On the BMW boards, I pointed out the weak top end and suspiciously high dyno figures on the N54 motor, and was flamed repeatedly for it. Apparently, losing 10-15% of your power and over 30% of your torque in the last 1500 rpm doesn't matter. I still prefer the power delivery characteristics of a naturally aspirated engine, but I digress.

As pointed out in the excellent post above, the 335i is not really making 350 hp - there's no way. The Dynojet is inflating the figures significantly. If it actually were good for 340+ hp with that sort of power band, it would easily be trapping 105+ mph despite the weight.

Also, it's been suggested that the test car was actually an automatic - NOT a manual. I don't really know, to be honest. It would make sense if it were an auto, seeing that all of the fleet vehicles that have been spotted - including the ones BMW let journalists drive in Austria - have been automatics. In any case, BMW claims that the automatic version of the 335i is only a tenth slower through a 1000 m standing start than the manual. A completely negligible difference.

 

I saw a thread on SupraForums where they had pictures of the size of the turbo's. Let's just say, they are TINY as anything. Which most likely explains the low spool, although I wouldn't expect any major gains from increasing boost as they are more than likely running at the peak of their efficiency range. I'll try to find the pictures from there later on today and post them up on here .

 

it really does not matter how much hp it has, it matters how fast it is... And normally aspirated IS350 seems to be as fast. Now, once we get slightly heavier sedan with slightly slower Automatic, advantage will probably go to IS350.

Another thing is - does anyone know mpg figures? Dual injection does wonders for mpg in IS350, and turbo's will do exact opposite for 335i.

 

BMW has combined fuel consumption @ 29.7mpg or 9.5l/100km. Every review I've seen so far says that's more like 26mpg or 11l/100km. I'm not sure what the IS is rated, 21/28 or something? So they should have similar mpg.

"This extremely efficient increase in power and performance is attributable in large part to gasoline direct injection. The high-precision fuel injection concept developed by BMW ensures a measurable advantage in fuel economy, without limiting the dynamic qualities of the engine.

To enhance this efficiency to an even higher level, the turbochargers are made of a particularly heat-resistant material which makes them immune to high exhaust gas temperatures in the interest of a fuel-efficient combustion process particularly under full load. As a result, the twin turbo technology in the BMW 335i Coupe represents a significant achievement in terms of both performance and fuel economy. The advantages over a conventional turbocharged engine are not only clearly measurable, but also easy to feel on the road."

 

29.4 is Imperial galons, not US - for manual. Converted to US, it is 24.5 MPG. Under EU measurments. If we check 330i in UK, it is rated 32.5 gallons mpg, which is 27 MPG US. So difference is 2.5 MPG combined in European mpg.

So its probably going to be rated 19-20 mpg city and 26-27 mpg highway in the US...

Especially since turbo's run at all times, you should see "significant" drop in city and less significant drop in highway. And in real world, every time you dont baby the car, it will be worse.

Usually, you save fuel in turbo engines only because you start with better mpg 4cly engines, and then turbo them... So when you baby the car, you get 4cly consumption.

In this case, they started with very similar 6cly engines and added turbo's to them...

Notice how BMW states significantly better consumption than CONVENTIONAL TURBO engine, not conventional engine.

well, I guess we will see soon enough, eh?

 

 

http://www.autospies.com/news/AUTOSP...y-worthy-7626/

Autospies review. Verdict:

Conclusion- The new coupe has successfully been implanted with the quintessential BMW DNA. If you’ve never had a custom suit then it will be hard to explain to you the subtle differences of how good this BMW is compared to the competition. The car becomes a part of you, just like that hand made suit effortlessly molds to your body. It’s so right on so many levels and has all the elements that great cars should have. Other car makers find these attributes easier to talk about than to create. The result is a level of driving feel, control and ride quality that sets BMW apart from virtually every other car on the road.

Rating- 4.5 Shields (0 is worst, 5 is best)

 

What a loser. I wonder if he needed a towel after writing that? I am sure the car is fantastic, perhaps the best 3 series model ever, but I hate when reviewers say things like "it becomes part of you." That is just ridiculous. BMW is the absolutely the best when it comes to ride and handling, but these idiots are either huge suckers for ad campaigns or sitting on a fat check from Germany.

 

While I don't agree with everything he writes, even as a Lexus fan, I have to strongly agree with these "it becomes part of you" or "it becomes an extension to your arms" types of comments. It only took me 30 seconds driving the E90 330i at the Taste of Lexus event last year to realize how accurate such analogies actually are. There was not the slightest hint of weight transfer during hard cornering and going through the S turns. Driving the car was like running on my own feet. The experience of being part of and integrated into the car was absolutely incredible. Sure, driving the IS350 was tons of fun too, tackling those corners perhaps just as well, but I could not sense the road nor the limit of the car, and the weight transfer was quite obvious. While quicker, the IS350 could not build me the same confidence the way the 330i did. Although personally I would still pick the IS350 over the 330i given the choice (just can't stand the E90's interior), I simply have to give it to the BMW when it comes to a "man and car become one" experience.

 

XeroKool - totally agree with you on all points.

3 series driving experience - awesome.
3 series interior - stinks.

IS driving experience - fun and IS350 is fast.
IS interior - great.

 

Ya, I am sure BMW pays him to say stuff like that. I doubt he actually liked the car that much.

 

All he did was say that it is perfect, nothing comes close to it, and repeated marketing taglines. His commentary provided no worthwile information to a potential consumer. Its like asking a bunch of kids how the Harry Potter movie was just as they are getting out of the theater. I would imagine the same person would review an IS350 and make it sound like a Buick.

 

I am in complete agreement here. All I was saying is that it gets tiresome seeing journalists (figuratively) blow their wad on the screen whenever they write a BMW review.
I just don't buy that "it has soul" or "it becomes part of you" though. If you are using these articles to help you in selecting a car, does that REALLY provide anything useful for you?

 

I don't take offense to the usual ball licking. In reading reviews for since I can remember
Honda>competiton (tToyota/dodge etc) for sport
BMW then> Honda for sport in the few comparos those cars are compared
BMW then > anyone else (Lexus/Benz/ etc when it comes to sport)

For a fleeting moment
Audi S cars> BMW M cars

That lasted all of an orgasm

Thing is when Porsche is pitted against BMW M, Porsche >BMW M

And then many see Ferrari > Porsche.

I mean this is simple math. BMW driving dynamics+ more power= an even higher standard in class.


So all things being equal, a cars match is eventually met.

 

Honda --> BMW --> BMW M --> P car --> F car is a logical progression. I wouldn't mind doing that myself.