I drove a 2001 325i last night.

[StageLeft]

Then, when I was finished, I got back into a real car. It was only the 184 HP version but with the auto it was no rocket. Nice drive though and better interior than the Maxima, but when it really comes down to it I think I'd be hardpressed to spend $25k+ on a vehicle that is so lacking when you floor it.

The point of this thread? None that I can tell.

 

[KGB1]

Must have been a bit cramped in it also no? I like bmw's 318 and 330. 2.5 leaves a sour taste in one's mouth. Anyhow its good to see that you're open minded about other cars.. but remember BMW's are designed for the little roads in europe. It cannot compare to the maxima in power.. but in ride,handling, turning, braking the 3 series is better hands down

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: KGB
Must have been a bit cramped in it also no? I like bmw's 318 and 330. 2.5 leaves a sour taste in one's mouth. Anyhow its good to see that you're open minded about other cars.. but remember BMW's are designed for the little roads in europe. It cannot compare to the maxima in power.. but in ride,handling, turning, braking the 3 series is better hands down

The 330i can match up with the Maxima in power. Sure, it only has ~ 225HP, but German horses are way stronger than Japanese horses

 

[Doggiedog]

What is a real car?

I've got a 325i and I don't think its a rocket but its no slouch either. The car is fun to drive and fast enough I think. Maybe it's because mine is a stick? Dunno.

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

It was a beautiful looking car and handling car but for MrsSkoorb, more power is needed!

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
What is a real car?

I've got a 325i and I don't think its a rocket but its no slouch either. The car is fun to drive and fast enough I think. Maybe it's because mine is a stick? Dunno.

Maxima!!!

I also wouldn't consider buying an automatic, but I imagine the 5 speed would be a lot more impressive.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
What is a real car?

I've got a 325i and I don't think its a rocket but its no slouch either. The car is fun to drive and fast enough I think. Maybe it's because mine is a stick? Dunno.

Maxima!!!

I also wouldn't consider buying an automatic, but I imagine the 5 speed would be a lot more impressive.

Real sports sedans have RWD

G35 = "real car"
Maxima = "wannabe"

 

[Scarpozzi]

Nissans are the way to go. I'm not particularly fond of the new Maximas, but then, all new car designs take a little while to catch on.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
What is a real car?

I've got a 325i and I don't think its a rocket but its no slouch either. The car is fun to drive and fast enough I think. Maybe it's because mine is a stick? Dunno.

Maxima!!!

I also wouldn't consider buying an automatic, but I imagine the 5 speed would be a lot more impressive.

Real sports sedans have RWD

G35 = "real car"
Maxima = "wannabe"

I do wish the maxima was RWD...

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
What is a real car?

I've got a 325i and I don't think its a rocket but its no slouch either. The car is fun to drive and fast enough I think. Maybe it's because mine is a stick? Dunno.

Maxima!!!

I also wouldn't consider buying an automatic, but I imagine the 5 speed would be a lot more impressive.

Real sports sedans have RWD

G35 = "real car"
Maxima = "wannabe"

I do wish the maxima was RWD...

Why when you have the G35?

I seriously don't see the point of the Maxima anymore with both the Altima and the G35 around. The Maxima is barely any larger/faster/better handling than the Altima 3.5SE.

 

[B00ne]

if a 325 is slow I think there is something wrong with your perception - get Porsche then

Actually in what is the maxima faster than the BMW - except depreciation?

Maxima : 0-100: 8.5s, top speed 230kmh

325: 0-100: 7.4s, top speed 237kmh

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
What is a real car?

I've got a 325i and I don't think its a rocket but its no slouch either. The car is fun to drive and fast enough I think. Maybe it's because mine is a stick? Dunno.

Maxima!!!

I also wouldn't consider buying an automatic, but I imagine the 5 speed would be a lot more impressive.

Real sports sedans have RWD

G35 = "real car"
Maxima = "wannabe"

I do wish the maxima was RWD...

Why when you have the G35?

I seriously don't see the point of the Maxima anymore with both the Altima and the G35 around. The Maxima is barely any larger/faster/better handling than the Altima 3.5SE.

