One In A Field Of Two: The 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe

2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe.

Perspective varies by person and experience, but to me, BMW is a maker of performance vehicles that have their roots in well-built, exciting-to-drive four-door sport sedans.  That's a huge part of why I find the 2020 BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe so satisfying.

There's also a pioneering aspect here.  At this writing BMW is one of two cars carving out a new niche of four-door coupes in this size class.  The Mercedes-Benz CLA250, which we reviewed in March, is its only direct competitor.

Good Thing, Small Package: The 2020 BMW X1 xDrive28i

The 2020 BMW X1 xDrive28i.

Just two months after reviewing the biggest BMW SUV, the X7, it's time to examine the smallest---the X1.  Right off the bat, there's a lot to recommend. 

First of all, it is one of the least-expensive ways to become a BMW owner.  The starting price for our tester, the 2020 BMW X1 xDrive28i, is $37,200---which is only $765 more than the base price of the 2020 Ford Escape Titanium AWD we reviewed earlier this month.

Fashionably Late: The 2019 BMW X7 xDrive 40i

The 2019 BMW X7 xDrive 40i.

Six letters that, twenty years ago, most car people would have told you would never go together. BMW SUV.

The world has changed. Porsche proved that the way to keep making sports cars is to make fast, comfortable, good-handling big SUVs to pay for them. Audi and Mercedes-Benz followed, and now BMW is actually the last to the party...but the new BMW X7 absolutely qualifies as making one heck of an entrance.

The One With The Six: The 2020 BMW M340i

The 2020 BMW M340i.

If you've ever wondered why the BMW 3-series sedan became a thing---it's the engine. Or it was. A silky-smooth inline six-cylinder, capable of propelling BMW's small (now mid-size) sedan quickly with seemingly endless reserves of both torque and horsepower. You would pin the speedometer, lose your license or both long before you ever felt you needed more from under the hood.

As technology has evolved and fuel economy has become a matter of law, automotive engineers have found that they can achieve that kind of power from a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. And BMW has adopted them in the 330i. It's a fine engine---among the best of its type. But it doesn't have the same feel, the same sound as that glorious BMW straight six. If you want that in 2020---and can't quite justify the leap to the hardcore twin-turbo 425-horsepower M3, you want the BMW M340i.

Emphasizing The "Sport" In Sport-Utility: The 2019 BMW X2 M35i

The 2019 BMW X2 M35i

Small crossover SUVs are a thing right now---and most of them lean to the "utility" part of "Sport Utility Vehicle". There's a cure for that, and it's the 2019 BMW X2 M35i.

Sunday, July 21: The 64th Annual Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Say "Northern California", "summer" and "classic car", and most people's minds turn to Pebble Beach and the classics in August.  But---there's an earlier, more intimate and longer-running Concours d'Elegance one month before, 102 miles north on the gorgeous San Francisco Peninsula.

The Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance is actually the longest continually-running Concours in the world---every year since 1956.  It's a wonderful event, benefiting several Bay Area charities, held at the stunningly beautiful Crystal Springs Golf Course.

The video above will give you an overview, along with some glimpses of last years event, but for what's coming this year, including some photos of cars confirmed for this year, keep reading.

30 Minutes With: The 2018 BMW 640i xDrive Gran Turismo

The 2018 BMW 640i xDrive Gran Turismo.

Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California.

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, get a different car at The Quail, and repeat. Apart from an hour's lunch (this year sponsored by Nissan), this is the day from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., although heavy rains forced us to call it a day at 2:30 this year, reducing the number of cars we could drive.

30 Minutes With: The 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i

The 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i.

Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California. 

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, get a different car at The Quail, and repeat. Apart from an hour's lunch (this year sponsored by Nissan), this is the day from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., although heavy rains forced us to call it a day at 2:30 this year, reducing the number of cars we could drive.

I took the 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i for the first run of the morning (the longest of the day, from the host Monterey Tides Hotel at Sand City, past Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca , onto Laureles Grade and back west via Carmel Valley Road to the Quail.

30 Minutes With: The 2017 BMW 540i

The 2017 BMW 540i.

Publisher's note:  Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days.  Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series are cars that we spent half an hour behind the wheel of during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California.

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, and then swap cars again once back at the Quail. Apart from an hour's lunch, this is your day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Each run is about half an hour, and driving 10 to 12 cars back-to-back-to-back gives you interesting points of reference about the next one.

My third car of the day was one of my favorite cars, the 2017 BMW 540i.

