[Sam_M]

Hi Folks

I'm on the hunt at the moment for a 135i or 335i.

I have a couple of 135i and a E90 335i in my sights, but I wondered if BMW ever produced the E90 with N55+DCT?

I see loads of E92 with that setup but haven't yet seen an E90 N55 DCT pop up for sale.

Cheers

Sam

[dragerboy]

They do not exist.

[Sam_M]

OK thanks

[ptpending]

e90 m3 can be with dct and 135 can be with dct

[Sam_M]

Yes indeed, the E90 M3 is within budget, but I'm not sure I can bear the additional running costs compared to the 35i cars.

Will be testing all the cars I have in my sights soon. The E90 335i I've got my eye on is manual, and the two 135i's are manual and DCT.

If the E90 335i came in DCT I might have been tempted to wait for one to come up.

[Dann]

The E90 didn't but E92 did.

I'm selling my E90 (LCi N54) 335i Manual.......

[CitizenKane]

There's a very simple solution for this... get an e92! 4 doors can't be a pre-requisite if you're also looking at 135i's?

[Sam_M]

Might sound strange but I prefer the look of the E90 over the E92. Looks more like a muscle car!

I might well end up looking at E92s as well.

[-Keith-]

Originally Posted by SamM_UK

Yes indeed, the E90 M3 is within budget, but I'm not sure I can bear the additional running costs compared to the 35i cars.

Originally Posted by CitizenKane

There's a very simple solution for this... get an e92! 4 doors can't be a pre-requisite if you're also looking at 135i's?

Nah, best solution is get the E90 M3 with DCT.

Honestly, the running costs are not a million miles away from the 335i (about 5mpg like for like driving, and some extra servicing costs periodically), but the S65 is a joyus, beautiful, thing that you simply must experience. Sublime, and worth every extra penny.

[Sam_M]

Originally Posted by -Keith-

Nah, best solution is get the E90 M3 with DCT.

Honestly, the running costs are not a million miles away from the 335i (about 5mpg like for like driving, and some extra servicing costs periodically), but the S65 is a joyus, beautiful, thing that you simply must experience. Sublime, and worth every extra penny.

For the money I have to spend the E9x M3s are too leggy for my liking.

[BourneJack]

Originally Posted by SamM_UK

Yes indeed, the E90 M3 is within budget, but I'm not sure I can bear the additional running costs compared to the 35i cars.

Will be testing all the cars I have in my sights soon. The E90 335i I've got my eye on is manual, and the two 135i's are manual and DCT.

If the E90 335i came in DCT I might have been tempted to wait for one to come up.

+1

[CitizenKane]

Originally Posted by -Keith-

Nah, best solution is get the E90 M3 with DCT.

Honestly, the running costs are not a million miles away from the 335i (about 5mpg like for like driving, and some extra servicing costs periodically), but the S65 is a joyus, beautiful, thing that you simply must experience. Sublime, and worth every extra penny.

I'm going to be in the market for a new car soon and this is exactly the decision I'm faced with. The only thing that's really stopping me getting an M3 is concerns about running costs. There is a lot of split opinion about this - some people say what you've said, but a lot of people say the opposite (running costs are way more than expected compared to a 335i). I really want to believe the former...

[MattOz]

From a running cost perspective, my E90 M3 was about 30-40% dearer to run than my 335i. I use both as daily drivers. The M3 averaged 24mpg, the 335i does 31mpg. Same journeys, same speeds etc. Brakes are more expensive on the M3, but tyres very similarly priced. The monthly warranty cost on the M3 was £28 a month more than the 335i. Both sub-60k mile cars. M3 clearly more to service and parts have 'M tax' added.

The M3 isn't ruinous to run, certainly not when compared to my E60 M5. However, the 335i is significantly cheaper day to day. Getting 125-200 miles more from each tank of fuel for a start. That makes a difference.

[CitizenKane]

Originally Posted by MattOz

Getting 125-200 miles more from each tank of fuel for a start. That makes a difference.

How much of this is down to fuel economy, and how much of it is down to the smaller tank in the M3?

Sorry to the OP for:

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by CitizenKane

How much of this is down to fuel economy, and how much of it is down to the smaller tank in the M3?

Sorry to the OP for:

Tank is the same size at 63 litres.

[CitizenKane]

Originally Posted by E60525d

Tank is the same size at 63 litres.

Oh right. Not sure why I thought it was smaller.

[Sam_M]

Originally Posted by CitizenKane

How much of this is down to fuel economy, and how much of it is down to the smaller tank in the M3?

Sorry to the OP for:

Lol that’s ok, it’s good to hear real world comparisons between the 35i and the M3!

[survivalist]

I own a 335i E91 as a family car and a Z4M for the weekends. I have been considering consolidating down into a single car and as result have been test driving a few M3's.

The main issue for me is that the estate body shape is very convenient with 2 young children and the saloon still seems like a compromise too far.

The other main challenge for me is that I found it harder to enjoy the M3 at low (ish) speeds. The combination of a more competent chassis and having most of the power high up the rev range means that a 5/6th tenths the M3 wasn't much fun. The torque of the N54 makes it a lot easier to get the chassis moving at sensible speeds.

Part of me thinks I should add the Birds suspension package to the 335i (it already has the Quaife Diff) but the other half still thinks just get the M3 while cars like that still exist.

[Sam_M]

Originally Posted by survivalist

The combination of a more competent chassis and having most of the power high up the rev range means that a 5/6th tenths the M3 wasn't much fun.

This is one of my feelings about the M3 too. Not to draw a direct comparison, but I had a B16a VTEC Civic in my yoof, you had to rev the arse out of it to get into VTEC and all the power was only available at illegal speeds.

For me I think the ideal motor will be 335i, ohlins, quaife, M3 arms all round and some decent tyres.