Iceman's C230

Hi guy's. A good friend of mine just bought a new BMW 330Ci. Come over yesterday to show his new ride.

He said he Paid $55K Canadian for it. It is a 2 door coupe. 3.0L engine.

So he let me take it for a drive a little. I did not liked the interior that much copared to my 230. The power was also not that much noticable. I think they have 225 HP but my c230 felt faster. It was still a nice looking ride on the out side. It had the M sport package on it.

I also found the 2003 Full line brochure on the back seat of his car. I was looking at some numbers and found this:

320i 0-60 in 8.7
325i 0-60 in 7.6
330i 0-60 in 6.8
330Ci 0-60 in 7.5

What i dont understand is why is the 4door 330i faster than 2door 330Ci. They have the same engine. But the sedan is faster.

Also those numbers are not too far off the C230k numbers. At the end of the day i was still happy that i had my c230.

Now my friend is bugging me to get into the new Z4.

Silver_Lana

The 3er are great automobiles. I suggest you drive the Z4, i personally didnt like it too much because i need a softer ride, even for a convertible.
Enjoy!

rost12

Those numbers are wrong. I also have that brochure and was amazed... 330Ci is the same as 330i.
And it's a bit lower that 6.8, many magazine tests proved it.

You opinion about interior of 330Ci seems misguided to me But ok, to each his own.

But you are definitely wrong about performance. Either you were not driving the car to its limits, or it is still too new (the engine needs to broken in fully (15,000-20,000kms)) but 330Ci will spank your 230 both in straight line acceleration and in handling No offense, just facts.

J P

Everything I've seen suggests the 330 is much faster than the C230 K.

Those numbers are messed up, the sedan & coupe have the same engine, & weigh the same. There is no acceleration difference between the 330 coupe & sedan, maybe you confused 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph not 0-60) times of a manual & a auto.

BMW NA: 330C/i coupe/sedan
0-60: 6.4 s (m), 7.0 s (a)

Magazines' Avg:
0-60: 6.1 s (m), 6.6 s (a)

Magazines' Avg: C230 K
0-60: 7.4 s (m), *7.7 s (a)

*My estimate, not actual time. Either way, the 330 coupe or sedan would smoke the C230 K. The C230 K times are comparable to the 325, not the 330.

dswildfire

if the number was for the convertible, i'd believe it. the convertibles are actually significantly slower than the regulars.

fernrod

hey, my brother has a 330ci 5spd, and it will kill our coupes, trust me ive tried, ive only beaten him when he missed a gear, he runs 14.9 on the quarter mile, stock! so no argument, unless.... you get lots of mods like i did! but we havent been able to go tothe track again to try it again

Iceman's C230

You guy's might be right. He only put like 700km's on the car so far. So it is not broken yet, and i didn't push it that hard. Can't drive your friends new BMW like you stole it. Like i said tough, it is still a very nice car with the M sport package but the interior i was not too crazy about.

Also the roads are not that great in calgary, i will have another crack at his car when it gets nicer out.

Outland

I didn't care for the 3 series interior at all- especially the black covering around the speedo and dash top. Overall, it feels cheap. Looks like fake elbow skin(or worse).

The 325 felt slower than my Coupe, but not the 330Ci...it pulled pretty damn hard. A Pullied coupe might be able to hang with one, but not a stock M111.

oggle

The exterior of the 330 is nice and the muffler sounds great. The only things I don't like about it are:

- looks small from the outside
- don't care for the interior designs other than the tachometer

Other than that it's a great car.

rost12

What's wrong with the interior?

It's functional, its tactile feel is not that bad. And it's got all that orange lighting that's easy to see and not trashy/flashy like some other designs.
It's a bit boring, I agree, but ergonomically perfect, what else is needed in an entry-level luxury sport sedan?

I'm biased, what can I say

Jens C320

I'll have to agree with you. I liked the interior of my 2000 BMW 328i better than the 2003 C320 I have now. Sure, the MB has more leather and wood, but I liked the functional and not cluttered interior of the BMW.

tommy

When I see a BMW interior, it makes me think of a coffin. Just too boxy, boring, and depressing.