I know...it is a sad day for maximas.....

 

[Doggiedog]

Maximas are nice cars but they are huge compared to the 3 series. The newest one is gigantic. The old one was bigger than my GS300.

I think to truly enjoy a car like a BMW, you really need to drive a manual. Automatics have that lag which I hate. I know if I don't shift my car properly in third gear, the car gets sluggish. I suspect with the auto, if it shifts early, it'll probably feel sluggish too.

I guess one man's rice is another man's sauerkraut

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: B00ne
if a 325 is slow I think there is something wrong with your perception - get Porsche then

Oh come on 184 hp with an automatic transmission better be in a go cart to be fast

NFS4 you're right maximas are really quite silly now. nissan seemed to give themselves competition with the altima. In fact from here on I am going to say I have the last true maxima

 

[KGB1]

^ ^
Wait to be more precise.. during the automobiles inception they were RWD. A front wheel driven vehicle is an abomination to the name automobile. I drove a p0s 95 bonneville.. and it sucked, for the power available in that engine the front wheels never took advantage of. Thankfully its coming back as a RWD 4.4L V8 in '05

My point being.. Maxima's in the 90's was a mediocre designed car to meet the everyday needs of a driver (male, female, old, young) with a sports tuned suspension and an awsome tranny. The '04 maxima continues in the great tradition of FWD?! I mean come on skoorb, sure the Maxima is a good car... by all means I even looked into it. But don't go off concluding that Maxima > 3series (with similar engine)

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: B00ne
if a 325 is slow I think there is something wrong with your perception - get Porsche then

Oh come on 184 hp with an automatic transmission better be in a go cart to be fast

NFS4 you're right maximas are really quite silly now. nissan seemed to give themselves competition with the altima. In fact from here on I am going to say I have the last true maxima

I edited my post, despite 184 hp, the 325 is faster. (btw it is 192hp)

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: KGB
^ ^
Wait to be more precise.. during the automobiles inception they were RWD. A front wheel driven vehicle is an abomination to the name automobile. I drove a p0s 95 bonneville.. and it sucked, for the power available in that engine the front wheels never took advantage of. Thankfully its coming back as a RWD 4.4L V8 in '05

My point being.. Maxima's in the 90's was a mediocre designed car to meet the everyday needs of a driver (male, female, old, young) with a sports tuned suspension and an awsome tranny. The '04 maxima continues in the great tradition of FWD?! I mean come on skoorb, sure the Maxima is a good car... by all means I even looked into it. But don't go off concluding that Maxima > 3series (with similar engine)

I wouldn't pretend that the Maxima is a better car than the 225 HP version, but at the same time they're in a totally different price league. I guess my point was that fo the price of this thing it was't so impressive. The salesguy even outright said he thought BMWs were overpriced and I'm inclined to agree. I guess the cheaper you go the more bang for buck you're always likely to find (ie, a new 40k car isn't 4 times the car of a 10k kia), but it's truly a shame that BMW sells a small car for almost $30k that lacks in the HP department to such a degree.

And the maxima isn't a mediocre design :| Seriously now it's a solid quality large vehicle with a lot of power and all for a great price. I would never call it refined but if refinement isn't what you're looking for the maxima offers everything else in spades, for what you pay for it.

 

[rootaxs]

Originally posted by: KGB
^ ^
by all means I even looked into it. But don't go off concluding that Maxima > 3series (with similar engine)

For a family that needs the space where a Dad still wants to enjoy driving - the Maxima is the ticket. It offers power, some bit of luxury and the space.

Granted, 3-series is a nice car and all - having smaller interior space and trunkspace kills it for somewhat heavy-duty family use.

