sunilseru

I am going to test drive the new 335i coupe as soon as I find a manual car. I searched a few BMW dealers here in So Cal and all they have are automatics. Wondering if any of you drove one of these. Please post your experiences here. Thanks.

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

please tell us it is bad and not worth the money

lol

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

As for the test drives, here is good review:

http://www.pistonheads.com/roadtests...?c=100&i=15428

There is also a good review on the evo website:

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc.../bmw_335i.html

I like the car allot but fear that a test drive will make the rest of my lease (3 years), impossible and since there are no finances on tap for a switch, I don't even want to bother until the last year of the lease.

If you are getting one, the red seats look awesome

Good luck.

sunilseru

All the reviews I read are very positive. Shiv @ vishnu performance already is doing his XEDE maps/piggyback ECU + exhaust on customer cars which is putting down an additional 50 hp and 65 ft-lbs at the wheels

Stock auto 335is are doing 0-60 in 4.8 - 4.9. With this chip + exhaust + stock tires, estimates are that 0-60 is in the 4.4 range.

http://0-60mag.com/online/?p=26

You are right, those red seats are sweet. My choice: Alpine white + red leather + aluminum trim.

Ike

I believe there are some cooling problems with the car, not sure if they're being addressed yet or not. Just an FYI...

M23RX8

Friend of mine test drove one and loved it but needs the sedan so hes waiting.

I too have heard of issues but I thought it was more serious like a headgasket. I vaguely remember seeing some posts about it on bimmerforums.com

Funny, the other day I saw what looked like high school age girls driving in one. How stupid are parents these days!

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

why not consider an CS M3? Less tunning friendly but should be a better drive.

Broker73

I test drove both the manual and the auto twice......loved them both...I am getting the Auto in the spring
No difference in power or accel between the two...and the power delivery was very nice !......no turbo lag, and instant throttle reponse.....BMW was very conservative in their 0-60 times etc....The Auto from a dead stop takes off very quickly !....low5's or 4.9 is believable....having max torque @ 1400rpm's is great, and it pulled hard all the way to redline.....the ride was nice as well as the interior

playdoh43

i drove it, i love it. perfect blend of luxury and performance. Id definetly get it over the E46 M3 because its a better daily driver, way better gas milage (M3 gets rx8 gas mileage!), and its just a better overall car, unless you want to track it all day. not worth 50k though, after you get a few options its pretty much 50k after taxes and tags. especially with the new M3 coming out.

sunilseru

One more positive review. This is serious competition to the E46 M3.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=117669

Japan8

Yeah... the reviews of it are great, but the current BMW pricing turns me off.

longfury

I agree, my jaw hit the floor when I saw the pricing on the 335i(coupe or sedan). The sedan is cheaper than the coupe though.

Feras

iTrader: (1)

my dad bought one and it arrived two weeks ago, i've taken the car out on a few occassions and even with break in restrictions its badass. The shifter is so silky smooth and the clutch operation is so fluid i kinda think BMW is pulling one on us and these cars are equipped with SMGs with a dummy clutch pedal lol. The car is fast, still not allowed to take it over 4500 rpm (1200mile break in, the car reminds ya if you go over 5k rpm) but it pulls in every gear from practically any speed. The early torque is sick, give it a rev to 2000 rpm in first and it will light up the tires. An s2k tried to keep up and i lost him. It corners well and solidly, still havent pushed it to the limit though (not my car...i respect that lol). The technology is amazing , the idrive is actually quite useful (they added a return to menu button), the car obeys voice commands without having to learn your voice, the bluetooth is crystal clear on both sides...nothing like having a nomal conversation while driving (the radio quiets down automatically btw), the keyless fob entry and push button starting is very convenient. The car really has a lot of little things that would take way too long to describe and many i havent even found yet (again, not my car and i havent read the manual yet, but there are more hidden goodies so many more). So yeah this thing is a complete car and its beeutiful. Definitely worth the 50k price tag.

sorry chris bangle this thing is pure sex on wheels

Japan8

Great if you have $50k to blow on just a car. I'd think things like buying a house and upkeep/upgrades on the house are a better use of that much money.

*IF* I had that kind of money to blow on a car... it'd just assume to drop a little more and get a B7 RS4. Like everything about it better except for the worries about VAG reliability.

