The new BMW 330i ............good enough ........but not great

[westcoastGT]

Review: The 2019 BMW 330i is good enough among sports sedans, but not great

 

[MerlintheMad]

I see a deliberate omitting of the Kia Stinger from the list of competitors: The Alfa Romeo Guilia, Audi A4, Genesis G70, Mercedes C-Class and Volvo S60. Somebody doesn't like Kia.

 

[ElChanclo]

I see a deliberate omitting of the Kia Stinger from the list of competitors: The Alfa Romeo Guilia, Audi A4, Genesis G70, Mercedes C-Class and Volvo S60. Somebody doesn't like Kia.

255 hp i4? Bit of an unfair comparison.

 

[MerlintheMad]

255 hp i4? Bit of an unfair comparison.

How so? The G70 is virtually the same car as the 3.3TT Stinger, just a bit smaller. So if the G70 is a competitor, so is the Stinger, all five trims of it.

 

[Sabs]

The Stinger was probably omitted because the G70 is sized about the same as the 3 series and has a regular trunk.

On a related note, I can't imagine paying $59,900 for a 255hp i4 without enough room for 4 adults...

 

[westcoastGT]

Guys , we haver to accept that Kia is NOT a Lux brand , and they would get flamed for including it in this article but it frames up whats going on in the Lux category ................its tough for them to justify the price difference when mainstream brands are breathing up their rearsides with quality , performance , reliability and of course value , look at the entry of the Telluride and Pallisade , its the hottest segment in the auto category , at first the journalists were comparing them to the other mainstream domestic and Japanese competitors until they realized they were just as capable of being compared to the BMW X7 , Lincoln Aviator etc ...............the Germans are sweating !

 

[Revvdmedia]

Honestly, Kia really pushes a bargain at the price. I'm forever going to complain that I have quality issues on mine, but I would find flaws in ANY vehicle I own, as I always have. The day I finally buy a perfect car is probably the same day I'll die of a heart attack, that's my luck.

But seriously, when I've been annoyed at this car and go shopping for something else, with a similar level of performance (horsepower at least), with similar specifications, you just can't get this anywhere else, it's actually kind of annoying!

Things I looked at? M240i X Drive Convertible...70K with options, Audi S3 - 65K, RS3? Forget it, Acura's - not fast enough. Lexus? That's "F" territory and nearly 100K. The only other options for power that meet this price is the American muscle cars and even though I kinda liked it...once again, major rattle trap, and actually not cheap. A Mustang GT with the options I would want is creeping up to about 60K. My Stinger was 50k. What's a guy to do?

 

[Nuthadey]

I see a deliberate omitting of the Kia Stinger from the list of competitors: The Alfa Romeo Guilia, Audi A4, Genesis G70, Mercedes C-Class and Volvo S60. Somebody doesn't like Kia.

All of those are compact sedans. The mid-sized Stinger isn't in the same category as any of those you/they listed.

 

[MerlintheMad]

All of those are compact sedans. The mid-sized Stinger isn't in the same category as any of those you/they listed.

Oh.

Well, if we are comparing size, the Stinger really wallops the competition, then; because larger sedans are $20K more with the same features and tech.

 

[Nuthadey]

Oh.

Well, if we are comparing size, the Stinger really wallops the competition, then; because larger sedans are $20K more with the same features and tech.

You're quite observant...

 

[Revvdmedia]

Oh.

Well, if we are comparing size, the Stinger really wallops the competition, then; because larger sedans are $20K more with the same features and tech.

That's really the rub with my analogy on where the Stinger stands for pricing. I have no need for a vehicle this large as a daily, I could get by with a 2 seater almost exclusively. Most of the cars I have shopped are smaller and technically built on the entry level vehicle of the brand...BMW 2 series, Audi "3"...You really don't get a lot of car for the money, and the quality may or may not be a lot better. To me, it's not worth the price increase.

The RS5 sportback keeps coming up on my feed though. I'm not a sedan guy, I've always liked coupes, but from the front 3/4 angle, that's a very nice looking car. Just....110K lol.

 

[Doel]

That's really the rub with my analogy on where the Stinger stands for pricing. I have no need for a vehicle this large as a daily, I could get by with a 2 seater almost exclusively. Most of the cars I have shopped are smaller and technically built on the entry level vehicle of the brand...BMW 2 series, Audi "3"...You really don't get a lot of car for the money, and the quality may or may not be a lot better. To me, it's not worth the price increase.

The RS5 sportback keeps coming up on my feed though. I'm not a sedan guy, I've always liked coupes, but from the front 3/4 angle, that's a very nice looking car. Just....110K lol.

I don't have any need for the size of the Stinger on a regular basis, but I like having the comfort knowing I have enough space to do virtually everything I would do in a normal year. For instance, just took a 6 hour road trip with 3 guys and a bunch of stuff. Went and bought a large grill from the store. Bought a couple new doors for the house. All stuff I've done in the last 3 months that I wouldn't have been able to do in a 330i.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I don't have any need for the size of the Stinger on a regular basis, but I like having the comfort knowing I have enough space to do virtually everything I would do in a normal year. For instance, just took a 6 hour road trip with 3 guys and a bunch of stuff. Went and bought a large grill from the store. Bought a couple new doors for the house. All stuff I've done in the last 3 months that I wouldn't have been able to do in a 330i.

That is how I used to treat it and why I never did buy a 2 seater over there years...the "what if I need" scenario. In retrospect, I could have gotten a 2 seater years ago and had little to no issue.

