[Xens]

Went to a friend's place and had my very first opportunity to observe an E90 330i ZSP in motion for at least 5 mins.

As I approached the light after getting off the freeway I spotted an Arctic (great color btw!) E90 330i with ZSP, so I sped up and made the turn before the light turned red and caught up to it. Luckily it was going into the same area I was going so I had the chance to carefully observe the shape of the car (the back and side profile) and I've got one thing to say:

IT LOOKED STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

The stock ZSP 255/35 rear tires looked really fat when seen in motion, making the car look wide on the bottom therefore giving off a race car like feeling. The taillights look subtle yet aggressive with the top curving down (yeah I know you can see that when the car is still but it JUST LOOKS DIFFERENT. ) The 3 passive tailight stripes look great with the non-LED brake lights coming on and off, I tried to imagine having LED brake lights with the 3 stripes and realized that it won't look as good, it may have been a cost-cutting measure on BMW's part, but maybe, JUST MAYBE, it's because of styling.

As the Arctic E90 slowed down and turned right into a fully lighted underground parking garage, I found something rushing up the back of my neck - the lines on the side of the E90 flows incredibly fluid, yet the shape is very aggressive, together with the 18" ZSP wheels it was just beautiful. I stopped my car at the entrance to the garage and stared at the Arctic E90 as it went far, made a left turn and disappeared.

As I started to drive away I realized that my mouth was wide open, apparently my jaws dropped without me even knowing while I was staring at the car. I shaked my head, and the only thing that came out of my mouth was: "Wow ........"

If I told this to anybody else they would have probably thought I was crazy or out of my mind, but I believe my feelings are perfectly acceptable here. Now I know many people still believe that the E46 is the better looking one while E90 is the better performing one with better features, but I have fully converted. The E90 is, truly, a masterpiece of artwork. Joji Nagashima made a very beautiful car when he designed the E39, and now he's done it again with the E90.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by Xens

IT LOOKED STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

the only thing that came out of my mouth was "Wow ........"

To quote 3 words from a very wise woman who once said:
"Oh, I know"

Our UK (and possibly SA) members will know who I am referring to.

[lux.sh]

great expression. I agree. I don't realize how good E90s look until
I see them on the road. Its quite weird, you don't really know what it looks
like on the road since you ARE driving it. But when you actually see one
on the road, it looks frigging beautiful.

Do you like the rear though? It grew on me, but still isn't the prettiest looking rear from bmw.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

Do you like the rear though? It grew on me, but still isn't the prettiest looking rear from bmw.

It grew on me as well but it could have still been better designed in the end. Not a big problem though.

[Xens]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

Do you like the rear though? It grew on me, but still isn't the prettiest looking rear from bmw.

I love the rear. The trunk line, lights, and the wide bottom work very well together. And the surprising thing is that I no longer want LED brake lights, if you knew me well you would have thought there's something wrong with me because I always loved LED brake lights. But I think having the 3 LED stripe taillights with conventional brake lights just work on the E90, the shape and position of the lights make them look very good. It would have been weird if the brake lights became LED, just doesn't flow well with the LEDs on top of them.

[lux.sh]

Agree with both of you. Not a huge problem, just thinking "It could've been better".

I agree with LED tail-lights also. Call me weird(along with xens i guess. ),
but i am a LED LOVER. I mean I love LEDs on cars. Especially the ones on
G35 coupe and e46s. However, after I saw taillight of the E90 on the road
at night, I noticed how it doesn't look like "typical" tailight, it has like a red stripe that lights up in the middle which looks real sleek and gives you that rich feel. I was like, "Whoa, it lights up much sexier than I thought."

[Xens]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

Agree with both of you. Not a huge problem, just thinking "It could've been better".

I agree with LED tail-lights also. Call me weird(along with xens i guess. ),
but i am a LED LOVER. I mean I love LEDs on cars. Especially the ones on
G35 coupe and e46s. However, after I saw taillight of the E90 on the road
at night, I noticed how it doesn't look like "typical" tailight, it has like a red stripe that lights up in the middle which looks real sleek and gives you that rich feel. I was like, "Whoa, it lights up much sexier than I thought."

Huh .......... I always thought the stripes were LEDs, but upon further inspection I realized they are not, it's the same type of lighting as angel eyes so whatever that is.

