the Bucket: BMW 3 Series

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Bucket Seat: BMW 320d

Having attended the launch of the new BMW 3 Series, I already had an understanding of what the car is about and what it's main characteristics are. But spending a full week with the car, gives you more insight about what BMW have done to make this car more than just your average mid-range family sedan. For long has the 3 Series been BMW's best selling car and even with market trends changing more to cross-over/ SUV variants I think the 3 Series will still remain a very important car for the brand, and they knew this as well, which is why with the G20 model, we've seen a major step up in the game from BMW. Laying down the gauntlet if you might say to their competitors. They've certainly set the benchmark with this car as you will come to discover why exactly I think that BMW have left their competition with a lot of work to do.

DESIGN

The design of the new BMW Series is in line with it's new design language, futuristic, elegant and sleek. The car has this agile look to it with the elimination of curves and added sharp lines and edges. Some said it was drastic at first but over time they've learnt to grow with it, I thought it was brilliant and the kind of shake up that was needed for this line. It's not as conservative as we're used to with BMW but at the same time it works and is easy on the eye. The front features those trademark kidney grilles which are not active like the other models in the BMW range where they close and open to allow air in when needed. The lights have been upgraded to the new laser light technology, and are in a dual hexagonal shape, the overall length of the car has increased as well as the width. The rear of the car has been a major talking point since it was first shown but it ties in with most of the other new models from BMW like the 8 Series, Z4 and the X4 so I honestly don't see what all the fuss was about. The interior of the new 3 Series looks sublime, very classy touches and an interior that could be worthy of a 5 Series with the Technology you'd expect in a 7 Series! Such is the lengths BMW have gone to make this 3 Series so much more than what we've expected.

PERFORMANCE

Under the hood, we find an all new 4 cylinder Twin-Power Turbo engine which delivers 140kW which equates to 190bhp and 400Nm of torque. That torque factor is a major plus on your urban driving as the car is much heavier than before so with the high torque to propel the car, the less fuel you use. Touch on the fuel economy of the 320d, I always felt this engine was the best suited to the 3 Series, simply because it offered the best of both worlds, your high torque made it punchy off the line but the diesel engine balanced that economy factor giving you longer road times before filling up. With this new engine its much of the same, with BMW claiming a combined fuel consumption of 4.8L to the 100km, I managed to get it down to 6.2L/ 100km which is decent in my books, range was looking like 750km on a tank which again is bang on with what I expected but bearing in mind on this one tank I did a lot of mixed driving. A normal driving style will push that range above 800km, closer to 900km on urban driving and bring that average way below 6L/100km. Top speed, as always is electronically limited but with the 320d its not about hitting 250kph, and that torque does die down after 100kph.

COMFORT

With the overall size of the car being bigger than the outgoing F30 model, this new G20 has gotten more spacious as well. The redesigned interior makes a very pleasant place to be for the driver and his occupants. The new designed dash is aesthetically pleasing using a mixture of high quality materials. The drivers instrument cluster has the option to be fully digital which was added into this model. It features BMW's new speedometer layout which keeps that info on the sides leaving room for other information in the middle. You can display a map from the navigation, driving info, media info etc. The car also had BMW's revised heads up display, which gives all the relevant information displayed on the windscreen. The car has 3 zone climate control, dual for the front and a single zone for the rear passengers. The package that car came in was the Sport package, not the M Sport, it offers subtle sport features like the extensive use of brush aluminum and chrome, the ride quality was quite decent, not too hard and very comfortable. The cars 50/50 weight distribution helps keep the occupants planted in their seats rather than fling them about.

