Loaner du Jour

Diver · 03-08-2011, 01:23 PM

My ride is in the shop to solve a minor noise problem. They gave me an early production 2011 white 335i sedan to drive around in. The car has a black leather interior, sport, steptronic, premium, convenience package, nav, sat and iPod. Not too much left off and a sticker price somewhere north of $52,000, which might be why a car in a popular color scheme wound up as a loaner.

What is a bit hard for me to absorb is how differently a 335i drives than my 135i. Sure, the DCT is very different, but the ride and steering feel are way different. The 3 has a firm ride, but it is definitely mainstream German. My 1 seems much closer to a sports car and the steering is much heavier. It's a lot of difference for 2 cars with the same motor that are only 200 pounds and 3 inches of wheelbase apart.

Always the first thing I notice in a 3 is the interior is prettier with more wood and a large leather and wood covered area on the doors. Nav is a bit strange for me, and I find myself staring at the constantly updating map.

Anyway, I should be back in my 135i later today.

Brey335i · 03-08-2011, 01:56 PM

Heavier steering? I've been in plenty of 135i's and never noticed any difference in steering feel between mine and them.

Diver · 03-08-2011, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brey335i

Heavier steering? I've been in plenty of 135i's and never noticed any difference in steering feel between mine and them.

That is my impression. It felt very different to me. Keep Austin weird.

Cease11 · 03-08-2011, 02:07 PM

I too have a loaner since yesterday but they gave me a 2011 335d. That thing has some torque compared to my 2011 335i! And Wayyyy better mpg

Diver · 03-08-2011, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cease11

I too have a loaner since yesterday but they gave me a 2011 335d. That thing has some torque compared to my 2011 335i! And Wayyyy better mpg

My dealer gave me one of those diesels as a loaner a few months ago. Low end torque is seriously impressive. No diesel noise, smoke or smell to give it away either.

Coolieman1220 · 03-08-2011, 03:24 PM

glad to see you guys are seeing how awesome the diesel is!

E46toE90 · 03-08-2011, 03:44 PM

Blubaron79 · 03-08-2011, 03:46 PM

The wood on the 3 series is awful.... That's why I ordered it with Alum. trim.

Wood trim = Ugly/Old Man

eekthecat · 03-08-2011, 05:15 PM

How the heck do you guys get all of these awesome loaners? My local dealership always sticks me with a generic Japanese car from Enterprise.

John 070 · 03-08-2011, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diver

Sure, the DCT is very different,

You mean DCT in your 135, right?

JayKay335i · 03-08-2011, 08:38 PM

My dealer just gave me a 328. Its boring.

John 070 · 03-08-2011, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

My dealer just gave me a 328. Its boring.

I wish I had gun, for every 328 loaner I've gotten in the last 4 years, I could arm a town, the size of Abilene...

Diver · 03-08-2011, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John 070

I wish I had gun, for every 328 loaner I've gotten in the last 4 years, I could arm a town, the size of Abilene...

The Grateful Dead...

Diver · 03-08-2011, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John 070

You mean DCT in your 135, right?

Yup. Very cool transmission.

WWM3 · 03-08-2011, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

The wood on the 3 series is awful.... That's why I ordered it with Alum. trim.

Wood trim = Ugly/Old Man

I disagree.

Blindrage606 · 03-08-2011, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John 070

I wish I had gun, for every 328 loaner I've gotten in the last 4 years, I could arm a town, the size of Abilene...

Abilene FTW! Are you from there?

EVTee · 03-08-2011, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WW330

I disagree.

x2 I like my wood trims too.

Numark318i · 03-09-2011, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVTee

x2 I like my wood trims too.

x3
My wood trim is nice.
Wood trim in the 06 I had as a rental-cheap IMO.

BenTrovato · 03-09-2011, 12:48 AM

The wood trim isn't ugly, it's just heavily heavily dated in terms of style. Its no different than liking a 5 year old comfortable pair of jeans. You can like them all you want but they don't look sharp anymore - same with the wood trim in the 3 series.

Wraps in carbon fibre, or some other high end material look really sharp and have a modern feel to them. Aluminum is the in-between. The wood trims offered feel like 2001.

Philm35 · 03-09-2011, 12:50 AM

I've been to the dealer twice for service, and both times I got stuck with a cheap Enterprise car instead of a BMW.

Also, I think wood is good.

Trojan4evr · 03-09-2011, 01:04 AM

I feel like my 07 335i has a better ride than my '11 135i. 335i is much more stable in higher speeds. 135i is bit bouncier than my E90 with sport package.

Diver · 03-09-2011, 07:32 AM

I still have the 335i loaner, my car did not get finished yesterday. Fortunately, I was able to demonstrate the noise problem to the shop forman on a short drive. He said the techs would probably have to check nearly every bolt in the back of the car. I think the problem is one of the hamsters died.

All I did was drive the 335i home yesterday. It rained all afternoon here while I worked on reformatting my photo blog to show more thumbnails per page and larger images when thumbnails are selected.

As far as wood trim goes, I like the way it looks, but I don't like the idea of cutting down hardwood trees to make parts for cars that have a relatively short useful life as compared to other popular uses for this material. OTOH, aluminum does not look all that fancy and comes in non luxury cars. Carbon fibre sounds pretty cool.

