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2015 ATS Coupe vs 2015 BMW 435i

8K views 44 replies 23 participants last post by  CorvetteRon 
#1 · (Edited)
In late 2014, I ordered a 2015 BMW 435i from the factory. It took 6 weeks for delivery. After driving it for two months I couldn't take it anymore and sold it. The ride was terrible. This was my third BMW, I owned two 5 series before the 4.

I test drove a 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe 3.6 premium and knew that was the car for me.

The dealer I use in Wichita Falls, TX sells Mercedes, BMW and Cadillac, so they were more than happy to take my order for the ATS. I
ordered one from the factory only to find out it was going to be 4 months before I could get the car so I told the dealer to find me
one that had already been built.

I have now had my ATS three months and love it. Have had zero problems with 2500 miles on the car.

So for all my fellow ATS owners who see BMW's and wonder if they made the right choice, you did.

Good luck.
 
#7 ·
To answer your question about the ride of the 435i. The roads in my city are less than ideal. The ride of the BMW was very harsh, you could feel every bump. The suspension was very stiff. Good for cornering but not for going over a rough road.

The ATS Premium has magnetic ride that smooths out the bumps. I am very pleased with the ride of the ATS.
 
#14 ·
Army pilot, thank you for posting your positive thread. I am also a very satisfied ATS owner that came from a German vehicle. I realize most of the folks posting here are upset at the faults of the ATS but for those who truly enjoy them it's nice to their positive stories. Kudos to you for posting this thread and welcome to the forum!
 
#15 ·
wow, my ATS Prem ride is already rough on not-so-smooth surface. The 435i is even rougher than that?!! Thats a whole lot of roughness!

Armypilot said:
To answer your question about the ride of the 435i. The roads in my city are less than ideal. The ride of the BMW was very harsh, you could feel every bump. The suspension was very stiff. Good for cornering but not for going over a rough road. The ATS Premium has magnetic ride that smooths out the bumps. I am very pleased with the ride of the ATS.
 
#21 ·
The missus and I took our ATS with MRC down to Morro Bay and back this weekend (three hours each way) over some awful roads and we were both impressed at how well it handled the lousy pavement. There was one particular stretch on 101 NB (two lanes) that had nearly all of the cars moving to the fast lane to avoid the concrete hell. We could certainly tell that the right lane was rough but the car remained poised and we had no problems driving in the lane. We've owned several BMWs, including the E46 M3, and the road noise and kidney punches from the higher performing ones were intolerable (we ended up selling the M3 even though we loved the car's performance - it was just too rough). We had a 645Ci (Bangle 6) and it was a great touring car, very comfortable, but the ATS's ride is better.
 
#23 ·
if you have mrc (which is available only on rwd premium), sport mode is significantly different than tour (much more rough). If you dont have mrc, barely noticable difference.


jeshaw81 said:
So help me out on magnetic ride control. Am I correct that switching to sport mode on an ATS Premium with magnetic ride does not seem like a difference at all? Is this noticeable only on ATSs with MRC?
 
#25 ·
Interesting comments. I'm a current BMW 3 series owner (E90 2006 330i Sport, 6MT I purchased new in 2005). I'll be honest, it's been a fantastic car...fantastic chassis and the normally aspirated inline 6 (the last year model) is just a phenomenal drivetrain/chassis combo.

I've always been a huge proponent of domestic automobiles, so I had originally expected to replace my 330i with an ATS, but in spite of its phenomenal chassis, I've ruled it out for several reasons: size (the back seat legroom is a joke), the instrument cluster (I know that seems minor, but to me it is not), and the drive train. The CTS V-Sport Premium honestly addresses two of these three issues, but its rear seat too is just a joke in size (at 6'-6", its a big deal to me). I love the CTS V-Sport, but considering that I plan to pass this car down to my oldest son eventually, it just didn't seem like the proper car. So now I'm leaning toward the F30 (335i M Sport).

I do hope the new V6 is a charmer for the ATS and addresses a lot of the power/refinement shortcomings. If I can hold out a bit longer on a purchase, I may wait and see how the 2016 reviews roll in...I'm especially glad to see Apple's Car Play being integrated into CUE.
 
#26 ·
Interesting comments. I'm a current BMW 3 series owner (E90 2006 330i Sport, 6MT I purchased new in 2005). I'll be honest, it's been a fantastic car...fantastic chassis and the normally aspirated inline 6 (the last year model) is just a phenomenal drivetrain/chassis combo.

