Tuesday, August 08, 2006

A Brief Drive in the BMW 323i E90


網誌日期:2006-08-08 14:32

It was last Saturday that I had a chance to try on this white body color 323i (Year 2006 with only 1,400 kms on the odometer. It has a black leather interior without sunroof. So my guess it was the basic version. The outlook was fine by me, giving an impression of a heavily downsized 5-series. The proportion was right.
It had a start/stop button so once the key was inserted you need to press the botton to set the engine revving. Sorry it was not only of my favorites. After turning on the air conditioner and the CD, off I went. The interior layout felt extremely solid and spartan, with elements of basic luxuy.
Once on the move, the suspesion and the body structure impressed me because they worked together to provide a very unique combination of ride quality - very stiff and yet quiet and comfortable. The stiffness was perhaps due to the runflat 225/50R16 Bridgestone which has thickened side walls as well as reinforced shoulder areas.
The other special thing about the car was the way the 2.5L in-line six worked with the 6-speed auto transmission. They worked seemlessly. No matter what speed I was in uphill and downhill I was amazed I was always in the right gears and engine revvs. Instant acceleration and torque response were available without an immediate need to kick down. That's wonderful. Engine started to deliver explosive power (in relative terms) once over 4,000 rpm. However there was plenty of smooth and responsive torque between 1,000 to 3,000rpm to pull the car briskly.
Turn-in was immediate and sharp. Despite its weight 323i's steering response and cornering pose were not bad in tight fast corners. Overall the handling could be described as precise and responsive, the BMW way. The steering was weighty and filled with feel.
Compared to the E46 320i (2.2L in-line six) I drove over one month ago, I think the E90 was much better in every aspect, especially in the solidity and refinement in ride, handling and drivetrain, rather than the fancy and superficial bits. The short drive really dispelled all my earlier prejudice on E90. A lot of fine tuning and engineering time had actually gone into the E90.
You may wonder why I had the chance to drive this car. I was asked to deliver the car to its owner from a garage to replace the 2 flat tires because of punctures. Yes, two flat run-flat tires!

Removal Notice! Click Here to the New Address.

Hi, I have moved my blogs to the following.

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/damondlam1234

I like Blogger a lot and its feature set but it has no hit counter.

Damond


網誌日期:2006-08-07 12:30
This is my first blog on the Yahoo. I was using Google before but there was no page hit records.
This blog will be about my motoring experience. You all know that Tiki has recently sold her C240 (W202, 1998) for a Year 2000 Silver Color 6-speed MX5 MK2.
Besides our new baby MX-5, my wife and I also enjoyed the ownership of a 1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 and a 1996 Honda Integra DC2 Type-R (this is actually a restored race car which has spent nearly two years full-time at the Zhuhai Race Track, China).
I will try to blog here for this week, until a point I feel comfortable around here.
If you want to see my old blogs and my other cars, here you go....
If you interested in photography here is another of the site for my images....
www.pbase.com/damond

Monday, August 07, 2006

Our First Weekend with MX-5

We just spent our first weekend with the MX-5, 90% of the time with the top-down. It is really a revelating expereince motoring-wise. The MX-5 has completed our triplet collection - a sports car, a 4-door sedan and a race car, and has given the collection a fine balance. It has taken us a while to come to this point.

With MX-5, every road we have traveled many time before takes a new dimension. There was simply so much more to see, to feel and to hear. Despite the notorious air pollution in Hong Kong, we did not find any sign of the breathing problem or discomfort in our lungs.

I am happy to report that the air-conditioner has been powerful and kept the interior reasonably cool, even with the top down but the windows up. Of course most cool air escaped in the open air but with the fan level set at "2" and the vents directed to the body and face it felt cozy enough even under the sun, at least for a short while.

I have done a simple service check-up on Saturday. Engine oil and rear brake pads, windshield wiper were changed and the engine revved smoothly and we reported a bit sharper throttle response. I had the six-year old Bridgestone ER30 tires moved from the front to the rear wheels. The pair of one-year old Toyo Trampio Vimode offered much more grip, steering feel and snappy turn-in and removed any trace of understeer. However I did not like harsh ride, especially when the Toyos were not warmed up. I was planning on getting a new set of Michelin but the tire size (205/45R16) were not available in Hong Kong. I like Michelin because in every grade of their tires they always put ride comfort ahead of performance and grip. And I like that, except they don't have any stocks, regardless of models, for the MX-5.

In terms of handling, the little MX-5 has in fact made our C36 uninspiring to drive. Its light weight (1'035kg) and reasonable power-to-weight ratio were really a joy. In terms of straight-line acceleration it would not stand a chance against the C36 or the DC2. But MX-5 offers a different mix of road experience that we have long owed to ourselves. What surprises me is the way Mazda has engineered the body flex and long travel suspension together to create this amazing road holding. Of course it won't corner as hard or as quick as my DC2 under any condition but it certainly will outrun my C36 in 90% of tight and mid-radius corners. However the way that it put the tires on rough road surface of Hong Kong without any sign of traction breakaway was simply amazing. I could feel the suspension worked very hard and the body flexed and shaked but it never lost its composure and roadholding.