Road Tests: Long-Term Test

"I feel that the vein of superlative prose has just about been exhausted on this car," wrote senior features editor Brent Romans in the BMW's logbook for the month of December. "What can I say about the steering and engine that hasn't already been said?"

Indeed, the BMW's ability to provide rapid and enjoyable transportation has collected more than its fair share of praise. When the car goes off lease in March of 2001, there will be plenty of sullen faces in the editorial offices.

Brent was the 328's primary caretaker this month and had trouble reconciling his feelings about BMW ownership. "I enjoy the car from a dynamic perspective," he says. "But the car comes with so much emotional baggage. Here's an example. The car was parked in our office's underground parking lot. There was a maintenance worker fiddling with the overhead sprinkler system near the car. As I walked up, he asked which car was mine so that he could move his equipment. I mentally cringed when I said, 'the BMW.' I wanted to explain to him that, 'It's not my car. I'm just temporarily driving it. I'm not the young dot-com snob that you think I am. I didn't spend the equivalent of your yearly salary just so I could say I own a BMW.'"

Brent says our long-term Toyota Celica is the type of car more fitting to his age and personality. But even he couldn't completely fight off the BMW's bourgeois image. One Friday night, he had to pick up a date at her house. He found himself glad he had the 328 to drive and enjoyed showing off its supple interior and advanced features. On this evening, Brent admits, his values were overridden by the blue-and-white propeller emblem.

As for the driving experience, Mr. Romans reports that the car possesses the unique quality of becoming better the harder it's driven. "On my commute to work, I usually try to be frugal for the sake of fuel efficiency," Brent says. "This means shifting at 2,000 rpm and making gentle brake and throttle inputs. When I do this, the car just doesn't seem happy. The shifts are ragged, for example, and driving in stop-and-go traffic is a chore. But when traffic opens up and I can drive more aggressively, the BMW's personality changes. The shifts suddenly become super-smooth and the engine makes its trademark silken growl. All seems right with the world when you bend the car to your will."

Additional proof of this theory came from some track time obtained at Willow Springs International Raceway, a road course about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. We were at the racetrack for a comparison test between a Chevrolet Corvette Z06, a Dodge Viper ACR and a Ford Mustang Cobra R. Since we rented the track for a whole day, there was plenty of opportunity to sneak the BMW onto the track when the sports cars were idle.

Other than airing up the tires by 5 psi over BMW's recommended cold tire inflation pressures, we drove a car that was exactly the same as it was when it came off the dealer's lot (plus 37,000 miles, of course). We also had a few other long-term test cars at the track, but none were as popular as the BMW.

"My feelings after driving the BMW at Willow centered on how capable this four-door commuter car is," said executive editor Karl Brauer. "I know that it's a rather expensive commuter car and that it's billed as a sport sedan, but specific areas like steering feel, chassis stability and overall dynamics border on exotic car levels. It's these exact factors that make the 3 Series a benchmark car that Acura, Lexus, and even Mercedes-Benz and Audi are always trying to match, but have yet to do it."

Associate editor Ed Hellwig also praised the car. "The balanced chassis, smooth power delivery and fade-free brakes make it the perfect companion for a track novice to hone his skills," said Ed. "It had just enough power to allow for throttle steering through the corners without fear of lighting up the tires and going full circle into the dirt. When it did get tail happy, a mere tap of the brakes brought it back without a fuss." Mr. Hellwig thought the BMW was one of the most fun cars to drive at the track that day, Corvette, Viper and Cobra R included.

Our supreme leader (editor-in-chief Christian Wardlaw) was able to load up the car with four adults to see if the extra weight would degrade performance. Other than feeling sluggish to him climbing a sweeping uphill turn, the 328 steered, braked and handled as if there was no extra weight on board at all. Chris did say, however, that the BMW is more fun to drive hard on public roads, noting that its reflexes can be better appreciated in slice-and-dice traffic than on the controlled environment of the track.

Despite numerous laps by a variety of drivers, the 328 seemed to be little worse for wear. The Continental ContiSport Contact 225/45WR17 tires, while certainly scrubbed by the end of the day, held up well and didn't chunk or blister like some of the other tires on our long-term test cars did. At one point, a particular editor drove the car too aggressively and came into the pits with smoke emanating from the overheated brakes. This was cause for concern, but after letting them cool off, the brakes operated normally. We were also worried that the clutch might not be able to stand up to the rigors of high-speed track driving, but that too seemed fine after the day was done. Subsequent driving on the street has not revealed any new track-related problems.

The BMW finished off December without fault. "I like the car," says Brent, "And like Chris Wardlaw said in last month's write-up, just forget about all the status stuff and enjoy the car for what it is. The problem is that I don't think I could if I owned the car."

Current Odometer: 37,335
Best Fuel Economy: 27.8 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 15.9 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None