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So recently I've driven a few examples of these in my quest for a replacement car. They seem to pop in quite a few threads recently so I thought you might be interested in my thoughts on each. All of these thoughts are based on the Coupe. I'm going to stick to the differences between them rather than the E92 itself.
BMW 335i M Sport
N54B30, 306bhp, 0-60 5.4 seconds
First up - the manual. Not as common as the automatic. The steering is excellent - it's on the stiff side of 'assisted' and requires noticebaly more effort to use than most other cars. This feels good - it's nice and weighty. There is plenty of feedback through the wheel, you always know exactly what's going on. It steers exactly as you'd expect from a BMW - being one of the few remaining cars in the range with conventional hydraulic power steering.
Performance - as you'd expect from a twin turbo 3 litre inline six developing 306bhp and 400nm of torque, the performance can only be described as absolutely excellent. Despite the twin turbo arrangement being designed to mask the fact the car is turbocharged and provide boost from right down in the bottom of the rev range, it doesn't take off literally from 1100rpm, but by the time you are hitting 2000rpm it's off. It pulls hard all the way to about 5-6k by which time the power begins to tail off. This is a genuinelly fast car and I found the performance thoroughly addictive. The engine note though was perhaps a bit more plain than I was expecting, which is a shame. You cannot, well, I cannot, tell the car is turbocharged really - there is no sudden surge in power as the turbos kick in, it happens gradually and very smoothly. The only hint that there might be something different, aside from the electrifying performance, is the fact the performance tails off a tad earlier than you'd expect. In some respects it is quite diesel-like in its power delivery, only without the tedious noise and vibrating cabin at idle.
The 335i is fitted with the signature dual exit exhuast pipes either side of the car. At idle they emit a throaty burble and at loud speeds they sound great. Loud enough to be sporting yet not loud enough to draw disapproving glances from passing pensioners.
Even the fuel economy is not particularly terrible - at about 70mph on the Motorway it's pulling high 30's to the gallon, though this wasn't a particularly scientific test, I'll agree.
I loved this car and thoroughly enjoyed driving it. Sadly it is quite rare in manual form and the one I drove was let down by a horribly dull grey coloured interior which spoiled the car, IMHO.
Auto
I also tried an auto 335i. This was an SE but drives no differently to the M Sport, as the SE has standard fit M Sport suspension. What I'm going to say next is going to be quite controversial and perhaps reinforce the boring image I seem to have on these forums.
Put your foot down in this car and the performance is relentless. It has a standard 6 speed torque convertor automatic and whilst it won't offer M-DCT levels of shift speed, it's pretty quick in sport mode. Put your foot down from between 0-20 and it absolutely flies - all you really do is hold onto the wheel with both hands as gearshift after gearshift are seamlessly executed by the beautifully smooth gearbox. As with all automatic E92's (Well, 6 pots) the car is also fitted with paddles on the wheel to let you change gear yourself if you wish. In sport mode, the car will only shift up if you hit limiter and only shift down if you drop below 1000rpm. So you can hold the gear of your choice should you wish.
The controversial bit. This car and gearbox combination left me feeling that this car was simply.. well... errr.. too fast. Once I'd gotten over the initial excitement of the way it simply gathered speed like nothing else I'd ever driven I began to find it - and this wont make any sense at all - rather dull and uninvolving. Everything happened so quickly I was left with nothing really to do but a) hang on and b) watch the speedo like a hawk to avoid being arrested, imprisoned or killed to death in a fiery crash. I'm sure some of you would love this level of performance but for me it was so quick it sort of spoiled the car.
With the manual there is that interaction with the acceleration process - you don't seemlessly blast from 0-sillyspeed with both hands on the wheel. The process of dipping the clutch, selecting another gear, releasing the clutch etc acts as a breif respite from the acceleration and prepares you for another round - as well as giving you the opporunity to realise quite how fast you are going.
So, sadly, the 335i auto I ended up finding frustrating and as a result of this, eventually rather dull. It was just.. to good. I felt a bit like a passenger.
BMW 330i M Sport
N53B30, 272bhp, 0-60 5.9 seconds
The unicorn amongst E92's - the 330i. Probably the rarest car in the range, especially in manual form, the 330i is on paper perhaps the most impressive. It ticks the eco-hippy boxes with 173g/km of CO2 putting it in the £180 tax band and nearly 39mpg on the combined cycle. But it also ticks the petrolheads boxes with 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and a 155mph electronically limited top speed.
