Ok so I had done a very short test drive on Monday. Had the wife and kids out today and stopped at another dealer (we were on the other side of town). First off, this dealer was WAYYY CHILL on stuff! Basically was very friendly, tossed me the key, said "enjoy your test drive" and away we went! (The other place copied my license, obviously did some "research" on me because he asked about the last time I had been in a few years ago, and he let me drive about 1 mile around the block!). This second dealer honestly didn't seem to care if we took the car out for the whole afternoon (we didn't though)
So this was a longer drive, and I took us out to the highway given that we were alone and the dealer was chill.
New impressions: I still like the car. Not quite as rock-solid on the highway as our 325i, but good enough for me. Wind noise wasn't too bad, but it was definitely not a Lexus or Audi or BMW.
CVT JUDDER! Yes, I felt it (actually my wife caused it, twice!). First time she was pulling out, she must've been quite pansy on the accel pedal but the car really gave a noticeable shake shake shake. Not super violent but definitely noticeable to both of us. Not my favorite feeling! (since I had read about it, I told her to be a little more commanding with the throttle). When I drove, it wasn't a problem as I generally don't baby the throttle as much.....
SIDE MIRROR! My wife apparently hates the "graduated" optics of the drivers side mirror. It is funny how it is always the little stuff that then become points of contention in a decision like this. I actually agree with her (the stupid mirror isn't that helpful and the left side wide angle thingy sorta looks weird) although it isn't a big enough deal to knock the whole car out of contention. I can get used to little stuff. She PROBABLY can although I'm taking a risk that for the next 10 years I have to hear about this dumb mirror all the time. She still mentions our "small closet" in our otherwise decent-sized home and we've lived here 10 years!
Car drives well, and back seat is very nice sized. I still like it. Need to let it sink in with the wife a bit more and then see where we are......
So this was a longer drive, and I took us out to the highway given that we were alone and the dealer was chill.
New impressions: I still like the car. Not quite as rock-solid on the highway as our 325i, but good enough for me. Wind noise wasn't too bad, but it was definitely not a Lexus or Audi or BMW.
CVT JUDDER! Yes, I felt it (actually my wife caused it, twice!). First time she was pulling out, she must've been quite pansy on the accel pedal but the car really gave a noticeable shake shake shake. Not super violent but definitely noticeable to both of us. Not my favorite feeling! (since I had read about it, I told her to be a little more commanding with the throttle). When I drove, it wasn't a problem as I generally don't baby the throttle as much.....
SIDE MIRROR! My wife apparently hates the "graduated" optics of the drivers side mirror. It is funny how it is always the little stuff that then become points of contention in a decision like this. I actually agree with her (the stupid mirror isn't that helpful and the left side wide angle thingy sorta looks weird) although it isn't a big enough deal to knock the whole car out of contention. I can get used to little stuff. She PROBABLY can although I'm taking a risk that for the next 10 years I have to hear about this dumb mirror all the time. She still mentions our "small closet" in our otherwise decent-sized home and we've lived here 10 years!
Car drives well, and back seat is very nice sized. I still like it. Need to let it sink in with the wife a bit more and then see where we are......