BMW 335i Mini-Review

Right on the heels of my BMW 328xi review comes this rare chance to sample something truly special. Yes, there is nirvana and no it’s not a rock band. For BMW enthusiasts it can be found in the drivers seat of the 2007 BMW 335i thanks to the technological tour-de-force that is BMW’s latest enterprising twist in automotive engineering, twin turbo power. Sadistically fast but sporting deceptively benign looks, the 335i marks itself as one of the sneakiest cars on the road, fooling everyone into thinking you are driving just another 3-Series, until you step on the accelerator that is.

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Let’s get one issue out of the way right now. Yes, the BMW 335i has a huge amount of power thanks to the twin turbo-charged 3 liter inline six powerplant. Raw power, the kind that pushes you back into the seat so much you can’t believe you are not driving something Italian. For those who have had the delight of driving the previous generation M3, you will feel right at home behind the wheel of the new 4-door 335i and even more at home in the coupe. But don’t let that back seat fool you, this is no typical sedan. Tap the gas lightly and this car just lulls you to thinking you are as safe and sound as a baby in the cradle. Dip into it just a bit further and this BMW begins to stir, keep at it and it will belch fire and stir the soul like nothing you have ever driven before. Some might describe the 335i as a sleeper, but this car sleeps for nobody. Like the old saying tells us “absolute power, corrupts absolutely” and once you have dipped into this huge well of torque and horsepower there is no going back. There is something to be said for a sedan that can out accelerate just about anything else on the road with a 0-60 time of less than 5.0 seconds (conservative estimate, Car and Driver claim 4.8). Even better, try jumping on the gas at highway speeds for added passing power and watch as the warp engines engage. As you can imagine, this amount of fun in 335i can quickly get out of hand so it’s a good thing they included some serious braking power (should you need that sort of thing).

So how does the BMW 335i handle? Simply put, this is by far one of the best handling cars going, but it does not quite have as much forward grip as the 328xi or the lateral G holding power of the M3. Not that this makes the 335i any type of slouch in the handling department, quite the contrary being a high horsepower rear-drive sedan makes the 335i much more closer to the M3 than the 328i (or 328xi) than one would expect. The technological tour-de-force which BMW applies to keep the vehicle glued to the road seems to someone know just when to engage while not ruining your driving experience. In previous generations, stability control (known as DSC/ASC/etc!) engagement was obvious and in some cases quite jarring on the driver. With the 335i you might hardly notice that the system has engaged if it were not for the flashing yellow icon practically screaming at you on the dashboard. Disengage the system and you will quickly notice that while the 335i is a very capable handler, things can quickly get out of hand with only minor applications of power. Like any rear-wheel-drive high-output car, a health dose of caution is highly recommended. Don’t try this at home warning aside, this car is a blast to drive and with all the latest safety features BMW has packed into the 335i it’s one of the safest cars on the road.

So we know that this car is fun to drive, but is it also easy to live with? Short answer is YES! I was amazed at how composed this car is during daily driving. I made two full commutes to and from work in this car and I found it to be both comfortable and very ergonomic for daily driving. One might think that 300hp is going to cause drivability issues (aka, strange “tire wear”) but the power is so smoothly delivered that you hardly even realize you have all of that ready at a moments notice. Thankfully the controls are functional and very ergonomic, with a much improved climate control system and radio setup. In the previous generation 3-series you had a digital display which had the typical up and down buttons but with the 2007 335i you get nice easy to manipulate round dials that make it quick and easy to adjust things to your liking. Also on my list of things that just work right is the Bluetooth phone integration. I use a RIM Blackberry as my daily PDA and phone so typically I have a Bluetooth headset on hand for use on the road. With the 335i I was able to quickly pair my phone and make calls with a minimum of fuss. Folks on the other end of the connection commented several times on how clear the calls were and the seamless transition from handset to in-car speaker phone was nothing short of amazing. I had several calls where I simply walked up to the car, got in and by the time I was ready to back out of the parking spot it had automatically found my handset and transferred the call to speaker phone. Simply awesome.

Like many other luxury makes on the road today BMW is not the brand you might readily consider if gas milage is a major issue for you. So it should come as a major surprise that even with 300HP the BMW 335i managed to achieve an amazing 31.1 miles per gallon during a hour long highway trip. No, that is not any exaggeration. If I did not see this for myself I might not believe it but there it was right on the digital trip computer and just to verify, I tracked it on the way back with exactly the same results. Kudos go to BMW on producing an amazing sedan that not only thrills you while on the road but also at the pump.

Overall I found the 2007 BMW 335i to be the ultimate daily driver, with sport car level performance, great milage, and just the right mix of edgy design and ergonomic creature comforts. BMW’s latest edition to the 3-series family is sure to be total hit even with BMW enthusiasts who have always wanted the power of the M3 but don’t want the price (or the repair bills).

Once again, special thanks to BMW of Peabody for providing the test vehicle for this review.