[BMRu4ia]

What does the 35i twin turbo have ( aside from the engine) in standard equipment that the 28i 4 turbo doesn't have?

So far I found these:
Corona Eyes with adaptive light control
Wood Trim
Sunroof
Style 308 wheels
Chrome tip tail pipes?
Sporrts leather steering wheel
Blow-by-heater (not sure what this is)

Did I miss anything?

I really want the Corona eyes and Wood trim as my minimum priority options.
Looks like going to a base 35i will be cheaper than trying to get those options on the 28i. I think the only way to get the wood trim on the 28i is getting the Premium Package. I know I will be getting leather and other neat features, but i think just the wood trim on the base 35i with Leatherette seat will be fine. I'm sure the twin turbo will compensate for it

What do you guys think?

[Mark86]

I would at least get the premium package. It adds so much to the vehicle and IMO changes the interior. I drove a 35i loaner without premium and definitely missed a lot of the premium pkg features.

[jsublime]

Thats definitely the way it used to be but for 2013, based on the price sheet on bimmerfest it looks like you can get any of the trims in the 28i without ordering premium. If thats the case you only need to get xenons as an option which is certainly less expensive than moving up to the 35i. The N55 is a great engine so if you want the power go for it.

[BMRu4ia]

Originally Posted by jsublime

Thats definitely the way it used to be but for 2013, based on the price sheet it looks like you can get any of the trims in the 28i without ordering premium. If thats the case you only need to get xenons as an option which is certainly less expensive than moving up to the 35i. The N55 is a great engine so if you want the power go for it.

I tired the wood trim option, but it doesn't come as a stand alone option on the 2013 US Specs.
My wife and I love the wood trim and going to a base 35i (wood standard) seems to be cheaper than a 28i with premium( only package with wood trim) plus the xenon lights.

[BMRu4ia]

Originally Posted by Mark86

I would at least get the premium package. It adds so much to the vehicle and IMO changes the interior. I drove a 35i loaner without premium and definitely missed a lot of the premium pkg features.

hmm the leather in the premium does seem very nice... So you would pick the Premium(28i) over Power(35i)?

[April1]

I love wood trims but hate them if they look like pieces of plastics. That's why I ordered brushed aluminium trim for my X3.

[BMRu4ia]

Originally Posted by April1

I love wood trims but hate them if they look like pieces of plastics. That's why I ordered brushed aluminium trim for my X3.

Yes I saw the aluminum trim and it looked very nice. I'm just worried that it looks like it would dent easily and scratch more than the wood trim. I plan to use 3M clear film on the wood.

[n55x3]

Originally Posted by BMRu4ia

What does the 35i twin turbo have ( aside from the engine) in standard equipment that the 28i 4 turbo doesn't have?

FWIW, the N55 motor is not a twin turbo setup, meaning it does not have 2 turbos.

In our case, just having the N55 motor was reason enough to move into the 35i. It is a very nice motor and compliments the chassis nicely.

And yes, chrome exhaust dressers are standard on the 35i.

Also, we have had the aluminum trim for 20k miles and it still looks brand new. The stamped metal gives a nice feel to the interior and richens it up a bit in our opinion. The wood can be found in vehicles that can cost a fraction of the price but the REAL brushed aluminum is rarely found. In fact I can't remember the last time I was in a car that didn't have plasticy looking wood trim. It's pretty much standard these days.

Lastly, the steering wheel in the 35i is extremely nice. Wrap your hands around that one then do the same for the 28i and you'll instantly feel the difference.

[trackpilot]

The 28i loaner that i have right now has chrome exhaust tips. And this is a brand new base car with no options.
Also the only difference with the steering wheel from the 28 and the 35 is a aluminum trim piece at the bottom on the 35i steering wheel. Other than that they are the same.

[Beyu]

Originally Posted by trackpilot

Also the only difference with the steering wheel from the 28 and the 35 is a aluminum trim piece at the bottom on the 35i steering wheel. Other than that they are the same.

I believe the base 28i steering wheel is also slightly thinner than the 35i's. From the looks of the BMW site the 35i's steering wheel is the equivalent of adding SAP to a 28i. Also, paddle shifters are only available on the 35i and not 28i regardless if you add SAP or M-sport.

[n55x3]

Steering wheel in the 35i also has thumb bumps at the 2 and 10 o'clock positions (the 28i is simply round through out the entire inside diameter) and is slightly thicker, like Beyu mentioned. I've since driven the base model cars in both the F30 and F25 with the smaller wheel and it was very noticeable to me. Wheel didn't feel as substantial.