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

RS4 might be an even bigger “waste of money” in my humble opinion.
AWD = not a real drivers car (in the pure sense).
If you want AWD then EVO or STI give you more thrills for 1/3 of the price, granted Audi has the best interior in the business and nice understated looks that the other two don’t.
But it has a contradictory character, it is a heavy GT kind of car trying to compete with M3s (not the current M3 are featherweights, unfortunately).
Saw one at the track, and it looked really out of place, all the sophisticated machinery punished by all that weight, it lacked all poise and agility. (It did sound great though, was second only to the V8 Astons, in the exhaust note dept.)
If I would get on it would be as a winter car, for the times that the 911, M3 can’t be played with.

A 300hp proper driving bimmer (haven’t driven one, not going to, but the reviews all seem to agree on the driving character) for 46USD with decent options (sport package) seems to be a better proposition.

On the other hand I can’t swing either one right now so this just air talk.

Japan8

and 1/3 the luxury. Sorry that doesn't cut it for me. "Not a real drivers car"?! Don't like Ike hear you say that. I'm a RWD lover and I'd still pass for the RS4. I prefer the styling inside and out MUCH MUCH (x 20) than the e90. It has taken until now for me to think that the e90 styling might be alright, but I don't love it and I certainly still think the interior sucks.

The 335 isn't a track car and neither is the RS4... neither would I be looking for one to be a track car. That just isn't even part of the discussion. This about a daily driver.

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

The track example was illustrating the contradictory nature of the car, i.e.: It isn’t what Audi markets it to be: Hardcore driving car, possible track time implied.
Unless snow is a serious factor, I see no reason for this car being preferred to either a proper sport rwd sports saloon or a proper midsize family carrier a la A6 or 5 Series or even the E class.
I personally never understood the whole S4 / RS4 thing, no doubt they are fast and competent in various conditions but overall they are too heavy and not as rewarding to drive as the competition. (and that’s considering that the competition is still trying to get out the shadow of the last real M3 the E30)
BTW, it there were rumours that the next A4 will be RWD. If this is true then, they seem to be getting the message.
I comletely agree with the interior, Audi is best in class for any class. Merc has lost the plot and BMW is becoming cheaper by the minute.

playdoh43

is B7 rs4 the new one? if thats the case the starting MSRP is 66k... , thats 26k or more than 50% more than the 335... they arnt even the same class of cars, a decently optioned rs4 can easily go over 70k... thats some way out of the left field comparison for "drop a little more". even the new upcoming 415hp E92 M3 will start around 53k, thats still more than 10k lower. and probably will perform just as good if not better. if its so easy to drop a little more, you might as well say, drop a little more and get a ferrari enzo.

I have a feeling the M3 will be a better performer than the RS4, time will tell.

Feras

iTrader: (1)

having spent roughly 4 hours of the last week in a 335i i dont know what you guys are talking about in terms of the interior...its great, much better than the audi i've had wheel time in. supple leather great ergonomics useful interior extras...what exactly is the bmw lacking exactly...spell it out.

playdoh43

vs





dosnt look 20 times better to me, both looks pretty comparable in terms of material and ergonomics

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

Haven't seen the 335i, in general bmw has become very cheap, they have gone away from the driver oriented e36 cockpit, which is unfortunate, their materials reminded me of Korean cars. Rented the new 5 (525i fully loaded, when it just came out) for a month in Europe, was a real shocker going from the classic E39. This September had a 320d in Nice, same disappointing feeling.
Maybe the 335 being higher priced is better.

Feras

iTrader: (1)

if you're gonna compare 525s and 320d's compare them with comparable german sedans base A6s, A4s, Passats. europe has a lot more lower end bmw's because bmw has to compete as a common car as well as a performance car.

Japan8

The plastic used in the interior sucks. The interior design sucks. It's not even German conservative... it's just boring and now cheap looking with the lower grade of plastic being used (BMW aren't the only ones though... Mazda is another company guilty of it). The VW GTI and Audi A3 have nicer designed interiors than the 1 Series and 3 Series. I pass on the iDrive and unforunately you can't even get a 5 Series without it (whose styling is even less appealing than the e90 3 Series).

Options on the RS4? What options? There are hardly any. If you don't need the nav bells and whistles then you can still walk away with a B7 RS4 (the new edition) for the $66k starting. That's maybe $20k more than a 335i with some options. No it's not cheap, but if I can afford a 335i, then I would buy a RS4.

playdoh43

um... if you dont get the bells and whistles and nav for the 335 you can walk away with one well less than 50k too... if you get the same options, just the premium option (4,700)alone on the rs4 puts it over 70k...

Chris_Bangle

iTrader: (2)

mine (525i and 320d) were both fully loaded, and I am talking about the overall direction of the firm. I love bimmers but their interior quality has fallen off. Hopefully it is just a phase. Benz had it with the previous S class and got back on track with the new one, Porsche had it with the 996 and made up for it in the 997.