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The instrumentation of this car is easy to read. The layout, though looking a bit cluttered at first are easy to get used to. The funniest feature here is the MPG (miles per gallon) indicator at the bottom of the tachometer, which indicates the fuel consumption per mile that, this car is driving upon. It was interesting to know that while we were driving, we were able to achieve around 25 miles per gallon at the maximum. The amenities of this BMW make even the best Japanese car weep. First, the leather seats are generally of a better feel and firmer compared to that found in the Mitsubishi Galant or Honda Accord. The dual zone climate control was cold enough to make my hands shiver while the summer sun blazed down at noontime as I drove this car around. The 6-disc CD changer coupled with a wonderful 10-speaker 200 watt system meant that this baby had the best sounds in town and it was wonderful to the ears. The only negative is the placement of the controls on the center console. It seems that BMW fitted all of the controls in the middle without the slightest regard for proper placement! It took me quite a while to look for the door unlock button, as well as the roof up and roof down controls. The radio controls were also placed illogically while the aircon controls seem to blend in with the rest of the CD change controls to make sure you stay confused while driving this car. The dozens of buttons in the trip computer area also seem to distract me while looking at it, though we didn't really activate the darned thing anyway. The displays, which are in orange are not to everyone's taste (including mine), but they can still provide good visibility even when the sun is fully glaring with our car's top down. The good part of this BMW 328Ci is that it fulfills the goal set by the manufacturer: which is to build a driver-oriented vehicle, a driving machine. And certainly this certainly qualifies as one…the question is can the Japanese create their own? An Accord convertible is on the way in the US as we write this. I say no. The best thing about this car though is that it's for sale. |
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