority. The angle of the seatback is also well matched to my Britax seat. Finally, the Gran Turismo's LATCH anchors, located behind the black flip-up covers, are very easy to locate and use." — Brent Romans
Maintenance & Repairs
Regular Maintenance:
Routine service was due on the BMW as dictated by its onboard computer. Our driving habits had us in the shop three times during our year of ownership. We paid nothing due to BMW free scheduled maintenance, which covered the car for four years or 50,000 miles.
Service Campaigns:
Two service campaigns were addressed during our test. The first involved removing a drain grommet and the second updated the program control unit (B12 16 13).
We also experienced a "drivetrain malfunction warning." The light came and went but a code was stored. Our dealer chalked this up to a "one-time fault" and cleared the code. It did not happen again before we returned the vehicle to BMW days later. However, this same fault is causing much larger problems for some owners on BMW forums.
Fuel Economy and Resale Value
Observed Fuel Economy
Fuel economy for the 328i GT fell short of expectations. After 25,000 miles we averaged 24 mpg, significantly shy of the 26 mpg combined EPA rating. Our best single tank was 33 mpg and the best single-tank range was an impressive 497 miles.
Resale and Depreciation
The MSRP on our Gran Turismo was $55,500. At the conclusion of our test, Edmunds' TMV® Calculator valued the 25,000-mile sedan at $36,878 based on a private-party sale. This equated to significant depreciation of 34 percent from the as-tested MSRP.
Summing Up
Pros: More versatility, second-row legroom and cargo storage than the 3 Series sedan with nearly the same performance. Free scheduled maintenance for 4 years or 50,000 miles. Up to 500-mile fuel range.
Cons: Minor interior build quality issues. Depreciation was unexpectedly high. We averaged 2 mpg below EPA combined fuel economy estimates. Uncertainty about drivetrain warnings.
Bottom Line: The Gran Turismo is a more spacious, more utilitarian 3 Series sedan. Performance sacrifices are minimal. We encountered some interior fit and finish missteps. And our highly optioned example had uncharacteristically low resale value.
| Total Body Repair Costs: | None |
| Total Routine Maintenance Costs: | None (over 12 months) |
| Additional Maintenance Costs: | $376.25 to replace a tire |
| Warranty Repairs: | Remove water drain grommet, reprogram PCU |
| Non-Warranty Repairs: | None |
| Scheduled Dealer Visits: | 3 |
| Unscheduled Dealer Visits: | 1 to replace a tire |
| Days Out of Service: | 2 |
| Breakdowns Stranding Driver: | None |
| Best Fuel Economy: | 33.2 mpg |
| Worst Fuel Economy: | 14.9 mpg |
| Average Fuel Economy: | 23.6 mpg |
| True Market Value at service end: | $36,878 (private-party sale) |
| Depreciation: | $18,622 (34% of original MSRP) |
| Final Odometer Reading: | 25,046 miles |
The manufacturer provided Edmunds with this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.