[AdiSinghV12]

Hey folks,

I'm planning for my next car. I'm 19 and I currently drive a Hyundai Verna Fluidic 1.6 Diesel which I got as a gift from mom. Not very impressed with the cars handling and planning for an upgrade soon. I've two options in front of me;

- 2011 BMW 320d E90 (8000kms done)
- 2011 Chevy Cruze (New)

I'd be using the car for going to the college mostly and my priorities are good looks, handling, pickup and fun to drive quotient. I kinda love both the cars equally (Yup I'd pick an E90 over a F30) so pretty confused.

Which one should I opt for?

[Nikhilb2008]

Both cars are good. Go with your heart. Maintaining a BMW could be expensive in the long run so you need to factor that in as well.

Since your main priority is handling and FTD, go with the Beemer. Will get you lot of attention at college as well!

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12

I'd be using the car for going to the college mostly and my priorities are good looks, handling, pickup and fun to drive quotient.

Keeping the cost part aside, the BMW 320D will trump the Chevy Cruze in all those aspects you mentioned - handling, looks, acceleration and fun to-drive factor. Its a no-brainer - go for the beemer. As Nikhil mentioned, the glam factor associated with the BMW is also way higher.

P.S - just out of curiosity, what is the 8000km-old BMW being priced at?

[mayankjha1806]

BMW although as good as new will be expensive to maintain, do check if if it has BMW secure along with it, on the other hand Cruze is good product and would be much easier on the pocket and its fun to drive as well (though not as much fun as BMW for sure).

It all depends on if you are in a position to foot the bill and maintain expensive BMW, if yes then that's the car to go otherwise Cruze isn't bad either, and its got the looks to impress.

[v&v]

Originally Posted by AdiSinghV12

Hey folks,

I'm planning for my next car. I'm 19 and I currently drive a Hyundai Verna Fluidic 1.6 Diesel which I got as a gift from mom. Not very impressed with the cars handling and planning for an upgrade soon. I've two options in front of me;

- 2011 BMW 320d E90 (8000kms done)
- 2011 Chevy Cruze (New)

Which one should I opt for?

If the BMW is clean, then 320 any time. Handling & FTD is much better compared to Chevy. Of-course the BMW brand is a bonus. I have driven both & was impressed by the handling of BMW. Chevy was a bit scary at high speeds and corners.

[AdiSinghV12]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Both cars are good. Go with your heart. Maintaining a BMW could be expensive in the long run so you need to factor that in as well.

Since your main priority is handling and FTD, go with the Beemer. Will get you lot of attention at college as well!

Heart always wanted a Cruze from the past one year but suddenly I got an option of a used 320d and it fell for that.

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Keeping the cost part aside, the BMW 320D will trump the Chevy Cruze in all those aspects you mentioned - handling, looks, acceleration and fun to-drive factor. Its a no-brainer - go for the beemer. As Nikhil mentioned, the glam factor associated with the BMW is also way higher.

P.S - just out of curiosity, what is the 8000km-old BMW being priced at?

Thanks KarthikK! The car belongs to a distant relative. So I'd probably get a good deal. Haven't discussed about the price yet as I was confused whether I actually wanted a 3er or Cruze. But now I'm almost certain that I'll go for the 320d so gotta talk about the price now. Will offer something around 17.5 as its a CE and the F30 is around the corner.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

BMW although as good as new will be expensive to maintain, do check if if it has BMW secure along with it, on the other hand Cruze is good product and would be much easier on the pocket and its fun to drive as well (though not as much fun as BMW for sure).

It all depends on if you are in a position to foot the bill and maintain expensive BMW, if yes then that's the car to go otherwise Cruze isn't bad either, and its got the looks to impress.

Maintenance bills'd go to mom

Originally Posted by v&v

If the BMW is clean, then 320 any time. Handling & FTD is much better compared to Chevy. Of-course the BMW brand is a bonus. I have driven both & was impressed by the handling of BMW. Chevy was a bit scary at high speeds and corners.

Yeah I agree. After reading the ownership threads of the 3er of my fellow BHPians I'm convinced that the car handles superbly. And yup its clean. The only aspect that I didn't like is that its a CE which has no iDrive :(

[GTO]

There is no comparison here, especially as the 320d has done only 8,000 kms. In my books, that's as good as new. German cars any ways age very well (aesthetically, atleast). The 320's reliability is better than the wretched C-Class and if the car has BMW Secure, nothing quite like it.

Well, lucky you! Be sure to stick to the guidelines in our Advice article and you should be all set.

Have fun, and do drive safe. With power comes responsibility. Focus on learning & understanding the car, rather than pushing the pedal to the metal all the time.

[issigonis]

>>>

Hobson's choice.

The only rider is to check the BMW by an authorised dealer for any issues.

That's it.

QED

Enjoy the hydraulic steering.

[shankar.balan]

Fantastic pair of choices for you! Since you dont appear to have a "budgetary" issue, just get after that Beemer. Forget the Cruze, as in comparison, its got absolutely nothing at all to recommend it! The Beemer will be a serious step up from that Verna you are using now whereas the Cruze will be less such!
The Beemer will be an attention grabber and a "ch**k" magnet so I guess thats another upside you can think of and enjoy - to pull no punches here, I know for sure that I would have loved something like that at your age!
Good luck and Enjoy!

