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2007 BMW 335i Coupe Automatic
The quickest BMW you can get that doesn’t start with an M (until the 135i arrives, that is).
It used to be easy to write about the BMW 3-series. For the most part, we knew what we were gonna say before we ever got in the car. On the other hand, there were nuances about the character of the car that were extremely hard to put into words to convey just how good these cars feel. But we’d try, and it usually came out in the form of unbridled praise for perfect steering, elegant interior simplicity, and a brilliant ride-and-handling balance.
Maybe BMW got bored of hearing the same thing over and over again, because suddenly we had to come up with new words to describe the 3: controversially styled, technologically overwrought, and now this: quicker with the automatic.
Fantastic as an Automatic
Yes, the 335i’s ZF-sourced six-speed automatic is among the world’s very best transmissions, and we can’t heap enough praise on it. Responsive and quick to act, it is the perfect autobox for this kind of car. In normal automatic mode, shifts are virtually invisible, but the character changes dramatically when prompted. Deputy editor Dave VanderWerp says, “Full-throttle downshifts are quite severe, but to me, that’s fine when I’m pushing the pedal all the way to the floor. The automatic generally does a single multigear kickdown instead of stopping off at other ratios along the way.” We also noted snappy rev-matching throttle blips when downshifting using the manumatic function (or paddles), and in the sport-shift mode, it eagerly takes the liberty of automatically downshifting during braking to set you higher in the meat of the power band whenever your right foot returns to the other pedal.
Now, as for the paddles themselves, a $100 option on top of the $1275 automatic, they are lovely pieces of satin metal sculpture, both of which perform up- and downshifts depending on which way you push: toward you for upshifts, away from you for downshifts. VanderWerp is among those on staff who prefer the “right for upshifts, left for downshifts” approach. Others, including this author, think it’s proper that each does both. Whatever. Once accustomed to it, any driver will enjoy a willing partner in his or her shifting shenanigans.
Spectacular Twin-Turbo Inline-Six
Any good transmission can really only facilitate the most direct connection possible between the engine and the intentions of the driver. Which brings us to what might be the best thing about the 335i: the engine itself.
Like so many artistic masterpieces, BMW’s stalwart 3.0-liter inline-six engine is delightfully nuanced. In naturally aspirated form, as found in the 230-hp 328i and so many Bimmers before it, the engine has a vivid and playful character, yet it is somehow subtle, never feeling overburdened and always delivering more sheer performance than its displacement promises. This is due in large part to good old-fashioned technology, including Double VANOS variable valve timing and Valvetronic, which throttles the engine by varying valve lift. Naturally, we were as skeptical as anyone (maybe more so) about BMW tampering with this deified powerplant by applying, of all things, devices as brutish as turbochargers.
Full Article:
Tested: 2007 BMW 335i Coupe Automatic - Road Tests - Car and Driver July 2007
M
The quickest BMW you can get that doesn’t start with an M (until the 135i arrives, that is).
It used to be easy to write about the BMW 3-series. For the most part, we knew what we were gonna say before we ever got in the car. On the other hand, there were nuances about the character of the car that were extremely hard to put into words to convey just how good these cars feel. But we’d try, and it usually came out in the form of unbridled praise for perfect steering, elegant interior simplicity, and a brilliant ride-and-handling balance.
Maybe BMW got bored of hearing the same thing over and over again, because suddenly we had to come up with new words to describe the 3: controversially styled, technologically overwrought, and now this: quicker with the automatic.
Fantastic as an Automatic
Yes, the 335i’s ZF-sourced six-speed automatic is among the world’s very best transmissions, and we can’t heap enough praise on it. Responsive and quick to act, it is the perfect autobox for this kind of car. In normal automatic mode, shifts are virtually invisible, but the character changes dramatically when prompted. Deputy editor Dave VanderWerp says, “Full-throttle downshifts are quite severe, but to me, that’s fine when I’m pushing the pedal all the way to the floor. The automatic generally does a single multigear kickdown instead of stopping off at other ratios along the way.” We also noted snappy rev-matching throttle blips when downshifting using the manumatic function (or paddles), and in the sport-shift mode, it eagerly takes the liberty of automatically downshifting during braking to set you higher in the meat of the power band whenever your right foot returns to the other pedal.
Now, as for the paddles themselves, a $100 option on top of the $1275 automatic, they are lovely pieces of satin metal sculpture, both of which perform up- and downshifts depending on which way you push: toward you for upshifts, away from you for downshifts. VanderWerp is among those on staff who prefer the “right for upshifts, left for downshifts” approach. Others, including this author, think it’s proper that each does both. Whatever. Once accustomed to it, any driver will enjoy a willing partner in his or her shifting shenanigans.
Spectacular Twin-Turbo Inline-Six
Any good transmission can really only facilitate the most direct connection possible between the engine and the intentions of the driver. Which brings us to what might be the best thing about the 335i: the engine itself.
Like so many artistic masterpieces, BMW’s stalwart 3.0-liter inline-six engine is delightfully nuanced. In naturally aspirated form, as found in the 230-hp 328i and so many Bimmers before it, the engine has a vivid and playful character, yet it is somehow subtle, never feeling overburdened and always delivering more sheer performance than its displacement promises. This is due in large part to good old-fashioned technology, including Double VANOS variable valve timing and Valvetronic, which throttles the engine by varying valve lift. Naturally, we were as skeptical as anyone (maybe more so) about BMW tampering with this deified powerplant by applying, of all things, devices as brutish as turbochargers.
Full Article:
Tested: 2007 BMW 335i Coupe Automatic - Road Tests - Car and Driver July 2007
M