TECHNOLOGY

The options list does tend to go on in a BMW but they're just so damn good! We've already covered a few of them like the digital instrument cluster and heads-up display, those we're used to and already come to terms with in previous generations of 3 Series, so is the self park system, camera package which gives you an overall view of your car, the Harman Kardon sound system, etc. Taking nothing away from those that were mentioned I just feel its more pertinent to concentrate on the new stuff that BMW has to offer. Firstly, reverse assist, it's so simple but so flipping clever! The car remembers up to 50M of how you drove in, so if you in a tight spot and have no idea how to get out, simply pop the car into reverse, select the reverse assist option from the menu and the car will navigate itself out exactly the same way it came in. Bare in mind that if conditions have changed the car will not take this into consideration so there is some human element that is required. I have a tight entrance to a garage at my place which driving into isn't so bad but getting out can be tricky, the car did it time after time to perfection! Next big tech talking point is the cruise control! Yes, I know cruise control has been around since the 80s but what different about this one is that BMW have included their semi-autonomous driving system to this. So apart from the usual adaptive cruise control which keeps a safe following distance with the car in front of you and slows down if required, the car also steers itself! Now while it does all this with relative ease, it still is semi- which means you have to have your hands on the wheel most of the time. It does help when you are in a pickle and need to reach out to grab something or have a quick sip on your coffee. There are other cool options like gesture control, sunroof but BMW have their own AI assistant now which has a trigger word or phrase which you can change, to instruct it what you want it to do, whether it navigate you to a certain place, change the radio station, etc.

VERDICT

Overall the new G20 3 Series accedes expectations in almost every box in terms of practicality, luxury, comfort, performance and general appeal. The car does what its meant to do and so much more, price wise it is a bit steep but given what you are getting in the product some might say it is a steal. I'll go out on a limb to say that this is even better than the current 5 Series on the market, just because of the technology gap between the two models. So while you're considering the price difference between the two models, just know that you're getting more in this 3 Series. There will be an update in the 5 Series probably next year which will bring the cars back into their rightful slots but for me, if I had the money, I would buy the 320d in a heart beat.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	2.0L Diesel Twin Power Turbo
Gear Box	8 Speed Automatic Steptronic
Torque	400Nm
Power	140kW
Consumption	4.8L/100km
Price	R 672,600

Friday, March 3, 2017

Bucket Seat: Lexus IS200t

When it comes to luxury car makers, the D Segment is by far their most popular range. Many term this their "bread and butter", as these models tend to be the perfect entry level car among prospective buyers. It's affordable and the with the seemingly endless options, it can extend from a basic model right up to high end one that rival cars in the segments above. The competition has always been a tough one and most of the time, the German trio seem to have the biggest say if one has to look at the sales over the years but what if the alternatives were better? Step in Lexus, Toyota's luxury division, whilst many associate the brand for being "boring", purely because of one egocentric television presenter, I think the brand is anything but.

Ever since Lexus brought the IS range into the country, they kept things plain and simple with just two models at the time, the IS200S and the IS200SE, with both cars offering the end buyer a host of features, most of which would be deemed extras in the German contenders, and we all know how much extras amount to in them. Fast forward to today and not much has changed, the new revised Lexus IS range that has just hit the country offers three variants, the IS200t E, IS200t EX and the IS350 F-Sport. I first caught a glimpse of the revised IS at last years SA Festival of Motoring in Kyalami and was taken away by the car, I had the opportunity to spend a week with the IS200t E and can't say it was easy letting go of the key when I had to return it.

STYLE

While previous IS models were good looking, there was a subtle nature to their design, with clean lines, nothing over the top but still maintain that elegance it deserved. I'm not sure if the designers at Lexus ate too much wasabi or had a few extra shots of Saki when they went into designing this one because it's completely different to what we would normally expect from the Japanese manufacturer. Lexus call it their "L Finesse design language", I just call it shockingly stunning. I say shockingly because there is nothing cautious or "boring" about it. Everything about the cars design philosophy needs to be admired, from the spindle grille, the split front headlamps, the sharp and edgy lines cutting its way across the car to the back , where this is continued with the rear lights that slice it's way into the bumper. It's all finished off well with a dark grey 17" alloy wheels with option for bigger ones if you want. It's drastic, its in your face and I love it! It's eye catching but not something that will hurt you eyes but rather something that you'd stare at while sitting in your car and make you wish your car looked half as good as it. It almost reminds me of a samurai warrior for some reason, sharp, agile and quick and that's just going on looks.

