[Alessis]

Hi all! The last time I had a 3 Series was back in 2005, a 330i. Since then, I've been driven SUVs. Last year I rented a Mini Cooper S and I really enjoyed the driving experience! No matter what they say, a SUV/crossover can never give you the driving experience of a sports sedan. I was going to buy an Audi Q5 SLine that have 235/55/19 tires but last friday I test drove a 2023 330i M Sports cars and I've never been that happy in decades! I decided to buy that car instead of the Q5 because the driving experience of the Q5 was a good one but nothing exciting or remarkable. The same happened when I test drove an X3, nothing special. BUT now I've been agonizing over the thought if I will regret the decision to buy the 330i because the dealer in my country only sell them with 255 35 19 tires. To have tires with a bigger profile I would need to switch to a 320i in which the driving didn't excite me at all.
My dilemma is: If a buy the Q5 (or any other similar crossover like X3 or GLC) I would be buying a nice car but if I buy the 330i I would be buying one of my dream cars BUT my experience could be RUINED if with those tires I would suffer because of fear of damaging the tires and/or wheels. I know that a hole is a hole and sometimes no matter how good the tire, if the hole is deep enough it can do serious damage and that would be the case either with the Q5 or the 330i. I'm talking about how delicate or fragile, under normal circumstances, the 330i tires would be. Normal circumstances would be road irregularities, minor road bumps, concrete and/or asphalt cracks fixes, shallow potholes and all other things that made my country's roads less than perfect and those get worse when raining. I drive little miles every day and always on the same roads but my biggest fear is having my dream "sports" sedan car been driving like a granny and ultra slow in constant fear of damaging my wheels and or tires.
The other fear is buying the Q5 and driving a car that is nice but knowing how much fun I would have had if I bought my dream 330i car.
I understand that because the 330i M Sport is the one with the blue caliper, I can change the wheels and buy 18" with tires with a little more profile, but don't know if such a little improvement over the profile would even make a difference.
I would love to hear your suggestions and experiences with low profile tires such as the 330i M Sport I'm considering. What should I do? Thank you very much!!

[Alessis]

Sadly, I think I've made my mind and will say no to the 330i and buy the "boring" Q5. Supposedly, crossover are more resistant to potholes than this 330i with it fragile tires. Why did I have to test drive the 330i!! Anyway, best regards,

P.S. My wife is telling me that it's worst to buy a car that I don't love (the Q5 / X3) instead of the one I feel passionate than to fear a supposed situation with a pothole. If I decide to go for the 330i I will buy the 18" wheels and tires to have them just in case. I understand that even though the 330i M Sports with the blue caliper comes with 19" wheels, one can fit 18" wheels without doing any harm to the car and thus going up on the profile from 35 to 45, right? At least there is an option...

[mwinemil]

Aftermarket wheels and tires of your choice seems like the right answer to me