BMW 3 Series 325i SE Saloon

The Lexus GS450h is a wolf in sheeps clothing. The performance is outstanding and the linear acceleration due to the hybrid motor feeding in power leaves all but the exotica behind when accelerating above 50mph. Despite car test comments (based on early models)the ride is excellent but you need to dial it into sports mode for good handling. Fuel consumption depends on driving style but 34 -35 mpg is achieved cruising along major roads and motorways - amazing for a 3.5 litre car. In busy towns the electric motor takes over the car returns a fuel comsumption which is outstanding for such a large car. It is general urban motoring that leads to lower mpg. The only drawback I see is a small boot and no drop down rear seats. Reliability is excellent but to be expected from Lexus, customer service is second to none.

you buy a bmw for reliability aswell as driving experience and the badge states quality.... well it is great to drive.. when its not in the garage! I have found out for myself and from almost every other bmw owner I know that they are notoriously unreliable & very expensive to repair! and add this to the fact it so very bland and a very low spec as standard in comparison to other saloons on the market I was glad to get rid!! I got lexus is250 instead. fully loaded! it has everything, luxurious drive, quality inside & out, far better looking and as reliable as the sun! dont get caught up in the bmw badge snobbery thing. people driving alot better cars for less money just laugh at you.

The BMW 3 Series 325i SE Saloon is an excellent car, probably the best I've owned and fairly easy to service on a DIY basis. Vehicle is very well built and very comfortable to drive.Handling is excellent provided good quality tyres are fitted all round.Changing a faulty thermostat is a pain but still a DIY project.Only disadvantage is that the rear seats do not fold down.Buy the best you can afford and keep itseviced and it will give a very high mileage.

I have owned my BMW 325i Sport for 9 months and loved it until I had to pay out for a re-con head to be fitted cause the thermostat didn't open and cooked and cracked the head. Apart from that I thought it was a wonderful car and very sporty. It looked the part and went like a rocket for a heavy car. Fuel was very bad though what with it being a 2.5 straight 6. I would buy one again.

Every car has its good and bad points but I have bought the BMW 3 Series 325i SE Saloon about 3 months ago and quite pleased with it in relation to the driving experience I have had for the past few months. Although it has few problems which I have identified after I bought the car and these are as follows:

- noisy fuel pump - being told by BMW that the fuel pump is working fine but just noisy.

- Recently noticed juddering when braking above 90mph - possibly needs wheelalignment/balancing ! BMW charge about £300+ for wheel alignment..where as other charge around £30.

- Cold startup: some noise comes from the engine belts - need to see BMW about this.

Apart from this the car is perfect. I used to drive 523i SE which was a lot bigger in size than my current car. Deep down from my heart I feel I made the right choise of buying the 325i SE as it came with sports suspension and sports seats which gives me sporty ride and feels too. It was a one owner car with only 41k on the clock when I bought it and drives like new and gives me the feel to drive it again and again. It is manual and I can tell you.. it just so nippy.. One other thing I have noticed regarding the fast pickup process when driving on the motorway specially on the 5th gear.. In round town, the petrol consumption is quite high but on the motorways it is very economical provided that you can drive below 70mph. Finally, if you want to enjoy the pleasure of driving then you have to accommodate the financial downside. BMW parts are not very expensive but their labour charge is the killer! Just got the MOT without any problmes.

If you can afford to drive 330i then go for it.. But watch out for the insurance side too!

I owned my BMW 3 Series 325i SE Saloon about 5 years ago and was really pleased with it. I don't generally like automatic's but this one was first rate. In economy (E) mode it was smooth and shifts were well delivered while the extra top gear made long runs a pleasure and not too hard on the pocket. Put it into Standard (S) and the changes were earlier with less need for kick down although I sometimes found it inclined to change up on bends. This was easily resolved by holding the gear back with a manual selection. It was actually posible to even the revs by keeping my foot on the throttle during a downward manual change, don't try that on a Jaguar!