[chris_s1]

OK as suggested in the thread HERE where I put some pictures of my new car, I’ll share my thoughts on the switch over.

I’d done over 60k miles in the E90 in less than 3 years so I knew her well. I’ve had the new car a month and done just over 3k already, so I’m getting to know her quickly.

The E90 had been flawless and apart from 3 routine services and 1 change of brake pads/discs had required no attention at all. I never even needed to put oil in between services. So the new car has a lot to live up to. I’m going to be brutally honest in this write up and if anything seems harsh on the new car it may be just because I loved the old one so much!

So I went from a 2009 LCI E90 325d MSport to a E92 335d MSport.
From this

To this:

Purchasing decision:
The time had come from a finance point of view to end my ownership of the E90. I expected to be purchasing a new F30 but after driving one (admittedly only a 320d), I hated it. I hated the styling, the interior, the feel and the price. So the F30 was out. I decided to get something else and hope they sort it out with the F30 LCI in 2015.
So I looked at a late model E90 or new E92. Even though I didn’t like the F30 I just couldn’t bring myself to buy a new or nearly new E90, knowing it had already been replaced.
So I looked at the E92. I originally intended buying a new car, but the dealers weren’t offering as much off a new one as I wanted. I saw an AUC car at a great price that was virtually new (3 months old, 2k miles), was almost the exact spec I wanted and took the plunge.
I didn’t bother test driving it, I knew I would like it. I’ve never actually driven a 335d before so my first drive in a 335d was the drive home from the dealer in my new car!

Styling
In all honesty I prefer the exterior styling of my previous E90. The LCI was such a great improvement for the E90 and I feel like the LCI E92 was a bit of a missed opportunity. That said, its still a lovely looking car.
My previous car had various BMW Performance extras on it, so its not a fair comparison really. But even compared to the standard E90 LCI Msport, I think the E92 LCI is a little 'meh'

Performance
Obviously the 335 is a lot more powerful than the 325. But what’s even more different is the way it is delivered. The 335 has a sense of urgency about it that is really quite surprising and makes for a different driving experience altogether. The smallest touch on the accelerator and you are instantly making rapid progress.
That said, although it was obviously a bit faster, I have to admit to being slightly underwhelmed by the difference. It was faster yes, but not chalk and cheese. I was expecting it to be close to the performance of my E46 M3 by all the comments I have read on here and other places, but in all honesty it wasn't. Anyone who thinks their stock 335d is on a par with an E46 M3 is kidding themselves in my opinion.
However, I took almost immediate steps to remedy this and had it remapped by Evolve. Now it feels like the car I expected it to be and most definitely is E46 M3 ball park.

Brakes
The brakes are absolutely stunning! So much power and feel, I absolutely love them. The brakes on the 325 were a bit weedy and although they worked ok in most situations didn’t have a whole lot of bite of pedal feel.

Gearbox
The auto box feels the same but the paddles shifters are completely different. The new shifters are + on one side and – on the other, and are pull action only. The previous shifters went forward and back and both sides did + and -.
The new shifters look a lot smarter but feel terrible. They are cheap plastic and don’t have a very satisfying click. So I’m 50/50 on the new paddles.

Interior
OK so the one thing I didn’t like about the spec of this particular car was the red leather interior. I would have preferred black, but I decided to live with as this was a great deal. Actually its not as offensive in real life as it looks in pictures and the colour isn’t much of an issue now I’ve lived with it for a while.
There are some nice interior touches for the E92 that I really like. The seat belt helpers that hand you the belt are a lovely touch. The soft lights that run along the edge above the interior handle in the doors give a lovely look. The piano black inlays are really nice.
Most of the dash and other bits are the same.
Unfortunately the seats are the thing I dislike the most about the new car. The cloth/alcantara Msport seats in my old E90 were miles more comfortable. I don’t like the feel of the leather and there is no lumbar support. The side bolsters don’t hold you as well.
I think due to all the electric gubbins underneath, the E92 seats won’t adjust to be as close to the floor as I’m used to, so you sit higher up which I don’t care for.
Unfortunately, the 335s had leather as standard so there aren’t any non-leather examples. If it wouldn’t ruin the re-sale potential of the car, I’d swap the seats for standard MSport seats in a heartbeat.

Steering
At low speeds the steering of the new car is much heavier. I don’t know if it’s the additional weight of the 35d engine, or if there’s a fault, but its definitely a lot heavier at low speeds than the E90. Once doing more than about 5 miles an hour it feels the same as before.
I'm sure the steering wheel is a bit thinner and less padded, but can't be 100% sure as I never checked them back to back.

Ride
Interestingly, the ride is so much better its unbelievable. I think this is why there is often a bit of disagreement in the RFT vs non-RFT debate. Both cars had the 313 19” wheels and MSport suspension so it’s a direct comparison. The ride in the E90 on RFTs was literally unbearable. I could tell you the writing that was on the man-hole cover I had just driven over. Once on non-RFTs it was still very harsh but just about liveable.
The ride in the new E92 on RFTs is better than the old E90 on non-RFTs. Its much more compliant over bumps and doesn’t shake your fillings out at every opportunity. I will genuinely consider keeping RFTs on there, which is something I never thought I’d ever say.

iDrive
Both cars had the Professional Media hard drive based system. Whist it’s essentially the same system, the iDrive has had a number of minor improvements, which overall lead to a much better user experience. Everything seems to run a tad faster. Taking the full postcode is better. Displaying the album art in the display is lovely. Connecting an iPod via the standard Apple cable and not needing the y-cable is better. The weather symbols when you zoom out on the map are cool.
Voice control works much better. The fact you can say an address in one long sentence rather than in about 4 different bits is a great improvement. The recognition of my voice has improved drastically. The old system used to drive me mad, saying the word ‘phonebook’ I think previously would have produced the desired result about 10% of times at best. Now I’d say the hit rate is 80%

Audio
Both cars had the BMW Business upgraded sound system. I was always pretty happy with the sound quality and volume in the old car.
However the new car is much better despite being the same option specified. I don't know if this is due to the smaller cabin space of the E92 or if they have upgraded the components at some point but its definitely higher quality and goes to a much louder volume. The underseat subs particularly, are more capable now.

