I've read a lot about the BMW 3-series being the best sports sedan in the market but I've never had the chance to test that out. I took a day off from work and this was going to be the highlight of it.
I had originally went to Town + Country BMW but was appalled by the poor service - or the lack there of. I was greeted by reception but stood for close to 5 minutes while she shifted around the floor "looking for a sales representative". Only when I approached a sales representative (who was busy stapling papers together), she came back and told me they were busy and to wait. I asked her for a brochure and received a couple papers stapled together. I insisted on a real brochure and was told there were out of supply. I'm in the middle of 2007 and they don't have a sales person or a brochure. So we just left. I would avoid this dealership.
I was about to go by the Honda dealership across the street since a Honda Civic is also on my short list of potential cars or drive to the Volvo dealership nearby for a test drive of the S40 T5 but recalled a bunch of dealerships in the Steeles and Yonge area.
My drive brought me to:
BMW Autohaus,
Map It
480 Steeles Avenue W
Thornhill, ON L4J 6X6
1 888 485-6633
Unlike Town + Country, I was greeted, my information taken, and promptly brought to a sales representative, Henry Lam. Henry quickly showed me around the 328xi in the showroom, looked around the show floor to give me a feel for the synthetic hoistery (Leatherette), and gave me some MSRP numbers on his computer. Before I'm going to buy a car I'm going to see if I like the drive so after a quick photocopy of my license we were off for a test drive with key in hand.
A titanium silver BMW 328xi for testing
Those rear tires look a bit small from the side
I prefer the exhaust on each side of the car instead of together
A great looking BMW that's the right size for me
The car had less than 500km on it so it might not feel exactly like a broken in one but I loved what I felt. It had strong stiff breaks, a super smooth and powerful inline 6-cylinder, and a very confident feel. Henry even let me take a detour and drive into a parking lot where I took the car for a short slalom around the parking islands. In a rainy condition, I wouldn't have done this with an Acura TSX because of tire slippage and not even on a
Lexus IS250 AWD because of lack of feel.
I can only fault the cheap 80's looking interior. It has frontal cup holders that are far from the driver and go into the passenger’s space. The rear features a cheap arm rest that feels like, given the right amount of weight, it'll break off. Without the performance option I won't have power seats and a moon roof that I've grown accustomed to.
The BMW 3-series really stands up to all the positive reviews its received. I'm glad Henry had given me the opportunity to really give that 328xi a good spin so I would highly recommend asking for Henry Lam at BMW Autohaus. For those of you out for a sports sedan, the BMW 328xi would be the car I highly recommend getting.
