My 335iC test drive
 

335iC auto was amazing, and my sales guy was even amazing-er. He let me wind it out to 130 and was pushing me to floor it in a couple very tight turns to feel the DSC kick in and stop the car from spinning out (I kid you not). I did not do it but the sales guy did and the car backed off the throttle just as it broke loose, it applied a little brake and kept going (all this time he sales guy was not letting off the throttle). My E46 would have gone around with what he did. This guy was nuts, but with that kinda test drive he sells a lot of those cars :) .


The paddle shifting was really FAST, better than SMG IMO and crisp. When they hype is over I will order one. Sport/prem/nav PDC will set me back 44750.00 sticker and I can only get 1000.00 off right now. In 6 months I think I can get 1000.00 over invoice.

I saw one on the NJ turnpike last Sunday, it was pulling hard too.

that car definately hauls ass

Well, I didn't get that level of excitement. Agree it is an amazing car. I just drove a 335 coupe with a manual, with approx 4000 km on it, just starting to be broken in. The dealer had only the two demos on the lot, one each auto/manual, every other 335 coupe is sold through January. This is the largest dealer in Canada.

Good room inside, nice shifting (and the clutch had no CDV nonsense that I could detect), good steering feel. Great torque in traffic. 19" tires didn't feel harsh at all, but I will need four other wheels and snows. I am thinking Space Grey (maybe Arctic), jade leather (love the two tone, but it will be a special order with Space Grey), sport, 19", premium, phone prep, PDC, no nav. That will be $63k CDN plus taxes, less any courtesy discount.

The X5 would go, the 325xi would go, the Z4 would go on a trade, and we would pick up a 2007 silver X3 with the 260 hp 3.0, manual, black leather, PDC, no other options, at the same time. That will give one very useful sport utility vehicle for my wife (smaller than the X5, manual), one fun to drive to work vehicle for me, and two insurance bills instead of three ($2000 to $2500 annually for each vehicle, no accidents). Thinking of pulling the trigger after the hype dies down, probably spring.

Hadn't considered the auto, I want the involvement of shifting. Maybe I should try one just to see.

I think they are going to sell a lot of these.

Not waiting past the first year to assure any early quality/reliability issues are somewhat worked out? :) ..

I guess that's one 335ic that won't be needing a break in period.

I figure 6-9 months should reduce some of the pain downstream. The car has E90 components for the most part, so it is really the engine, and the assembly process, in my mind.

Took my parents to the dealer today to drive the 335ic, manual trans. To simply put it, this car is monumental, esp for this price range. All three of us were left very impressed.

The torque is beyond immense with a great exhaust note. There's quite a bit more space over the E46, esp rear legroom. Even though this car is larger than teh E46, it feels more nimble and more planted. The large wheels could have something to do with that. That seatbelt feature of it pushing forward seems like something waiting to break. Otherwise, fit and finish is first class. What surprised me the most was improvement with the clutch and shifter. Clutch was easy to modulate even in traffic and the shifter didn't have the rubbery slop I remember BMWs having from even recent years; not quite at Honda precision/tightness, but it's much better than before.

Our E53 will be gotten rid of by the end of next summer before it gets to 90k and there's a strong possibility of this being the replacement. Seems like the consensus for color combo was Space Grey/ Red. An E70 would join the 335 in, probably 08.

One reason I'm about ready to ditch a 335i sedan in favor of a 328i sedan next summer for ED is cuz of the potential first year bugs. This being the first turbo gasoline engine in a while, plus the fact its new, makes it a bit sketchier than usual. While I'm sure the majority of the engines are fine, I've read enough threads on Bimmerfest to worry about first MY reliability.

I fully understand the concerns over first year reliability. I break it down into the turbo, engine, and vehicle issues. The turbo part doesn't particularly worry me, apart from any software issues related to the specific power output of this model (and they will get those issues worked out). The Mitsubishi turbos themselves are proven technology. The new engine would worry me more with the N53 and the new alloy block, than with the N54 which has gone back to aluminum for the block. The vehicle being all new is what would worry me the most. The biggest set of problems will be assembly-related, not design-related, IMO. I would not buy the first run of an all-new design (E60, E90) but the E92 is based largely on the E90 chassis.

BMW is using the E90 and E92 to ramp up the twin turbo 3.0 engine. By March of 2007, that engine will be in the 5 series, and likely soon after in other models (X, etc) I figure that they will be watching the early issues with the E90 and E92 335 closely.

Also, and this is not a slam on US assembly workers in any way, I take more comfort in the E92 being built in Europe. That is simply because the manufacturing plant is closer to the design centre. The design and production teams will be able to work more closely. With early problems on the E53 X5 years back, BMW was dealing with a new product, in a new factory, many time zones from the design teams. As the factory was in the US, it is likely that many suppliers of pieces were as well. Those are the factors that make it all more painful.

So, my conclusion was that 6-9 months of production would be fine, just long enough for the early-adopters to pay full list. And I could be completely wrong.

Jeff