- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 29 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Terrific car with minor gripes"
Pros: Superb motor, good handling, great value.
Cons: Some rattles off the showroom floor, minor qualty issue
Summary: I traded a 2003 BMW 325i for this car and made the right decision. I bought the SE V6 with leather and think it is a superb value and car. The handling is not quite what the BMW had, but the motor is just superb. Great power, smoothness and refinement. Some reviews say the handling is not "sporty". I disagree completely. There is little body roll with the SE package, and the steering is fairly responsive. It's not a BMW but it didn't cost $40k either. I traded because I wanted more space and more reliability (lots of small problems with my BMW).
My minor gripes include a rattle the first day I bought it that ended up being the leather interior in the back seat making slight contact with the plastic package shelf. Dealer fixed it without issue. The second is a front bumper that has a manufacturing defect (gap on one side adjacent to the headlight). Not fixed yet, but in the works.
There are some materials that are subpar like the door handles and some interior bits, but the SE leather (unique to the SE) is nice and the dash is well laid out. I haven't decided whether I like the dash lighting yet (bluish green tint) but that's trivial. One issue is that the center console lights are bright which can be a little distracting at night.
Overall a superb improvement over the previous model and one that can surprise lots of "performance" cars at the stoplight. I love it.
