E90's rule! I don't do 4 cylinder cars, period! Let's wait to see which engine lasts longer in the long run, for people that like to keep their cars. As far as pre-LCI, vs LCI, I don't care for the extra creases in the hood, everything else on the LCI looks great. I don't have the sport seats on my 08 pre lci, but I have noticed so many with sport seats that age badly with cracking and wear of the side cushions. To me, wheels make the car, 16" stock wheels = car ugly, but with the right 18", or 19" wheels the car is transformed to a thing of beauty. I take care of my cars, do my own maintenance/repairs and I keep them for a long time. Let's see that F30 go 200k, 300k, even more miles.
I owned both on a long terme basis E9x will cost you a brand new F30 engine labour included in maintenance (oil pan, clutch, oil filter housing, head gasket, vanos and at some point even rod bearing not common) F30 is bullet proof reliable only thing that broke was a exhaust metal clip that control the flaps 10$ CAD at bmw. And the 4 banger turbo is excellent on gas. PS: both cad were daily drive through harsh Canadian winter all year.
@@nsflarna I think both have pluses and minuses. This is my second 328i, 2008 and previous was 1997 328i convertible, I just can't get past BMW giving up the inline 6. Both are mostly driven by my wife. As I said, I do all my own work and I am well aware what dealers charge. I would not put your car down in any way, because I am a fan of BMW's. Best of luck with yours! Nothing feels like a BMW, well almost nothing, we had a 2004 Mercedes CLK 320 convertible that was just as nice.
@@bobs4753 I also do all my maintenance myself, but the oil pan gasket on the E92 well too complicated ahah They have to swich to 4cyl environment no choice. Also don't forget the E30 m3 has a 4cyl before the inline 6 bmw use to only do 4cyl.
@@nsflarna people are brainwashed. They don’t know arguably the most famous Bmw ever is a 4 cylinder(e30 m3). Plus almost all the race cars until late 90s where all 4 cylinder. But everybody just followers nowadays
I'm an F30 owner and I kinda like the look of the E90 better. Interior is better on the F30, IMO. Folding rear seats ARE available on the E90 with the winter package. F30 is too big for me; would enjoy the slightly smaller size of the E90, personally.
E90 LCI 335i n54 daddy of the twin turbo...connected hydraulic steering....last of the true Ultimate driving machine experience...with style...Case Closed.
Interior also depends on the trim. F30 Sport-M Sport trim has much better interior, and seats are better than E90 (not by much, they are similar but bolsters are a bit better and they are also a bit more confy, while E90 has a bit quicker heating of the seats than F30). I have both cars and can compare them on a daily basis. I have M Sport suspension on both cars but F30 jumps a bit more even with harder tuning springs (AC Schnizer ones not some knock-off Eibach or H&R). Steering feel is definitively better in E90, no doubt about it, much heavier, direct and more linear, better control in the center, much better road feedback. However, F30 has some advantages there too. I actually now prefer heaviness of the steering of F30 in Sport mode to E90 one, particularly in city driving and in parking lots or confined spaces having lighter steering like in comfort mode in F30 helps a lot. Also I have a variable sport steering and it helps even more. Finally, precision of F30 steering is much better than on E90. Additional problem with F30 is that it depends on the trim. On standard trim it's really bad. On M Sport trim with high quality tuning springs it's much better. All that said, regarding steering and suspension I prefer E90 for feel and directness in any kind of spirited or highway driving, but for the city F30 is better.
I went straight from an e46 to an f30, which was pretty jarring. There are a lot of creature comforts with the f30 that are nice, bit it's missing a lot of the spirit that I loved in my e46. Thinking about selling the f30 and going down to an e90, seems like it's the sweet spot in the BMW generations.
You wont regret it. Once you drive it no other car will feel the same. Stick to the maintenance and your good. I got a e90 and it definitely is the sweet spot. Im not ever selling my e90!
@@erenix3909 Bought an F36 435i 2 weeks ago. It's a good car, steering is okay but my E90 330i had so much to give. The steering and chassi was amazing.
Great realistic interpretation about the 2 cars. I also love the E90's interior more. One of the best ever made. The F30's interior is also great and more modern but the E90 is unbeatable. Btw I also own an E90 LCI with brown seats. I am not regretting it at all!
Having had an e90 330i (pre lci) and now an f30 328i, I’d say the handling was wayyy better in the e90 (hydraulic steering pump vs electric) and the interior quality and interior I’d give a slight edge to the f30. I feel the trunk space is a lot better in the f30 too. Reliability I’d give to the f30. The e90 had a few pretty expensive repairs whereas my f30 with the same miles had way less repairs. Also I feel the f30 came with more standard stuff. As u noted for example, the folding split seat.
