Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Euro, BMW
The beast within: BMW 335i sedan hits sixty in 4.8 seconds
Hot on the heels of our report that the new-for-'07 BMW 335i may in fact be producing slightly more than its advertised 300 hp, we get word from Car and Driver that the sedan version of the car will lay down a 0-60 time under 5 seconds. They managed a 4.8 to be exact on their way to a quarter in 13.5 seconds at 106 mph. In case you aren't paying close attention, that's what the current M3 does. And with 3,600 pounds to tote around, we suspect that the horsepower from that turbo six is probably closer to the M3's 333 than to 300.
C and D also mentions a lack of lag and terrific torque from the twin-turbo unit to go along with "smooth ride quality, right-now responses, laser-precise steering, powerful, [and] fade-free braking." Exactly what we've come to expect from the Ultimate Driving Machinists from Bavaria. And with a base price significantly lower than the M3 (and the 335i Coupe for that matter) at just under 40 grand, this has all the markings of a stealth steal. Good thing the new M3 is packing a V8 to keep it well ahead of its "lesser" siblings. We'll try to get our gloves on one of each soon.
Tip: Nice one, Tom
[Source: Car and Driver]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Tankstelle 8:38AM (9/26/2006)
And suddenly the IS and G35 crowd have nothing left to argue about. HA! This car is freakin awesome.
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Jeff 8:45AM (9/26/2006)
"And suddenly the IS and G35 crowd have nothing left to argue about. HA! This car is freakin awesome."
The Infiniti camp will argue price, but I have driven a G35 and a 330i (2005 model), and there is still no comparison.
The Lexus camp will argue quality, but we all know that J.D. Power and Consumer Reports don't have good quality rankings.
I can't wait to drive a 335i.
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Jeff 8:50AM (9/26/2006)
Also, the Infiniti maintenance is EXPENSIVE ($300 for 15k service, $600 for 30k service). BMW has FREE maintenance for 4yrs/50k miles. After that, the 15k and 30k services are about half the Infiniti prices.
These prices are from the Dallas area.
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Leo 9:03AM (9/26/2006)
yeap this will be an awesome car,
but what this article does not mention is that it was the 335i Coupe that hit 0-60 in 4.8 and not the sedan.
They also clocked the 2007 G35 Sedan 0-60 in 5.2 and said it did that with 250mi on the odometer. they said it was like asking a sprinter to run with his workclothes on and they mentioned that once proper break in they expect better times on the G35.
The G35 Coupe due next year will make sure that they trget the 335Ci with more power under the hood
either-way I can't wait to see comparos of the 335i sedan and G35 sedan head on.
Still if you only have $32k the G35 can not be beat PERIOD.
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Leo 9:04AM (9/26/2006)
Also, Car and Driver said that:
- the manual on the G35 makes any BMW transmision seem rubbery -
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Michael Karesh 9:11AM (9/26/2006)
Acceleration should be very similar between the coupe and the sedan. All the specs are very close if not identical.
I've driven the coupe. My conclusion: the 3 now has segment-leading power to go with its segment-leading handling. If it's like the old G35, though, the new one should provide the more direct feel you used to get from a BMW.
Links to common price comparisons and my review of the 335i coupe:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/3-Series.php
I have 2007 pricing for the coupe and sedan in the database. One thing to keep in mind is that xenons and a few other things are standard on the coupe, but not the sedan, so the price difference isn't terribly large once you adjust for feature differences.
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Ken Wu 9:12AM (9/26/2006)
I thought the early reports said that the turbo setup is "bi"-turbo setup and not a "twin" setup. Did they switch to a twin setup?
Ken
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Jason 9:28AM (9/26/2006)
OMFG. I still wouldn't drive a BMW but I continue to be amazed by them.
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Adam Singer 9:32AM (9/26/2006)
Re: Ken
Twin and Bi turbo are the same thing, it's just semantics.
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Peter L. 9:40AM (9/26/2006)
Car and Driver also tested the IS350 to 0-60 in 5.1s and the 1/4 mile in 13.7 seconds at 104 mph... and as you guys know, it has an automatic transmission. I don't see how the times of the BMW are that impressive, especially considering it has a manual transmission and 2 turbo's :S Other than straight line performance, the BMW is the better performance machine for sure, but for most people...
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plim 9:41AM (9/26/2006)
ken--
bi turbo and twin turbo are the same thing.
if you're talking about high range and low range turbos (one kicking in after another) as opposed to both turbos kicking in at the same time, then that's a different story. however, car companies have not labeled that kind of turbo layout as bi vs. twin. (case in point: audi b5 s4 and c5 2.7T are biturbo, but have two turbos that fire at the same time)
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rwdmtparkingonly 9:57AM (9/26/2006)
The G35 competes on price againt the detuned 3 liter 328i, so it's still in the game, especially since its wheelbase is 4 inches longer than the 3 and only a inch short of the 5.
Free maintenence is a strong BMW advantedge, but it doesn't include the alignments that BMW bends people over on. Also, the free maintence schedule isn't very complete if a person actually plans on keeping the car past warranty. I think the first free oil change comes at 7,000 miles, but this is only what I remember from the commercial, so feel free to correct me.
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g 9:58AM (9/26/2006)
Might want to check out the Bimmer forums, there have been a couple of people blowing these motors up in stock form.
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Ryan 10:08AM (9/26/2006)
BMWs don’t come cheap, and the 335i sedan is no exception. On the other hand, it starts at $39,395, which is $1900 cheaper than the less-practical coupe.
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supercars 10:33AM (9/26/2006)
Never you can't buy an cheap BMW.
But it's impressionat how a car with this weight it's so fast.
http://www.auto-power-girl.com/
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smiles_025_b@yahoo.com 10:35AM (9/26/2006)
I got to drive the coupe the other day. I wasn't expecting much. WOW!! This car was faster than I expected. 9 psi in the turbos.. hmmnn crank them to 12psi put dinan exhaust on and I bet this car would scream. This car is going to be a big sleeper. I came away from the test drive very impressed. refined power, awesome steering. Manual didn't feel rubbery at all. Very good car.
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MC 10:43AM (9/26/2006)
OMG!!! When I test drove the 335ci I said to the sales guy "I think this pulls as hard as an M3 - guess I was pretty correct. This car is intoxicating...
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Ben 10:46AM (9/26/2006)
For my forty grand, I would like leather.
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ruggels 10:47AM (9/26/2006)
"BMWs don’t come cheap, and the 335i sedan is no exception. On the other hand, it starts at $39,395, which is $1900 cheaper than the less-practical coupe."
This BMW is very cheap when you consider the performance of audi's RS4, which is very close to the 335 (a tad faster) at about 35,000$ more.
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bgdc 10:50AM (9/26/2006)
As Borat would say...Niiiiiiice.
When Dinan offers a chip for this car, figure at least 400 hp/400 tq and a warranty. That's insane. The freaking thing is only $2100 more than my 2006 e90 330i and it's packing almost 90 more hp and gobs more torque. Wawa wee wa.
European Delivery on one of these for February 2008 at the latest for me. Usually BMW will buyout a lease early so maybe October of 07. Figure same stuff as last time (leather, sport package, pdc, comfort access) and that's an Euro Delivery price of 37.8k.
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