2005 BMW 3 Series E90 SE from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing has gone wrong.

The all new E90 3 series. I think BMW has now become a mass car developer who has lost the edge a little with this car. The car has serious performance issues as it is just not powerful enough for a 2.0l engine. The interior has dropped in standard ie, the quality and the feel has gone out of the window and is more of a Nissan primera feel to it. Of course the more you pay the better it gets, but the cars are no longer something to benchmark exceptional quality against. After a while you begin to notice the drop in standard and the feel good factor of the car soon wears off unless you have gone up from a standard car to the BM.

Having just driven a Nissan Primera as a hire car, believe me it wasn't a pleasant experience (Thanks Budget!!). I can't even consider how you could even begin to compare the interior of the two cars. The BMW is I agree a little bland inside. However the Nissan is cluttered with gimmicks and rubbish to try to compensate for the totally appalling drive. have just test driven the A4,Saab 93, Lexus and BMW 3 Series. The only one which comes close to the 3 series for drivability is the A4 Quatro (Front wheel drive version was all over the place)

No-one forced the reviewer to buy this car.

The thing I don't understand about this site is that a large majority of the "bad" reviews are about features that should have been obvious on a test drive and/or a mechanical inspection (if a used vehicle).

I have never bought or leased a car that I did not like after a test drive.

I was the origonal reviewer and now drive the X type 2.2 D sport and the will probably never look back. However, I also owned a 320 E46 and it did handle better than the new one.

PX values say it all.. Words from the BM dealer I brought the car from. " unfortunately we have experienced this problem where the customers are bringing the car back because it did not meet the expectation, the e46 set the bar"..."the market is slowley flooding with 2nd hand e90's (petrol) and px = 19K...

I posted my thoughts on the 2005 325i last year and I must say that I had the opportunity to buy the E90 instead of the E46. Side by side comparison made my decision to get the E46 an easy one. The E46 seemed to be a "better" car, more room, better amenities and, a far better price. I know this is opinion and well, as they say, opinions are like _____, everybody has one. That one happens to be mine.

Having said that I recently read in a business newspaper that BMW sold around 75,000 vehicles in January 2006, the majority of which were the E90. Not too bad for a shabby car?

I own a BMW 120d and have submitted a review for it here on Carsurvey.

I wholeheartedly agree with this original reviewers comment that BMW seems to have lost the plot somewhat with their new crop of lower rung models like the E87 1 series and the E90 3 series.

I had a whole string of BMW 3 series before from E30, facelifted E30, E36 and E46 (original and facelifted).

To me, the E90 while being a good drive, just fails to ignite the same sort of passion that spurred me to get its predecessors. Blame this on the controversial yet bland styling (rear looks like an old Nissan Primera gone badly wrong), dashboard is so slab-sided, rear seat outer edge padding too firm for comfort, no temperature gauge, no dipstick on the petrol models, no visible washer and brake fluid reservoirs. It's just so un-BMW!

My 120d has also proven to be a constant source of irritation through its poor build quality coupled to indifferent/incompetent dealer attention.

I am now in the process of swapping it for a (used) E46 330d Touring at great financial loss. I agree with the comment that the E46 set the bar for the 3 series (although I do think that the E90 is roomier inside). Compared to my E46 318i Valvetronic, my 120d sucks big time.

Thanks BMW! If you continue to go along your current track, you will lose this long time customer.

The E90 is just so bland compared to the E46. Where Bangle's 5 series has a certain drama and novelty value, his 3 series just looks anonymous. The details that made the late E46's so appealing such as the flared front arches and intricately shaped headlights are gone and replaced by nothing much in particular.

The 320i I drove felt heavier than my E46 320i and the new four cannot compare to the old six for aural appeal and smoothness. It struggled at low revs with what I suspect is a very heavy car, and the steering felt lifeless. The interior is barren and lacks the old car's "cockpit" feel, and the person responsible for i-Drive should be strung up.

I won't be "upgrading" to an E90 as you can probably tell!

Hi People, living at the other end of the world where you pay 100% for your cars nost of the time we take careful steps in car purchase and the BMW has been known to have horrible depreciation rates in Nigeria. They however go it so right with the E46 and after driving three Japanese cars a Mercedes and a Brand New Honda, I do not find any other car more desirable than my 19k miles Used 318i (Sold 8 months ago) in anticipation of a thorough bred German Machine replacing the old E46. My Dear people, I now drive a very bland Toyota corolla bought brand new to fare me from A to B while I continue my research for a car. Mr. Chris Bangle?? What happened? I hope such disappointments never occurs in my lifetime anymore. Now I am shopping for another used E46,The best car in the World!

Hi

In the market for a new car, in the past only owned V8 Fords.

Never having owned a BMW before, we road tested one with an open mind. I loathed the plastic woodgrain dash. The car felt slow and heavy. Disliked the seats. More like an old mans car!!! We didn't like its blandness and wanted something more sporty and responsive, hence after road testing we purchased a V8 S4 Audi.

