BMW 335d Review
As some of you may know I was bitterly disappointed when I couldn’t get the BMW M3 due to silly insurance quotes. Looking at alternatives I instantly thought of two cars that would be suitable alternatives, 335i and 335d.
There is some sort of method behind my madness. I ruled out two seater sports cars because it would be just too small for me i.e. golf bag just wouldn’t fit in one. A bigger factor was that the Mrs was dead against me getting a Porsche. I didn’t want an Audi as I felt the Audi A4 was not class leading and the RS4 was just too old now especially with a new version around the corner. Mercedes was on the shortlist but I couldn’t afford a C63 AMG and their diesel engines were not as good as the BMW ones.
After looking at depreciation rates of various cars, economy figures, performance figures, cost of ownership, quality and overall look I was left with the BMW 335. The fact that I always like the BMW e90 shape because of the BTTC cars really helped my decision. Also Slick kept popping around in his 123d which I loved:
- Build quality
- Big brakes
- Strut braces
- Anti roll bars
- Good alloys and tyres
- Msport suspension and ride without sacrificing ride quality
- Bucket seats with adjustable bolsters
- Amazing engine
List just goes on. This translates to nearly all the M-sport BMW range and my perception of BMW really changed when researching their models. The fact that you got M-sport upgrades and BMW performance upgrades all available to you from official channels really is a step up and what I was looking for.
I took both 335 petrol and diesel variants out on a test drive albeit the coupe versions. I instantly ruled out the coupe shape as I felt the stance is wrong as the rear aches are just not there (M3’s have got it right however). Out on the road both were amazing cars. 335i sounded great and performance past 4k was astonishing. The 335d felt just as quick if not more responsive lower down and you could really feel those two turbos kicking in at various stages. The 335i uses a twinscroll setup so you didn’t get the same urgency so felt less of a drivers car as strange as it may sound. Of course when weighing up both cars both have their pro’s and cons. Ultimately I made my decision on what gave me the wow factor at the time, depreciation (diesels hold their money better) and insurance/tax costs. I do think the 335i would make me just as happy however I felt the 335i just reminded me of my failure to get an M3. The 335d was different enough to make me forget the M3.
Hunting a 335d down was another challenge. They didn’t have colour I wanted but had a car with all the equipment I wanted. I said to myself I would never buy a black car because I would never stop cleaning it and worrying about swirls. What did I do? Bought a black car!
Chassis
BMW have done an amazing job with the 3 series especially the M-Sport cars. The ride quality is a superb mix of refinement when driving around town yet when you’re on an open road or on twisties the whole car comes alive! I haven’t yet pushed the car to anywhere nears its limit but it’s so well balanced that I know what the car is feeling when taking corners. The steering is very precise and the car really does stiffen up when you challenge it. Ok so I might not be taking corners in the same way I did with the Leon but it feels just as stiff as the Leon and precise albeit a tad more roll because of the size of the car. It would be wrong to compare handling between the Leon and the 335 as they are in different classes. What I will say is out of the box it’s a very complete setup at the moment.
Performance
Well what can I say about performance? Well it’s got a 3ltr inline 6 mated with twin turbos which produces 428lb/ft of torque along with 290bhp (and the rest as BMW under quote their BHP figures so I am told). Performance is truly something to behold. In gear acceleration is gut wrenching and never seems to run out. Of the line the car will accelerate from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and I have no doubt that this lower with a nice launch. The twin turbo setup is amazing with a huge burst of acceleration from as little as 1750rpm and a second burst at around 3k the car never seems to run out of puff. Thankfully the gear box is superb in Auto and in Manual. It changes exactly when you want it to change and doesn’t grumble at high speed changing up or changing down.
At the moment the power is more than enough for me but I am sure in the future a remap is on the cards once I am used to the power. 360bhp and 520lbft of torque sounds nice. Oh and thankfully the brakes are huge so no need to upgrade to cope with the power.
Sound
Doesn’t sound like a diesel! The six cylinder engine sounds nuts when you put your foot down. Not sure what it sounds like from the outside as the engine note drowns out the sound from the exhaust.
Cabin
Interior quality is top notch, absolutely no complaints here. M-sport steering wheel is lovely as well as the bucket seats which have adjustable bolsters if you’re a bit on the thin side or the porky side. All the controls are where you want them apart from the cruise control stalk which is a little querky at first. Definitely prefer the VAG one.
Summary
Really happy with the car, just want to drive it all the time! Lots of things I plan to do with her in the coming months and years. Dash of carbon here, dash of carbon there and maybe new set of wheels for next summer.
