The Solara's so much better than Beemers

[rohand]

Aight, so i know Beemers are really nice cars and I do like the new M3 and the new 5 but I sat in one of the 330s and one of the X5s last nite and the interior of the gen 2 solara's so much nicer. the 40k+ car came with leatherette. Not even real leather! So we don't have the propeller emblem, the german engineering; but we have comfort and from what i could tell...a hell of a better car.

last nite, i also got the opportunity to really test drive my car. u know...0-60, 60-0; the handling on a deserted road, and much more. i gotta say, the body roll is minimal and the brakes on the SE Sport are phenomenal. i'm loving this car more day by day. just thought i'd share

[TW85]

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to abuse the hell out of a brand spankin' new BMW 330i w/ Performance Package at the BMW Performance Center. Now granted, I have not put my car through the same suspension killing, rotor warping manuevers that I did with the BMW, but the ONLY things I prefer on the BMW are its heavier steering and thicker steering wheel.

The Solara's 3.3L V6 is definitely a stronger engine than the 235 HP/222 lb.-ft. torque (?) I6 in the BMW. I do not think the Solara's suspension is all that much softer than the BMWs and the brakes are comparable. Both are impressive cars and each has more desirable traits but I still prefer the Solara.

BTW, the BMWs had just been delivered to the performance center and had a whopping 47 miles on the odometer when I got in. 30 miles later the car had more wear and tear than my car at almost 7,000 miles. Tip: NEVER buy a BMW used at the performance center.

[alan8888]

but i think the beemer engine 330ci is a lot better than ours....the accelaration is a lot better....and is sound better as well.....
people also get good acclaration in low rpm as well...

[rohand]

but i think the beemer engine 330ci is a lot better than ours....the accelaration is a lot better....and is sound better as well.....
people also get good acclaration in low rpm as well...

I don't know man...my Solara whines like it has a turbo in it. Now I don't know if that's normal or not, but it sounds very very nice.

[bkp_duke]

but i think the beemer engine 330ci is a lot better than ours....the accelaration is a lot better....and is sound better as well.....
people also get good acclaration in low rpm as well...

NA, the 330 is really not that impressive from a performance standpoint. co-worker just got one and it's not that much faster than my Gen 1. Gen2 is def. a much faster and nicer car

M3, well now, that's a completely different cat

[TW85]

The acceleration of the 330i is not all that impressive. It is a not a "throw your body into the seat" acceleration like the Solara has. The off-the-line acceleration in the 330i sucks and having to rev the engine to 5-7,000 RPM to get the same power the Solara has at 4-4,500 is irritating.

[angelo]

but i think the beemer engine 330ci is a lot better than ours....the accelaration is a lot better....and is sound better as well.....
people also get good acclaration in low rpm as well...

NA, the 330 is really not that impressive from a performance standpoint. co-worker just got one and it's not that much faster than my Gen 1. Gen2 is def. a much faster and nicer car

M3, well now, that's a completely different cat

<hr><hr>
You compare Solara with a much smaller car - 3-series.
BMW's 3.0 I6 is a very nice engine and 330ci is a nice coupe, but I think in the new 5-series (more comparable to Solara in size) it is a bit slugish even with a manual.
Anyway I'll get Solara's V6 3.3l over the BMW's I6 3.0l any day...

[hari-bhari]

Aight, so i know Beemers are really nice cars and I do like the new M3 and the new 5 but I sat in one of the 330s and one of the X5s last nite and the interior of the gen 2 solara's so much nicer. the 40k+ car came with leatherette. Not even real leather! So we don't have the propeller emblem, the german engineering; but we have comfort and from what i could tell...a hell of a better car.

last nite, i also got the opportunity to really test drive my car. u know...0-60, 60-0; the handling on a deserted road, and much more. i gotta say, the body roll is minimal and the brakes on the SE Sport are phenomenal. i'm loving this car more day by day. just thought i'd share

hey guys, not to be a jackass or anything, but the 330 would eat both a gen1 and gen2 up and spit us out. the thing with bmw, is that although the hp ratings are low, those things pull hard. my friends 330ci automatic does 0-60 in just over 6 seconds, and ive watched her tachometer during regular driving, and the low end torque is very impressive. she hardly has to take it above 2500 rpm to get it moving pretty fast. on top of that, the exhaust note is sweeeeeeet. but i do love my solara, and the one thing i hate about the 330 is that it is very small inside. but handling and performance wise, its very nice. im pretty sure a stock gen1 v6-stick or the gen2 v6-automatic, would get creamed in a race...but thats just my opinion. the 323s and 328s are slow though.

