2009 BMW 3 Series Sedan User Reviews

Pros

Handling, styling, quality of materials, power, driving position, automatic transmission

Cons

Premium pricing, too many options

Purchased As Used

The Mercedes Benz C class has the prestige and a beautiful exterior styling. The Audi A4 has the best interior. The Lexus IS has a ton of standard features. The BMW 3 series has none of that, but it has something the other cars do not have which is the best driving experience. BMW with this car has found the best compromise between comfort and handling. The driving feel is really its strong point. This car can do anything; slow or fast, it feels great. The driving position, the steering, the response from the engine, the suspension, no other car makes you feel as in synch as it does.

I chose the 328I with the premium package and the 6 speed automatic transmission (I could not justify the extra expense for the 335I). This car is perfect for what I do with it. Just enough power, the auto transmission for ease in long traffic jams, the option of manual for more fun when I feel like it, comfortable and quiet for long drives on the highway, great gas mileage for a 6 cylinder inline. This car puts a smile on my face any time I drive it.

The only negative I have found is really more toward the BMW options policy than anything with the car itself. Without the premium package, this car is not worth of the term ?premium?. The standard fake leather (vinyl) seats are really unacceptable on a luxury car and even with the premium package, the car is really not that well equipped. Yet, BMW makes you pay a premium price for it. BMW need to look at other offers out there and include some more standard features on its cars. In the DC area, I see as many Lexus as I see BMW and the reason is that Lexus includes everything as standard (heated and ventilated leather sets, xenon headlights, autodiming mirrors, 6 CD changer, keyless entry?). Yet, if you can live with fewer features, the BMW will give you a much more satisfying experience than its competitors....read morehide

Pros

Safe Feeling When Driving, Comfort, Handling, Quiet Ride,

Cons

Bit Pricey on Options, Light on Storage

Purchased As New

After driving all the entry level luxury sedans, Lexus, Inifiniti, MB, Audi, Acura, etc... I kept coming back to the BMW. Simply put the car drives unlike any other car I have driven. At 230HP, the torque get this car moving in a hurry. The ride and handling is so precise & smooth before you know it 80 MPH feels like 50MPH. The car is very quiet on the highway and with the sport seats (highly recommended option) you become part of the car. In addition the BMW look will not become dated (Acura TL). My 60 mile round trips to and from work I now look forward to. Other then the BMW options making the the car pricier then the others and the limited storage (the cup holders you get use to) I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a car that is a keeper. Also the 0.9% financing from BMW made the price of the car the same as the other cars that had higher financing rates....read morehide

Pros

Engine, Chassis, and Safety

Cons

Price

Purchased As New

When it's time for shopping for new car, I analyze, compare and test drive BMW, Mercedes, and Audi... and twice now, I ended up with BMWs and never regret it. This is why "Cars and Drivers" picked BMW (3 series) as their top choice - 17 years in a row.

My first BMW was 1999 323iS, 5 spd manual - had it over 10 years and loved it everyday. It was still run better than most new cars on the road. Just that it was a bit too old and the new technologies in the new BMW such as push Start/Stop, more HPs, etc. are too tempting.

My second BMW is 2009 328i, 6 spd manual, RWD - love it that way. With 50/50 weight distribution, the more you accellerate the more you put weight on the rear wheels - where all those HPs are. Leave your hand on the stick at all time and accellerate up the ramp to highway, you'll feel the BMW rev smoothly and connected to the road and when getting off highway, down shift and feel the wheels grabbing on the road wrapping around the loop and slow down by the engine without applying too much brake - just squeeze it slightly. Every day is a driving pleasure...

There are too many good things to decribe here... the only way to experience it is to drive it.

The only down side is that it costs a bit more than average car... but of course, BMW isn't an average car, so no complaints... just enjoy it! we only live once. Once you have a BMW, it's hard to drive anything else....read morehide

Purchased As New

very safe, i was head on collision with a van, front was destroyed but i walked without a scratch...i am really impressed by its safety features, i am looking for another BMW

Pros

Smooth ride, great design

Cons

So-so mileage

Purchased As New

I've driven my 2009 328i (with just the premium package) for just about 5,000 miles. I love the smooth ride and the overall design of the car. My previous ride was a 2004 Volvo C70, which was SO STIFF. I don't feel that the 328 is stiff at all. It hugs the road -- I find myself flying along at speeds I couldn't even touch in the Volvo. However, I haven't found that my mileage is really what it should be -- I'm at about 24 mgp, with a mix of highway and city driving. I'm hoping it will improve with additional miles! Overall, I LOVE my 328....read morehide

Pros

Excellent power, good fuel economy, high-level technical options

Cons

price

Purchased As New

I took delivery of my 335d the end of May. I have about 1,000 miles in the last month of travel. In town mileage is about 28-30 mpg and on the inter-state about 32-34 mpg. The ride is quiet, the handling is excellent particularly in demanding weather conditions. The navigation, radio, and CD/DVD integration are easy to use and do not require much loss of visual contact with the frontal views. The acceleration particularly above 30 mph is astounding and I have raised the audible speed limit to 105 mph; at 85 mph it was annoying....read morehide

Pros

Fuel Economy, Looks, Suspension, Xenons, Base Audio System, Manual Transmission

Cons

Weak A/C, run flats wear too fast, iPod interface, Heated mirrors cannot be turned on manually

Purchased As New

I love this car, I just broke 10,000 miles a couple of days ago. It drives wonderfully. The non-sporty seats are comfortable but they may be too firm for some people's tastes. The suspension is quite firm even though i don't have the sport suspension. some may complain that the suspension is too firm and transmits too much turbulence to the cabin. it is however a sport sedan. If you are looking for driving comfort rather than driving performance, (in this case, by performance i am talking about maneuvering, suspension, steering etc.) look at a 5 series.