B00ne, there's something wrong with your numbers. Please don't tell me you just took that off a magazine. Even 4th generation stick Maxima's can do better than 8.5's to 60.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: B00ne

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: B00ne
if a 325 is slow I think there is something wrong with your perception - get Porsche then

Oh come on 184 hp with an automatic transmission better be in a go cart to be fast

NFS4 you're right maximas are really quite silly now. nissan seemed to give themselves competition with the altima. In fact from here on I am going to say I have the last true maxima

I edited my post, despite 184 hp, the 325 is faster. (btw it is 192hp)

Sticker said 184 and I thought the website says 185

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: B00ne
if a 325 is slow I think there is something wrong with your perception - get Porsche then

Actually in what is the maxima faster than the BMW - except depreciation?

Maxima : 0-100: 8.5s, top speed 230kmh

325: 0-100: 7.4s, top speed 237kmh

Yowsers where are you getting those numbers? My maxima has been rated at a 6.7 0-60. 8.5? Maybe with an automatic and carrying bricks in the trunk. That top speed is about right but I'll castrate myself and post pics if a 325 with the low end engine and an automatic can claim a topspeed of 237 km/hour.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

You were really missing out by driving a 3-series with an automatic. The shifter is one of the big selling points for BMWs, and it has to be felt to be believed. It is SOOOOOOO solid and smooth and accurate - I have never driven another manual transmission that was even close. I recently drove a '95 325i with a stick and it felt stronger than my '01 Maxima SE with 5-speed (though in all fairness a lot of this was probably due to better throttle precision, rather than raw power). God knows it handled a whole lot better too. I like my Maxima, but would take a 325i in an even trade any day of the week.

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: Don_Vito
You were really missing out by driving a 3-series with an automatic. The shifter is one of the big selling points for BMWs, and it has to be felt to be believed. It is SOOOOOOO solid and smooth and accurate - I have never driven another manual transmission that was even close. I recently drove a '95 325i with a stick and it felt stronger than my '01 Maxima SE with 5-speed (though in all fairness a lot of this was probably due to better throttle precision, rather than raw power). God knows it handled a whole lot better too. I like my Maxima, but would take a 325i in an even trade any day of the week.

Mine is a '95 325i in manual, when do you want me to pick up your car?

 

[Haircut]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: B00ne

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: B00ne
if a 325 is slow I think there is something wrong with your perception - get Porsche then

Oh come on 184 hp with an automatic transmission better be in a go cart to be fast

NFS4 you're right maximas are really quite silly now. nissan seemed to give themselves competition with the altima. In fact from here on I am going to say I have the last true maxima

I edited my post, despite 184 hp, the 325 is faster. (btw it is 192hp)

Sticker said 184 and I thought the website says 185

The European version is 192 hp, 181 lb-ft. They obviously detune it for the American market

BTW according to the BWM UK page the 325 auto is over 1 second slower to 60 than the manual version.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog

Originally posted by: Don_Vito
You were really missing out by driving a 3-series with an automatic. The shifter is one of the big selling points for BMWs, and it has to be felt to be believed. It is SOOOOOOO solid and smooth and accurate - I have never driven another manual transmission that was even close. I recently drove a '95 325i with a stick and it felt stronger than my '01 Maxima SE with 5-speed (though in all fairness a lot of this was probably due to better throttle precision, rather than raw power). God knows it handled a whole lot better too. I like my Maxima, but would take a 325i in an even trade any day of the week.

Mine is a '95 325i in manual, when do you want me to pick up your car?

Get me a 2000 or 2001 with less than 50K and we have a deal!

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Haircut

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: B00ne

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: B00ne
if a 325 is slow I think there is something wrong with your perception - get Porsche then

Oh come on 184 hp with an automatic transmission better be in a go cart to be fast

NFS4 you're right maximas are really quite silly now. nissan seemed to give themselves competition with the altima. In fact from here on I am going to say I have the last true maxima

I edited my post, despite 184 hp, the 325 is faster. (btw it is 192hp)

Sticker said 184 and I thought the website says 185

The European version is 192 hp, 181 lb-ft. They obviously detune it for the American market

BTW according to the BWM UK page the 325 auto is over 1 second slower to 60 than the manual version.

I'd believe it. WHen I first floored it the delay was so severe I thought for a second that either the car was broken or the turbo had to spin up. Seriously nothing was happening for waay too long. I know it doesn't have a turbo but it felt nasty!