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!--[if gte mso 10] mce:style! /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} -- I got to drive the BMW 335i Coupe this summer while I was in California. The car belongs to one of my really good friends, Moiz Mian, and he gave me an all-access pass to the car- thanks man! This review will be a bit different than my review of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe (do follow the link if you haven’t read it yet) because, simply put, my friend knew I was an idiot, and let me drive his car like one. On this drive I wasn’t held back by a salesperson and I could push the car to its limits.
Rear
Front
Part 1: Stop and go traffic
First reaction I had to the car was its heavy steering. I took it out of a parking lot and it felt as if I was driving a car without power steering. I’ve driven a few German cars and it seems that they all have a relatively heavy steering feel, but because this car is sitting on 18 inch rims with low profile tires, the turning radius also takes a hit. But the steering makes up points by being EXTREMELY responsive. It took a Japanese car driver like me a while to get used to how direct each degree of turn was.
The suspension on this car comes upgraded with 25% stiffer dampers, a stabilizer bar, and Bridgestone Potenza RE0150A performance run-flat W-rated tires wrapped on 18inch wheels. The sport suspension makes the ride undoubtedly stiff, but it’s not painful or the least bit intrusive like it is in most other sport-tuned suspensions. On normal city roads the car is smooth and despite the hard run flats, very quiet indeed. Even speed bumps aren’t an issue- the suspension has plenty of travel even with the stiffer damper setup.
But the party piece is its engine. It’s a 3.0L twin-turbo six with 300hp and 300lb-ft of torque, but peak torque is available from 1500 all the way to 6000 rpm. This makes overtaking a breeze in any gear and requires hardly any throttle push. Plus, you can make damn sure you’ll win if any kid tries to punk you out at a stop light. Throttle feel is soft and has sufficient pedal travel. The transmission shifts are smooth, and in manual mode the aggressiveness increases without affecting ride quality in any way.
Interior veiw. This car had the "BMW Professional" console instead of the iDrive system with Navigation.
Part 2: Freeway
I didn’t really like driving this car on the freeway. Reason being that there’s a speed limit, and it’s very hard to follow it with 300lb-ft of torque all ready to jump out at any time- literally. Pushing the throttle even an inch will release power not even Zues can match at such low revs. Before you know it, you’ve got your foot buried into the foot well and you’re doing 110 with no sign of slowing down. And even more evocative is the sound that comes out of the tailpipes when you get to the sweet 3000rpm mark.
At 3500 revs, the butterfly valve in the left side exhaust opens up creating a raunchy V8’ish sound which is no doubt orgasmic, but not as deep as the low rev tuned rumble. It is VERY close to the VQ35’s exhaust note. I’ll be putting up a video of my friend launching it- the sound is amazing.
Gauge cluster and steering mounted shift paddles. Push the left paddle forward to downshift. Pull the right to upshift.
Part 3: Mountain roads
Now this was where the 335i really flexed its muscles. The steering that felt heavy and cumbersome at sea level now proved its worth on the bendy mountain road. Every input translated itself into precise turns. Even the run-flats were filled with grip despite having 25,000 miles on them. No matter what speed I entered the bends with, there was no understeer. Corner exit was even smooth and even with the Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) off, I never once had snap oversteer (although I didn’t once try my luck at it!) The sport tuned suspension reduces all traces of body roll, and the sport seats adjusted to me and I didn’t flop around in them at all. The engine responded quickly to every throttle input, and at one point I think I even heard the wastegate call me a pussy for not driving it faster! I have one bone to pick though. I entered one left hand corner at around 50mph and I drove over a manhole cover, causing the car to slip abruptly to the right. Now it could be a number of things that could have caused it. Right off the bat, the car has run-flats which are hard, so maybe the tires didn’t have enough grip as they would have had with GFT’s. The tires also didn’t have too much tread on them to handle such a corner, but I doubt that because with the amount of speed I carried through the corners, the tires would have let go instead of giving relentless grip. Therefore the most plausible reason I could think of was the combination of a stiff chassis, dampers, stabilizer bars, and huge wheels that didn’t let the suspension travel very much in that corner. Anyway, the damage is done- I nearly wet myself, and we managed to spill French fries all over the back seat.
Adjustable sport seat.
Summary:
The 335i has transformed the 3 series from an entry-level BMW to a luxurious performance coupe. It manages to be at par with coupes in a higher league. At $46,000, you can’t get any better. The Audi A5 is in the same league as the 335, but it’s $15,000 more! That’s a lot of money to pay for something that’s just about the same. But even with its shortfalls, the 335i proves itself to be a very strong contender amongst luxury cars. It drives like no other car in its class and goes above and beyond the call of duty by being a “multi-purpose” coupe. It can be a daily run-around, and at the same time excel at the track- although no one said you should take it there. Those tires cost $250 each, and some owners say they don’t last more than 10,000 miles.
If nothing else, this car is a chick magnet! After my drive in the hills, I took the car down to a Walgreens. Needless to say, the ladies loved it- and this isn’t a yuppie remark. I had a gorgeous girl smile at me while crossing the street. If a car can make me look that appealing, I’m putting my life savings down to own one! 
Engine bay. 3.0L Twin-turbo Inline 6.
P.S.
I know Kamran bhai did a test drive review on this car 3 years ago, but I thought I'd give a detailed review myself.