03-08-2011, 01:23 PM	#1
Diver Brigadier General 504 Rep 3,446 Posts Drives: Black '12 135i - Sold Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Texas iTrader: (0)	Loaner du Jour My ride is in the shop to solve a minor noise problem. They gave me an early production 2011 white 335i sedan to drive around in. The car has a black leather interior, sport, steptronic, premium, convenience package, nav, sat and iPod. Not too much left off and a sticker price somewhere north of $52,000, which might be why a car in a popular color scheme wound up as a loaner. What is a bit hard for me to absorb is how differently a 335i drives than my 135i. Sure, the DCT is very different, but the ride and steering feel are way different. The 3 has a firm ride, but it is definitely mainstream German. My 1 seems much closer to a sports car and the steering is much heavier. It's a lot of difference for 2 cars with the same motor that are only 200 pounds and 3 inches of wheelbase apart. Always the first thing I notice in a 3 is the interior is prettier with more wood and a large leather and wood covered area on the doors. Nav is a bit strange for me, and I find myself staring at the constantly updating map. Anyway, I should be back in my 135i later today. __________________ See my photography at http://ronscubadiver.wordpress.com
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03-08-2011, 01:56 PM	#2
Brey335i Banned 112 Rep 4,771 Posts Drives: e46 ///M3 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (11)	Heavier steering? I've been in plenty of 135i's and never noticed any difference in steering feel between mine and them.
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03-08-2011, 02:07 PM	#4
Cease11 New Member 2 Rep 29 Posts Drives: 2011 335i Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Socal iTrader: (0)	I too have a loaner since yesterday but they gave me a 2011 335d. That thing has some torque compared to my 2011 335i! And Wayyyy better mpg
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03-08-2011, 03:24 PM	#6
Coolieman1220 Banned 73 Rep 1,770 Posts Drives: 2010 335d Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: New York City iTrader: (0)	glad to see you guys are seeing how awesome the diesel is!
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03-08-2011, 03:44 PM	#7
E46toE90 Sparkling Graphite Metallic FTW 151 Rep 3,212 Posts Drives: lci m-sport e90 n55 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: the bronx iTrader: (12)	__________________
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03-08-2011, 03:46 PM	#8
Blubaron79 Brigadier General 1432 Rep 4,724 Posts Drives: 2021 M340i xDrive Join Date: May 2009 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	The wood on the 3 series is awful.... That's why I ordered it with Alum. trim. Wood trim = Ugly/Old Man __________________ Current: 2021 M340i xDrive Previous: '18 340i xDrive; '15 335 xDrive; '14 435i xDrive; '09 335 E92 xDrive
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03-08-2011, 05:15 PM	#9
eekthecat Lieutenant 24 Rep 481 Posts Drives: 428i Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: California iTrader: (2)	How the heck do you guys get all of these awesome loaners? My local dealership always sticks me with a generic Japanese car from Enterprise.
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03-08-2011, 08:38 PM	#11
JayKay335i Banned 189 Rep 5,046 Posts Drives: ///M323 DCT Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: North Dakota; its best DUHHHHHH iTrader: (1)	My dealer just gave me a 328. Its boring.
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03-09-2011, 12:48 AM	#19
BenTrovato Driver 37 Rep 1,577 Posts Drives: e92 335i Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto iTrader: (4)	The wood trim isn't ugly, it's just heavily heavily dated in terms of style. Its no different than liking a 5 year old comfortable pair of jeans. You can like them all you want but they don't look sharp anymore - same with the wood trim in the 3 series. Wraps in carbon fibre, or some other high end material look really sharp and have a modern feel to them. Aluminum is the in-between. The wood trims offered feel like 2001.
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03-09-2011, 12:50 AM	#20
Philm35 Private 0 Rep 88 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335d Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Cincinnati, OH USA iTrader: (0)	I've been to the dealer twice for service, and both times I got stuck with a cheap Enterprise car instead of a BMW. Also, I think wood is good. __________________ 2011 BMW 335d•Space Gray/Black•Sport•Premium•Convenience•Cold Weather•Nav•HK•iPod
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03-09-2011, 01:04 AM	#21
Trojan4evr Lieutenant Colonel 494 Rep 1,922 Posts Drives: 2021 G80 M3 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Socal iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW/ E82 135i [1.00] 2007 BMW/ E90 335i [5.50]	I feel like my 07 335i has a better ride than my '11 135i. 335i is much more stable in higher speeds. 135i is bit bouncier than my E90 with sport package. __________________ '21 G80 M3 '11 E82 135i DCT (Gone but not forgotten) '08 E90 335i (Gone but not forgotten)
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03-09-2011, 07:32 AM	#22
Diver Brigadier General 504 Rep 3,446 Posts Drives: Black '12 135i - Sold Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Texas iTrader: (0)	I still have the 335i loaner, my car did not get finished yesterday. Fortunately, I was able to demonstrate the noise problem to the shop forman on a short drive. He said the techs would probably have to check nearly every bolt in the back of the car. I think the problem is one of the hamsters died. All I did was drive the 335i home yesterday. It rained all afternoon here while I worked on reformatting my photo blog to show more thumbnails per page and larger images when thumbnails are selected. As far as wood trim goes, I like the way it looks, but I don't like the idea of cutting down hardwood trees to make parts for cars that have a relatively short useful life as compared to other popular uses for this material. OTOH, aluminum does not look all that fancy and comes in non luxury cars. Carbon fibre sounds pretty cool. __________________ See my photography at http://ronscubadiver.wordpress.com
	Appreciate 0 Quote