Any former BMW M235i owners? Comparison vs. G70?

[wtgw888]

I'm curious how the cars compare in handling, ride, overall impression. I'm not talking specs, I'm asking about feel.

 

[canucklehead604]

i didn't own an M235i, but i test drove several (or M240i) before buying the G70. i'm assuming you are coming from a 6MT M235 since that's the only spec to consider and has garnered universal approval by auto testers, and what makes it special.

the M235/240 is a little rocket, with a sweet stick shift and clutch. being so compact makes it feel very connected and direct. i loved that. the G70 is a bit bigger, but still very sharp.

you'll get a bit more roll and dive with the G70, slightly less overall compliance. but also easier to live with day to day.

edit: the shifter and clutch in the G70 are fine, but not quite as satisfying as the M235 6MT. the main issue, however, is that you can't get a comparable engine to accompany the G70 6MT. you're stuck with the 2.0T, which is fine for most cases but does not have the same impact of the bigger engine.

 

[wtgw888]

I finally test drove both this week. The power in the G70 sport (manual with the 4 cylinder) is adequate, but nothing special. The M235i's power is a little more than needed, in other words, perfect! The I6 engine was definitely smoother than the G70's i4. IMHO, for this weight and sport sedan class, 300 hp is the best compromise between power, mpg, engine displacement. The M235i has roughly 350 hp (it was rated at about 320 but it's underrated), and the G70 felt like it had 250 hp.

I think the steering in the G70 might have actually been slightly better but the M235i felt smaller, despite having the same weight. It may have been the wheelbase. Ride in the G70 was smoother without feeling like it was a boat. Very impressed with both cars, esp since the G70 had 19" wheels which can make the ride harder.

The lack of leather in the G70 has been a sticking point for me - if they offered the quilted leather in the manual I would have already put money down. The interior of the 235i was basic but sufficient. The G70's interior was definitely better except for the buttons. The silver plastic center console buttons feel cheap. The backseat of the G70 is definitely tight, especially footroom, but usable for adults. The M235i's backseat is one notch smaller than the Audi A3 - I had to bend my neck slightly since my head was touching the rear roof. Both cars have low roofs - if I could build a custom config G70, it would have no sunroof, 6 cyl engine, manual, RWD, quilted leather interior.

 

[Van_Nik_75]

The power in the G70 sport is adequate, but nothing special.

Said by no G70 owner with the 3.3T engine.

 

[wtgw888]

Said by no G70 owner with the 3.3T engine.

Sorry, edited the post. Sport (with the 4 cylinder manual). I also test drove the 6 cyl and it's a beast. Definitely faster than the M235i. I could feel the weight difference though.

 

[NLJ]

Said by no G70 owner with the 3.3T engine.

He's referring to the 6MT.

 

[canucklehead604]

The lack of leather in the G70 has been a sticking point for me - if they offered the quilted leather in the manual I would have already put money down...if I could build a custom config G70, it would have no sunroof, 6 cyl engine, manual, RWD, quilted leather interior.

^ come up to Canada and buy one of our 6MT's! we get all the 3.3T Sport package performance and appearance goodies, including the quilted nappa leather. sunroof is standard, nothing can be done there. same with the no 3.3T option. looking to aftermarket to help with power output.

 

[Van_Nik_75]

Sorry, edited the post. Sport (with the 4 cylinder manual). I also test drove the 6 cyl and it's a beast. Definitely faster than the M235i. I could feel the weight difference though.

I knew right away that you were referring to the 2 litre engine as soon as you mentioned the manual transmission. It was just an amusing comment about the power which I deliberately took out of context to have some fun with it.

 

[Rmsanger]

It's a shame that that the comp is limited to the 2.0 as the 3.3T is really the correct comp from a power perspective. An M240 DCT vs. 3.3T would be a great comp article to read.

 

[NLJ]

Not sure about US but I bet most G70s sold in Canada will be the 2.0t just like most A4 and 3 series.
I for one didn't even consider the V6 even though I traded a 3.7l V6 for the Genesis.
No point having all that power and nowhere to use it.
Would like to tune the 2.0t for a little more power though just for fun!

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[KusaKusa]

Considering most dealer distributions are the 2.0T, it's probably the higher-selling version.