I've always been a huge proponent of domestic automobiles, so I had originally expected to replace my 330i with an ATS, but in spite of its phenomenal chassis, I've ruled it out for several reasons: size (the back seat legroom is a joke), the instrument cluster (I know that seems minor, but to me it is not), and the drive train. The CTS V-Sport Premium honestly addresses two of these three issues, but its rear seat too is just a joke in size (at 6'-6", its a big deal to me). I love the CTS V-Sport, but considering that I plan to pass this car down to my oldest son eventually, it just didn't seem like the proper car. So now I'm leaning toward the F30 (335i M Sport).

I do hope the new V6 is a charmer for the ATS and addresses a lot of the power/refinement shortcomings. If I can hold out a bit longer on a purchase, I may wait and see how the 2016 reviews roll in...I'm especially glad to see Apple's Car Play being integrated into CUE.
The CTS rear leg room is smaller than the F30 BMW (335)? I would have thought the CTS was bigger.
 
#29 ·
and to add another point...we're talking Cadillacs here not entry level cars so most of us have either owned or had some experience with imports, so what i'm about to say next should be no secret to anybody....but handing your kid a used out of warranty BMW is a recipe for PAIN! when either something wears out or the kid breaks it...good luck with that....BMW's are no longer the 200,000 mile cars they were in the 80's......the poster would be way better off trading in the BMW(when he's done with it) for a new Kia soul it's the trade might just cover the whole cost depending on the model bought and with the 10/100 warranty your kid has a worry free car all the way through college
 
#35 ·
You're right about the dealerships and they have gotten better but have a long way to go in some locations. One just has to look at Harley Davidson Mercedes-Benz and BMW which all fairly recently informed dealers that if they didn't adhere to the new corporate look and the overall dealership experience that they would lose their franchises !! Hence, while The dealerships are independent GM absolutely can set the standard for what that Cadillac dealership should be or they will no longer be a Cadillac dealership. I also think a good idea would be for Cadillac to have a few key factory owned flagship dealerships and of course one of those being right in Manhattan. That should set the tone for all other Cadillac dealerships around the country
 
#36 ·
while The dealerships are independent GM absolutely can set the standard for what that Cadillac dealership should be or they will no longer be a Cadillac dealership.
I'm sure a big obstacle is the contracts already in place. If someone has a franchise good for 20 years, GM can't really force them to change unless the existing agreement gives GM that power. Would love to know what the existing agreements say and I mean all of them because I'm sure they varied over time and other factors.
 
#38 ·
Cadillac needs to step up their game, cadillac quality...



Model awards are spread among several corporations, with many receiving multiple awards.

General Motors (4): Chevrolet Equinox (tie); Chevrolet Malibu; Chevrolet Silverado LD; and Chevrolet Spark
Hyundai Motor Company (4): Hyundai Accent; Hyundai Tucson; Kia Sorento; and Kia Soul
Nissan Motor Company (4): Infiniti QX70; Infiniti QX80; Nissan Sentra; and Nissan Quest
Volkswagen AG (4): Audi Q3; Porsche 911; Porsche Boxster; and Porsche Macan
BMW (3): BMW 2 Series; BMW 4 Series; and BMW 5 Series
Toyota Motor Corporation (3): Lexus LS; Toyota Tacoma; and Toyota Sequoia
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (2): Chrysler 300 and Dodge Challenger
Ford Motor Company (2): Ford Escape (tie) and Ford Super Duty
Mazda (1): Mazda MX-5 Miata
- See more at: http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-initial-quality-study-iqs#sthash.PJl6Z2XQ.dpuf
 
#39 ·
this is interesting but flawed ...i quit paying a lot of attention to this because the flaw is in problems reported not actual problems...like i said this report lost it's shine for me because a few years ago ford hit the bottom of the list, not because there was anything wrong with the cars but because people were confused with my ford touch radio operation and kept bring them to service for this (triggering a report)....ford went back up the chart when they mandated dealers have a specialist show customers how to use the radio at every delivery...these weren't real issues (as in something broke or wasn't put together correctly) with the car so it was a usability problem not a quality problem

when people look to this list they want to know if they buy a certain car their mirrors won't fall off, not that they're pairing their bluetooth wrong.

unfortunately Cadillac didn't learn from ford and did the exact same thing with CUE hence their drop...if you go back a year or three (pre CUE) cadillac is near the top
 
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