So how did it feel on the road? The first point of note is the steering. The 335i and 335d are the only cars in the range to be fitted with traditional hydraulic power steering. The rest have electronic power steering - which is designed to reduce load on the engine and thus reduce fuel consumption - its part of a package of measures which, in theory, provide you with that excellent combined fuel consumption figures. Now, anyone who has driven, say, an original Z4 will be filled with fear and dread at the prospect of a BMW with electric power steering.
First thing to note is that unlike the Z4 there is no 'Sport' button to firm up the steering. But happily this is not required - the steering remains excellent and perfectly weighted despite being electronic and not hydraulic. There was plenty of feedback and, if I am honest, had I not already known I would never have suspected the car was fitted with electronic PAS instead of hydraulic PAS. So this is one worry which, for me at least, proved to be a complete non issue.
Next, performance. The first thing to note is that it doesn't quite have the flexiblity of the 335i. As you'd expect from an engine that develops only 30bhp less power but 80nm less torque, the power is higher up the rev range. However the good news is that this doesn't turn it into some sort of 6 cylinder VTEC powered car - as I hate that sort of thing. Nail it in 4th at 40mph and you won't be winning any races but select the right gear, put your foot down and the performance is strong - whilst not quite as strong as the 335i to be completely honest with you at 2 figure speeds (I am not at all interested in speeds above that) the performance really isn't a world away from that of the 335i. The engine is as flexible and aurally pleasing as a BMW Straight Six always has been - it certainly sounds a bit nicer than the N54 in the 335i - and it revs more eagerly, and the power builds gradually and lasts longer in the rev range. A fantastic engine and thoroughly great fun. As much fun to drive as the 335i - the 335i was fun because of the any gear urge, the 330i was fun because of the combination of revs and power.
I again tried an automatic - and this time it was a different story to the 335i. Because it doesn't quite have the power of the 335i it had to quite an extent alleviated the 'argh I sneezed on the throttle and now I am doing 155mph' problem with the 335i. You have a bit more time between gearshifts to satisfy yourself with whats going on, and the paddles work well.
BMW 330d M Sport
M57B30, 232bhp, 0-60 6.7 seconds
The thing with diesels these days is that because of all the torque, they are faster than petrol cars, and you definately can't tell they are diesels anymore. So with all this hype in mind I did feel it was rather foolish to overlook the 330d - if it was genuinelly as good as the legend suggests it certainly offers a compelling solution to the problem of rising fuel costs.
I've covered steering already - this car also had electric PAS - so we'll start the engine.
Hmmm. It's a diesel alright. The gearstick vibrates, and you can feel the vibration through the steering wheel at idle. Hopefully it gets better when it's warmed up. Slow speed driving again - it's a diesel. It isn't as silky smooth and pleasant to waft about town in. On the open road you can 'feel the torque' when you bury the throttle at, say, 2500rpm....
.... but it's also over by 4000rpm.
This car just couldn't excite me at all. It's hugely competent, it's economical, it isn't slow, but.. something was missing. I'm not entirely sure what is missing either. It's a sensible car, the sums add up but I got out of it and didn't have that magic feeling of thinking 'Wow, I want one of those'.
For me at least, it's no substitute for petrol engined cars. If you do 20k+ a year it makes great sense and there is no doubt that as far as diesel engined road cars go, this is probably one of the best. But up against two of the finest petrol engines BMW have made.... I'm afraid it just didn't do it for me.
Audi A5 3.0 TDI Quattro
231bhp, 0-60 5.9 seconds
Yes, thats right. An Audi. I realised I was probably being a bit foolish in pretty much going down an exclusively 3 Series path next without sampling the cars most credible rival. So - the Audi A5. The performance figures for the 3.0 TDI are astounding - it's almost a second quicker to 60 than the 330d despite having pretty much the same power. But as we've not discussed the A5 much I'll start with the interior.
A mix of good and bad in here - the overall design is quite nice and the fundamental parts of the interior are nicely made. But it's tainted by a plethoa of switchgear - honestly iDrive get s slating but it really tidies the interior up - and quite a suprising amount of rather suspect plastics. The armrest made an awful squeeking noise every time I used it. It generally didn't have that hewn-from-granite feel that you'd expect to find in an Audi based on reputation - or that I remember from older Audi's.