[Speed.Demon]

Man you're one lucky guy!!

I go to college in a Waggie, yup the boxy thing in my avatar pic.
If FTD is a priority, go for the Beemer with your eyes closed!!

As GTO said, 8000kms is like brand new. If the car has got the BMW Secure thingy, then you won't have anything to worry about.

Cheers!!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

do check if if it has BMW secure along with it,

Originally Posted by GTO

if the car has BMW Secure, nothing quite like it.

Originally Posted by Speed.Demon

As GTO said, 8000kms is like brand new. If the car has got the BMW Secure thingy, then you won't have anything to worry about.

You guys are confusing Secure with BSI. Secure is just the insurance top up, while BSI is much more useful and is BMW Service Inclusive.

As for AdiSingh - The BMW wins it in every way, just that the rear seat is small and the ride a bit stiff. If you can live with that then go right ahead. Also you will have to worry more about parking this than you would with a Cruze, especially outside college. Which college are you in btw?

[Speed.Demon]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

You guys are confusing Secure with BSI. Secure is just the insurance top up, while BSI is much more useful and is BMW Service Inclusive.

Oh, my bad.

I don't think the rear seat is a problem for college use, unless he is planning to make a lot of road trips in the car.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Speed.Demon

Oh, my bad.

I don't think the rear seat is a problem for college use, unless he is planning to make a lot of road trips in the car.

Even if he is planning to make roadtrips, which friend of his would crib having to travel in a BMW?

[AdiSinghV12]

Originally Posted by GTO

There is no comparison here, especially as the 320d has done only 8,000 kms. In my books, that's as good as new. German cars any ways age very well (aesthetically, atleast). The 320's reliability is better than the wretched C-Class and if the car has BMW Secure, nothing quite like it.

Well, lucky you! Be sure to stick to the guidelines in our Advice article and you should be all set.

Have fun, and do drive safe. With power comes responsibility. Focus on learning & understanding the car, rather than pushing the pedal to the metal all the time.

If the 3er was a MT, I'd have gone for it hands down. But now I'm quite certain that I'll do that because even the tiptronic isn't bad at all and the 320d'd be great fun in the sports mode. And thanks for the advice, GTO

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>>

Hobson's choice.

The only rider is to check the BMW by an authorised dealer for any issues.

That's it.

QED

Enjoy the hydraulic steering.

Thanks! I'm sure the hydraulic'd be fun. Too bad that the upcoming F30 will have it replaced by an electronic steering. Though non petrol heads'd pretty much like it.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Fantastic pair of choices for you! Since you dont appear to have a "budgetary" issue, just get after that Beemer. Forget the Cruze, as in comparison, its got absolutely nothing at all to recommend it! The Beemer will be a serious step up from that Verna you are using now whereas the Cruze will be less such!
The Beemer will be an attention grabber and a "ch**k" magnet so I guess thats another upside you can think of and enjoy - to pull no punches here, I know for sure that I would have loved something like that at your age!
Good luck and Enjoy!

Haha thanks, Shankar.
The only thing that was pushing me towards the cruze was its MT gearbox and the sunroof. Though I'm almost certain now that I'll go for the 320d.

Originally Posted by Speed.Demon

Man you're one lucky guy!!

I go to college in a Waggie, yup the boxy thing in my avatar pic.
If FTD is a priority, go for the Beemer with your eyes closed!!

As GTO said, 8000kms is like brand new. If the car has got the BMW Secure thingy, then you won't have anything to worry about.

Cheers!!

I used to drive a Waggie a couple of years back. Nice exhaust note it has got IMO. I'm not sure the car has the BMW secure thingy or the BSI as akshay1234 said. Even if it doesn't, that'd be the first thing I'll ask my mom to pay for

Originally Posted by akshay1234

You guys are confusing Secure with BSI. Secure is just the insurance top up, while BSI is much more useful and is BMW Service Inclusive.

As for AdiSingh - The BMW wins it in every way, just that the rear seat is small and the ride a bit stiff. If you can live with that then go right ahead. Also you will have to worry more about parking this than you would with a Cruze, especially outside college. Which college are you in btw?

Thanks Akshay. The rear seat'd be rarely used. BTW, I did check your thread about your 3er and I must say the car looks great in that colour. Mind sharing the OTR price?

Originally Posted by Speed.Demon

Oh, my bad.

I don't think the rear seat is a problem for college use, unless he is planning to make a lot of road trips in the car.

I'm planning to make lots of road trips when I get the car. After all I have to utilize the potential of those 184 horses inside the bonnet. But usually the front 2 seats'd be occupied when I'm planning for such trips

[oxyzen]

Fun to drive... it is the Bimmer. They dont call it the ultimate driving machine for no reason. I haven't driven the bimmer but Cruze isn't something you can brag about regarding its handling prowess. It does have a fair bit of roll. It isnt agile. Although the handling is not bad, in that segments almost every car is better. Civic/Laura/Jetta/Kizashi.

BTW, i highly doubt if you can get the bimmer just at 17.5L. If yes, then there is no point looking at anything else.