I Have a 6 Speed Manual and it is great. The initial shift from 1st to 2nd is a little clunky, but from there on its smooth shifting. This car has great fuel economy for a 6 cylinder engine. I Get 23.5 mpg and i drive about 60 or 65 percent highway and the rest is stop and go. I do accelerate pretty hard and still get decent mileage. i'm sure if i tried to drive more efficiently, i could avg 24 or 25 mpgs.

The New facelift design on this car is beautiful. I absolutely love the new hood and the replacement of Sparkling Graphite for Space gray in the 09 Sedans. The interior controls are quite intuitive but some of the controls take some getting used to such as the radio. The standard steering wheel has radio controls right on on it.

The suspension is great for quick and sporty driving. it handles wonderfully and there is little body roll when cornering. I almost hit a cat once and had to quickly swerve around it and at night. when i was swerving i felt like i had complete control and did not skid or slip.

The xenons are optional on the 328 sedan and standard on the coupe. If you get this car i highly recommend getting the xenon option. it illuminates everything so brightly in front of you. and the xenons turn with the steering wheel so you can see whats ahead when cornering or curving at an exit.

The audio system sounds pretty good for being the base version. I do think it could use a little more bass

The Only major complaint that i have for this car is the Air Conditioning. I live in Miami. and right now it is really hot and 90 % humid. The air conditioning is not capable of comfortably and quickly cooling down the cabin on days like this. I have 20 Percent Tints and i can't imagine how much hotter it'd be if i didn't have them. The MAX button on the AC unit doesn't feel like it cools the car quickly enough. If you live up north, this shouldn't be a problem. It's not that big of a deal for me. But this is my only real major complaint about the car.

The iPod interface is too basic. it takes forever to navigate through songs and artists and you can only play songs from your playlists or look them up by artist. I had to create a playlist that includes all of my songs so that i can just shuffle that list.

My Last complaint about this car is that the heated mirrors are only activated automatically below a specific ambient temperature. However I'd like for them to be manually activated or activated with the rear window defroster. when i leave the house in the morning it could be 80 degrees but the air is always so humid and condensation appears on the outside of all the windows and mirrors. Sometimes i have to get a paper towel and wipe off the condensation before i drive off....read morehide

Pros

Powerful..!! Sleak..!! Gorgeous..!! Insanely FAST..!!!

Cons

You're kidding, right?!?

Purchased As New

I bought my Beamer (bright red!) in Amarillo, TX and I'm here to tell you that this vehicle is pure German genius on wheels!! I don't even know where to begin. I drove everything under the sun, over a period of 7-8 months, before making my decision... and nailed it with this car. Mine is loaded, with both the sport and premium packages... so the price tag was hefty at $50,000.... but SO worth every penny. And talk about a head turner. Can't even lure anyone into giving me any driving "smack" in traffic. Everyone backs off... won't even pull up next to "Red" at a light hardly. Very intimidating car, let me tell you. Very fast (0-6 in 4.8 seconds) and rock solid, but nimble, even at the top end (I've had her up to 130, but felt a little chicken and backed off before she topped out). Tremendous power!! I've fed dirt to the likes of Stangs, RLs, G37s (oh pleeeeze!!) and even the new sport Caddy's, Mercedes C-Class, and Camaro SS (yawn...). This is it folks. I've done your homework, no YOU go buy the car. It truly IS the ultimate driving machine and you won't be sorry you own one!...read morehide

Pros

Appearance & performance

Cons

none

Purchased As New

Yesterday I was in a head on collision with another car and my Beemer was completey crushed. The design of the car kept the impact from pushing the engine into the cab where we were & both front air bags deployed perfectly. The car is totalled & my wife & I feel very fortunate that we walked away from the accident without a scratch on us. I loved that car & I am going shopping for another one....read morehide

Pros

Great Styling, fast, quiet

Cons

Seats a little uncomfortable

Purchased As New

Picked up my BMW 328i xdrive a week ago. So far so good.
It is equipped with premium, navigation, and executive packages. Also opted for the 6-speed manual transmission
Overall: Great car, smooth, fast, and quiet

Gas mileage: reasonable but this car begs to be driven which increases fuel consumption

Seats: I agree they are a bit uncomfortable and I'm still playing around trying to find the best position. Drove 2 hours on highway over the weekend and my back was hurting.

Cup Holders: Weird locations but they do hold on to regular drinks. Passengers can hit their legs on them getting in an out.

idrive: Works great for me. The coolest thing is I can go onto google maps, plan a route, and then send it to the car! This is a real benefit....read morehide