German Car Zone

First off, I forgot to bring my digi cam, so for all those wanting to see pics sorry to let you down. I'll probably go back next weekend and take some pics.

Before hand I had a facade of what the 335i would be like in character, thinking that it would be somewhat a jr. M3 if not something more. Reality would dictate an experience quite diffferent. For one, the 335i is not so much a sports car as it is a GT. This feeling is solidified by the 335i's transmission which is creamy smooth and moderately sporty in the sense that you can summon the gears as you please within a very small window of time, as where the M3 the shifts come mightly and abruptly. A peculiar observation of the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters was the discovery of how they're operated; Most conventional steering wheel mounted paddle shifters have one paddle on either side of the steering wheel that shifts either up or down. In this application paddle shifters are on either side of the steering wheel, but to shift down you can press either in on either side that will prompt the transmission to shift down, while pulling them towards you prompts an upshift. The fact that you can use paddle shift on either side of the steering wheel to do either function is quite GT (I was told this is so because the engineers wanted to make the paddle shifters accesible to the driver on either side for ease of use - could you get any more unfocused than that? Perfect for the GT driver). The 335i's torque shove is quite huge , but smooth thanks to the new six speed auto. The damping of the suspension is also a good deal softer than that of the M3 while still being quite stiff and sporty enough as you'd expect from BMW. The handling isn't any different from the E90 in all honesty, but with the more powerful 3.0 L bit turbo, the E92's character is still quite different. So it's fast, but not violently fast, but colorful fast. The kind of fast where you slide gently back into your seat as you floor the accelerator and the scenery begins to turn to a blur as the engine revs climb up the tachometer. Speaking of which, there is a smidge of turbo lag, not much, but it is preceptible. It is here that I come to my conclusion; The 335i is a nice compromise between sports car agility and GT comfort and smoothness. In the end though, it's not the most fun I've had in a car, and there's very litttle to keep me interested once I get out. So there's a bit of magic missing, a bit more wanting for something more. The 335i is an appetizer, light and not too heavy.

Please change the title to "BMW 335i:Beautiful but with Turbo lag":

http://www.germancarzone.com/showthread.php?t=6129 (S3 review: gorgeous with a turbo lag)

Thanks for that. You're doing a fine job with these reviews.

Bump!!!

This weekend I'll have plenty of time on my hands to go and snap pics as well as go for another spin in the 335i. After seeing a 335i ocupe driving on the streets, I have to say that the design is starting to grow on me a bit.

Starting to grow??? I thought you're in love with that car...

Looking at all the pics I was. Then I viewed it in person and I was a little sketch on some design elemtents, such as the "dimples" at the front of the car. But the more I see it the more cohesive it looks. Not in love, but it's most definately better than it was before.

Ok, I think we can change "not in love" to "in love". Unhunh, I saw a 328i blk/blk w/ ZSP and man...... this car was SICK. Like seeing a girl you'd never thought ever come into exsistence. Not only that, but I slipped in behind the door sait in it and thought to myself, "this is me", and it was. I've used this analogy before and will use it again, it felt like a tailor made suit but only this time I could feel the fabric fitting over my body (not literally but figuratively). SICK CAR!!!

My dad drove this car and said he didnt notice any turbo lag....

It's there, but it's not typical turbo lag, for both the aformentioned reason and also it's only a split second that you notice it under full load. I live w/ turbo lag everyday, I'd know this.

Im guessing its below 1500 RPM..... Ive only driven one turbo charged car and I definitely noticed it in that.