[DerekS]

I agree with everything that you have described about the E90 in motion. It really is a very fluid and dynamic design thanks to a very talented stylist. Considering that many people critique the Japanese for un-inspiring designs, it is ironic that the styling chief for this car and the earlier E39 sedan is a Japanese designer living in Germany.
For those who seem concerned about the new so-called competition from Lexus, there really is no comparison between the E90 design and the Lexus IS pretender. Take the logo off the Lexus IS grill: would you really be able to identify this car? I very much doubt it.
However, with the E90 there is one minor flaw that can be corrected; the rear turn signals flash red instead of yellow, like every other previous and existing BMW.
My Euro-tail lights are soon to be installed. How could BMW/NA screw-up on this important safety feature : yellow flashing rear turn signals, when seen in a field of red lights at night, are so much safer than red lights. The only difference between the Euro spec tail lights and the NA spec lights is an internal reflector that flashes yellow instead of red. All other parts of the rear lamps are the same. In fact, in daylight, the tail lamps are indistinguishable. If in doubt, look at the photos of many European, Australian and South African members' vehicles shown on this site.

[visor]

Originally Posted by Xens

Huh .......... I always thought the stripes were LEDs, but upon further inspection I realized they are not, it's the same type of lighting as angel eyes so whatever that is.

Both the angel eyes and the stripes make use of regular bulbs and fibreoptics.

And I concur, the thin red stripes at night make the rear look wider. It also looks unique, because as far as I know, there are no other cars out there using fibreoptics for both front and back lights.

[visor]

Oooh, oooh, DerekS!

How much are the Euro tail lights, and where did you get them?

[lux.sh]

Visor, angel does use regular bulb? can it be replaced?

[spitfire6000]

K dont get me wrong, i love the 3 series and all that but you do realize that the only reason u thought that 3 looked so good i because u have one yourself? Its just your subconscious trying to convince yourself that your car is amazingly good looking.

Dont you think that if u had a porsche you would be looking at other ones on the road and overexamining the styling just like you did with that arctic 3?

I dont really blame you...ive been thinking the same thoughts in my head with every car ive ever driven.

[visor]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

Visor, angel does use regular bulb? can it be replaced?

Don't remember where I read it, but I think I remember the bulbs are accessible from the engine compartment via the same access to the halogen high beam for the inner angel ring. And for the outer ring, via the wheel well flap.

While facing the headlights, you can see these bulbs (easier if you have them on) when you look down into the bottom/base of the angel rings. I would think they would have the same rating 21 watts as the turn signals and the brake lights.

Sooo, you're thinking of changing them to a different colour?
Blue? Yellow?

[Xens]

Originally Posted by spitfire6000

K dont get me wrong, i love the 3 series and all that but you do realize that the only reason u thought that 3 looked so good i because u have one yourself? Its just your subconscious trying to convince yourself that your car is amazingly good looking.

Dont you think that if u had a porsche you would be looking at other ones on the road and overexamining the styling just like you did with that arctic 3?

I dont really blame you...ive been thinking the same thoughts in my head with every car ive ever driven.

Disagreed. I had a Honda Accord before and while I was driving that I would constantly examine cars I like, and E46s were my favorite. I'd often "stalk" an M3 if I see it on the freeway (I'd merge behind him and keep following till he's gone or I need to get off) I never stalked any other Honda Accords (well unless it was really nicely modified) yet I always thought my car looked pretty good.

The reason I thought it looked so good is because I don't EVER get to see any E90 330i ZSP in motion, tonight was the first one that I actually had time to look at (I saw 2 other, one went past me in the opposite lane and the other one flew down the street while I was taking a break at work.) The car DOES look different when it's in motion.

I see where you are coming from but I have to disagree, that isn't the case with my post. Over at e46fanatics many people have already accepted the styling of the new 7 series and think it looks good, I personally still think it looks butt ugly, even after the face-lift. However I think the new 5 series looks fantastic despite much criticism, I thought it was ugly when I first saw photos, but when I saw one in real life, I thought it looked beautiful. Same thing happened with Z4, ugly on photos, stunning in real life.

Again I know where you are coming from, but I don't believe I "over-examined" anything and it's not because I own such a car, before I ever had any sightings of E90 330i ZSP in real life I even had doubts on whether I made the right decision choosing E90 over E46, but seeing it makes all the difference.

I can see you don't feel the same way, but who knows? Some day you might. I also have enough self-esteem to not need to stroke my own ego and share it with the rest of the community over the Internet.

[spitfire6000]

Originally Posted by Xens

Disagreed. I had a Honda Accord before and while I was driving that I would constantly examine cars I like, and E46s were my favorite. I'd often "stalk" an M3 if I see it on the freeway (I'd merge behind him and keep following till he's gone or I need to get off) I never stalked any other Honda Accords (well unless it was really nicely modified) yet I always thought my car looked pretty good.

The reason I thought it looked so good is because I don't EVER get to see any E90 330i ZSP in motion, tonight was the first one that I actually had time to look at (I saw 2 other, one went past me in the opposite lane and the other one flew down the street while I was taking a break at work.) The car DOES look different when it's in motion.

