2008 BMW 335i Reviews

Launched in 2004 the X3 compact crossover received a big facelift after criticism that the standard of finish was not up to scratch.Now the most important car in its range, the evergreen 3 Series sedan has been given the treatment following its release in 2005, particularly in the area of styling after being roundly lampooned - notably by Britain's influential Top Gear television program.The 3 Series accounts for about half of the company's overall sales.Launched in May, 2005 the current E90 model has been the target of plenty of criticism over its bland styling and in Australia at least it is being convincingly outsold by the Mercedes C-Class.But this week BMW lifted the covers on a major, mid-life makeover for the car that addresses many of the issues raised.Front and rear lights have been changed and a more prominent “kidney” grille added, along with a redesigned bonnet that features a lifted centre section with twin crease lines.The exterior mirrors have also been changed and re-profiled side skirts have been fitted - all of which give the car a wider, more aggressive stance.The rear lights adopt the L shape common to other models.Adding to the more aggressive stance are off set wheels with fatter rubber and a slightly wider rear track that varies in size from model to model.The big news although it has not been confirmed for Australia yet is a new 3.0-litre six cylinder turbo diesel that will change the way you think about diesel engines forever.This one can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 6.1 seconds, yet uses just 5.7 litres of fuel per 100km.That's only half a second slower than the acclaimed, top of the range twin turbo 335i petrol six and to be frank we'd have no hesitation in picking the diesel.The car we drove in Germany this week is an absolute cracker, with a six-speed manual transmission that revs all the way to 5500rpm on the dial.The suspension feels a bit softer than the 335i but there's nothing shabby about the way it rides and handles.It does a fine job of walking the line between comfort and the sporty edge that Beemer drivers expect.We drove the two cars back to back on Germany's autobahns and back roads and although the petrol model is quicker off the mark - there's not a lot in it.We can't wait to try the six-speed auto version.With a single turbocharger and lightweight aluminium crankcase, the two cars even weigh the same 1625kg - in auto form at least.Like most BMWs the 330d is speed limited to 250km/h, but we had no trouble achieving this speed on the autobahn where it would have happily sat all day.Producing 180kW of power at 4000rpm and 520Nm of torque between 1750 and 3000rpm, the car had no trouble staying with its more fancied sibling.As maximum torque kicked in it quickly caught and matched the 335i for speed and agility, being just a fraction slower to respond to throttle changes.The torquey engine makes light work of corner to corner squirts, changing between third and fourth and pulling effortlessly out of bends.For a diesel it has a relatively high red line and as a result the drive experience is very like driving an ordinary petrol-engined car, with the occasional diesel rumble the only reminder of what lies beneath the bonnet.Unless informed, most drivers would probably not even realise it's a diesel - and after driving this one - most would probably not give a damn.Maximum power is achieved at 4000rpm so there's nothing really to be gained by going past this point but it gives the driver plenty to play with.In fact, from 4500rpm torque is progressively limited anyway.Pushed hard the car returned 8.7 litres/100km compared to the 335i's 13.1 litres/100km (officially the two cars are good for 5.7 and 9.1 litres/100km respectively).After a couple of hundred kilometres behind the wheel of each car there's no downside to the diesel that we can see.That's a big saving and huge recommendation.BMW claims the engine sets a new benchmark for the segment in terms of performance, fuel consumption and engine emissions - the latter rated at 152g/km.The engine is Euro V compliant and will even meet the more stringent Euro VI regulations, not due to come into effect until 2014.The engineers tell us that turbo boost kicks in from a low 1200rpm virtually eliminating turbo lag.In practice, the car was only caught short a couple of times on rolling second starts - but that's more a reflection of our bad driving than anything to do with the design.Here's hoping BMW decides to bring in this model with the rest of the new range to be launched in December.Moving inside there's a new generation iDrive system with a control knob that functions more like a joy stick and an 80Gb hard drive that you can download your music to.The hard disk is also home to the satellite navigation system, dispensing with the need for map disks, with 12Gb reserved for music.In Europe, the car will even be offered with internet and email access but at this sage the infrastructure does not exist to support the system here.During the drive program we still had trouble getting the sat nav system to do what we asked, but we'll reserve judgement on this one until we've had more of chance to play.In general terms it still requires too many clicks to access the functions that you want and in this area the company could take some lessons from the iPod people.Crash activated dynamic head rests are now standard and are designed to move forward to cushion the neck in the event of an accident to protect occupants against wiplash.Prices for the new range will be announced closer to the launch, but are not expected to change dramatically.In the UK there's only a four per cent difference between the price of the 330d and 335i which in Australia sells for $107,290, so the diesel is expected to be a little cheaper.