Krys Syfres folding seats were not standard on f30s, and thats interesting cause for me both the e90 and f30 have been tanks in the last 60k miles we put on the e90 and 45k we have put on the f30 lol
@@ShumileSwift oh I thought they were standard on the f30 my bad haha mine has them and I assumed it wasn’t an option 😅 I actually put more mileage on my f30 by about 10,000 miles. My e90 had the notorious water pump issue, a bad solenoid and I somehow broke a wheel bearing hitting a pot hole in jersey. And because I had the 330i which had the magnesium block, they used aluminum bolts and if the bolts were over tightened they caused them to crack. I had two valve gasket leaks from the stealerships over tightening them (that problem tho I blame more so on the stealership and not necessarily on general wear and tear).
100% agree on the feel, interior quality and driving experience. I liked the looks of the F32 but having owned an E93 for years, the F32 felt plasticky, light and tacky and sat on the road like like a japanese car. I couldn't upgrade my BMW and I don't think i'll upgrade neither. I want to buy another car but I don't know of any brands that will give me what my E93 gives me.
@@wavegod9387 man oh man, It got totaled by a hit and run in summer of 2021 I got it back in June 2020. Miss that car man, it was as clean as an e90 got and everything was holding up.
F30 sounds like its gonna break...the only thing i see different is the screen in the middle and 4 inches more space to deal with .qhen finding parking...and its a 4 cylinder...thats not a real beemer ...
I completely agree bro my f30 when I hit bumps flying on the highway feels like its going to slip ...i guess because like you said hydraulic compared to electronic...my brothers f10 m5 is the last of the hydraulic for that model I think and eats bumps like nothing...so I agree 100%
@@frederikruysseveldt7106 Yeah the steering is kinda different in these f90 compared to the e90.. I almost was thinking of getting an 328d f30, but i dont know much about diesel engines. How was the reliability on that?
@@Rooot-username that’s curious they don’t provide the 328d in Belgium or germany. Is that the 330 down tuned? I had the 184bhp n47. Was tuned to 223bhp. Chain was replaced before I bought it, had it from 61k Km to 110k km. Never had any costs. Nice and punchy but small powerband.
Interesting opinions most people would say the biggest issues moving forward with bmw is 1) the move to 4cyl turbos and 2) like everything they continue to get bigger and too bloated. The major aesthetic changes on the e90 is good and headlights the taillights look better in led for sure. Not a bad comparison.
I got a E92, but driven 4 E90 05,08,11 got to say really enjoyed the 2011. I wouldn't mind swapping my e92 for a LCI M sport E90. I wanted a F30, but felt it either has to be a LCI F30 2018/19 model. Holding onto my car for now. Trying to save up to get a G20 but aiming in 2025. If all fails then F30 340i :)
I have a 06 pre face lift 325. It was ugly when I first got it but I did stuff to it to make it look better. The only bmw I would change my e90 for is a 6 series or a e30 325i
I upgraded from my manual LCI E90 328i to an auto F30 328i. Loved my E90 but the F30 definitely makes a better all around car. Still miss the manual a lot though.
Imo the E92 feels better than my F32, the steering, handling. Interior I prefer the one on my F32, everything is in its place and it's got nice leather everywhere.
328i's now pack that tiny 4cyl engine. If you open the bonnet of the F30 328i and look past the fan and the plastic trim where and engine used to be in models prior , just under the wipers , you will actually see it. There is an engine in there . A highly boosted engine that loves heat and thermodynamic stress. I have a F10 528i(190KW no turbo stock ) and a friend with a f30 328i , he just never actually has his car , it's always in the shop making him bankrupt. Where I roll with the most reliable motor they ever made. This is a true story. I also had a 4 cyl before it and it made me fall out of love with bmw for like 7 years. Til I saw the F10 528i a guy was selling . I put in an offer (I'm in SA , so cars are pricey for our 1$ minimum wage relatively but it ended up being aprox $8k . It takes forever to heat up as well. So I feel less heat and pressure as well as an engine that is undertuned in a sense is why they last so long. Like the old e36's . I used to have one in the 328i variant as my first car. It could not be killed. I used to glow it every day til 350k kilometers and sold it to a guy who drives the fuck outta it. No smoke. No issues. That's what BMW does , that's my next one will likely be the 340i as that's at least straight 6.
It's a 2011 and I've had swop offers for F30 330i's and 328i's when I did want to leave SA. But decided to keep it for now. It's literally a dream car.
@@ShumileSwift oooh i see some e36 vids 😎. The paddle shifts on the f30 seem pretty responsive, i rented a new a4 recently and i hated using them because there was a small delay. Maybe just me used to the e36 and everything being so responsive.