New Car Review: 2013 BMW X1

Comes a point when a crossover becomes so carlike that the term "crossover", much less "small SUV", no longer really fits.

The BMW X1 is at that point. With low ground clearance, this really is more a station wagon than anything else, though BMW likely won't be happy I said that.

New Car Review: 2012 BMW 328i

The 2012 BMW 328i.

Automotive history is littered with small cars that packed on the inches and pounds until they were no longer small. In a sense, it's already happened with the 3-Series BMW, or else we wouldn't have had a 1-Series going on five years now.

So further enlargement of the 3 in its latest generation might not seem like such a good thing on paper. But this is not The Ultimate Reading Machine. So we drive.

New Car Review: 2012 BMW Z4 2.8i




The 2012 BMW Z4 2.8i.

Pundits have been predicting the end of our second golden age of performance for quite a while now...and reason tells you they're probably right...that a combination of increasing mandated Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and just plain old pain at the pump will someday result in liters and horsepower taking a back seat to efficiency and economy.

That being the case, the news that BMW, maker of the sweetest six-cylinders on this or any other planet, was shifting to four-cylinders in some variants of some of its models, was especially worrying.

Well, stop it. Now. The BMW Z4 2.8i, the four-cylinder that this year replaces the 3.0-liter 6, is soooo good.

Remember how much we loved the Z4 3.5i last year?  We love the 2.8i more.

2011 BMW 528i Review

A white four-door sedan...the entry-level model of its series.

Doesn't sound exciting...but it all depends on what that sedan is. If you haven't recognized the photo yet, I'll let you in on the secret. It's the BMW 528i.

And it just may be the most perfect car on the road.

I've always enjoyed BMWs, but I've had three outright revelations while holding a steering wheel with a blue-and-white roundel in the center:

The first, at the tender age of 17, entrusted on a winding road in the Eastern High Sierra of California with a friend's older brother's 2002tii. 38 years later, that still stands as one of the best cars I've ever driven.

The second, in the early 80s, stepping into a 635csi coupe with a price tag of $40,000 (astronomical at the time) and thinking "no car is worth this", only to be convinced after 5 minutes in the foothills west of Reno that it was not only worth it, but that it was, in itself, a reason to go make that kind of money.

And the third, most recently,  a week in the Z4 sDrive35i, which has raised the bar for sporting two-seaters to a level I wouldn't have imagined.

And now, the fourth revelation. The new 5-Series.

It is, quite simply, the best sedan you can buy, regardless of price. However much more money you spend on something else, you'll be buying power or features, not excellence and value. Cars simply don't come more solidly built, more thoughtfully designed, more perfectly balanced than the 528 i.

The one we drove for a week, courtesy Chapman BMW in Chandler, Arizona , came box-stock...zero options. But on the 528i, standard includes a list of features that are extra-cost with most other cars, that is if you can find an 8-speed automatic transmission in another car. Electronic limited slip differential? Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS? Dynamic Brake Control? Dynamic Stability Control? Dynamic Traction Control? 17-inch alloy wheels with run-flat tires? Rain-sensing wipers? Fog lights? Power-adjustable, heated and folding outside mirrors?  All standard.

Not done. 10-way power adjustable driver's and front passenger's seat with four-way lumbar support and memory for the driver's seat, steering wheel and outside mirrors? Leatherette upholstery and dark wood (yes, real wood) trim? An AM/FM/CD/mp3 12-speaker (including 2 subwoofers) audio system with 205 watts of power, including HD radio (makes AM sound like FM and FM like CDs), prepped for satellite radio installation if you choose? Vehicle and key memory? Power moonroof?  Automatic climate control? Power tilt and telescoping steering wheel? Leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio and cruise control functions? Bluetooth? iDrive? Tire pressure monitor? All part of the package.

And now the best part...you get to drive it, too. BMW has forever made the sweetest six-cylinder engines in the world, and the 3.0 liter DOHC inline 6 under the hood of the 528i is no exception. Velvety smooth and pulls like a freight train. Its 240 horsepower is more than adequate for brisk acceleration (as in 6.6 seconds zero to 60).  That's 10 horsepower more than last year's model, and it packs and extra 30 pounds per foot of torque, too (see "pulls like a freight train", above).

Handling is direct and intuitive. Within minutes on the road, the car becomes a direct extension of your hands and your brain. There's immediate, controlled response. Chapman BMW asked me to keep the miles on this one below 200, so I didn't have a chance to take a nice drive on a winding road like Northern Arizona's Oak Creek Canyon (linking the town of Sedona with I-17), but I have no doubt the 528i would have aced it and had me even more impressed.

