help me decide X3 vs 335xi sedan

[[UNDFTD]]

I would definetley go with the 335. Unless you have a 7 serie- BMWs are always going to ride rough. Stiff rides for amazing handling, am I right? Plus the 335 is a great car---it is small for a child in the backseat- however....made for about the size of a child so that cancels out. Your definetley not taking trips to home depot unless your going to be buying a bottle of water..lol. Plus a twin turbo Bimmer? Thats just a G car.

[KEVIN88GT]

I'm actually going to get the xi (which doesnt have the sport suspension) and it'll have the 17 inch wheels...hoping the ride wouldnt be too rough..... me and the wife are going to test drive it soon.

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by KEVIN88GT

I'm actually going to get the xi (which doesnt have the sport suspension) and it'll have the 17 inch wheels...hoping the ride wouldnt be too rough..... me and the wife are going to test drive it soon.

IMO, you really should get sport on the 3-series. Assuming the suspension setup is the same on the xi sedan, the 325i sedan I've ridden in many times (2006) was far too soft and the seats were the worst I've ever had in a BMW. No side bolstering at all, sliding around all the time while my friend did his awful driving.

[xx3]

Your kind of comparing 2 different things here... A sedan and and SUV... (Granted the X3 isn't quite the most spacious SUV on the market...)

The 07's have a very good blend of power with comfort, etc... Much much of an improvement over my 04'. (If you go for an 07' the comfort seats are amazing...) Also the new additions to the interior really spruce it up in terms of quality...

I see it like this:

X3:
+ More Space
+ Higher seating position
+ Better for snow & the like (higher ground clearance)
+ Because the SUV market is in a slump you'll get a great deal (close to invoice).
+ Hence for the same price you can spec up more options...
+ Reliable, tried and tested old BMW technology
- Old tech (no iDrive - could be a + for some people..., worse implementation of Bluetooth, no comfort access).
- Really isn't that spacious for an SUV... better than the 3 sedan but not amazing either...
- Worse resale, the SUV market is in a slump...

335xi:
+ Amazing Engine
+ New tech
+ Amazing mileage (about the same as you'll get with the 07' X3 with the new N52 engine but so much more power!)
+ Higher resale
- Height (ground clearance & back pain from bending over to load kids into carseats...)
- Lower visibility
- Oh so common (well at least out here in CA - BMW central... maybe not so bad on the east coast)
- xi 3 series look somewhat retarded (the slight increase in ground clearance makes them look somewhat stupid...)
- First year for 335 engine... Eh, reliability could be an issue down the line...

With that being said, the 335i is an amazing vehicle. However you'll probably get a much better deal on a X3 than a 335i...

I say drive both, see what you like. Perhaps as someone said, it would be wiser to save money now, and then splurge later...

Besides I don't like the thought of you or your wife driving a baby around with 300+ hp...

In the end it comes down to what you & your wife like. The car should feel right.

Originally Posted by vern

If your getting 22mpg city, which I doubt. Just maybe you should get intouch with BMWNA and let them have your X3 checked out to find out what they put in your X3 that no body else has to get that kind of gas mileage. You have been reading the posts on this forum quite a long time just like me and one of the biggest complaints is gas mileage. Are you sure you didn't make a typo and mean 12 instead of 22
cheers
vern

The worst I've ever gotten in city was 15.5... And I'm a led foot becrazed teenager, flooring it at ever light... Average for me used to be about 17. Now that i've grown up a little (its been a long 2 years...), I get around 19-20 with a good mix of highway & city.

Getting 12 is really an accomplishment... I have yet to find a more aggressive driver/leadfoot person than me vern... haha, maybe you should show me some of your tricks...

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by xx3

The worst I've ever gotten in city was 15.5... And I'm a led foot becrazed teenager, flooring it at ever light... Average for me used to be about 17. Now that i've grown up a little (its been a long 2 years...), I get around 19-20 with a good mix of highway & city.

Getting 12 is really an accomplishment... I have yet to find a more aggressive driver/leadfoot person than me vern... haha, maybe you should show me some of your tricks...

I guess you COULD get 12mpg if you barely moved. Once I reset the meter when we were stuck in traffic at a bad intersection signal. We moved like, 1/2 mile in 30minutes and got 8.6mpg. Cuz remember, when you're idling, you're getting 0 mpg. The longer you wait, the lower your gas mileage will be.

I drove around a college campus (UMD-college park) last weekend and had just reset the avg. consumption. With all the stop signs, crosswalks, up-down hills, and never exceeding 30mph before hitting the brakes again, I got 16.8mpg. No lead foot though.

[vern]

.

Getting 12 is really an accomplishment... I have yet to find a more aggressive driver/leadfoot person than me vern... haha, maybe you should show me some of your tricks...[/quote]
What kind of possible trick can there be to getting bad gas moleage?
cheers
vern

[Blue Mountain Raider]

what the? you guys with x3 only getting 19-20mpg??? my 03 x5 3.0i gets 12.8 L/100km = 18.39mpg. i step it down alot too, since x3 is lighter shouldn't you be getting better than 20mpg?

oh yeah my x has 94000kms.

[LeMansX5]

Originally Posted by Blue Mountain Raider

what the? you guys with x3 only getting 19-20mpg??? my 03 x5 3.0i gets 12.8 L/100km = 18.39mpg. i step it down alot too, since x3 is lighter shouldn't you be getting better than 20mpg?

oh yeah my x has 94000kms.

X3 has never been good in mileage. 2004+ X5 4.4 has better mileage than X5 3.0.

[trueX5er]

hi,
I had to face a very similar situation a few weeks ago.
It was either an X3 (2007) or a 328xi. Both had plenty of power for me, the X3 being quicker. The 328xi has a more compliant ride, and a better interior. (look, parts, quality). The X3 was , higher off the ground, slightly faster, and had a bigger trunk, but at the expense of a harsher ride and a less than stellar interior.
Good Luck.

[AzNMpower32]

I don't get it with the interior complaints. Sure, it's not as fancy as the interiors in other BMWs, but I really don't have a problem with it. As long as the plastics fit well and are put together very tight (and they are in the X3), I don't see a problem . The gaps are small, panels are aligned, stuff doesnt rattle or fall off, and it's very low-maintenance. Even some Toyota interiors aren't fabricated as well as the X3 IMO. Almost every US-made Toyota I've seen in the past number of years has had misaligned panels somewhere.