Good day gents, I recently purchase this vehicle after having driven a 07' 335xi and prior to that an e36 M3 I raced for SCCA. As I age I find myself in more and more conservative vehicles... that being said I found myself purchasing the 328i after my 335xi decided to begin having serious mechanical issues after 150,000 miles. One concern I had was that in 07 when i purchased the e90 the sport package wasn't even available for the xdrive models, not till much later in 07 did they arrive. So, I received the e90 without a sport package and later found out even those models didn't include the sport suspension, so I didn't feel too bad. So, some weeks ago I get to the dealership and begin looking at the 2014 xdrive sport line and m-sport models. The sales advisor I worked with demonstrated he knew quite a lot about these vehicles. Turns out he was an enthusiast as well and a fair amount more knowledgeable than I. I asked him if the new xdrive sport line models came with a sport suspension and indicated that they in fact did. I made my choice based on this information and the price with available features and drove away in a new black sapphire 328i xdrive sport line, nearly every feature I wanted included. Fast forward several days later, I am reconnecting with the bmw community through various forums I had once been on. I find others arguing over the xdrive sport suspension, as in... whether it had one or not. I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the information given. Essentially that no xdrive model comes with the sport suspension unless you also purchase the dynamic handling package which then also gives the m-sport suspension. Now I had been driving the car back and forth to the office and finding the ride compliant, softer than I'm used to, but relatively firm around corners at speed. I visited the dealership today to pick up my tags and I ran into the sales advisor. I confronted him about the sport suspension and what I had learned on the net. He insisted that only for 2014+ models the xdrive sport line does come with a firmed up suspension (but not lower). He indicated the suspension was much firmer than the standard xdrive model and offered me a test drive. I do believe he may be right. I see a lot of arguments about this - some use the bmw order forms as proof the sport suspension does not come with xdrive models, some use various other sources. Typically these arguments are in regards to the 2012/13 models. This guy has no reason to lie to me at this point, we had established a rather blunt rapport, and the standard suspension did feel quite a bit softer. Perhaps for 2014 BMW has indeed changed their minds on the xdrive suspension, finally. Something to think about - go for a few test drives and make your own comparisons.
Congratulations on the new car! As long as you like and it performs to your liking who cares what they call it, enjoy.
Do you have access to your order sheet? Usually things do show up there; I'd be interested to know the answer, too.
I do not have access to the order sheet. Can dealerships provide you with that? Wasn't aware... I may ask. Thank you for the suggestion.
I just bought a 2014 335i Xdrive GT with the Sport Line trim. I also test drove a 328i Xdrive GT. There was a world of difference, IMHO. I wasn't crystal clear with the sales guy whether there was a specific difference in the suspension, but the feels much more responsive and tight in every direction.
