E46 test drive

[gramamoo@xxxxxxx (Ganesh Ramamoorthy)]

Test drove an E46 328i. What a marvelous piece of machine!
Personally, I think the car looks very impressive. The rear, which
looks much less hondaish in person than in photos, reminded me
a little of the older 5 series. I had parked my car (E36) next to it and
after admiring the new E46 for a few moments when I looked at my
car - my car looked incredibly outdated!

Build quality at the first appearance looks way far superior than E36.
It gives an impression that this car will never develop any squeaks or
rattles. Only time can tell. I found one little problem - one of the
storage
boxes (below the radio) didn't open most of the times. BTW, there was
also supposed to be a storage compartment under the armrest, but I
couldn't find one. Controls have been softened compared to E36. (That
light switch is one example). Another little difference I noticed was the
car's ignition wouldn't start unless you apply the clutch. I've noticed
this
feature in Japanese cars.
The stock stereo is the same old lousy one. The radio sounds a little
better as there was an external antenna in the car I test drove. I don't
know how good the HK stereo is going to be, but my guess is it's going
to be the same as in E36 and that is one disappointment for guys like
me.

Drive wise, it feels definitely softened. Clutch was softer. Shifting is
very
sloppy and long. Definitely needs bl'ss'ing! The best part was revving
the engine to redline. It's simply smooth and musical all the way. I felt
that THIS smooth revving was definitely not there in the E36 - at least
not in the E36 323i. I'll have to again drive an E36 328i or an E46 323i to
reconfirm this. When I was driving up a bridge, I downshifted to 4th and
stepped on the gas and before I could realize I was touching 110 mph,
and the car was solid as a rock. The dealer told me that the car was
0.5 sec faster in the 0-60 times, but I didn't believe him as I haven't
seen
any proofs, but won't be surprised if and when I see one.

Finally, with the E46, I think the already good 6-cyl engines have been
further refined. The exterior is extremely elegant and aggressive (but is
subjective). The 3 series gets the interior it deserves, and it almost
looks
like the sports package is a must for a BMW fan.

- - Ganesh Ramamoorthy (rganesh@domain.elided)
'95 NY subway
'96 318i

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