[actuary]

I own a 2002 330 sedan and just purchased an 04 Solara Convetible. Let me tell you right now that the bmw smokes Solara in nearly every category but one, interior styling. Although, I too prefer the steering wheel of the bmw over the solaras.

Comparing the handling of the two is a joke. Although, I'll hold off until I get the rear sway bar and TRD springs put in th Solara.

I find the accelleration and power to be much better in the bmw. All that said thought there was a reason I didn't buy another one and that is price. You do pay a lot more to get those extra features in the bmw and it really is a matter of individual taste as to whether it is worth it to you or not.

[TW85]

hey guys, not to be a jackass or anything, but the 330 would eat both a gen1 and gen2 up and spit us out. the thing with bmw, is that although the hp ratings are low, those things pull hard. my friends 330ci automatic does 0-60 in just over 6 seconds, and ive watched her tachometer during regular driving, and the low end torque is very impressive. she hardly has to take it above 2500 rpm to get it moving pretty fast. on top of that, the exhaust note is sweeeeeeet. but i do love my solara, and the one thing i hate about the 330 is that it is very small inside. but handling and performance wise, its very nice. im pretty sure a stock gen1 v6-stick or the gen2 v6-automatic, would get creamed in a race...but thats just my opinion. the 323s and 328s are slow though.

I disagree. I had to push the pedal to the floor for the BMW to accelerate to the proper speed in time (~250' to 45 mph), with the engine reaching almost 7,000 RPM. No doubt it is a quick car but its pulling power is not equivalent to the Solaras, even if it is a lighter car. In the autocross and the paper clip race there is no doubt in my mind which car would have better times (Solara 3.3L V6). Torque really shines, not to mention the 3.3L V6 also appears to be underrated...

The 330i is a great little car but its engine is not as strong as you would think. Also, the 330i weighs just 154 pounds less than the Solara SLE V6.

[redkysolarase]

My stepdad has a 330ci and it's pretty fast. It can't beat an Evo or anything like that but it's pretty damn quick. One day the two of us were going to the boat dock and were just fooling around with me following him and he left me in the dust. He has that supsequencial (spelling??) in it too and that's sweet. I wish I had that in my Gen. 1 Solara.

[hari-bhari]

I disagree. I had to push the pedal to the floor for the BMW to accelerate to the proper speed in time (~250' to 45 mph), with the engine reaching almost 7,000 RPM. No doubt it is a quick car but its pulling power is not equivalent to the Solaras, even if it is a lighter car. In the autocross and the paper clip race there is no doubt in my mind which car would have better times (Solara 3.3L V6). Torque really shines, not to mention the 3.3L V6 also appears to be underrated...

The 330i is a great little car but its engine is not as strong as you would think. Also, the 330i weighs just 154 pounds less than the Solara SLE V6.

i dont know what was wrong with the 330 you drove, but its definetely much faster than that. go look at car and driver or search google and check its times.

[TW85]

We had 11 identical 330is running that day. All were the same performance wise.

[bkp_duke]

I just looked up the 0-60 times on both cars via a couple google searches.

These are for the '04 model of each
BMW manual 0-60: 6.2-6.4 (depending on website)
BMW auto 0-60: 7.0
Solara V6 (5spd auto) 0-60: 7.1

auto vs. auto it's a draw "according to the specs" and would come down to the driver

BMW is 165lbs lighter, so def. in the same weight class as the Solara

Funny thing is, the Gen1 MANUAL V6 solara is listed as 0-60 of 7.0 flat by a lot of the literature (8.0 for the auto). Curious.

[TW85]

Just looked at the 0-60 times for the 330i with and without the Performance Package. The numbers were for manual transmissions. What about the automatic?