Xenons
The old car didn’t have Xenon lights and I can’t say I ever wished for them. I certainly wouldn’t have paid extra to spec them on a new car. But now I’ve got them (standard on the E92 LCI) I can see what all the fuss is about. The improvement in visibility for night driving is significant but not massive. But there’s no getting away from how damn sexy they look. The pure white LED angle eyes and crisp xenon light is just stunning.

DTC/DSC
BMW have clarified the confusion between DTC and DSC a bit and now when you press the button once (previously to activate DTC) it now simply says ‘Traction’ on the dash cluster.

Economy
My long term average economy in the E90 325d was about 40.5 mpg. Since I have got it, the 335d is doing 36.3 mpg. Previously I got around 525miles per tank and now I am getting around 475. So all in all not bad at all.
Interestingly, my insurance premium only went up by £45. I was expecting to get hit for several hundred, given my high mileage and business use.

Conclusion
Overall I have no regrets. I was time for the E90 to go and I'm embarking on a new adventure. But there are things I will miss (looks, seats, economy) and the E90 still has a very fond place in my heart.



Well there you go. If you read all of that you probably want that 5 minutes of your life back ,so apologies for that

[Whack01]

Great comparison/write-up and the E92 looks nice but like you I prefer your previous E90 lci for some reason!
I know the coupe can look amazing when modded-especially on the us side of this forum, but in this spec I just prefer the saloon.

[golfmck1980]

It's funny u say about the ride quality my mate had a drive in my e90 which is just on the standard 17" rft and he has a e92 335 and he seems to think mine handles just as well don't know if it's to do with the smaller wheels or the fact that it's got a factory fitted upper strut brace

[Matrez]

Hey, great review !!!

Yeah you are right the F30 is so ugly inside and out, here are my kind of reviews :
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=649970
and
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=598191

I would go for E90 LCI M-Sport or Performance every time !!!

So as I can see you are not 100% happy about the change as the E90 you had was almost perfection ! The E92 should be more fun to drive I suppose

The 325d you had was 204BHP and it was 3L engine with single turbo right ? If yes thats the case in terms of tax and insurance fees when moved to 335d.

Stunning car and fantastic engine - what more could there be lol !
With the remap it should be as fast as yours E46 M3 or maybe a bit faster

Enjoy it !!!!!!!!!! =]

[jasonprice07]

I did a similar change from an E90 320D to a E92 335D, both 2008 cars.
I agree on the performance, the 335D was of course quicker but it was not as quick as I expeted. I wonder if the gearing is longer as they have to be limited to 155.

Anyway I had mine remapped last week by emaps, and had the chance to try out the extra power against an E46 M3, from 20 - 80mph I could keep the gap constant (i was behind) but could not close at all. I guess still not bad for a diesel. I try not to go any quicker but sometimes the red mist takes over

Jason

[dopper99]

Great write up!

I agree 100% what you say about the LCI ride quality. I've also had a pre-LCI and LCI (330d's is my case) and the LCI ride is so much better. Makes the runflats quite liveable - although now I'd like to see what its like on non-runflats.

Interesting what you say about the power of the 335d too. I think its one of those "deceptively" quick cars where you have to really look at the speedo to realise how quick it is rather then feeling how quick it is. Its a bit too linear for my liking - compared to a single turbo set up. Still a fantastic car though.

[rG-tom]

The steering is heavier on the 335D as if i remember correctly, the 335i and 335d are actually directly connected rather than an electronic relay steering, and are the only 2 in the range that has this...

Also you should find that after the evolve map your car should be comfortably quicker than an e46 m3 (at least in a straight line )

[dxb335d]

That what I used to think. Especially when I used to beat them in my 335d.

[rG-tom]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

That what I used to think. Especially when I used to beat them in my 335d.

used to think? or still do

[mistryn]

Thanks for the detailed write up, I enjoyed reading it and when I saw your other thread when you got your car I loved the piano black finish on the dash (makes me want to wrap mine in piano black vinyl hehe)

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by rG-tom

used to think? or still do

Well still in a state of shock. I've done a time comparable with my previous mapped 335d... Even though I never got beaten by one when I raced them at the pod in my "Slut for it" drag racing days...

But I did a great time in the M3 in just one go. Suggesting it's VERY VERY tight.

Certainly does not "feel" as fast though.

[Gibbo]

Good write up, nice car and spec, enjoy your new car.

[acerboo]

the ride on the lci is much better than the pre lci. bmw changed the shock absorbers on the lci models. i long thought it was the shocks that were responsible for the terrible ride. when i fitted bmw perf suspension to my old car the ride was far superior even though the springs are rated at 30% stiffer and the shocks have far more control. its a pity they didnt fit this arrangement from new. having said that the lci feels very similar just not quite as stiff so perhaps they learned a lesson?

[ss134]

Originally Posted by rG-tom

The steering is heavier on the 335D as if i remember correctly, the 335i and 335d are actually directly connected rather than an electronic relay steering, and are the only 2 in the range that has this...

Also you should find that after the evolve map your car should be comfortably quicker than an e46 m3 (at least in a straight line )

The 335i & 335D have hydraulic steering as opposed to electric in lower models.