As well, all 320i models get a 5kW power boost to 115kW and the 320d sedan gets a third-generation, common-rail, fuel-injection diesel engine with a 10kW hike to 125kW with a claimed 10 per cent fuel economy improvement. Prices remain the same as before. (See story Page 19)BMW Group Australia corporate communications manager Toni Andreevski said the addition of the 335i Touring, 320i Touring and 320i Executive Touring to the existing 323i Touring would double their sales of wagons from 166 last year.“Touring is considered by many as a second car,” Andreevski said.“We find buyers are more affluent and could probably afford to drive an X5 but don't want an SUV for various reasons. Perhaps the wife doesn't want a four-wheel-drive, or they are a bit more discerning and enjoy the handling and performance of a car, even though the X5 has good driving dynamics.“Four-wheel-drives are getting better all the time but a car is still a car.”And what a car the Touring is, with driving dynamics like the sedan and feeling more taut and nimble than the 335i convertible.The top-of-the-line 335i features the twin turbo high-precision injection unit which was the 2007 international engine of the year.The three-litre straight-six delivers 225kW of power and 400Nm of torque, propelling the vehicle to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds.Fuel economy is rated at 9.8 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.It comes in six-speed Steptronic auto only with shift paddles on the steering wheel at $108,600, which is $4100 more than the sedan.The Touring range starts with the six-speed manual 320i at $54,200, which is $3200 more than the sedan.The Executive trim costs an extra $4900.Both models cost $2600 more for the automatic.The two-litre four-cylinder engine delivers 115kW and 200Nm with a 9.3-second sprint to 100km/h and economy of 8L/100km.Standard features are the same as the sedan and include keyless entry/start, auto headlights and wipers, auto climate air, cruise control, Bluetooth interface preparation, six airbags and stability control.The Executive package adds Dakota leather, front fog lights, partial electric seat adjustment, wood or aluminium trim, double-spoke 16-inch alloys and tricky lights that illuminate corners as you turn.The 335i tops the 323i Touring with front parking sensors, 17-inch alloys, adaptive Bi-Xenon headlights with washers, TV tuner, sat nav, 10-speaker sound, full front electric seats and CD changer.There is also a host of quite expensive options. However, these become much more affordable if you buy them as part of the various packages, such as the M pack with bigger wheels, lower and tighter suspension and various badging and trims.The new Touring models look identical to the 323i Touring with a sleek roof line that doesn't appear dowdy as you would expect of what is, basically, a station wagon.However, the cargo area is not huge until you drop the split-fold rear seats, then the long, flat floor becomes quite serviceable.The tailgate is light and doesn't lift so high that short people can't reach it to pull it back down.It is also split so you can just open the top glass half, which is handy for packing or removing light items.There is also a privacy cover that keeps prying eyes off your goodies. This springs back when you open the top part of the tailgate.Rear vision is not too bad for a wagon, but there are rear parking sensors anyway.All Touring models now come with a luggage package that includes a removable watertight folding box, reversible liner with integrated protective cover, luggage compartment nets and dividable storage compartment under the floor.Like all 3 Series, the Touring sits on on runflat tyres, so there is no spare under the cargo floor.With its stiffer sidewalls, runflats may improve handling by preventing the tyre from distorting and rolling on the rims, but they have poor ride comfort.Of course, the higher the profile, the better the ride.The Touring range comes with 16, 17 and 18-inch wheels with the smaller wheels sporting 55 and 50 profile tyres which ride better.The 18s feature 35 profiles which are strictly for smooth roads.BMW 2008 releases* X5 twin turbo diesel 3.0sd in February. X drive will become part of the name. It is the first of the twin-turbo diesel engines for BMW in Australia. It will be quicker than any V8 or V10 competitor except the Audi Q7.* 1 Series 135i and 125i Coupes arrive in May.* 1 Series 135i and 125i Convertibles arrive in June with a 120i Convertible possibly arriving a couple of months after that.* X6 “sports activity coupe” will be here in the third quarter of 2008. The “niche product” will arrive with six-cylinder diesel and petrol twin turbo engines. A V8 twin turbo is a possibility late in the year or early in 2009.