First Public Automotive Rant

02 July, 2003 || 13:19

Ok, usually, I spare you guys the car rants, but this was so outrageous, that I had to tell you this one.

I drive a 1999 Limited Edition Nissan Sentra GXE. We bought it brand new, and it was $13,500. A friend has bought a 2003 BMW 325i. I don't know how much his was, but the base price (taken from BMW's website) is $27,800, more than twice that of my car's (though that was four years ago), and doesn't include things his car had, such as metallic paint, auto transmission, and leather, besides who knows what else. It also doesn't include the destination charge. I would like to first state that I am not in any way making statements about its handling or driving characteristics; I didn't have a chance to evaluate those, and they say that a BMW is best appreciated when behind the wheel.

Let's talk about that leather, shall we? It was HARD. Like plastic. Sorry, the leather in that car was crap. The level of quality was so low I would've expected it in something like a Saturn. I have seen Sentras with nicer leather than that, though mine is not one of them (cloth interior). For $30 grand, that is shameful. Better to get a nice cloth interior than a cheap leather one. However, the paint was gorgeous: metallic blue.

Now come the comparisons: when getting in the 325i, I bashed my knees on the underside of the steering column. Not the wheel itself, but where the column meets the dash, which does not move. I've done that in several cars, but I checked mine to compare: mine has more space.

My smaller car also has a larger trunk, and a larger opening to it (which I didn't think was possible, the rear deck is so short on my Sentra).

I tried the backseat as well, and it was quite comfortable, but my head touched the roof. It does in mine too. I'm not that tall; six feet even. The space in my backseat is comparable to that of the 325i, but that car is significantly larger than mine. Where's all the extra space going?

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Ow. Sounds painful.