BMW and M Power Owners

I've done a few thousand miles in a F31 LCI 335d with adaptive suspension. I think adaptive suspension makes a noticeable difference and is good balance between comfort and handling, the ride is very good in comfort (my wife complains the ride is bad on M Sport suspension cars but no complaints from her, well at least about the ride :p) pop it in sport and the ride is then a bit stiffer than M Sport suspension but as Fox says it can't drop the car the 20mm it is sitting higher. Some owners fit ACS lowering springs I personally don't think that is needed I did a road trip with a MK3 RS Focus and E46 M3 it could stay on the bumper of them down twisty roads with out an issue. I've driven M Sport equipped F30s but it was too far apart to do a direct comparison I can't say I noticed much difference in the handling when in sport mode on the adaptive but the improved ride in comfort was noticeable almost immediately.

I think the xDrive system is worth it in the higher power cars as I get annoyed seeing the traction control blinking away as it robs you of power xDrive just grips and goes regardless if its wet or not, if you want to slide the rear around it will do it if you want but takes a lot of silly throttle and steering inputs. I don't think it makes a huge difference on MPG, I averaged 41-43mpg a tank with 50-55mpg on a long run.

LCI does bring LED headlights but they are not as good as the old Xenons, no one then specs the upgrade to adaptive lights and all LED options are in reflector headlights.

iDrive update came a little later so you can have LCI cars with the old system but it is an unusal version that has the new faster hardware with 4G and over the air map updates but the old software interface. You can update the software but I don't think anyone has managed to get everything working yet.

I personally thought it was a great all round car with a good balance between comfort, speed & economy.
 
Thanks @Dangerous Dave that's exactly what I've been reading about the adaptive, and also why I want the xDrive.

Does anyone know if the F31 comes with bluetooth audio streaming?
 
Yes, I believe my 340i Touring had it. It had most options except TV and radar cruise control.

The F31 is not the most exciting car in the world. I much enjoyed the 140i, it's a really quick car and quite a lot of fun, but like you I had to consider space for the family. I didn't gel with the F31 at all really: It's a competent and quick car and there's nothing particularly bad about it, however, it just didn't do it for me. I do think it's probably better suited with the 30 or 35d engine.

I bought mine as a replacement for an E90 335i. I ended up deciding that I'd rather keep the older car and sold the 340i a couple of months later, returning to the 335i for daily duties for a while. Then I sold the E90 once I'd found the car that did provide family space and a bit of excitement.

As for adaptive drive on the F3x series, well I wouldn't exactly hold out for it but yes it is a nice-to-have and provides a better quality ride. If I went around the F3x buoy again in the future I wouldn't pass by a high spec car that was missing it. You can fit Koni FSD shocks and get a great improvement on the standard dampers. I had a 420d M Sport GC on 19s and passive as a loaner, I didn't think the car was much less comfortable if anything than my 340i on 18s and adaptive. The ride quality was less refined, but in terms of actual comfort in the seat there really wasn't much in it.
 
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I've had my 2017 F31 330D xDrive for a nearly 3 months now.

Initially, I found the ride very floaty. My A4 was lowered and my 2017 WRX STI was quite a hard ride.

Now, I don't notice the floaty feeling "that" much. It's not particularly agile or engaging but it's quick and will pull up it's skirts when it needs too. I'm finding the effortless driving quite pleasant.

I don't use audio streaming although it will from my android phone if needed. Mine has Deezer so you just tell it what you want to listen to and up it comes.

Something I'm not entirely pleased about currently is the level of service from my local dealer. I took the car in last Tuesday for a couple of issues (Staining on the seat and paint come off from using a jet wash) and I've had to chase them 3 times and still do not have an answer. Coming from the local Subaru dealer who were on the ball and were in contact whenever I needed it.
 
texasjohn said:
As for adaptive drive on the F3x series, well I wouldn't exactly hold out for it but yes it is a nice-to-have and provides a better quality ride.
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Adaptive Drive is not available on the F3x, you can only get Adaptive Suspension. You need a 5 Series or larger for Adaptive Drive.

LiE said:
Does anyone know if the F31 comes with bluetooth audio streaming?
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Only if optioned with Enhanced Bluetooth until the LCI.
 
Steedie said:
I like that car, I’m absolutely stunned at the price though!! That seems really expensive for a 4 year old car!
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I think it's a combination of 335d, low mileage and spec. Comparing against other 335d, it's priced about right.
 
LiE said:
I think it's a combination of 335d, low mileage and spec. Comparing against other 335d, it's priced about right.
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I would keep looking, I looked into buying the loan LCI 335d I had which was 11 months old with high spec usual options plus adaptive suspension, HUD, heated steering wheel and adaptive headlights with 9k on the clock and they offered me it for 29.5k. They put it up for sale at £30799 after I gave it back it was gone in less than a week.

Slightly regret not buying it as the 5 Series I did buy turned into a disaster.
 
I would keep looking, but it seems adaptive suspension is like hens teeth. I really need that.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Adaptive Drive is not available on the F3x, you can only get Adaptive Suspension. You need a 5 Series or larger for Adaptive Drive.
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Yes thats what I meant, adaptive dampers. As I said before, I wouldn't overlook an F2x or F3x car without them. Adaptive Drive on the F1x cars is a different ball game.
 
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