This particular car had Audi's MMI system - but it felt a bit clunky compared to iDrive and the screen was rather small as well compared to the wonderful widescreen BMW provide you with (And then ruin by splitting it pointlessly into two independant segmants, grr).
On the road it was refined and had slightly more 'big car' feel than the 3 Coupe - it felt less like a 3 Series and perhaps more like a 5.. err no, an A6. The steering unfortunately was largely lifeless and the car lacked a chunky leather wheel as per 3 Series Coupe. It was a 'Sport' model and not an S-Line but then I don't beleive the S-Line was available on the A5 until a bit later.
Performance wise I am not entirely sure where the figure of 5.9 seconds to 60 came from. This is the same figure as the 330i and the 330i definately felt like the faster car. The A5 isn't slow, but it's probably more 330d fast than 335d fast as the 0-60 figures would suggest. I suspect what has happened here is that Quattro and a particularly brutal launch make for nice brochure figures.
It's a nice car the A5 - but then thats what I always tend to find with Audi's. Nice cars, in the same way as, in the words of everyones best friend Clarkson, having tea with the local vicar is nice.
Oh, and the seats look cool as well.
Verdict? I personally think the 330i is the best car of the bunch. It's just such a talented all rounder - it's slower than the 335i but by less margin than it's more economical than the 335i. If that makes sense. It seems like the perfect do-anything-coupe without compromising significantly in any area. Of all the cars I enjoyed both it and the 335i equally, so given that the 330i is cheaper (And therefore affords a newer car for your budget), the 330i pretty much wins by default. In a world of £1.50 a litre fuel, the 330i remains relevant.
Of course the problems begin when you are ridiculously fussy - what I've learnt through driving these cars is that, really, there still isn't any subsitute for me for the good old manual box. Sadly most people who ordered these cars disagree, so the long hunt for a manual looks on the cards. As a result, I reckon it will probably be more down to spec first, engine last. This has also told me that, currently, there isn't an awful lot around in the sensible-money bracket - and I think spending £24k, £26k, £28k+ on a 3 Series is really just too much money for this sort of car - so I think I'll be waiting a bit longer unless something completely brilliant pops up for good money.
So there we go - hopefully thats of use to those of you, like foofighter, who are considering something like this.
BMW 335i M Sport
N54B30, 306bhp, 0-60 5.4 seconds
First up - the manual. Not as common as the automatic. The steering is excellent - it's on the stiff side of 'assisted' and requires noticebaly more effort to use than most other cars. This feels good - it's nice and weighty. There is plenty of feedback through the wheel, you always know exactly what's going on. It steers exactly as you'd expect from a BMW - being one of the few remaining cars in the range with conventional hydraulic power steering.
Performance - as you'd expect from a twin turbo 3 litre inline six developing 306bhp and 400nm of torque, the performance can only be described as absolutely excellent. Despite the twin turbo arrangement being designed to mask the fact the car is turbocharged and provide boost from right down in the bottom of the rev range, it doesn't take off literally from 1100rpm, but by the time you are hitting 2000rpm it's off. It pulls hard all the way to about 5-6k by which time the power begins to tail off. This is a genuinelly fast car and I found the performance thoroughly addictive. The engine note though was perhaps a bit more plain than I was expecting, which is a shame. You cannot, well, I cannot, tell the car is turbocharged really - there is no sudden surge in power as the turbos kick in, it happens gradually and very smoothly. The only hint that there might be something different, aside from the electrifying performance, is the fact the performance tails off a tad earlier than you'd expect. In some respects it is quite diesel-like in its power delivery, only without the tedious noise and vibrating cabin at idle.
The 335i is fitted with the signature dual exit exhuast pipes either side of the car. At idle they emit a throaty burble and at loud speeds they sound great. Loud enough to be sporting yet not loud enough to draw disapproving glances from passing pensioners.
Even the fuel economy is not particularly terrible - at about 70mph on the Motorway it's pulling high 30's to the gallon, though this wasn't a particularly scientific test, I'll agree.
I loved this car and thoroughly enjoyed driving it. Sadly it is quite rare in manual form and the one I drove was let down by a horribly dull grey coloured interior which spoiled the car, IMHO.
