[MA1990]

Hi guys just joined as I have the opportunity through a work colleague to buy a 2010 '60 reg 335i m sport saloon. Seems quite a rare car as it's manual with no infotainment screen. It's relatively low mileage with 60k on the clock. I must confess I know very little about BMWs but been doing some digging and I know it's the later single turbo inline 6 engine which is meant to be less problematic than the earlier twin turbo lumps? I've been told it's recently had 6 new plugs and coils along with the oil filter housing gasket.

The car would be my daily driver as my work commute has dropped significantly to 8 miles each way - mix of urban and dual carriageway. What kind of mpg would I be looking at? If it's going to be in the teens I might as well daily my Evo 9 FQ-300 for a while but as you can imagine it would get quite cumbersome and I'd rather keep the miles off it.

Regards

[0l0dom0l0]

A manual N55 is a solid car, no major issues with them. Mixed driving should return no less than 25 mpg, but I'd expect better than that.

Great cars, I'd have an N55 DCT E92 in an ideal world.

[Markos ZimZimma]

Sounds a nice example, low miles... Worth hearing it start up stone cold to ensure it runs smoothly as any spluttering could indicate injector problems and they are very pricey. With just 60k on the clock you could probably still get a BMW warranty on it (or a Warrantywise etc) for peace of mind.

The N55 seems to be a good engine, lots of low down torque, good power: it makes effortless progress really. I have a 335i F31 with the N55 (only difference would be electronic/pneumatic wastegate I would imagine) and mainly use that on longer A road/M-way journeys and my overall average is 34mpg, but I now tend to stick to speed limits. I have got a genuine 42mpg out of it but I was trying to beat my record! On your journeys the 25mpg as mentioned above sounds a good guesstimate, but it all depends on how heavy your right foot is!

Also, they sound good. I have my exhaust valve permanently open and it's just right for me: a bit louder than standard but not silly in any way, although cold start is quite epic!

[MA1990]

Thanks for the responses, and good to hear that there's no major issues with these cars. 25mpg doesn't sound too bad at all I could live with that considering the performance on offer. My concern is that for a daily driver it doesn't have many comforts at all - if any! No heated seats, no idrive system, it's very basic. However, it does have xenons and folding mirrors so bit of an odd spec.

[0l0dom0l0]

Non I drive is not necessarily a bad thing. Does the car have fully electric front seats? If so retrofitting heated seats is very simple, just a case of sourcing some heated seats and bolting them in and replacing the switches.

My current E92 is a similar spec, manual, folding mirrors no I drive, adaptive xenons (which are awesome by the way) but it came without heated seats. I wanted them so I just swapped them out for a set of heated ones.

I'd have it just for the Xenons, a car without xenons is a deal breaker for me as retrofitting them is an absolute pain in the arse.

Honestly if you are getting it for a sensible price, you cannot go far wrong.

[MA1990]

No electric seats - they are the alcantara like cloth type.

Took the car for a drive today, and I can see why the E90 generation is revered by so many BMW enthusiasts. Really liked the steering feedback and feel. Engine is a real peach, no real need for any more power, and sounds great. The car is stock but definitely quick, would be very close race against the Evo, BM probably just shade it I reckon. Nice and light clutch, makes a change from the heavy one in the Evo. Also nice little touch by BMW to have an oil temp gauge in the instrument cluster. Plain interior but driver focussed and well built.

Now onto the things I didn't quite like. The sound system is poor. Gearshift is great when pressing on but driving sedately it seems a bit stiff. Reverse a bit of a pain to engage at times.

Overall though I'm sold on it.

[Markos ZimZimma]

I had an E91 with the base speakers and it was terribly underwhelming. BMW manuals are criticised for being notchy between 1st and 2nd. On a Z4M Coupe I once had, trying to do a smooth change from 1st to 2nd was just impossible, yet that change when pressing on was fine.