F30 vs G20. What’s better?

[anonymous-user]

I once had a 335d (F30) and thought it was the best all rounder for me. Until it caught fire (EGR). Technology felt like it was getting a bit old and it had a manual handbrake etc.

I have a G20. 320d and it doesn’t have bags of torque but it feels sufficient. It has laser lights. Parking assist plus. Yet I still find myself missing the F30. Not just for the engine I had!

I am not looking for anyone to make me feel better about my buyers remorse. I guess I was connected with the F30 and invested in it (ACS RS, exhaust etc.).

Genuinely found myself questioning which is the better car. Doubting myself. Is the G20 really everything the F30 should have been?! Driven 16k miles but still not connecting with it.

Edited by Super_G on Saturday 13th February 15:48

[Touring442]

The big advances were made a long time ago. If you drove a very low mileage 325i from 2006 it would still be a really nice car. Not as fast/quiet/economical as a new one but it was exceptional then, good enough now, and you certainly knew you were driving a BMW. That seems to have been lost.

I borrowed a G20 320i auto and found it a very pleasant car ()it's astonishingly quiet) if a bit forgettable. It's certainly an ugly bd. The F30 was much prettier.

[Pistonheader101]

You need the M340d for a like for like comparison

[MarkJS]

Funnily enough, I just added my thoughts on the G22 (v the F32) in this thread:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I know it’s the coupe, but essentially the same car.

[Smuler]

I agree with the above it’s hardly a like for like , due to slower engine which surely impacts on enjoyment.

I drove two 320d x drives back in early 2019 as loaners when my M3 was at dealers. I found it a MUCH better car than the equivalent F series’ I previously had on loan. Both in terms of Performance and handling. I reviewed my first experience on this site.

I ended up later that year buying a F31 340i and when M3 was in dealer’s in early 2020 I loaned a RWD 320i. I preferred not having X drive , car felt lighter and more fun.

But there is no way I’d swap my 340i for even a RWD G20 with a 2 litre engine. I know having such a comparatively slow engine would skew my opinion to the negative. And for proof , I hardly used the loaner 320i despite my preference for it over the X drives, which I had rated highly. I just drove my F31 until M was back.

[anonymous-user]

Which is why I said. Engine aside. Handling, interior, comfort, steering... looks... is the previous gen better?

[anonymous-user]

MarkJS said:

Funnily enough, I just added my thoughts on the G22 (v the F32) in this thread:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I know it’s the coupe, but essentially the same car.

Thank you. I shall have a read now.

[Smuler]

Super_G said:

Which is why I said. Engine aside. Handling, interior, comfort, steering... looks... is the previous gen better?

Nope, G20 is better car.

[Court_S]

Smuler said:

Super_G said:

Which is why I said. Engine aside. Handling, interior, comfort, steering... looks... is the previous gen better?

Nope, G20 is better car.

It’s not better, especially in saloon form. The grilles look odd, especially the black ones and the bootlid looks weird in my opinion.

The interior of the new car is a step up other than the awful looking digital dials, not that o have an issue with the tech nor the quality of the older car (maybe I’m easily).

[Smuler]

Court_S said:

Smuler said:

Super_G said:

Which is why I said. Engine aside. Handling, interior, comfort, steering... looks... is the previous gen better?

Nope, G20 is better car.

It’s not better, especially in saloon form. The grilles look odd, especially the black ones and the bootlid looks weird in my opinion.

The interior of the new car is a step up other than the awful looking digital dials, not that o have an issue with the tech nor the quality of the older car (maybe I’m easily).

Agree on dials , tech is fine in my 2017 340i.
In fact 2/3 of the G20s I loaned had tech issues including the instrument panel dying !!
I’m biased towards the looks of the F31 as I have one.

[g3org3y]

Super_G said:

I once had a 335d (F30) and thought it was the best all rounder for me. Until it caught fire (EGR). Technology felt like it was getting a bit old and it had a manual handbrake etc.

I have a G20. 320d and it doesn’t have bags of torque but it feels sufficient. It has laser lights. Parking assist plus. Yet I still find myself missing the F30. Not just for the engine I had!

I am not looking for anyone to make me feel better about my buyers remorse. I guess I was connected with the F30 and invested in it (ACS RS, exhaust etc.).

Genuinely found myself questioning which is the better car. Doubting myself. Is the G20 really everything the F30 should have been?! Driven 16k miles but still not connecting with it.

Edited by Super_G on Saturday 13th February 15:48

What is it you miss about the older car?

I think it's difficult to make a fair comparison with a modified 335d and a standard 320d.

Touring442 said:

The big advances were made a long time ago. If you drove a very low mileage 325i from 2006 it would still be a really nice car. Not as fast/quiet/economical as a new one but it was exceptional then, good enough now, and you certainly knew you were driving a BMW. That seems to have been lost.

The E9X is an objectively good car despite lacking the tech/features of the newest stuff. How much the newer models bring the game forward in terms of actual driving experience (rather than infotainment etc), I don't know.

[ukpolak]

I think some of the point above are interesting re tech. If I compare my previous 2009 Z4, I remember sitting in one at a dealership (maybe 2017 pre new shape) and the exterior hadn’t moved on and indeed most of the inside was identical. Which I could understand on a lower selling sports convertible / roadster.

