Mike K Drives: 428i Coupe

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
So we've been waiting for a power steering pump to come in from Germany for the 535D for about 3 weeks now. The pulley on mine is bad. Rather, it was bad as it's currently sitting somewhere on Ventura BLVD in Studio City, Ca.

The timing here was great. I got a call saying the part had come in and that I could bring the car in any time. So I call and ask them when they have a loaner. One week. One freaking week. Ah whatever, so I set it up. Not 30 seconds later am I pulling out of a parking lot then I hear the accessory belt start to squeal. Not a good sign. Then I hear the sound of a pulley ready to liberate itself from it's cast iron oppressor and it's successful, taking the accessory belt with it. This is where the fun begins. All of the sudden I've got a charging error, a chassis error, a reduced power message and a litany of other warnings yet the car is eerily silent as the pulley that had been making noise for weeks was now in the middle of the street. I forgot how quiet the diesel could be. I just didn't think I would be reminded under these circumstances.

The Race Is On

It's at this point that the owner of a car might be prudent, pull over and call a tow truck. But I'm not an owner. I'm a lowlife renter of a car that's under warranty. So prudence goes out the window and I start racing through traffic in a car with a dying battery, reduced power output and what resembles a christmas tree of warning lights doubling as my instrument cluster. The goal: get to the dealer before shit hits the fan.

And I'm driving like a full on asshole to make it happen. The beauty of it is that everyone in LA drives like an asshole so my haste went un-noticed. Just as I'm pulling into the dealer I hear my fans kick into high, my electric water pump wailing at what I could only assume was full speed and then: boom. "Elevated Engine Temperature - Pull over and shut vehicle off". Yet despite the potential 5 figure repair bill, I felt relieved, victorious in fact. I had made it. Let the warranty take care of the rest.

It looks like we do have a car

So I'm pulling in there and my service advisor can tell by the look on my face what had just happened. I explained to him that I already had an appointment for next week and that I knew they didn't have any loaner cars. I ask him to give me anything. If it has 4 wheels I'll take it. He goes and talks to the girls and comes back... "Don't worry. I have a car." Yesssssssssss.

And so I go talk to the girl behind the desk and as she's putting the loaner car paperwork in front of me to sign, I'm ignoring her, eagerly scanning the paper for mention of what kind of car I'm getting. Last time I got a base model, no option 320i. I was not a fan. I was expecting the same here but then there it was on the back of the key she set on the counter: 2015 428i. In my head I'm like OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.

But this dealer likes their barebones base model loaners so I'm reserved but eager to drive the car nonetheless.

pS3qgBR.jpg


And then I see It

And it's not a base model. It has nav, power seats the 320i lacked, sport transmission, premium package and more. I guess it pays to catch the dealer off guard. First impressions, the interior is strikingly similar to the last generation 5 series. And that's not a dig because the 4 series is basically a 3. It's an entry level(ish) BMW. It doesn't evoke a feeling of opulence but it's really well built and feels solid.

Drivetrain

When the 535 came out in 2008 journalists everywhere proclaimed the death of the 550i. It was only marginally faster, got significantly worse gas mileage, was 200lbs heavier over the nose and... wait for it... cost $10,000 more than the 6 cylinder 535. Why would anyone buy that car? And while the difference here isn't so stark (the 428i turns out a 5.7 second 0-60 to the 435's 5.0), a compelling argument can be made for the turbo four being the best engine for most people. It never feels under powered, it's an absolute blast to wind out and it's connected to an 8 speed transmission that shifts lightning fast and is always in the right gear, generally before you know what gear that's supposed to be. Gas mileage is better, it's 100lbs lighter and oh yeah, $6000 cheaper than the 435. In fairness, I haven't driven the 435 but if someone stuck this car in front of me and told me I had to drive it for a couple years I wouldn't feel like I was missing out. It is obnoxious fun in a way many moderately powered cars are fun.