Icing on the cake: Pairing the 3.0 liter 6 with an 8-speed automatic transmission pays off big in the EPA mileage ratings: 22 city/32 highway.

Yes, 22 city/32 highway. And it's a bigger deal than you think. It means the 528i gets better gas mileage than many small economy cars. Really. Here are a couple of examples from upcoming TireKicker reviews:

Scion xB: 22 city/28 highway.

Kia Sportage: 22 city/31 highway.

So what's it cost?

Base price: $45,050. For the one we drove, add delivery charges, tax and license and you're done. No $45,000 isn't dirt cheap. But go back and look at that list of standard features. Add those to your typical $30,000 sedan and you're at or past $45K in a heartbeat. And is that car as well-built, quick, superbly balanced and does it get 22 in the city and 32 on the highway?

This one's a winner. And it proves BMW is about more than status. There's major-league substance here. Every other automaker should be taking notes.

2011 BMW Z4 Review

Welcome to the gotta-have-it car of 2011. Men, women, kids....doesn't matter. Pull up in this and get ready for the questions:

Is it as wonderful to drive as it is to look at?

How fast is it?

Can you toss me the keys for an afternoon?

Here are the answers:

Yes.

Plenty.

I promised the folks at Chapman BMW in Chandler, Arizona that I wouldn't do that. 

Longtime TireKicker followers know that I believe in BMW magic. TireKicker's first review (complete with the story of my first teenage encounter with a 2002tii) was of a BMW convertible (the 128i).

Well, the BMW magic has never been stronger than it is in the Z4. The styling re-defines the concept of animal magnetism (something like this can't possibly be just metal). The retractable hardtop gives you the best of both worlds...the practicality and security of a fixed-roof coupe and the wind in your hair and sun on your skin of a convertible.

And it's a magnificent melding of the contemporary and the relatively recent past, grabbing styling cues from the limited-production 2000-2003 Z8.

The Z4 comes in three levels, the sDrive30i, with 255 horsepower and a base price of $47,450; the sDrive35i at 300 horsepower and a base price of $51,900 and the sDrive35is...335 horsepower and a starting price of $62,500.  Our week was in the middle of the line sDrive35i.

If there is a more balanced driving machine, I can't remember driving it. The car is light and nimble, steering responses are rightnowquick and, despite a short wheelbase and overall length, the ride is smooth while still giving great feedback from the road.

And inside, where the driving gets done? Well, the Z4 is every good thing about BMW. Phenomenal ergonomics, top-quality materials, an unflinching devotion to quality workmanship. And an integrated group of electronics that actually help get distractions out of the driver's way rather than adding to them. It's all (even the more complex functions) simple, direct and intuitive.

Even optionless, the Z4 sDrive35i would be a fantastic car, but our tester had several key option boxes checked: Titanium Silver Metallic paint (which everyone we encountered remarked on as the most beautiful shade of silver they'd seen), $550; the Premium Package (universal garage door opener, power front seats, lumbar support and BMW Assist with Bluetooth), $2,500; the Premium Sound Package, which upgrades the audio system while adding an iPod and USB adapter and a 1-year satellite radio subscription; the Sport Package (an increased top-speed limiter, sport seats and adaptive M suspension) for $2,300 and a further bump-up to 19-inch alloy V-spoke wheels for $1,200.

But that's not all. The 7-speed double clutch transmission (which includes a sport steering wheel with paddles, Servotronic and a multi-function steering wheel) was also on the list for $1,575. Those extra gears pay off in improved fuel economy...EPA estimates 17 city/ 24 highway.

$400 for the anti-theft alarm system, $500 for Comfort Access keyless entry, $500 for heated front seats, $2,100 for an excellent navigation system and an $875 destination charge brought ours to a bottom line of $66,200.

And you know what? It's worth it. It's three things: A brilliant car for driving, a work of art to look at, and over the long haul, an investment. Mark my words...this is a classic in our time. A car that 30 years from now and beyond you'll look at and say "I wish I'd bought one".  Any one of those things would be enough to secure the Z4 a slot on TireKicker's Top 10 Cars (So Far). All three? It's a lock.

Acura ZDX Review (UPDATED 4/16/10 5:40 PM PST With Recall Information)

Fastbacks are an acquired taste...and even then, there's an element of scale that seems to work best. Smaller being better. The 1965 Mustang worked. The much larger 1965 Rambler Marlin, to my way of thinking, didn't. 

