[mnikhil]

Another article bashing the f30 with out recognizing it is 5 years old.

Summary:

9TH PLACE: INFINITI Q50 2.0T

Big on value and interior space, the Infiniti left our judges with nothing else nice to say.

8TH PLACE: VOLVO S60 T6

Stylish and safe, the Volvo can’t escape its long-past sell-by date. It’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just can’t keep up anymore.

7TH PLACE: BMW 330I

How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.

6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T

A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.

5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T

The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.

4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT

A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.

3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300

The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.

2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO

Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.

1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car we’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.



http://www.motortrend.com/cars/alfa-...206#sf62352206

[Brake_Late]

Originally Posted by mnikhil

Another article bashing the f30 with out recognizing it is 5 years old.

Summary:

9TH PLACE: INFINITI Q50 2.0T

Big on value and interior space, the Infiniti left our judges with nothing else nice to say.

8TH PLACE: VOLVO S60 T6

Stylish and safe, the Volvo canÂ’t escape its long-past sell-by date. ItÂ’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just canÂ’t keep up anymore.

7TH PLACE: BMW 330I

How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.

6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T

A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.

5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T

The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.

4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT

A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.

3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300

The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.

2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO

Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.

1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car weÂ’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.



http://www.motortrend.com/cars/alfa-...206#sf62352206

Wow. Beaten by two losers.
Audi and even worse a Jaguar.

[otay]

Don't know about the rest of the field, but I drove a 330i M-Sport one day and the Giulia Ti the next. Preferred the Giulia for dynamics, no contest. Would I buy/lease one? Nope. As C & D said, "customers should consider themselves part of the development team."

Also drove a new A4 recently & wasn't impressed.

Edit: they probably had the base suspension in the 330i...

[HoustonEaDo]

Originally Posted by Brake_Late

Wow. Beaten by two losers.
Audi and even worse a jaguar.

Put me in a 330 and put me up against any
Audi or any jaguar and I well see who wins.

Bad day at Motortrend. Good thing I've never read or subscribed to their propaganda.

So I assume you have road tested all of them to conclude their results are wrong ?

The BMW is old and is showing it's age - nothing wrong with the competition catching up and passing, the next 3er will probably do the same...

[Brake_Late]

Originally Posted by u080570

So I assume you have road tested all of them to conclude their results are wrong ?

The BMW is old and is showing it's age - nothing wrong with the competition catching up and passing, the next 3er will probably do the same...

I just know I don't drive any form of volkswagen or kitty cars

And I don't assume anything never a good choice
or said "their" results are or were wrong

Being old and having longevity isn't always a bad thing

[enjoythemusic]

Alfa if you don't mind crippling loss in resale 'value' and questionable reliability. Audi for that oh-so-famous VW group customer abuse in parts/service and defects cost. Jag and BMW seem the only real choices imho (ok, add in the Lexus as they do make great reliable cars).

[InControl]

Alfa drives well but has a small cabin and sits two adults tight in the back. The gearing is short and fast but uninspiring with a 5500 rpm redline. Looks decent with sport package.

[5ilver-5amurai]

The auto industry's perma hard-on for the Giulia is mind boggling. Have any of these people even driven the competition when they rave about the Giulia....have they even driven the Giulia? The quality of "journalism" these days is pathetic. The number of times I've seen grammatical errors in professional publications is ridiculous. These days, everyone is providing a "professional and objective" opinion

[bad karma]

I'm always bemused when I see a review posted to a given car forum that paints their specific car in a bad light. It's a decent write-up and their conclusions aren't off-base. the F30 is getting long in the tooth, and it wasn't super well-received when it debuted five years ago. Why would it get more love now, when the competition has had plenty of time to cook up better alternatives? The chassis and suspension has always been a weak spot of the F30. It handles "fine" but is completely uninspired.

Slap the F30 interior and powertrain on an E90 chassis and you'd have something worth selling.

[goj]

Originally Posted by bad karma

I'm always bemused when I see a review posted to a given car forum that paints their specific car in a bad light. It's a decent write-up and their conclusions aren't off-base. the F30 is getting long in the tooth, and it wasn't super well-received when it debuted five years ago. Why would it get more love now, when the competition has had plenty of time to cook up better alternatives? The chassis and suspension has always been a weak spot of the F30. It handles "fine" but is completely uninspired.

Slap the F30 interior and powertrain on an E90 chassis and you'd have something worth selling.

The F30, at least in the LCI handles well objectively when equipped with the adaptive suspension (and I'm sure the static sport suspension, but I don't have any experience with this).

Obviously newer, more modern chassis with have an edge, there's always something newer and better.

The F30 softness is not speaking to outright handling as much as it is the reduced connection to the road for broader market appeal.

This particular car seems to be a base suspension model, which is in no way appealing to those who want a sporty 3er

[BMWILUVU]

The next design of a BMW will look like a VW?

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by 5ilver-5amurai

The auto industry's perma hard-on for the Giulia is mind boggling. Have any of these people even driven the competition when they rave about the Giulia....have they even driven the Giulia? The quality of "journalism" these days is pathetic. The number of times I've seen grammatical errors in professional publications is ridiculous. These days, everyone is providing a "professional and objective" opinion

Umm....yes, they drove ALL of them. That was the point of the article. It is a relatively detailed comparison.

The question is, have YOU driven a Giulia? I have. I can assure you that the chassis on both the Giulia and ATS are on a different playing field than the F30, as clearly denoted in the article. They were brutally honest about the shortcomings of the F30 3 series, and they are not off base.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by mnikhil

Another article bashing the f30 with out recognizing it is 5 years old.

Summary:

9TH PLACE: INFINITI Q50 2.0T

Big on value and interior space, the Infiniti left our judges with nothing else nice to say.

