Discussion
I had an E89 23i and now have the 35iS.
Absolutely great cars and the reason I went the whole hog and bought the iS.
If you really want a 23i, as said above it is to be replaced with a 4 pot, so something to consider however the 6 inline engine is wonderful if a little low on torque down low. I also think the exhaust lets it down a little on sound.
In the 23i I managed 34-35 mpg with motorway and light town traffic.
So the things that really matter are.......
Manual with adaptive suspension and sport seats if you want the best sporting drive. The 23i auto is excellent but drains a fair bit of power and is to be replaced by the 8 speed. 35i can be specced with the DCT.
Electric sport seats don't go as low to the floor as non electric items and the standard seats although really comfy have no support at all. You need to sit in all of these.
Standard radio is rubbish. As soon as the roof goes down there is no bass at all.
296 alloys are prone to cracking and remember they all come with runflats.
Rear lights have a water ingress problem.
There is a recall on some models for modified vents in the rear to prevent water getting into the boot. If buying used check this and make sure no water has been in there as most of the electrics live in the boot.
That's about it. The only problem you have is choosing what extras you want and colour combo.
Need any more info ask away......
I also had a strange problem with water spots in the clear coat (etching) but this seems to blight all BMWs at present.
Absolutely great cars and the reason I went the whole hog and bought the iS.
If you really want a 23i, as said above it is to be replaced with a 4 pot, so something to consider however the 6 inline engine is wonderful if a little low on torque down low. I also think the exhaust lets it down a little on sound.
In the 23i I managed 34-35 mpg with motorway and light town traffic.
So the things that really matter are.......
Manual with adaptive suspension and sport seats if you want the best sporting drive. The 23i auto is excellent but drains a fair bit of power and is to be replaced by the 8 speed. 35i can be specced with the DCT.
Electric sport seats don't go as low to the floor as non electric items and the standard seats although really comfy have no support at all. You need to sit in all of these.
Standard radio is rubbish. As soon as the roof goes down there is no bass at all.
296 alloys are prone to cracking and remember they all come with runflats.
Rear lights have a water ingress problem.
There is a recall on some models for modified vents in the rear to prevent water getting into the boot. If buying used check this and make sure no water has been in there as most of the electrics live in the boot.
That's about it. The only problem you have is choosing what extras you want and colour combo.
Need any more info ask away......
I also had a strange problem with water spots in the clear coat (etching) but this seems to blight all BMWs at present.
Had the "quality enhancement" for the boot vents and also replacement rear lights due to water ingress too. I have tha dancing windows but disnae bother me really.
Great car really enjoyable to drive, not massively fast but on the right road in the right gear it brings a big smile. Was contemplating the bigger engine but for our needs went for the 2.5 straight six and it's a cracker(came from a four pot supercharged SLK) I have 296 wheels not cracked and done 14k miles.
Averaged on trip computer 31 mpg from new on various driving mostly short trips though
Great car really enjoyable to drive, not massively fast but on the right road in the right gear it brings a big smile. Was contemplating the bigger engine but for our needs went for the 2.5 straight six and it's a cracker(came from a four pot supercharged SLK) I have 296 wheels not cracked and done 14k miles.
Averaged on trip computer 31 mpg from new on various driving mostly short trips though
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