BMW 335i Coupé
First impressions count for a lot, and the new 335i Coupé looks simply gorgeous in person. There is just something about the subtlety of the E92 Coupé which you won’t find in the regular E90 Sedan, regardless of how similar they may appear at first sight. Once inside, the generous sports seats feature any adjustment you can possibly think of and place you in full view of the cockpit. Much has been said about the interior of post-E65 7 Series BMWs (notice that I didn’t say post-Chris Bangle – that is because he was at BMW long before people started expressing their outrage with some of his
designs) and this one to me is of the most harmonious designs. It is clean and elegant, with great ergonomics and made of high quality materials.
Shortly after the door is closed you will be greeted by what is perhaps the single disappointment in this vehicle – the electric seatbelt handover which extends from
the B-pillar to spare driver and passenger inelegant stretching prior to buckling up. Not only is said robotic arm made of wobbly plastic but there is also a usability problem in that unless you grab the belt as soon as it is offered to you (like, say, if you wish to soak up the luxury cabin’s ambience for a few seconds), it retracts back into the pillar. As much as I tried I could find of no way to ask it for my seatbelt back. Ok, enough about boring details…
The engine starts with enthusiasm but not much drama, and once on the move it is rather inaudible. This is an important hint about this car’s character as we shall see
later. Visibility is top notch despite the lower driving position and long bonnet compared to its sedan cousin, and we are away. The question on everyone’s mind, of
course, is what is the performance like? In a word, stunning. Put your right foot down and this car just keeps on piling the speed with such ease that you find yourself
planning your overtaking manoeuvres 5 or 6 cars in advance.
There is a saying among car enthusiasts that goes “too much power is just about right”. Well, I think this car has enough. You must be used to something really exotic to not find the acceleration of the twin-turbo 335i exhilarating. A little birdie told me that up on the reef, it is slightly faster than the E46 M3 and I actually had a chance to confirm that for myself (on a closed-off private testing road of course).
Make no mistake however; this is no BMW M car. As such it is refined, quiet and almost insulated. In fact, you have to open both windows and the sunroof or else
you’d never get enough of that sweet 6-pot music. This is one area where the new 3 Series Convertible will surely be the winner! The dominant engine aside, other
dynamic aspects of the vehicle are also superb although, again, somewhat remote and muted. The dinner-plate sized brake discs do an awesome job without really telegraphing about every single road irregularity they encounter. Some might say understeer is the order of the day, but that is only because all too often you will
try and turn in at some insane speed without even realizing it. The steering feedback is there if you pay attention, and the chassis is so finely tuned that all that scary power going to the back wheels is no threat even if you decide to switch DSC off (and DTC was a great compromise in my opinion). As expected, both primary and secondary ride were perfectly sorted.
It should be clear by now that what we have here is a connoisseur’s fine GT, the perfect transport for you and a partner to a stylish restaurant and yet one that packs a mighty punch should you be in the mood for attacking some twisty roads. Needless to say, it was very difficult indeed to part with it once it had to be returned. Our display vehicle was also equipped with iDrive (much improved, but I still couldn’t figure out how to put the CD player on pause…), Professional Navigation (perspective map view is excellent), Extended Light Package (who would have thought a bunch of LED’s can
make such a difference?!?), Adaptive Headlights and countless other gizmos. I particularly liked the elastic mesh that clips to the boot floor – rather handy for keep-
ing one’s camera bag from banging around during spirited cornering. It’s the little touches such as this that make this performance coupé a pleasure to live with.
Pair that with a super-GT alter ego and you have a highly desirable winner on your hands.
This article appeared in The Beemer from May 2007, the BMW Car Club Gauteng's member magazine.