335is test drive - brief review / comments
Yesterday evening when helping a friend of mine shop for a new m6 (wow, what a badass ride) i drove a 2011 335is as this is a car i am considering picking up in the next 2-6 months.
It was silver with red interior, 19s, and all the options. It was also a 6mt.
Previously i have owned cars with an n54, s54 (m3), s65 (m3) and n55.
My impressions......
Positive
-sounds great, stock exhaust is awesome and you can hear the turbos at higher RPM which i did not notice in my prior n54 or n55
-looks good, i really like the diffuser in the back and the m sport kit
-seats and interior felt great and high quality
-car felt FAST to me, almost as fast as my old tuned 335i
-transmission felt great, light clutch but lightyears easier to drive than my e90 m3
-good ride quality
-nice firm steering
-smoothest engine ive ever driven, much smoother than my prior n54 and definitely smoother than my n55, not sure if this is due to refined software or what?
Negatives
-looks good, but the wheels are sort of narrow and too tucked in to the wheel wells
-car looks a little narrow compared to an m3 or s5, but with better wheels / offset it would probably fix this issue
-a little more lean in the corners than i like, but a stiffer sway and maybe m3 subframe bushings could fix this
Overall i really enjoyed it. It felt just about perfect for a DD as it was smooth, fast, easy to drive and very nice on the interior. I think i will continue looking as i really want a white one, but i was as impressed as i hoped i would be from driving this car. With a stage 1+ from cobb and a couple m3 suspension bits, it would be perfect.
Anyway, its a great car at a very good price point now that used ones are on the market (this one was 44k for a 2011 with 18k miles). I prefer it over the m3 in 6mt form for DD purposes. More useable power and more fun on the streets. Limits you can reach easier and more fun to push the car at speeds that wont kill you.
Great car. Thanks for reading.
EDIT : all of these impressions were with 3 people in the car, one of whom was a massive 300lb salesman. So, considering the car still felt FAST and handled pretty well despite the weight, its impressive.
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