GT Interior vs 330i

[Paddles]

My first time driving a BMW and because of all the hype that I've heard I'm super built up in my head about how mind blowing the interior must be in a BMW. So I picked up a 2025 330i with xDrive for a rental.

I guess I expected like a Rolls Royce expensive material everywhere kind of situation.

Cue the disappointment as I realize it's just a normal car in there.
The s550 401A Mustang interior is, in my humble opinion, much more preferable.
One exception being the powered recline seat. It's also worth noting that the screens in the BMW are surprisingly fast and the audio quality from the sound system is very good.

Is the 330i the cheapest BMW or something?
Or is it that I'm a plebian and don't even know how to recognize the finer materials?

Interior aside the driving experience was amazing. No top end power like the GT but that transmission is really nice compared to the A10.

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[Oakley]

the s550 interior is really nice, dude. its a really nice place to be and has actual character.
its the main reason why I don't see myself getting rid of this car ever.

 

[stannypack]

3 series is the cheapest I believe. My friend has a 5 series and the interior is pretty nice. Then again I have a base model with a calculator screen so who knows lol

 

[lo-fi]

The 3 series is BMW's version of a Toyota Camry. Who cares about it and no manual transmission available, wouldn't buy it to run errands to the grocery store.

With that said the M340i is the top of line (still no manual transmission, and excluding the M3) and is pretty darn fast (and nicely appointed).

 

[SBR70.3]

I was put in an X2 for a rental once. Ultimate Driving Machine my ass. Interior was disappointing. Infotainment system was overly complicated. Dash cluster looked cheap. It drove like absolute trash. The interior of my 2 Mustangs is far better.

 

[Crew4991]

I guess it depends on what you think is nice. I daily drive my 401A california special and love the interior but let's be honest though, all the mustangs regardless of trim level has lots of plastic. I am perfectly fine with this but some are not.
Nice or luxury interiors to me are quality of materials and design. I do not associate tech features or screens to be considered nice or luxury. Most manufacturers sadly have moved away from quality materials to tech as it is cheaper to build, easier to sell and appeals to most consumers anyway.
The 80s/90s Mercedes or BMW cars were built like vaults. You can still find really nice high quality interiors from BMW/Mercedes/Audi, but they will be the pricy upper trim levels and more likely the larger more expensive sedans/suvs models.

 

[Aonarch]

BMW went downhill 10 years ago or so.

 

[Paddles]

I guess it depends on what you think is nice. I daily drive my 401A california special and love the interior but let's be honest though, all the mustangs regardless of trim level has lots of plastic. I am perfectly fine with this but some are not.
Nice or luxury interiors to me are quality of materials and design. I do not associate tech features or screens to be considered nice or luxury. Most manufacturers sadly have moved away from quality materials to tech as it is cheaper to build, easier to sell and appeals to most consumers anyway.
The 80s/90s Mercedes or BMW cars were built like vaults. You can still find really nice high quality interiors from BMW/Mercedes/Audi, but they will be the pricy upper trim levels and more likely the larger more expensive sedans/suvs models.

BMW went downhill 10 years ago or so.

Awe I guess I missed the bus on this one.
It's the cheap plastic that I was surprised to find in the BMW. Granted the mustang uses more of it but I guess I expected to only find wood and soft touch and leather.

Thanks for your replies guys.

 

[DarthMalice]

Unpopular opinion but I never understood the hatred for the S550 interior and S650 is only a little bit nicer as it has a lot of the same surfaces or mildly retouched. S550 at the premium level had Sync 3/decent screen, leather seats, heated/cooled, laser cruise control (although I hate that feature, and I am glad the Mach 1 doesn't have it), auto high beams, and most other creature comforts in modern cars. I am not saying it is the best interior or competes with high end luxury-my wife's SUV fits that description, but that is not what this car is. I would take the toggles (they should have been subdued) over everything in a touchscreen all day. The S650 button row to me is more generic...and it is hard plastic.

 

[S550HPP]

All German cars have crappy interiors and tiny $flat seats until well north of 120K.

Even X8 has crappy interior.

They all used to make in UA with $300 mth slave labor so they compensated for cost increases by reducing quality.

I was in a 4 series convertible and was shocked how cheap it was.

 

[RazzaRossa]

I think my 2019 GT PP1's interior is very nice. My '89 GT was a boatload of plastic cheapness, maybe sporty for its time. Hands down, the 2019 is lightyears ahead. I don't get some comments that BMW doesn't use "cheap plastic", do you even understand grades of plastic.? I guarantee you that BMW does not use a "higher" grade of plastic, they may texture the part differently than Ford, that's a fucntion in the mold, not the resin used to mold the part. Texture has a huge affect on how a part feels to the touch. Also, whose using real wood? I thought that was banned for safety and recycling reasons. $hit, let's just go back to metal dasboards.

 

[SheepDog]

Test drive a Genesis G80 or GV80. I was shocked at how nice they are.

You have to spend North of 6 digits on the German brands to get the good stuff. Merc AMG, BMW M, Audi RS. The 330i isn't even as nice as a well-equipped Honda Accord or Mazda 3

 

[skier75]

Understand you were in a rental 330i.... much like a rental camry isn't as nice or high quality as the camry you would buy at the dealership. In BMW, as with many German brands, you "pay" extra for everything. But in nicer examples, the materials and build quality are much nicer than the GT Premium. When you own one you start noticing the "little things" - how the turn signal contours to your fingers and has just the right feel and rebound, how the buttons and radio knobs are weighted, the smoothness of the vents, the panel gaps are consistent and small and the long term wear is superb (or lack there of). That is what makes the quality. I like my S550 and have no complaints its a great car and interior is very nice; but doesn't compare to the top brands. I just got rid of my wifes 540i that had top end dakota leather, piping and real wood everywhere; -- but it came at a cost. We had it for 6 years and almost 90k miles (with kids), and the interior looked brand-new when we traded it - the leather wasn't scratched or creased (like my mustang after 20k miles) the plastics weren't scratched or marred, the carpet didn't have any wear spots, etc. Those types of quality are the "little things" which may not have stood out to you in a few days of driving. Again, I love my Mustang and have no complaints, but the build and material quality of a premium brand is simply much better than any Ford on the lot.

 

[mookieit]

My 2015 bone stock interior was subpar in my opinion, to say the least.

Then Ford decided to upgrade the interior on premium models and I installed everything, sync 3, leather seats, digital cluster, premium center console and door panels and I think it is fabulous.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

All German cars have crappy interiors and tiny $flat seats until well north of 120K.

Even X8 has crappy interior.

They all used to make in UA with $300 mth slave labor so they compensated for cost increases by reducing quality.

I was in a 4 series convertible and was shocked how cheap it was.

I don’t know about that. Test drove a 22 X5 and it had some of the nicest seats I’ve sat in. In terms of plastics etc I wasn’t that impressed but the seats were roomy, engine and trans combo was fantastic as well especially for an suv. I’d buy one for sure if I were in the market for an suv.

I think the mustang seats are some of the most comfortable I’ve sat in as well especially since I’m used to small Japanese sports cars. They just hug me in all the right spots

interior wise the Mustang is fine but a lot of the plastics is like they sourced em from an abandoned warehouse from 20 years ago. I don’t have the premium package tho so I can’t complain can I?

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