 

[wtgw888]

After thinking about it, I'm most likely going to go with a used M235i. I can find one 95% how I like it for far cheaper than the G70 sport-manual. They're coming off lease so most have only 1 year left on the warranty, but way more power. If the G70 decides to come here with a little more power (or the aftermarket bumps it up), the G70 comes with the nicer interior with a stick, it'll still be there for me, whereas the depreciation on the used M235i will let me sell it after a few years and not lose too much.

 

[Slip_Angle]

How reliable is the M235?

 

[wtgw888]

They're probably the most reliable BMWs.....which isn't saying a lot, but most are still low mileage enough to not run into the typical BMW issues yet.

I bought a M235i for $27k, 90% how I wanted it, with 30k miles. Auto trans examples can be found cheaper. My plan is to drive it for a few years, then see how the G70 specs are. By that point the BMW will show it's true reliability. My rationale is that I could get a 6-speed with the 6 cylinder, leather interior (albeit a low grade leather, similar to the midline G70 interior), and even though it has a ~350 hp engine, gets the same mpg as the ~250 hp G70 2.0. IMHO, the G70 needs to improve the mpg and lose 200 lbs.

On a side note, I learned the BMW x-drive cars and all Genesis AWD systems use the same supplier for the transfer cases. The BMW x-drive transfer cases has been shown to have a lot of issues. It's not only a weak design, but many were underfilled from the factory. The big issue is hat it's a "sealed" non-serviceable component. You literally have to remove the transfer case to drain and refill it. Dealers only have instructions to throw away the old transfer case instead of refilling it, which is financially unreasonable for the owner and value of the car by the time it needs an oil change. There's no such thing as lifetime fluid fills on anything, even if the service manual says so. You can read more about it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/aqflbu

 

[NLJ]

They're probably the most reliable BMWs.....which isn't saying a lot, but most are still low mileage enough to not run into the typical BMW issues yet.

I bought a M235i for $27k, 90% how I wanted it, with 30k miles. Auto trans examples can be found cheaper. My plan is to drive it for a few years, then see how the G70 specs are. My rationale is that I could get a 6-speed with the 6 cylinder, leather interior (albeit a low grade leather, similar to the midline G70 interior), and even though it has a ~350 hp engine, gets the same mpg as the ~250 hp G70 2.0. IMHO, the G70 needs to improve the mpg and lose 200 lbs.

They're being conservative on the MPG numbers because Kia/Hyundai have been sued in regards to it before.
But yes the weight needs to be around 3,500lbs.

 

[Toddasaurus]

They're probably the most reliable BMWs.....which isn't saying a lot, but most are still low mileage enough to not run into the typical BMW issues yet.

I bought a M235i for $27k, 90% how I wanted it, with 30k miles. Auto trans examples can be found cheaper. My plan is to drive it for a few years, then see how the G70 specs are. By that point the BMW will show it's true reliability. My rationale is that I could get a 6-speed with the 6 cylinder, leather interior (albeit a low grade leather, similar to the midline G70 interior), and even though it has a ~350 hp engine, gets the same mpg as the ~250 hp G70 2.0. IMHO, the G70 needs to improve the mpg and lose 200 lbs.

On a side note, I learned the BMW x-drive cars and all Genesis AWD systems use the same supplier for the transfer cases. The BMW x-drive transfer cases has been shown to have a lot of issues. It's not only a weak design, but many were underfilled from the factory. The big issue is hat it's a "sealed" non-serviceable component. You literally have to remove the transfer case to drain and refill it. Dealers only have instructions to throw away the old transfer case instead of refilling it, which is financially unreasonable for the owner and value of the car by the time it needs an oil change. There's no such thing as lifetime fluid fills on anything, even if the service manual says so. You can read more about it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/aqflbu

Magna International (a Canadian company) does supply the transfer cases for both BMW's X-Drive and Genesis HTRAC; though the transfer cases are not exactly the same. Similar, yes, but there are differences (ie different torque split, ability to decouple, even the size and shape of the case is significantly different). Both are a wet clutch style, except for in the case of BMW's newest rendition found in the newest X3 or X5 I believe, which uses a dry clutch and acts more like HTRAC.

I completely agree with you in the idea that a 'lifetime' fill is a bunch of nonsense. I'm hoping to get ahold of an FSM to see some more of the details about the transfer case, hopefully we can swap out fluid and service the clutch pack if needed.