It is a shame if the interior tech on the 2014 - 2019 Fx is not really any different to the 2019 + Gx series, but as pointed out above, maybe there’s just not much that can be done any more short of having iPad style Tesla interiors, and many of us don’t want to be sat in a space ship :-)

I specced the HUD, unfortunately a £800 option, to my F36 and tbh that’s where I’m looking most of the time nowadays anyway unless there’s an issue or to check petrol (once per month when I need fuel nowadays)!

Interesting if “peak innovation” has been reached and I wonder if they would start to look to introduce eg glass gear stick shifts (like 5+ series) or seat massagers instead, or leave those for the premium models.

[Toltec]

Newer models tend to be more refined, better nvh etc. so while they may be a little quicker they feel a little more isolated. It is what most people want from a premium car, plus the latest tech, laser, self aligning, headlights; self driving, gesture interfaces, lower fuel consumption.

Whether all of that is better or not is quite subjective.

A lot of on here would probably like a restomod of some kind.

[AI1601]

I have driven a work colleague’s G20 330i and engine aside, I thought it was a big step up from my F30 335i. The interior and refinement is levels ahead. In my opinion of course.

[kingofdbrits]

I'm hoping the G20 is a reasonable improvement, my 335d is 5.5 years old with 110k and looking to get an M340i so should be good comparison, not test driven it yet but I thought the interior was a bit smarter but prefer the steering wheel design of the F31.
I'll be going for the M-sport seat option, does make it look smarter inside.

[anonymous-user]

g3org3y said:

Super_G said:

I once had a 335d (F30) and thought it was the best all rounder for me. Until it caught fire (EGR). Technology felt like it was getting a bit old and it had a manual handbrake etc.

I have a G20. 320d and it doesn’t have bags of torque but it feels sufficient. It has laser lights. Parking assist plus. Yet I still find myself missing the F30. Not just for the engine I had!

I am not looking for anyone to make me feel better about my buyers remorse. I guess I was connected with the F30 and invested in it (ACS RS, exhaust etc.).

Genuinely found myself questioning which is the better car. Doubting myself. Is the G20 really everything the F30 should have been?! Driven 16k miles but still not connecting with it.

Edited by Super_G on Saturday 13th February 15:48

What is it you miss about the older car?

I think it's difficult to make a fair comparison with a modified 335d and a standard 320d.

Touring442 said:

The big advances were made a long time ago. If you drove a very low mileage 325i from 2006 it would still be a really nice car. Not as fast/quiet/economical as a new one but it was exceptional then, good enough now, and you certainly knew you were driving a BMW. That seems to have been lost.

The E9X is an objectively good car despite lacking the tech/features of the newest stuff. How much the newer models bring the game forward in terms of actual driving experience (rather than infotainment etc), I don't know.

For me I think the seats were more comfortable. I regret spec’ing laser lights as LED were just fine. Clever marketing worked on me. The dash was less busy. The iDrive was more friendly. The technology was user friendly too. No navigating menus to turn the air con off. Press a button that’s it. No complicated main screen - even when you customise it, it looks busy. The Harman Kardon was louder than on the G20. The car was smaller. The steering was okay and didn’t feel as vague...

[anonymous-user]

Less electronic gremlins too. In the span of 1 year... my virtual live dash has died... cured with a software update... my keys stopped working... receiver and ring antenna replaced... two new keys provided... the auto hold had a mind of it’s own and was coming on even when not selected... a drivers mirror refused to unfold... the air con feels weak... the HK amp (RAM) was replaced under a PUMA as the bass cut out. I have had many BMW’s in the past but this takes the biscuit. The following day I had a medical appointment but couldn’t use the car and had to ask a neighbour for help. We don’t have Uber in rural Devon.

[anonymous-user]

Lane detect. No thank you.

[anonymous-user]

I made a really tough decision yesterday. Decided to throw in the towel on the G20. Personally for me I don’t think it’s the game changer it is made out to be. First year (and first world) problems aside, it’s not a massive leap forward. The suspension is a marked improvement but as said the iDrive is needlessly complicated, the dash cluttered, it feels numbing to drive and, soulless. If I could sum it up in a word it has no soul and feels anything but BMW. It’s good BMW have managed to keep handling and fun in mind for a car of this shape/size but I don’t jive with it and I think BMW performance is amiss. That’s what people may want in a car of this class. Something that can rival a C class for comfort. Had it since new and never really connected to it. No matter how hard I tried. It never excited me. I never felt happy to see it parked on the driveway. It’s a boring car. Period. Yesterday, the left active grill stopped working. The replacement? A 4 gran coupe, 440i. It will be nice to have electric memory seats as I forgot to tick the box on those. May be if the G20 was in manual guise I may have felt different. It’s a great car but not the car for me I am afraid. The sequential turbo trick of the old E series works well to a point. May be I just have a syndrome about 4 pots being lesser than 6. Typical BMW woman driver that I am about how size matters.

Edited by Super_G on Tuesday 16th February 10:53

[ashenfie]

Sounds fab to me, enjoy