My wife has a Santa Fe, so the SUV has the "larger vehicle" requirement covered.

I think I might finally bite the bullet and pick up an old Miata next year just so I can have something with a roof that goes down, manual transmission and small and light. They're just stupid expensive up here in Canada, basically start at 5K for a used on in decent shape, for a first gen. Plus a good old car might be crappy enough to make my Stinger feel good quality again, lol.

 

[Doel]

That is how I used to treat it and why I never did buy a 2 seater over there years...the "what if I need" scenario. In retrospect, I could have gotten a 2 seater years ago and had little to no issue.

My wife has a Santa Fe, so the SUV has the "larger vehicle" requirement covered.

I think I might finally bite the bullet and pick up an old Miata next year just so I can have something with a roof that goes down, manual transmission and small and light. They're just stupid expensive up here in Canada, basically start at 5K for a used on in decent shape, for a first gen. Plus a good old car might be crappy enough to make my Stinger feel good quality again, lol.

my wife has a focus, so no utility there haha but it is a manual at least. I think we forget how good the quality is, considering we're in the car every day. I've had multiple people comment on how nice the interior and ride quality is recently.

 

[turboAWD]

I don't have any need for the size of the Stinger on a regular basis, but I like having the comfort knowing I have enough space to do virtually everything I would do in a normal year. For instance, just took a 6 hour road trip with 3 guys and a bunch of stuff. Went and bought a large grill from the store. Bought a couple new doors for the house. All stuff I've done in the last 3 months that I wouldn't have been able to do in a 330i.

I'm going to assume the doors were poking out the back? Full-size doors? I hauled a bunch of stuff in my Subaru wagon, but since we have the minivan (wife doesn't want to give it up, even though her daily is now a GTI), I don't really need to worry about it as much. However, family vacation DID work out with the Stinger. Packed a bit lighter, squished the stuff in, and we did fine. We usually pack way too much stuff in the van anyway

 

[Revvdmedia]

my wife has a focus, so no utility there haha but it is a manual at least. I think we forget how good the quality is, considering we're in the car every day. I've had multiple people comment on how nice the interior and ride quality is recently.

That's the truth of it. The overall quality of the Stinger is pretty good, even in the little details. I like how the door has some "friction" in it when opening and closing, feels enormously more substantial than the door I open and closed this summer on a 2003 Chev Malibu, that felt like an actual tin can. The stereo sounds pretty good.

I dug my own mental grave with this car mainly because I wanted to find and address any issues early on, within the "adjustment period" that Kia calls the first year, so they could not negate any of my claims. What the result was is that I found issues with the car, but Kia isn't fixing them, so I'm just really bothered now. The biggest annoyance is the sunroof, but I do have faith that a TSB will eventually come out...I'm thinking next year...

 

[MerlintheMad]

Bought a couple new doors for the house.

Whoa! I will never drive even two feet with the hatch unlatched: I don't care how many bungee cords you offer me. If "it" won't fit inside with the hatch down, it won't get carried. (Now, if the hatch were already noisy, this would not be an issue; but I'm not going to invite noise by driving around with it unlatched.)

 

[gilthanis1]

The biggest annoyance is the sunroof, but I do have faith that a TSB will eventually come out...I'm thinking next year...

Same here @Revvdmedia Been to the stealership 'service dept' twice now and those yokels wouldn't know how to fix a rattling Coke can...... I am calling Kia AGAIN today and raise hell AGAIN to hopefully get somewhere with this.

My last visit, the service writer tried to tell me that 'oh the new GTS we just got does it also, but not as loud so that must be just how they are'..........REALLY??? On a 50k car you are just 'supposed to deal with it'....I don't think so.

You'll still have to pry this car from my cold dead hands though. I still get an ear to ear grin every single day I drive it, and it's been 18 months and 25k happy miles

 

[Revvdmedia]

Same here @Revvdmedia Been to the stealership 'service dept' twice now and those yokels wouldn't know how to fix a rattling Coke can...... I am calling Kia AGAIN today and raise hell AGAIN to hopefully get somewhere with this.

My last visit, the service writer tried to tell me that 'oh the new GTS we just got does it also, but not as loud so that must be just how they are'..........REALLY??? On a 50k car you are just 'supposed to deal with it'....I don't think so.

You'll still have to pry this car from my cold dead hands though. I still get an ear to ear grin every single day I drive it, and it's been 18 months and 25k happy miles

You pretty much mirrored my exact experience, including "the new ones do it too so it must be normal." I've basically lost all faith in my dealer considering they put "their best guy" on it and he's absolutely clueless. I either need to find another dealer to look at it, or I need that TSB to come out so they can have a clue...or a combination of the two - new dealer with some instruction.

If I worked for Kia and was in charge of aftermarket (service) customer experience in North America, I'd be firing a ton of service managers by the sounds of the experiences here. Fire the managers, and if the new managers can't find a competent crew (if that's the problem), fire them too. I hate incompetence.

 

[westcoastGT]

You pretty much mirrored my exact experience, including "the new ones do it too so it must be normal." I've basically lost all faith in my dealer considering they put "their best guy" on it and he's absolutely clueless. I either need to find another dealer to look at it, or I need that TSB to come out so they can have a clue...or a combination of the two - new dealer with some instruction.

If I worked for Kia and was in charge of aftermarket (service) customer experience in North America, I'd be firing a ton of service managers by the sounds of the experiences here. Fire the managers, and if the new managers can't find a competent crew (if that's the problem), fire them too. I hate incompetence.

Call Matt.........................