Also, the chrome exhaust finishers can be easily added. If you build a 2013 on BMWUSA site it does not show the chrome tips being included. It's pretty minor though really since they can easily be added after the fact.

[n55x3]

Here's one other little nugget of difference, the 35i comes with front SIDE air bags while the 28i does not.

[BMRu4ia]

Originally Posted by Beyu

I believe the base 28i steering wheel is also slightly thinner than the 35i's. From the looks of the BMW site the 35i's steering wheel is the equivalent of adding SAP to a 28i. Also, paddle shifters are only available on the 35i and not 28i regardless if you add SAP or M-sport.

Nice, I like the paddle shifters and the thicker steering wheel

[BMRu4ia]

Originally Posted by n55x3

Here's one other little nugget of difference, the 35i comes with front SIDE air bags while the 28i does not.

Thanks for the photo comparison Wow side airbags too, elbow height?

[BMRu4ia]

Opps no twin turbo on the 35i.... wishful thinking

[snowboardjoe]

Originally Posted by n55x3

Here's one other little nugget of difference, the 35i comes with front SIDE air bags while the 28i does not.

For the US, there is no difference in air bags between the 28i and 35i. Both of them have the same set of air bags. I'm pretty sure that's the same for any country. It does not make sense for BMW to vary the core safety features between models of the same line.

[n55x3]

Originally Posted by snowboardjoe

For the US, there is no difference in air bags between the 28i and 35i. Both of them have the same set of air bags. I'm pretty sure that's the same for any country. It does not make sense for BMW to vary the core safety features between models of the same line.

No need to believe me but this has been so since the early 2011 models. You can also see this documented on the BMWUSA site along with the various X3 brochures I have seen over the past year. This was actually a good selling point for me as I was able to use this and the larger brakes on the 35i to convince the wife the 35i was a safer SUV!! ;-)

[n55x3]

Originally Posted by BMRu4ia

Opps no twin turbo on the 35i.... wishful thinking

Pretty easy to get confused, especially when BMW refers to it as TwinPower or something like that. And the older N54 actually does have 2 physical turbo units. I think the N54 is only used in a couple vehicles though, maybe the 335is and the Z4 maybe? The early 335 models with the N54 are still highly sought after by the tuning crowd as you can get lots of power from the twin turbo setup. Also, BMW sandbagged quite a bit when publishing the N54 HP/Tq numbers. I think folks were often seeing 300 HP at the wheels!

[trackpilot]

Originally Posted by n55x3

No need to believe me but this has been so since the early 2011 models. You can also see this documented on the BMWUSA site along with the various X3 brochures I have seen over the past year. This was actually a good selling point for me as I was able to use this and the larger brakes on the 35i to convince the wife the 35i was a safer SUV!! ;-)

Are these side air bags on the door or on the side of the front seats?

[n55x3]

I'm pretty sure the side air bags are on the B pillar but imbedded in the front seats is possible. On my Tahoe, there is a plastic cover on the side of the front seats where the side air bag is and I don't recall seeing something similar on the X3. Very plausible that it is just hidden in the seat though too. Usually the bag locations are marked with a small air bag logo. I'll check our X3 when I go home for lunch assuming the wife isn't out and about in it.

[snowboardjoe]

Originally Posted by n55x3

No need to believe me but this has been so since the early 2011 models. You can also see this documented on the BMWUSA site along with the various X3 brochures I have seen over the past year. This was actually a good selling point for me as I was able to use this and the larger brakes on the 35i to convince the wife the 35i was a safer SUV!! ;-)

I'm not sure which web page displays that, but it's wrong/in error. A page from www.bmwusa.com when you build a 28i shows "Front-door-mounted side-impact airbags" as standard equipment. It shows the same for the 35i. I checked several other 3rd party web sites and they all indicate that the 28i has these as standard equipment. So, this is definitely an error on BMW's part (assuming that page came from them). My 2003 325xi had front/side impact airbags as standard equipment. Why they would not put them on ANY BMW model would just be ludicrous.

As for the bigger brakes, with bigger engines comes faster speeds. With faster speeds come beefier brakes. That's across all BMW models and and has been for many years and it makes sense. With the front side impact bags being an error in the documentation, to claim that a 35i is safer than a 28i is unfounded. I would definitely say the safety component between both cars is dead even.

[Beyu]

Aside from a thicker steering wheel and paddle shifters another minor difference between the two models are the transmissions. Both base cars have the same transmission but if you add SAP or M-Sport to a 35i it gets the "sport auto transmission" where as the 28i does not. They look slightly different from each other and at the base section where the shift lever connects to the console the 28i has plastic surrounding it and the 35i has leather.