8TH PLACE: VOLVO S60 T6

Stylish and safe, the Volvo canÂ’t escape its long-past sell-by date. ItÂ’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just canÂ’t keep up anymore.

7TH PLACE: BMW 330I

How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.

6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T

A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.

5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T

The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.

4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT

A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.

3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300

The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.

2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO

Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.

1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car weÂ’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.



http://www.motortrend.com/cars/alfa-...206#sf62352206

Being 5 years old is not much of an excuse. The 997 is getting a little long in the tooth now (since 2009), but I don't recall any of its reviews ending with, "but, hey it's more than 5 years old.", at least in regard to the chassis/handling/steering, etc. the F30 chassis has its merits, but it also has plenty of flaws, and age has little to do with it. I do know what you're saying here, but I'm not sure it's entirely relevant to the comparison.

Also, the 330 tested here at least has the B48 engine in it, which is really only 2-3 years into production. Not to mention that a 5 year old chassis has given them at least some time to improve upon it, which they have, but only very slightly, imho.

[goj]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

Umm....yes, they drove ALL of them. That was the point of the article. It is a relatively detailed comparison.

The question is, have YOU driven a Giulia? I have. I can assure you that the chassis on both the Giulia and ATS are on a different playing field than the F30, as clearly denoted in the article. They were brutally honest about the shortcomings of the F30 3 series, and they are not off base.

It's not surprising given the model

[nicknaz]

leasing is a solid idea on the Guilia. ??? on the Alfa reliability.

That's a tough loss for BMW. Hopefully with the G series they will return to sportiness as a focus.

Even the base suspension E90 was ok to drive, and sport suspension versions were a ton of fun. The option 704 suspension on my wife's 335 felt more comfy that base suspension e90. Hate to say it, but it makes sense this is the outcome, when BMW moved away from focus on sport to focus on mass appeal

[justinnum1]

bmw deserves it, why do they constantly send test cars with all season instead of sport tires?

also, i read somewhere you cant lease an alpha...you have to come with your own finanacing there is no alpha finance bank like bmwfs

[goj]

Originally Posted by justinnum1

bmw deserves it, why do they constantly send test cars with all season instead of sport tires?

also, i read somewhere you cant lease an alpha...you have to come with your own finanacing there is no alpha finance bank like bmwfs

I also heard BMW has never sold a car with "zenons"

[insanecoder]

is it me or the next gen BMWs lookin more like buicks?

[goj]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

is it me or the next gen BMWs lookin more like buicks?

What?

[geddylee]

I'm calling BS on this test. And I've been very critical of the F30, but the reality is the numbers are very competitive compared to the competition in 0-60, 1/4. and braking, and then you consider this BMW had the worst set of tires in the entire test and no sport suspension. The F30 is certainly a far cry from the E90 as far as driving dynamics, but with the 704 suspension it's still near the top of the heap in it's class. And i've driven the new A4, and there is just nothing remarkable about it. It's a very solid car, decent powertrain but the BMW still has the better motor and a much better transmission than the low rent VW dual clutch that is in that car.

The Lexus has better steering but the motor is horrible and the transmission is several steps behind. The infotainment is so bad it's unusable.

The Cadillac has a horrible transmission, so bad I wouldn't buy it. Not to mention Cue is unusable. It's all chassis but without a great powertrain behind it.

The infinity is awful.

I haven't driven the Volvo, Alfa, or Jag.

The C Class has slightly better steering but again the powertrain is not close to the F30. Ergonomics are nowhere as good either. The interior is more exciting looking, but the materials are not first rate in my opinion. They use a lot of cheap plastics that creak a lot in the C, not as bad as early F30's but the materials don't feel nearly as good as they look.


They should just bring the E90 back. It would blow the doors off everything in this test. Especially with a modern ZF8.

[mnikhil]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

Being 5 years old is not much of an excuse. The 997 is getting a little long in the tooth now (since 2009), but I don't recall any of its reviews ending with, "but, hey it's more than 5 years old.", at least in regard to the chassis/handling/steering, etc. the F30 chassis has its merits, but it also has plenty of flaws, and age has little to do with it. I do know what you're saying here, but I'm not sure it's entirely relevant to the comparison.

Also, the 330 tested here at least has the B48 engine in it, which is really only 2-3 years into production. Not to mention that a 5 year old chassis has given them at least some time to improve upon it, which they have, but only very slightly, imho.

You are correct. Being 5 years old really should not be an excuse considering the e90 was the king of its class. They did however highlight that the transmission was one of the few good things going for the f30. I guess what I meant by 5 years old was that all of the competition was able to study the f30 identify the flaws and provide a solution.

Each of the f30s competitors that ranked above it has focused on an area where it lacks but I still believe the f30 is the best all around buy.

MB - Luxury Comfort
Alpha - Performance/Handling/Chasis
Jag - Performance/Handling/Chasis
Cad - Performance/Handling/Chasis
Audi - Technology/Luxury
Lexus - Comfort

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by mnikhil

You are correct. Being 5 years old really should not be an excuse considering the e90 was the king of its class. They did however highlight that the transmission was one of the few good things going for the f30. I guess what I meant by 5 years old was that all of the competition was able to study the f30 identify the flaws and provide a solution.

Each of the f30s competitors that ranked above it has focused on an area where it lacks but I still believe the f30 is the best all around buy.

MB - Luxury Comfort
Alpha - Performance/Handling/Chasis
Jag - Performance/Handling/Chasis
Cad - Performance/Handling/Chasis
Audi - Technology/Luxury
Lexus - Comfort

Hopefully for BMW the g20 is more like the e90, bottom line. I love my wagon, but it's night and day in terms of handling and feel from my previous e90. That thing was perfect.