Re: Thinking of the 523i
Hi,
Had the chance of testing both the 523 and the 325 today....as my Mrs is getting the 523...
Tested the 325 1st....brought the car to South BV road, through some hard twisties...my 1st impression...power...nothing to shout about...engine not as smooth as the 5....moving off like tortise...but mid range is good.....but what the car really excels is through the twisties....Wow wow wow...even my E46 with PSS and UCC anti-roll bars could not match the stock handling of the E90....it goes round corners like the main objective if its existance is just to do that....I think there is nothing much u can do with the E46's suspension to keep up with the E90....and I think it really boils down to the 25% stiffer chassis....But other than that, internal is really bare to the bone....leather seat really thin and does not offer much comfort....and my Mrs do not like it....cos women dun appreciate good handling cars....after that, we tested the 523....interior much more elagant than the 3...more features and comfort...bigger.....better seats....better quality plastics...quieter....power? not much difference, IMO...though on specs is alomst 30 hp difference...but when pushing through corners, I miss the 325....no fight at all....but on its own, of course its one of the better handling cars around....
So in short, if its handling and driving dynamics you want, get the 3...if its every other things that u will ever need from a car, less the best handling u can get, 5 is the obvious choice....both cars cost almost the same....
Let me choose? hmmm, I would take the 5, and mode the suspension...and hopefully, I can approach the territory of the 3 in terms of handling....
sorry for the long post....