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2019+ BMW 3 AND 4-SERIES FORUMS (G2x Generation) General G20 Sedan / G22 Coupe / G26 Gran Coupe Discussions Is the bottom section of the door card made from hard plastic?

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      03-10-2019, 05:00 PM   #1
nick776
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Is the bottom section of the door card made from hard plastic?

I saw briefly in a review video that the reviewer mentioned that the bottom part of the interior doors below the armrests are now hard plastic. In the past, every single 3 series has always had soft Sensatec covered bottoms. Can anyone in the US verify if the doors are hard plastic on the bottom or are they upholstered with Sensatec, as has been the case in the past.

I certainly HOPE BMW has not cheeped-out and decided to put in ugly, hard plastic on the bottom of the doors. I may refuse my order if that is the case. That is inexcusable in a car that I'm paying ~54k for.
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      03-10-2019, 07:08 PM   #2
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Wasn't the bottom of the F30's doors hard plastic as well? I've never owned a F30, but I know that they've been criticized for having cheaper materials than the E90. Anyways I don't pay attention to the materials at the bottom of the doors so I wouldn't really know.
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      03-10-2019, 07:19 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joshuastein55 View Post
Wasn't the bottom of the F30's doors hard plastic as well? I've never owned a F30, but I know that they've been criticized for having cheaper materials than the E90. Anyways I don't pay attention to the materials at the bottom of the doors so I wouldn't really know.
No. The lower part of the doors has always had soft touch materials. I would be very surprised if this changed on the G20.
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      03-10-2019, 07:31 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nick776 View Post
I saw briefly in a review video that the reviewer mentioned that the bottom part of the interior doors below the armrests are now hard plastic. In the past, every single 3 series has always had soft Sensatec covered bottoms. Can anyone in the US verify if the doors are hard plastic on the bottom or are they upholstered with Sensatec, as has been the case in the past.

I certainly HOPE BMW has not cheeped-out and decided to put in ugly, hard plastic on the bottom of the doors. I may refuse my order if that is the case. That is inexcusable in a car that I'm paying ~54k for.
I can confirm its hard plastic indeed, harder than what I had on my E90.
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      03-10-2019, 07:43 PM   #5
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That’s sad to hear
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      03-10-2019, 07:59 PM   #6
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Can anyone confirm that a US spec car has the hard plastic. It is NOT an area you hardly see, it is comprised of most of the surface area of the door. Basically, the arm rest and above is leather and all below is hard plastic. It's not a minor issue, I can assure you. If it were a Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, etc. then it may be an acceptable material. However, not in a car that STARTS at 40k.

No 3-series in the past has EVER had the hard plastic doors. I am exceedingly disappointed in this.
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      03-10-2019, 09:29 PM   #7
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Theres not many G20 owners yet it seems, your best bet would be to sit in one at whatever dealer nearby has a G20. Another option would be to PM an owner of a G20 on here, there are 2 posts of owners on here I believe.
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      03-10-2019, 10:24 PM   #8
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i dont think BMW uses different door cards for Europe/US cars. Nevertheless the car is great and such a small detail should not represent a reason not to get the car. It drives great and cabin is very good insulated.
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      03-10-2019, 11:44 PM   #9
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Door Panel Trim: Soft Touch Plastic or Hard Plastic?

4:04 and 25:46 - Based on how reviewer touches the door panel trims below armrest, it seemed to be soft touch plastic instead of hard plastic?

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      03-10-2019, 11:52 PM   #10
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Just got mine, will have to check later but I will say I'm thoroughly impressed with the overall quality of the G20.
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      03-11-2019, 12:05 AM   #11
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So yea...it ain't the soft touch material but honestly it doesn't detract from the overall feeling of quality IMO. I've never had doors on a BMW close as solid as this car and all of the haptics and lighting are done really well.
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      03-11-2019, 01:10 AM   #12
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Is the center console at least soft touch now? IMO, if they made the lower part of the center console soft touch and the lower part of the door panels hard plastic, that'd be a worthwhile change. If they're both hard plastic, it's a bit disappointing.
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      03-11-2019, 01:19 AM   #13
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pretty sure it was all plastic in my F30 as well, I put all sorts of drinks and items in there over the years and I'm fairly certain I'd have noticed if it was soft touch


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MiFkMb4FnF...0_Sport_47.jpg

Looks plastic in this pic of a 2012
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      03-11-2019, 01:26 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hans007 View Post
pretty sure it was all plastic in my F30 as well, I put all sorts of drinks and items in there over the years and I'm fairly certain I'd have noticed if it was soft touch


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MiFkMb4FnF...0_Sport_47.jpg

Looks plastic in this pic of a 2012
I just went to check and I can confirm from my F30 that all four doors are soft plastic. The only hard plastic is the pocket liner which should be hard plastic. The bottom of the door panel is not the best soft touch plastic, but it's definitely soft touch plastic.
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      03-11-2019, 01:57 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel View Post
I just went to check and I can confirm from my F30 that all four doors are soft plastic. The only hard plastic is the pocket liner which should be hard plastic. The bottom of the door panel is not the best soft touch plastic, but it's definitely soft touch plastic.
ah so you mean the outer part. Ah that sucks that they cheaped out there, i'm betting it feels just as bad as the plastic under the center column on the sides. Sigh.
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      03-11-2019, 11:51 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hans007 View Post
ah so you mean the outer part. Ah that sucks that they cheaped out there, i'm betting it feels just as bad as the plastic under the center column on the sides. Sigh.

Just checked a G20 in my showroom. The lower door cards are a harder plastic but it's not offensively hard. Not squishy like the F30 lower door cards (the door pocket is also not carpet-lined like it is on F30)

The centre console sides are also hard plastic, but I think this is pretty standard for this class and was the same on F30. The places you DO actually touch are much nicer than F30 though and you can tell thought was put into this interior.
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      03-11-2019, 12:03 PM   #17
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I just checked an F30 and a G20 and they feel the same to me.
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      03-11-2019, 12:04 PM   #18
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I don't know about the plastic, but the G20 has an insanely comfortable cabin. Even if it's hard plastic at the bottom of the doors, I have a feeling that won't be enough to take away from the rest of it.
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      03-11-2019, 12:16 PM   #19
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I know it feels more solid than a 5 series G30.
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      03-11-2019, 01:43 PM   #20
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I can't tell the difference between the softer plastic up top unless I press into on the bottom plastic. There's no other perceptible difference.
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      03-11-2019, 04:44 PM   #21
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My right leg rests up against the center console a lot. They should at least make that part soft touch, especially for more spirited driving. One side benefit of this cheapening is that the plastic is probably lighter.

There is definitely a difference in appearance, though. Hard plastic shows scratches much more easily.
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      03-11-2019, 05:06 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayPichardo View Post
I just checked an F30 and a G20 and they feel the same to me.
There is a definite, perceptible difference between the soft touch material and hard plastic. The 2er uses hard plastic and you can tell by dragging your fingernails across it. If you can’t tell a difference between the material used in the F30 and the G20 that says to me they have used the soft touch material on the G20. The softness of the soft touch plastic is subtle, but when compared to the hard plastic in a 2er the difference is evident.
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