COMFORT

While I could go on about the exterior, the interior deserves some talking about as well. For me, the driver is the most important person in the car and very few cars give that feeling, with the IS it is very evident. It has a very driver focused cockpit with everything within's arm reach of you, it is the only place you'd want to sit in the car...actually I don't think I sat in any other seat in my time with it but I have it on good authority that the back seats are quite comfortable and spacious from the many people that I have given a ride to in the week. The finishes and materials used in the car are all high end and of great quality, and it's all done at their award winning Tahara plant. I mean the place it's being made in has won awards so you know you're product is going to be of high quality. It's the simple things that win you over in the car, if you follow me on Snapchat, you would have saw me mention how great the steering wheel feels, seriously do yourselves a favour and go find a Lexus IS and feel the how awesome the steering wheel feels. I'd suggest you go to a showroom as asking an owner might seem a bit creepy. The ride quality on the car is great, with it having double wishbone suspension upfront and multi-link at the back this ensures a smooth ride. There is little to no engine noise in the cabin and with dual zone climate control, the temperature can be set to suit everyone's needs. I also love the controls for them, as you just run your finger up or down the lengthy control. The car also comes with heating and cooling seats, which prove to be a winner in Durban with the extreme heat and humidity.

PERFORMANCE

Its the first time Lexus has added a turbo engine to its local line up, and it's about time they did with the other manufacturers taking advantage of this over the years. The engine is a 2.0 litre, 4 cylinder, inline arrangement with D-4ST (Direct injection 4-stroke) with a maximum power output of 180kW @ 5800rpm, pushing out 350Nm of torque. The car has three driver settings, Eco, Normal and Sport, driving around urban areas, the Eco mode shines through, with low fuel usage, power when you need it with an extremely quiet and gentle ride, almost as if you're floating around. The Normal mode gives you slightly higher revs and quicker reaction time but at times it also switches automatically to Eco mode when the car feels it could use less power than actually needs, a great feature to help you save fuel. There is a slight turbo lag if you want to get off a standing start quickly but that is reduced quite a bit when flicked over into sport mode, naturally this makes the car very thirsty so just watch your foot. It's so much fun though, slap the gear selector into manual mode, and take charge of the gear changes with the paddle shifts behind the steering wheel and it will make you feel like a race car driver. Once going in any mode, the car picks up pace very quickly so you got to keep and eye on the counter. All in all, this engine packs quite punch but at the same time is the perfect all rounder for a car like this.

TECH

Like I said, Lexus is known to have most features that other manufacturers would deem optional extras as standard in their models. As previously mentioned, the IS has heated and cooling seats, standard, as well as dual zone climate control, standard. Advanced energy saving LED headlamps, standard, 8-way electrically adjustable seats with driver lumbar support, standard and the list goes on though there were a few things that I thought the they could have included as standard feature which were missing. PDC's is one of them, with most cars these days, its almost becoming essential and with the design of the car, its not that easy to judge how far away you are from objects, so even if I'm pushing it, a reverse camera? Most Corolla's have that as a standard feature now so you'd think it would be in a Lexus. Anyway, that is about the only low point I have with the car. The standard sound system the car comes with is impressive as well, a 10 speaker audio system with full iPod integration and 2 USB ports with an added auxiliary port. The IS also comes with Bluetooth telephone and audio streaming so there really isn't a need for all the wires.

VERDICT

Everything about the brand is personified by it's slogan, "The pursuit of perfection" and it shines through in their products. This model is a revised version of the IS but to show you how they focus on not just improving their product but the intricacies they go through to make it perfect is mind blowing, here's an excerpt from the brochure "we've moved the driver's seat hip point backwards by 18mm and lowered it by 9mm, and raised the steering wheel pitch by 3 degrees" . Millimeters, that is the level of detail they go to, to ensure the product they send out is perfect in their eyes and it's something that I admire about Lexus. Whilst the cars price range is a bit more than its competitors, one must remember what you're getting in the IS200t E as apposed to the others, for me personally, I think this is the best all round purchase for the D Segment category and a complete package if I may call it that.