Auto
I also tried an auto 335i. This was an SE but drives no differently to the M Sport, as the SE has standard fit M Sport suspension. What I'm going to say next is going to be quite controversial and perhaps reinforce the boring image I seem to have on these forums.
Put your foot down in this car and the performance is relentless. It has a standard 6 speed torque convertor automatic and whilst it won't offer M-DCT levels of shift speed, it's pretty quick in sport mode. Put your foot down from between 0-20 and it absolutely flies - all you really do is hold onto the wheel with both hands as gearshift after gearshift are seamlessly executed by the beautifully smooth gearbox. As with all automatic E92's (Well, 6 pots) the car is also fitted with paddles on the wheel to let you change gear yourself if you wish. In sport mode, the car will only shift up if you hit limiter and only shift down if you drop below 1000rpm. So you can hold the gear of your choice should you wish.
The controversial bit. This car and gearbox combination left me feeling that this car was simply.. well... errr.. too fast. Once I'd gotten over the initial excitement of the way it simply gathered speed like nothing else I'd ever driven I began to find it - and this wont make any sense at all - rather dull and uninvolving. Everything happened so quickly I was left with nothing really to do but a) hang on and b) watch the speedo like a hawk to avoid being arrested, imprisoned or killed to death in a fiery crash. I'm sure some of you would love this level of performance but for me it was so quick it sort of spoiled the car.
With the manual there is that interaction with the acceleration process - you don't seemlessly blast from 0-sillyspeed with both hands on the wheel. The process of dipping the clutch, selecting another gear, releasing the clutch etc acts as a breif respite from the acceleration and prepares you for another round - as well as giving you the opporunity to realise quite how fast you are going.
So, sadly, the 335i auto I ended up finding frustrating and as a result of this, eventually rather dull. It was just.. to good. I felt a bit like a passenger.
BMW 330i M Sport
N53B30, 272bhp, 0-60 5.9 seconds
The unicorn amongst E92's - the 330i. Probably the rarest car in the range, especially in manual form, the 330i is on paper perhaps the most impressive. It ticks the eco-hippy boxes with 173g/km of CO2 putting it in the £180 tax band and nearly 39mpg on the combined cycle. But it also ticks the petrolheads boxes with 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and a 155mph electronically limited top speed.
So how did it feel on the road? The first point of note is the steering. The 335i and 335d are the only cars in the range to be fitted with traditional hydraulic power steering. The rest have electronic power steering - which is designed to reduce load on the engine and thus reduce fuel consumption - its part of a package of measures which, in theory, provide you with that excellent combined fuel consumption figures. Now, anyone who has driven, say, an original Z4 will be filled with fear and dread at the prospect of a BMW with electric power steering.
First thing to note is that unlike the Z4 there is no 'Sport' button to firm up the steering. But happily this is not required - the steering remains excellent and perfectly weighted despite being electronic and not hydraulic. There was plenty of feedback and, if I am honest, had I not already known I would never have suspected the car was fitted with electronic PAS instead of hydraulic PAS. So this is one worry which, for me at least, proved to be a complete non issue.
Next, performance. The first thing to note is that it doesn't quite have the flexiblity of the 335i. As you'd expect from an engine that develops only 30bhp less power but 80nm less torque, the power is higher up the rev range. However the good news is that this doesn't turn it into some sort of 6 cylinder VTEC powered car - as I hate that sort of thing. Nail it in 4th at 40mph and you won't be winning any races but select the right gear, put your foot down and the performance is strong - whilst not quite as strong as the 335i to be completely honest with you at 2 figure speeds (I am not at all interested in speeds above that) the performance really isn't a world away from that of the 335i. The engine is as flexible and aurally pleasing as a BMW Straight Six always has been - it certainly sounds a bit nicer than the N54 in the 335i - and it revs more eagerly, and the power builds gradually and lasts longer in the rev range. A fantastic engine and thoroughly great fun. As much fun to drive as the 335i - the 335i was fun because of the any gear urge, the 330i was fun because of the combination of revs and power.
I again tried an automatic - and this time it was a different story to the 335i. Because it doesn't quite have the power of the 335i it had to quite an extent alleviated the 'argh I sneezed on the throttle and now I am doing 155mph' problem with the 335i. You have a bit more time between gearshifts to satisfy yourself with whats going on, and the paddles work well.
