Being a driving enthusiast and considering our recent heat wave and L.A.'s perpetual gridlock, I tend to like to keep tabs on the engine's temperature. No, I don't look at the temp gauge all the time, but when you're stuck in traffic and you see heat waves rising off the pavement and other cars, you tend to wonder how things are going in the engine room.
No problem, most of today's cars have a temp gauge, right? And certainly the "ultimate driving machine" would, no? That would be a no, there is no temp gauge in our Sport-package-equipped 3 Series. I thought maybe there was a function in the trip computer that would give me a readout of the actual temp (like our long-term Pontiac Solstice), but nope. Checking the manual in wide-eyed disbelief, I discovered that a warning light will come on to indicate overheating. Yes, a so-called "idiot light" just like you'd see in a '79 Granada.
Why BMW chooses to have a virtually useless "instant MPG" gauge (whose needle moves wildly in direct but exaggerated correlation to your pressure on the throttle) instead of a temp gauge is beyond me. In fairness, modern cars don't seem to overheat regardless of climactic or driving conditions, but it's still nice to be able to confirm that everything's "cool" via a real gauge. That quibble aside, this is still one of my favorite cars...
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com
15,155 miles
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