BMW 3-Series Saloon (2012 - 2019) 328i M Sport 4d Owner Review

I have had two previous BMW 3 series cars, both of which were 6 cylinder 325 coupes. I updated my last one with this 328 saloon to give me better access for child seats with my two young children. My first impression of the engine, was that although fairly asthmatic in first gear compared to a 6 cylinder, once you move into second and the twin scroll turbo kicks in, the car really moves. Although no where near as smooth as the 6 cylinder engines, the twin turbo pushes out more power through the gears than the bigger engines and weighs a lot less hence more horsepower than the straight sixes. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about going from coupes to a saloon, as they just don’t look as sexy, but I really fell in love with this car. The interiors are nice and although they don’t have a million buttons and gadgets and twinkly lights (ala an Audi) they have everything in the right place and it’s well made. My particular model is in the Estoril Blue and has a triple black interior (leather, carpets and headliner) which really stands out, and coupled with limo black rear windows really looks very smart. The sound system on my model is not the top of the range but the quality is excellent and as good as I need. They sound systems have small subwoofers under the front seats and this helps deliver a decent sound. Lighting inside the car is good and has colour changeable ambient lighting, which although is fairly dim, is a nice touch. Cabin space is good and my seats are part electric, with excellent adjustable lumbar support. Boot space is also pretty decent, but make sure you get a model with the foldable split rear seats, as this is an option on these cars not the norm. Seats are comfortable and the leather is hardy, withstanding my two child seats well. Visibility out of the cabin is excellent, and road noise is reduced much better than my previous model. As always, a BMW is known to be a drivers car, and as long as you are used to a rear wheel drive, they are very fun to drive. Comfortable on long journeys (mine averages about 45 mpg on the motorway, in sport mode, which is great for such a car) and averages around 32 in mixed driving only dropping for my journeys as I only work a couple of miles from home, so a lot of stop starts at traffic lights drops my mpg. The car comes with an easy to work voice activated hands free, and you can easily play a Spotify or Apple Music playlist from your phone. One note I would say to watch out for is the m sport models have pretty low bumpers on the front and they are very easy to catch on kerbs. All in all, I would literally buy the facelift model when I trade on, as I have had no issues in four and a half years owning the car, and it gets a clean bill of health from the main dealers every time it’s in for a service. BMW service centres are very welcoming btw and I would also highly recommend using them over your standard garage. I would rate my car 9/10 mainly because it isn’t a Ferrari