I see where you are coming from but I have to disagree, that isn't the case with my post. Over at e46fanatics many people have already accepted the styling of the new 7 series and think it looks good, I personally still think it looks butt ugly, even after the face-lift. However I think the new 5 series looks fantastic despite much criticism, I thought it was ugly when I first saw photos, but when I saw one in real life, I thought it looked beautiful. Same thing happened with Z4, ugly on photos, stunning in real life.

Again I know where you are coming from, but I don't believe I "over-examined" anything and it's not because I own such a car, before I ever had any sightings of E90 330i ZSP in real life I even had doubts on whether I made the right decision choosing E90 over E46, but seeing it makes all the difference.

I can see you don't feel the same way, but who knows? Some day you might. I also have enough self-esteem to not need to stroke my own ego and share it with the rest of the community over the Internet.

Actually i 100% feel the same way. I know exactly what youre talking about. In fact, most cars over 30,000 will always look better in person than on photos. I didnt even think the 325 i ended up buying looked that good in photos...but when i actually went down to the dealership i was amazed by it.

[lux.sh]

Originally Posted by Xens

Disagreed. I had a Honda Accord before and while I was driving that I would constantly examine cars I like, and E46s were my favorite. I'd often "stalk" an M3 if I see it on the freeway (I'd merge behind him and keep following till he's gone or I need to get off) I never stalked any other Honda Accords (well unless it was really nicely modified) yet I always thought my car looked pretty good.

The reason I thought it looked so good is because I don't EVER get to see any E90 330i ZSP in motion, tonight was the first one that I actually had time to look at (I saw 2 other, one went past me in the opposite lane and the other one flew down the street while I was taking a break at work.) The car DOES look different when it's in motion.

WOW..... <--- here is the thread title.

I totally agree and thats 101% exactly what I was thinking.
I also had 02 accord v6. I loved that car, and had lots of pride and joy.
I used to stalk on M3s all the times, and LOVED e46s, whenever I saw one, I never kept my eyes off of them. Yet, I never did that with other accords on the road. I would notice it, and say "hmm. nice looking accord. OH CRAP! LOOK AT THAT BMW!"

So far, I only saw one 330i with ZSP but that was parked. Never saw any 330i with ZSP and im dying to see one. Im about to let my girl drive it, with me standing outside to see how it looks.

[longtran]

too much typing.....blah blah.....e90 try to shorten it. i would read more.....

[Xens]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

WOW..... <--- here is the thread title.

I totally agree and thats 101% exactly what I was thinking.
I also had 02 accord v6. I loved that car, and had lots of pride and joy.
I used to stalk on M3s all the times, and LOVED e46s, whenever I saw one, I never kept my eyes off of them. Yet, I never did that with other accords on the road. I would notice it, and say "hmm. nice looking accord. OH CRAP! LOOK AT THAT BMW!"

So far, I only saw one 330i with ZSP but that was parked. Never saw any 330i with ZSP and im dying to see one. Im about to let my girl drive it, with me standing outside to see how it looks.

Drive her MINI and follow her around, I'm telling you gotta see it in different situations to fully appreciate it, having her drive it down the street is NOT ENOUGH.

[Squawks]

Have you ever seen a 6 series?

Tail-lights are striped. Tail-lights are also LED. Tail-lights are brighter. Tail-lights are better than the E90's regular 'ol cheap bulbs. Tail-lights have 10-fold greater horizontal and vertical range. Period.

[Xens]

Originally Posted by longtran

too much typing.....blah blah.....e90 try to shorten it. i would read more.....

E90 :rocks:

[Xens]

Originally Posted by Squawks

Have you ever seen a 6 series?

Tail-lights are striped. Tail-lights are also LED. Tail-lights are brighter. Tail-lights are better than the E90's regular 'ol cheap bulbs. Tail-lights have 10-fold greater horizontal and vertical range. Period.

Seen one ever since its debut but wasn't able to see the tail. The 6-series is a rare sight! I might drop by the dealership and see what you are talking about though.

EDIT:



It looks like the LEDs are both taillights and brake lights, so it's a different case, when at night the entire portion lights up only not to full brightness.

It'd be a different story if the E90's taillights used the same lighting pattern, but it doesn't. Try to imagine having LEDs in the place of cheap ol' bulb while having the 3 stripes up top (non-LED as I found out). I did, and it doesn't fit very well in my imagination.

[lux.sh]

Originally Posted by Xens

Drive her MINI and follow her around, I'm telling you gotta see it in different situations to fully appreciate it, having her drive it down the street is NOT ENOUGH.

whoa great idea.