Handling/ Chassis

I don't know if my car has the sport suspension. BMW's been doing wacky stuff in recent years where you can get luxury trimmed cars with the sport suspension, sport cars with the base suspension, etc. I'll figure it out and report back. Whatever is in the car is very competent. It reminds me of the E60 535 which makes sense as the weight is similar and that's a good thing. It feels like you expect a BMW to feel. It feels like a car BMW fanboys the world over will eventually say "why doesn't BMW make a car like that anymore?". Much like my beloved E60, it's a confidence inspiring vehicle to drive. Oversteer is easy to engage with a bit of throttle and easy to control. Pressing the traction control button once will result in the car letting you get the ass end out about as far as you'd ever want to and only interfering if you're about to try to make the back end of the car swap places with the front. It is by far my favorite traction control system.

My only complaint with the car is the steering but it's a minor complaint. It's electric and you can tell it's electric because it's devoid of feedback. I've been reading that about BMW's for what seems like a couple years now and I never knew what it really meant. My 535D feels over-boosted sometimes and I assumed that's the feeling journalists were complaining about but it's more than that. There's really no feedback from the wheel. You're essentially driving with a force feedback video game wheel. I wouldn't say it's bad though. It's just not what you're used to. The car has really quick turn in and I never got the feeling that I didn't know how much to turn the wheel on any given corner. You adapt quickly and pretty soon it's a non-issue. Plus there are some other pluses to that wheel...

Technology

The beauty of having that electric input for the wheel is that you can intuitively make it do other things. For instance, at speed the adaptive headlights that bend around corners respond with the slightest change of steering wheel position. The end result is you subliminally find yourself moving the steering wheel ever so slightly while driving to illuminate certain parts of the road. In fairness, I have no idea if this is even intentional but having had the feature in my E60, it wasn't nearly as drastic so I assume it is on purpose. It was foggy tonight so it's easy to capture the headlight beam. The video below is of me going straight and moving the steering wheel enough to move the lights but not change the track of the car. You can see how much adjustment you have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_4CGzgojHU

Other than that there's a good deal of tech if you get the navigation system. You get a touchpad on the iDrive controller for text input, great speech recognition, BMW Apps which allows you to use apps like Spotify and Pandora natively through the iDrive display and here's a cool one: control over your GoPro camera through BMW's app. iDrive has come a long way from the last decade. Everything about it is intuitive and other than some minor hiccups (you still need to make way too many clicks to switch between radio presets), it's an easy system to pick up and it's graphics are pretty to look at. As someone that has a very intuitive, feature packed and easy to use but UGLY looking display in the FX35, beauty is important.

Other than that the base stereo is surprisingly good sounding though quick to distort at volume. A Harmon Kardon system is only $900 and it's $900 well spent.

Overall

I'd own it and love it. For me personally it's a little impracticable having two kids and it being a coupe but if there was say, a really good looking version of the car available with 4 doors... that would make for a really tempting replacement to the 535d 15 months down the road. If only...

2015-bmw-428i-gran-coupe-02.jpg
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
PS pump failure on a new BMW?

It sounded like the pulley bearing to me. I looked it up to see if it was a common issue on that engine but didn't see any mention of it.

I like it better when you review stuff you completely dislike. Driven a SHO lately?

I'll be in Chicago during the national SHO convention in July. I wonder if I can get someone to let me take their's for a ride! :ford:

Mike, have you been keeping up with the aftermarket on the N26 motor? I believe that is the proper engine code for that motor. Obviously, the aftermarket has embraced both the single and twin turbo 6 cylinder motors. I know there are some canned tunes out there at the moment.

Yeah you can bring them up to 300 wheel horsepower with a tune and E85 which is nothing to sneeze at.

Just read your review and as usual it is good. I think you missed your calling bud.

Editor for the J Peterman Catalog?
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
[MENTION=396]Mike K[/MENTION], would you like to be our correspondent in CA? Just write reviews for cars and I'll share them to our FB page? Dead serious. Can call it "Mike K on Cars".

I can pay you in trail mix.

I eat trail mix so we're 50% of the way there but what would you need me to do that I'm not already doing? I don't really have a steady stream of cars coming my way other than BMW loaners. :rofl:
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
I have no time... Plus I hate to waste anyone's time if I'm genuinely not interested in a particular car. I like the new Maxima. I just have no interest in buying one by virtue of what it is (FWD CVT like every other Nissan right?).

I wouldn't mind a Charger Scatpack though, or even the one above that that's just below the Hellcat. I keep seeing them on the road and they look GOOD. You could rip the badges off of it and you'd never guess Chrysler.

I'll keep sharing what I drive though.
 
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