I like my ccoupe's use of aluminum trim to brighten things up a little. Never thought I'd say this, but BMW could take a lesson from MB and not take itself so seriously, on interior design, at least. Now, if we could just borrow BMW's suspension engineers for a couple years...

CRB

That is clearly the answer. It was the time for a convertible.

SiLvaC32

my brother has a 330Ci. and he likes my interior better. and so do i! but.... if you think a 230K is faster than a 330Ci. you should try again.

Jerry

FrankW

I had a 2000 328Ci premium sport. it's just two different design. some of the stuff are more functional on the Bimmer and some of the stuff are more functional on the MB. That's all I can say. It's all up to ones taste. I like the multifunction display of the MB, but the larger rpm and mph gauge. One can never be satisfied.

BlackC230Coupe

OMG i cant stand the 2 open cup holders in the 3 series. It looks just a Mustang. It fu*ken so ugly to just see 2 empty spaces that collect dirt and have people throw junk like change and phones in there.:o

FrankW

but it does works better than the over-engineered cupholder in most of the MB. Have you seen the one in the S-class, they are beautifully designed, but very crappy made. It feels like you can just break'em like some twig.

dswildfire

are you talking about the ones in the current body style S? or the last one (W140), because my parents have a 1998 s320 LWB, and i have no problems with the cupholders, except that the console cover occasionally decides it doesnt want to stay shut.

FrankW

the current S-class. as a matter of fact, all the current MBs have over-engineered crappy made cup holder. Other than the one from the current SLK, it's just plain crappy.

SiLvaC32

yea... i like the BMW cupholders better.... at least it can hold 2 drinks.

Jerry

nukblazi

I really like the 3series interior much better.

* two functional cup holders.
* full round crome trimmed gauges
* instrumentation lighting is excellent
* "the HEAD light" (underside of rearview morror) illuminates interior at night just enough to see without turning on interior lamps
* Awesome angled center console
* Extention for lower front seats
* Hand operated emergency brake
* Really freakin comfortable seats
* Ergonomics are really just on point

C coupe dislikes-
* Aluminum trim is tacky and trendy
* Flowering cup holder belongs in a VW beatle
* Cheap feeling buttons above radio for heated seats, alarm, etc.
* Cheap cheap cheap feeling sunroof button ( afriad I'll bust it everytime I use it)
* Location and feel of the window buttons.
* Obnoxious yellow/orange/funky interior illumination (if you dim it to tolerable level, you can't see the lighted buttons on center console)
* Freakin MORE RATTLES THEN A CHAIN GANG, and air noise too!!!!! (my xi never makes a peep)

...but I still love the B***H! My two cents. I have a 00' xi. Since owning the coupe I have developed a greater appreciation for the 3 Series. My main complaint is that I can't adjust the steering wheel in the xi close enough to my legs for how I like to drive.

steve s

mb cupholder is definitely overengineered....on the c36 (and probably all w202)...open the cover, push a button...and the cup holder springs up into action and swivels over to the right...

was it really that necessary ?? heheh

have u guys checked out the new s60r dash? looks pretty cool with the blue


but then....i'm biased on that...once a brick, always a brick hahaha..even if the butt on the s60 is well...butt ugly

bagwell

the C230 Coupe interior is better looking than the 330Ci interior ???!!! P L E A S E !!!!!


I like the 330 interior(s)...I like the RED interior liting a LOT better than the blah amber in my C320....other than that I think they're both pretty much equal.


its a Benz....where's the wood ??!!

J P

Currently own a E46 BMW but I may get a W203 & think both interiors are great. I have yet to see anyone give the W203 a higher rating than the E46 for the interior however.

Consumers Report
Fit & Finish
330i: excellent, C320: excellent

Edmunds
Interior Materials
330i: 93, C320: 77

Car & Driver
Fit & Finish
330i: 9, C320: 9

Road & Track
Interior Styling
330i: 12.8, C320: 12.3





IMO, the E46 aluminum looks much better than the W203 aluminum. For the W203, the wood looks better IMO.

bagwell

the w203 looks a lot better in black than the grey(ash)