Straight inline 6 cylinders how can you go wrong ? The silkiest engines came with the E generation BMW. I own a E70 and a E93. Didn't subside for the newer models
You said the f30 handled poorly, how did it handle on springs compared to stock? I have one right now with the sport and I’m not happy so I wanted to fix it
A Pre facelift Msport looks better than your LCI SE. In the UK Bmw with SE trim are looked down upon. Msport is the best kit when it comes to styling in and out
@@ShumileSwift It's really customizable, you can set a custom torque split could have some fun in the winter. Plus with the E36 updates on Instagram that car is getting too nice to be sliding around in!
Honestly great job at giving an objective analysis on these two cars. Its hard to review them so honestly when its easy to be clouded in bias but this vid really comes across as straight FACTS
Great video! How are they compared when it comes to reliability? Is the F30 much more expensive to maintain and does it break down more often than the E90? Thinking about a 320I but I'm afraid if repairs will break my bank.
they both have plus and minus. e90 has horrible oil leaks and you’ll have to replace the gasket every other year. f30 is turbo charged and has a belt that is known for breaking and will cause engine damage when it does.
@@CalvinTennessee If it does, tho. You shouldn't ideally end up in that point, of the belt breaking. Overall, as an e90 m47 owner to be honest I'd like to switch to an LCI or F version, I'd rather pay for that belt ( you don't really switch it yearly, so if you think about it switching it every 'x' years is not really that expensive in the long run ) and get rid of the oil leaks you were talking about + the sound engine difference is huge, m47 pretty much feels like a tractor after driving and N47 or anything newer
The only way a pre lci E90 looks really good is with the right color, big wheels, lowered a little and mtech bumpers. I had one and it looked like a different car when compared to the normal pre-lci's which were really ugly.
I love how you say being faster doesnt mean its better i have 2005 320i e90 and alot of people told me why did you get a 4 cylinder they weak and slow and TBH ive always believed the fact that speed and power isnt everything in a car i mean where i live speed limit is 100 and whether people believe me or not my car has no issue getting to 100 so why do i need something thats only advantage is power that i dont need and beside the 4 cylinders are more fuel efficient
I owned both E92 328i and F30 328i xdrive. The F30 is better, you can easely upgrade it, mod and tune it and most importantly it's honda civic reliable.
@@duncanidaho7494 E9x vanos, oil pan leaking, oil filter housing leaking, starter, water pump these part will faill during your owner ship total arround 10-15 depening where you go. So yeah a ''timing chain guide'' that afect only the early production 2013 and before that cost 3k to replace is pretty much bullet proof civic like. 3k it's nothing considering it's a 50k+ car
@@nsflarna the F30 has other issues (water pump ettc) on top of the chain failure. If the chain fails the engine can break, and you will look for a 25 000 k repair bill. Also all the pre LCI F30 suffer from this big issue, and not just the early production. Also the motor/engine sounds like a tractor at idle. Enjoy that
@@duncanidaho7494 **early model 2013 and before** my car is tune 300hp once it’s at operating temperature I beat the shit out of these tiny 4 bangers every single day for the last 2 years not a single issue. 25k lmao bruh if you drive with no guide until the chain grind yes lol 😂 enjoy 25k bro I’ll buy one used for 3-4K it’s a 4 banger daily not an m car. Do you even own one ?
@@nsflarna i own and owned 3 E90 and one E39. My friend had both 4 cyl and 6 cyl F30. The 6 cylinders engine was definitely much better than the 4 bangers. Sorry mate.
Actually it was huge difference between, E36 for example was the same pretty much for whole lifespan, I like prefacelift E90 because it looks more simple
Dude in 6th gear, on the highway, i dont even have to downshift, if i have to be honest, its after 5.5k rpm where the power dies down and it feels like a slouch.. lol but lowend torque is pretty nice somehow idk
@@ShumileSwift great advice. But I Finished it while watching and then rewatched. Actually helped me finish because my paper was actually about BMW lmfao
I have E91 Turing LCI facelift 320i M-Sport 2009 with 67K km pretty much like new, thinking change to 320i Turing m sport 2013 f31 with 80k km. What suggesting guys make sense change!?? many thanks
@@ShumileSwift It is what it is, you still got quality content and our support g 😈😈 I honestly got inspiration from your F30 to mod my F10 and took me like a year and a half but im done with everything 🥺🥺 if u wanna see what you inspired me to do @space_f10 on ig 🙉
I’m 18 got my first saving up for my first car I know I want a Beamer . Telling myself I needa save 5k but realistically 8k what model do u recommend I don’t know anything I jus know want a Beamer.
I like how the pre lci e90 looks the only problem I have Wich I think Is everyone’s problem is those ugly ass orange reflectors that shit is so ugly omm but other than that I love the e90 I like the white on the tail lights it looks good I really like it but if I was given to chose between 2 I would chose the lci