Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Virginia
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I've owned a BMW 3-series for 30+ years (4 cars in all including the Z3 and Z4, which are based on the 3-series chassis - three of that I still have). I've spent several thousands of miles behind the wheel 3 different E21's (the first BMW I ever drove circa 1978). A proper 3-series has a manual transmission; the G20 doesn't offer a manual trans in the US.
BMW has become nothing more than a purveyor of poser sports sedans (M-brand excluded) and over-powered gaudy SUVs, all built upon a sports sedan reputation earned in the 1970's and strengthened in the 1980's and somewhat maintained during the 1990's, until Lexus came upon the automotive marketplace. It then chased Lexus for the luxury crown, when Lexus was actually targeting Mercedes Benz. While it's perfectly fine for BMW to chase the luxury and SUV trends, it should still offer a well-balanced, non-M brand 3 series with a manual transmission.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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