Like It, But I'd Buy a 228i Coupe and Pocket the Difference - 2015 BMW M235i Convertible

Edmunds.com

Like It, But I'd Buy a 228i Coupe and Pocket the Difference - 2015 BMW M235i Convertible Long-Term Road Test

No doubt the 2015 BMW M235i is an awesome car, but you can have just as much fun for a lot less money with its baby brother, the 228i.

Read the full story here

edgy99

Last paragraph -- I think you mean the comparable 235i costs $46,395, right? Earlier in article you mention M235i costs over $56K. And you could have mentioned that Dinan or other aftermarket tuners could give the 228 lots more horsepower for not too much $$.

longtimelurker

"-Lighting Package: $900. I don't care about the adaptive lights, but the 228i, and all BMWs really, looks better with the xenons."

You care more about how it looks with those lights than about how the lights work? You must be pretty young.

bankerdanny

longtimelurker said:

"-Lighting Package: $900. I don't care about the adaptive lights, but the 228i, and all BMWs really, looks better with the xenons."

You care more about how it looks with those lights than about how the lights work? You must be pretty young.

I think we can safely assume that they work at least as well as the standard lights, and $900 for a primarily appearance based option is not unusual for a $40k vehicle.

longtimelurker

Adaptive lights, which typically pivot up to 15 degrees left and right with the steering wheel, and also self-level to compensate for varying loads, plus in this car use a superior lighting technology to boot...those are primarily an appearance-based option? I have one car with and one without and I can tell you that to me they are primarily a functionally-based option. In my car, they do look different from the base-level lights, but I would still spring for 'em even if they didn't.

As we go to all-LED headlights, the adaptive ones will in all probability look very similar if not identical to the base-level ones, and will have similar light output and pattern to the base ones but to my mind there will still be plenty of reason to opt for them.

roadburner

I'd consider a 228i M Sport if the steering rack wasn't injected with Novocain and a true LSD wasn't a $3,000 option- but at $41,000 with video-game steering feel and an open diff I'll pass...

darex

longtimelurker said:

"-Lighting Package: $900. I don't care about the adaptive lights, but the 228i, and all BMWs really, looks better with the xenons."

You care more about how it looks with those lights than about how the lights work? You must be pretty young.

I believe they're LED and not xenons, and you really ought to know the difference! LEDs are the best headlamps available, and worth every penny. Heck, they should, and I expect will, become standard/required equipment. Hopefully auto-headlamps will also become required equipment, because by my estimation, 10% of the population is too stupid to handle turning on their headlamps manually.

chol92594

I totally agree that the Xenon/LED halo combo makes the front of the car look much better. Plus, the performance difference between halogen headlights and HIDs are well worth the cost. That being said, I'll never understand why BMW doesn't make this standard on their cars now. Audi does this on many of their models (even the entry level Q3 and A3) and I think cars of this price range are just expected to have headlights that compare with what you'd normally find in the luxury segment.

s197gt

Thanks for the reminder about no LSD. Pass.

roadburner said:

I'd consider a 228i M Sport if the steering rack wasn't injected with Novocain and a true LSD wasn't a $3,000 option- but at $41,000 with video-game steering feel and an open diff I'll pass...