I own an E91 (touring 3 series) and yes, I am not sure about the exterior styling which looks a bit featureless and the sadly the cockpit interior has gone - I used to love the way all the controls were angled towards the driver. However, it is still an excellent car to drive. The other day having been caught in a motorway traffic jam for hours I turned off and used some back roads. It was the first time I had given it a sustained thrashing and it really came alive. The brakes and engine are tireless and it handled superbly and despite getting home hours late it didn't matter too much as I had some fun. I remember trying a similar exercise in a Mk1 Vectra and it didn't want to know and you just got the impression that all it wanted to do was waft back and forth along the M1 past Luton. BMWs may not look as sporty or unique as they used to sadly, but they're still great cars.

In response to the previous commentor, the styling used to be one of the X factors that contributed to the joys of owning a BMW.

The current 3 just does not inspire a "want one now" feeling with some (myself included, and I've owned eight 3 series till now).

The new 3 may drive well on a switchback road, but take it anywhere else and it feels too large compared to its immediate predecessor.

I am the original reviewer, I got a bit of flack in the beginning of this review in a couple of comments. Glad to see its not just me who thinks the 3 series has lost the touch. Now I am not a 3 series owner I have had 2 brand new 2.2D jags X type and now a 2006 Grand Cherokee -- I see the 3 series now and it does not even turn my head, but mind you I cannot wait for the M3 -- that I hope will not be a let down because if the SE is something to go by the Audi RS4 is going to be the winner.

I have owned in the past, 4 six-cylinder e39 5 series, an e46 320d sport, an e60 520d sport and currently an e90 330d M sport. Without a single doubt the later is by far and away the best of the bunch. The e90 is as easy to drive as a micra yet has more grunt that a few Porsches I’ve been in over the years. If you don’t believe me try one for yourself. The harder you push the more it rewards.

My solution to overcome its admittedly "safe" styling (even in sport guise) was to take a cue from the Audi guys and buy a bright red one. Very rare, and in my opinion totally stunning and a welcome change from black, silver and Le Mans blue.

The space inside the car is an equal to that of the previous e39 5 series and a lot more roomy than the e46 and ridiculously cramped rear of the A4.

I think BMW learnt a very quick lesson with the ridiculous quality of the launch X3 models and I don’t think they’ll go down those roads again.

A lot of car manufacturers have improved the “showroom appeal” of their car ranges, but it is in the longevity of the parts where the likes of BMW stand out from the crowd. Considering how many BMW’s are driven relatively hard it is testament to the quality and engineering that makes them a worthwhile investment.

Just had a week with an E91 320d hire car on holiday in Italy. I don't feel that a week allows too much objective comment, but have a few points to make. I've never liked the 3-series image despite knowing that the actual machine is undoubtedly very good. Admittedly, I was quietly excited at the thought of hooning around Tuscan hairpins. But I handed back the keys with mixed feelings.

Engine was fabulous, power delivery smooth, but surprisingly urgent. Felt solidly fast, but quiet too. Ride was pretty good despite the run flats. Taught, composed handling with plenty of grip, keen turn in etc. It all felt high quality. Some of the controls were disappointing though. Annoying indicators, handbrake with no bite until the top of its travel (only 8000km on the clock), surprisingly long throw and rubbery gearbox, tricky selection between first and reverse gears when making a swift 3-point turn. Also, I love gadgets, but certain controls just need a button rather than a fiddly I-Drive menu entry. Possibly I just needed to get the 'knack' better. The seats were OK, but neither particularly comfortably cosseting or sportily supportive.

Importantly, sitting down with a beer at the end of the day looking at the thing parked in front of me I have to say that from all, but the full frontal view, it looks either ugly or unremarkable. I gave the keys back with no real sadness although it was a great drive in many ways.

The lease period comes up on my current Golf MkV Tdi in 18 months time and this should have been the moment where, with an expanding family, the BMW 320d touring made a case for itself as the only future choice. But I probably won't be choosing one. For 95% of my driving, the BMW's dynamics just don't matter, its not perfect and I would be left with a high quality, but ugly, expensive car that many other road users would dislike me for. Getting back in the Golf at Gatwick, it felt flat, noisy and a bit low rent, but comfier and more far more willing to skip around the tight maze of the airport car park on the way home. Yes, it's a smaller car, but the four passengers had no less room and amazingly the boot in the hatchback was not much fuller than the bigger BMW estate's.

I drive a 2006 BMW 320D SE (E90). In the past I have had other BMWs and a line of Audis. Ihe new 3 series is the best car I have ever owned or driven and this is borne out by the sales figures and reviews in car publications. The quality of the interior is superb, as is the comfort level, refinement, handling, stability and performance. As an all round package, I really think it's a hard one to beat. The only aspect of the car I am not crazy about is the exterior styling, but I opted for 17" alloys and this makes quite a difference - this is only visual however. I would agree that the interior of the 1 series feels a little cheap and I also think that the interior of the current 5 series does not feel as robust as the previous model, but the new 3 series is a very high quality, well made car and a big improvement over its predecessor.