BMW 330d M Sport
M57B30, 232bhp, 0-60 6.7 seconds
The thing with diesels these days is that because of all the torque, they are faster than petrol cars, and you definately can't tell they are diesels anymore. So with all this hype in mind I did feel it was rather foolish to overlook the 330d - if it was genuinelly as good as the legend suggests it certainly offers a compelling solution to the problem of rising fuel costs.
I've covered steering already - this car also had electric PAS - so we'll start the engine.
Hmmm. It's a diesel alright. The gearstick vibrates, and you can feel the vibration through the steering wheel at idle. Hopefully it gets better when it's warmed up. Slow speed driving again - it's a diesel. It isn't as silky smooth and pleasant to waft about town in. On the open road you can 'feel the torque' when you bury the throttle at, say, 2500rpm....
.... but it's also over by 4000rpm.
This car just couldn't excite me at all. It's hugely competent, it's economical, it isn't slow, but.. something was missing. I'm not entirely sure what is missing either. It's a sensible car, the sums add up but I got out of it and didn't have that magic feeling of thinking 'Wow, I want one of those'.
For me at least, it's no substitute for petrol engined cars. If you do 20k+ a year it makes great sense and there is no doubt that as far as diesel engined road cars go, this is probably one of the best. But up against two of the finest petrol engines BMW have made.... I'm afraid it just didn't do it for me.
Audi A5 3.0 TDI Quattro
231bhp, 0-60 5.9 seconds
Yes, thats right. An Audi. I realised I was probably being a bit foolish in pretty much going down an exclusively 3 Series path next without sampling the cars most credible rival. So - the Audi A5. The performance figures for the 3.0 TDI are astounding - it's almost a second quicker to 60 than the 330d despite having pretty much the same power. But as we've not discussed the A5 much I'll start with the interior.
A mix of good and bad in here - the overall design is quite nice and the fundamental parts of the interior are nicely made. But it's tainted by a plethoa of switchgear - honestly iDrive get s slating but it really tidies the interior up - and quite a suprising amount of rather suspect plastics. The armrest made an awful squeeking noise every time I used it. It generally didn't have that hewn-from-granite feel that you'd expect to find in an Audi based on reputation - or that I remember from older Audi's.
This particular car had Audi's MMI system - but it felt a bit clunky compared to iDrive and the screen was rather small as well compared to the wonderful widescreen BMW provide you with (And then ruin by splitting it pointlessly into two independant segmants, grr).
On the road it was refined and had slightly more 'big car' feel than the 3 Coupe - it felt less like a 3 Series and perhaps more like a 5.. err no, an A6. The steering unfortunately was largely lifeless and the car lacked a chunky leather wheel as per 3 Series Coupe. It was a 'Sport' model and not an S-Line but then I don't beleive the S-Line was available on the A5 until a bit later.
Performance wise I am not entirely sure where the figure of 5.9 seconds to 60 came from. This is the same figure as the 330i and the 330i definately felt like the faster car. The A5 isn't slow, but it's probably more 330d fast than 335d fast as the 0-60 figures would suggest. I suspect what has happened here is that Quattro and a particularly brutal launch make for nice brochure figures.
It's a nice car the A5 - but then thats what I always tend to find with Audi's. Nice cars, in the same way as, in the words of everyones best friend Clarkson, having tea with the local vicar is nice.
Oh, and the seats look cool as well.
Verdict? I personally think the 330i is the best car of the bunch. It's just such a talented all rounder - it's slower than the 335i but by less margin than it's more economical than the 335i. If that makes sense. It seems like the perfect do-anything-coupe without compromising significantly in any area. Of all the cars I enjoyed both it and the 335i equally, so given that the 330i is cheaper (And therefore affords a newer car for your budget), the 330i pretty much wins by default. In a world of £1.50 a litre fuel, the 330i remains relevant.
Of course the problems begin when you are ridiculously fussy - what I've learnt through driving these cars is that, really, there still isn't any subsitute for me for the good old manual box. Sadly most people who ordered these cars disagree, so the long hunt for a manual looks on the cards. As a result, I reckon it will probably be more down to spec first, engine last. This has also told me that, currently, there isn't an awful lot around in the sensible-money bracket - and I think spending £24k, £26k, £28k+ on a 3 Series is really just too much money for this sort of car - so I think I'll be waiting a bit longer unless something completely brilliant pops up for good money.
So there we go - hopefully thats of use to those of you, like foofighter, who are considering something like this.
