Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Our BMW spent the bulk of the month of September still exciting drivers in the Denver region, with the end of the month marking the Bimmer's return to L.A., as our managing editor jetted back to the status-exhibitionist capital of the world.

Most overwhelming were comments pertaining to the BMW's responsive nature. All praised the 2.8-liter engine's power and smooth delivery. Our editor-in-chief noted: "This six is pure joy when it comes time to pass a Winnebago on a two-lane road. Downshift, punch it, and zoooooom - you're by the offending RV without a second thought."

This month marked two trips to the service department for the hapless BMW, too proud to complain about the probes the Bavarian doctors would employ on two separate occasions. Chris Wardlaw took the Bimmer with no appointment to Ralph Schomp BMW in Littleton, Colo., to have scheduled maintenance performed. The dealership was happy to oblige. To our surprise, three hours later we received a call that the car was ready. In addition, not only was the routine maintenance performed, but they had also fixed the inside mirror that we had accidentally dislodged for no charge. Wardlaw pointed out that everyone was courteous and knowledgeable. Basic maintenance is standard on new BMWs, but the paperwork indicated that had it not been gratis, it would have sucked $106.84 from our wallet. Overall, our service experience was excellent.

Once again, all drivers were disappointed with the stereo, especially since this is a luxury automobile. Our Denver staff reiterated that fuzzy bass sounds emit from the speakers while playing cassettes. Comments like, "The sound system is certainly not up to luxury-car status..." and "...cassette tapes that sounded perfectly fine in our New Beetle sound like crap in the BMW," sum up our dismay.

The BMW's second trip to the dealership was warranted by the stereo bugaboo as well as the brake vibration. Returning to Ralph Schomp BMW, we described both conditions and left the car ready to undergo the scalpel. The dealership could not duplicate the stereo issue, claiming that they had compared our car to other new 3 Series on the lot. Could the Harmon Kardon sound system really be that bad? Guess we won't know until our ears have heard an identical 328i. As for the brakes, our suspicions were right - the dealership discovered warped front rotors. Our rotors were replaced under warranty, and we picked up our car happy with our new speed-scrubbing devices, but a bit annoyed about the sound system.

This month, the sunny skies of Colorado didn't mingle well with our BMW. The sun reflected off dash materials in our car; particularly bothersome was the tan strip where the dash meets the windshield, and the tan metallic strip on the face of the dash, which sometimes reflects sunlight straight into our eyes. Wardlaw wrote, "Until the windshield passes into the shade of my garage, I can't see anything in front of the car, and I'm forced to guess where the recycling bins are as well as the kids' toys."

The Bimmer's steering and suspension garnered praise this month, with Wardlaw commenting, "The steering in particular is delicious to the enthusiast driver." We didn't find our car's sport suspension to be particularly harsh when pitted against the regular 3 Series suspension. One driver noted, "The car soaks up irregularities as well as any other BMW, taking care not to jostle occupants more than is absolutely necessary."

While still in Colorado, we nit-picked at the BMW's storage space both inside the cabin as well as in the trunk. More criticism was directed at the balky clutch and interior control markings and positioning. Ergonomically sound this car is not.

After all the praising and griping in Colorado ceased, it was time for our managing editor, Karl Brauer, to waltz with the machine all the way back to L.A. Immediately, he wished he could justify the purchase of the BMW, but pointed out that the price and the small cargo space were obstacles too grand for an automotive journalist to overcome.

Again, we praised the xenon headlamps, but also made mention of the orange gauges as well as the clarity of the GPS/radio screen at night. With the smallest map scale set, we found that we could actually ascertain which direction the upcoming highway was going to curve. Brauer found that this, along with the xenon headlights, inspired confidence while driving through twisty sections of highway at night.

Our managing editor did detect a problem with the BMW while on his trek. He found that the front windows make a loud creaking noise, as the glass seats into the insulation while rolling the windows up. Over the next few minutes after the windows had been rolled up, he described a loud creak emanating from the windows as he drove over bumps. Brauer felt the culprit was the sensor that determines when the window is completely closed. We'll have to check it out on the next trip to the dealer.

Brauer was also entranced with our car's exterior paint noting, "...our Medium Blue Metallic is the most attractive color I've seen on a new 328i Sedan." Color preference aside, our L.A. staffers are clamoring to get their hands on this Bavarian beauty. We'll let you know the results of "fight night" next month!

Total Odometer Reading: 16,075
Best Fuel Economy: 27.7 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 22 mpg
Body Damage Repair: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Other Costs: $0
Problems: Bass sound still poor when playing cassettes. Front windows creaking.