Driving enthusiasts have families also and sometimes need to make compromises. Although I didn’t kid myself and just bought the damn minivan when my kids were younger.

This matters if it has to put that 23 hp down through the stock injection molded resin Hot Wheels meats and not after market natural rubber.

i8?

You realize the Colts had a top 5 O-line last year by most metrics?

By the same metric that makes him think K-series cars with shitty rear beam suspensions are snappy performers.  

Bingo, a lot of these torque converter automatics kill HP.  Sort of like how there are a lot of 200-240hp cars that are faster than the 310 hp Camry.  

Perhaps they could change the packaging or use a less acute V configuration ?

It is a natural gas powered steam plant, but don’t let that get in the way of your narrative.  

The 300 hp Camry V6 with a driver assistance package starts at $39k. Base 328i costs $40k. Certainly a valid comparison and plenty cross shop well equipped Camry’s and Accords with lower end BMW’s.

Jalopnik comments love talking about the supposed 300 hp Camry. Find it interesting that so many cars with far less hp such as my 240 hp 3-series Wagon have faster 0-60 times. Is it low torque. Or just a bad power sapping transmission?  Power stats certainly aren’t everything.  

One of my coworkers is a huge Jalopnik/ car fan and loves turning his own wrench.    Due to life circumstances he currently drives his wife’s old base Altima as she got the new minivan for the three kids.    Life happens.  

In the early 80’s, Porsche 944’s could barely break 9 seconds.   

I did a lot of stop and go in my 2015 GTI and found Sport mode to work much better as it held gears and used engine braking a bit.  

I might mess up this.... but with a 6 speed dual clutch. There are actually two sets of parallel manual transmissions. One with 1-3-5 and one with 2-4-6. When in 2nd for instance the other side tries to guess which gear you need next and have it ready... when accelerating or slowing down this allows 1st or 3rd to…

Indeed, meaning that BMW’s Hybrid will cover 95% of the average Americans commute in EV mode.   I don’t need to read it again.  For the last two miles there is the gas engine.   

I have driven nothing but DSG’s for the past 7 years, with a TDI Sportwagon and then a GTI. I just traded the GTI for a 328i wagon with an 8 speed auto. Many people lump DCT’s in with traditional auto’s but they are very different. The GTI felt so much more direct with instant fast shifts. BMW is much smoother in…

Average American has a 16 mile commute. 70% of Americans live in a single family house. Maybe BMW nailed it.

Agree with most of your points, but I would expect car design to evolve if freed up from being formed around an ICE engine up front to be formed around a skate board electric chassis.... much the way a rear engined Porsche or cab over Semi has evolved to be a different shape based on their drivetrain configuration.…

Perhaps they are concerned that NOx is a known direct threat to human life/health, especially in urban environments. I loved my TDI, but admit that neither is great.

Pretty clear that my post was about more than a $20 pair of brake pads, but responding to the original posters assertion that the additional perceived complexity of a hybrid drivetrain contributes to higher ownership/maintenance costs, when the opposite is true for most.