While BMW's supposedly adding a fastback to the 3-series in 2013, the current crop of fastbacks are larger cars...four-doors at that...and, well...I think I've made myself clear.

                             

Acura would like us to think that the ZDX breaks new ground between sedan and crossover. That's a pretty slim territory, and a station wagon is what would fill it. One based on the outstanding 2010 TL-SH AWD sedan (review coming soon...I liked it much more than the supposedly identical 2009 and we'll explore why) would be perfect. It would carry more, have better rear and side visibility and handle better than the awkwardly proportioned and heavier ZDX.

80% Of BMW 1-Series Owners Think It's Front-Wheel Drive (Note to 1-Series Owners: It's Not)

The word last week that BMW's future would include front-wheel drive vehicles induced near apoplexy in the automotive journalist community. "Is nothing sacred?", they cried.

Well, there are drivers and there are operators of motor vehicles and the truth is that even enthusiast brands have far more of the latter than the former for customers.

Proof of that...Automotive News Europe reports that an internal BMW survey finds 8 out of 10 1-Series owners think they bought a front-wheel drive car.

2013 BMW 3-Series To Include Blind-Spot Special

If you're among those who find the recent outbreak of four-door fastbacks (BMW X6, Honda Accord Crosstour, Acura ZDX) disconcerting from an aesthetic and practical point of view, get set for a long ride.

Automobile reports that BMW's next-gen 3 series, due for 2013, will have just such a model, the GT.

BMW Diesel 6 To Power Carbon Motors' Police Car

Just ten days after Ford took the wraps off its new Taurus-based police vehicle, Carbon Motors, which says it will make only one car...the E7, and only for the police market, beginning in 2012, now says it'll be powered by a BMW diesel 6-cylinder engine.  Carbon will also be fighting Chevrolet's revived Caprice police cruiser.   Details from NASDAQ here.

BMW X5 xDrive35d Review

Diesel rules. Just not here in the USA. But BMW's working to change that.

A great way to make the case for diesel's economy and lower emissions is to put it in an SUV.

The X5 xDrive35d (that's the name, folks) is one of the new generation of clean diesels...odorless, largely noiseless, with good performance from a V6 making 265 horsepower and tons of torque.

The EPA says 26 miles per gallon on the highway...which is five mpg better than the X5 3.0 6-cylinder gasoline engine...rated at 260 horsepower. And the price premium to step up to the diesel is less than $4,000. But that does put the base price a shade above $50,000...which seems to be a major psychological price point in the new reality.

I had the tester for a week and a half and it was flawless...a great drive...and the diesel engine is a great match for the x5's size and weight...that strong, linear power delivery imparting an extra sense of solidity to the vehicle. And there's the knowledge that diesel engines are routinely capable of 250,000, 500,000 and more miles in a lifetime.

Apart from large, mainly 3/4 ton and 1 ton American trucks, it's the Germans who are carrying the flag on diesel. They're not wrong.

BMW 128i Convertible Review

Post One on TireKicker...and the logical choice from the past few weeks of press vehicle loans is the One...officially known as the BMW 1 Series.

I had the best possible BMW baptism long ago...the first one I ever drove was a school friend's big brother's 2002tii back around '73 (we were sent up to South Lake, near Bishop, California, to retrieve his dad's friend's Benz S-Class, and since he was older, he got the flagship...but I got the sweeter ride).

The 2002tii was a revelation for a kid raised on Fords and Mercurys. Light, tight, responsive and quick,without being overpowered or nose-heavy. If this is what BMWs are about, I thought, then I need one.

By the time I started auto-journalising, though, BMW had entered into some major mission creep. The 2002's successor, the 3 Series, felt more like a midsize, the 5 was a fullsize and since 2002 (the year, not the BMW), the 7 has been a battleship. And then there are the XUV's (X3, X5). Do we need to discuss how those don't fit the first impression?

The all-new 1 Series is a great leap backward and forward simultaneously. Backward in that BMW has rediscovered compact proportions, lithe handling and speed generated by efficient power-to-weight ratios rather than just jacking up the horsepower. Forward in that this kind of backward is just what BMW and today's drivers need.

So, howzit? Fun. And it was the 128i Convertible with an automatic. BMW, send the 135i coupe (extra stiffness, don't ya know?)with a stick ASAP, please. The only downers: a slightly stubby profile and a price tag that gets too close to a 3 Series. But remember: Trading up for "more car" trades away the old-time BMW religion it's taken decades to bring back.