Member
Hello everyone
Just wondering is 335i best daily driver for 3 series? I personally enjoy driving itself but I never go to track. Just day to day normal driving is what I enjoy. I come from 11 years of s2000 daily driving and I currently own Acura TLX because we just had a baby. But I'm just not satisfied with the driving experience so I've been looking at sedans with stick shift and 335i seems to stand out to me. I feel like M3 might be an overkill since I won't be tracking.. and with second baby on the way now.. maybe not so baby friendly with noise and harsh ride... and very expensive...
How's the 335i with manual transmission as daily driver? I have personally never owned a BMW and I've only driven a few BMW in my life just few blocks around the neighborhood..
Member
Excellent daily drivers.
Member
I dd my 335 manual tranny no problems
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
Member
Hello today I did a test drive on a 2014 335i with 6speed and m sport package. Here are my comments and I want to know what others think of my comments. Thank you
Keep in mind that this was the first BMW I have driven and I come from 11 years, 250k miles of daily driving a Honda S2000. I currently drive Acura TLX 4cyl
1. I noticed the turbo lag. and I really don't like turbo lags. I am a big NA linear power engine guy and I noticed this turbo lag. this is a big negative for me
2. the ride is pretty soft. or I should say softer than I thought it would be. Soft and relatively quiet
3. the power was not overwhelming for me. during the test drive I had floored it a few times close to the redline.. and I guess I was expecting more excitement? but the car is definitely pretty fast.
4. steering and handling felt very good. no complaints there
5. interior felt a bit cheap. felt lot of plastic hard surfaces. my Acura feels more luxurious in terms of material and interior
6. Gearbox was not as bad as I thought it would be but certainly no where near as good as s2000
overall it felt like a nice sporty sedan but certainly didn't feel like a sports car.
after the drive I'm not quite sure if I want the 335i or just wait and save up more for the M3.
any thoughts?
thanks
Member
Where you in sport or comfort mode? I don't notice any lag but I'm FBO so pushing around 430hp
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
Member
I was in sport mode. Is the f30 335i not turbo laggy?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Member
Maybe in eco mode. The turbo is very efficient
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
Member
I kind of feel like asking you: what did you expect? An S2000 is a "sports car", a 335i is a "sports sedan"; those are two different things. Buy a Z4 if you want a "sports car". And also: "daily driver" doesn't mean "sports car" either. Look, my son drives an older 335i Coupe with MT and PPK, etc. He down-graded his tires (because no track, expense, rain in Seattle) because THERE IS NO WAY TO USE THAT MUCH POWER AND PERFORMANCE IN HIS DAILY DRIVING. 2nd gear gets you to almost 80 mph, and the car is as quick and fast (not handling) as my '94 NSX. Why do you think it's not fast enough?Originally Posted by icecreamballer
Frankly, you've run into the reason many long-time BMW aficionados are unhappy with the F3x: BMW decided to go for a softer and mass-market appeal. If you read (some of the other forums especially, which are far more active in the F3x world) a bit, you can still get what you want, but you have to special-order the car: either MSport or Adaptive suspension, and a couple other packages. You generally won't find Adaptive - it's a rare option.
And as far as an M3 - remember that it's a turbo-six also, so you'll still have some lag.
Moderate your expectations. They're great daily drivers (notice I drive an almost-as-fast 335d and my wife a 328d) but hardly a 600-700 lb lighter S2000 (or NSX).
Member
I have one..... perhaps you'd be better off staying with the Acura brand.
Member
my 2012 f30 335i with sport and adaptive packages IS my daily driver. Its a quick, but even ride that handles like a dream.
Member
Just bought a CPO 335i Sport Line a few weeks ago to serve as a daily driver. Prior to this, I had a '15 STI, then a 2016 IS350 F-Sport. Both of these cars felt more sporty than the 335i - not necessarily faster (although perhaps the STI was), but they were more engaging, gave more feedback, and just overall inspired more confidence than the 335i. That said, for me, the STI wasn't the best daily driver because it rode a bit rougher and wasn't as nice as I'd want, and the Lexus (while being pretty good at everything) was not engaging enough for me to be my only car. So, I now have an '05 STI and the 335i. If you're coming from an S2000, and wanted something remotely close to that level of sportiness and engagement, I can definitely see why the 335i can come across as a bit disappointing. The F30 generation in particular feels very bloated and soft as compared to the E90 and E46. And, that's because it is - it's a bigger car, and BMW made a conscious effort to make the car more appealing to the mass market demographic, i.e. those looking for a luxury car with sporting intentions (rather than a true sports car). So, the electronic steering is very light and numb, the brakes feel pretty squishy and nonlinear to me (not sure that it detrimentally affects braking performance, however), the run flats are not great, and you can definitely feel the weight and body roll around hard cornering.
That being said, I think the 335i is the best daily driver out of my most recent cars, and I think that for most people, it'd serve as a great daily driver as well. It's larger than the Lexus so there's more room for rear passengers, the rear seats actually fold flat (or at least flatter than the Lexus) so you can carry larger items if you need to, the Harmon Kardon sound system isn't terrible (unlike the STI's audio, although far less good than the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus), gets better MPG, and it's definitely fast enough to give you that sense of effortless acceleration. Plus, the ZF 8-speed is a fantastic transmission. Of course, the big caveat here is, if you need or want a sports car, the 335i ain't going to be it. So, if you adjust your expectation accordingly, I think you'll find that it's pretty damn good at what it was designed to do. Of course, you may still find yourself wanting an actual sporty car in addition to the 335i
Also, are you sure you're actually feeling turbo lag? As compared to the STI, where power doesn't come on until 3,500 RPM's, the 335i seems to offer near instantaneous power almost from idle. In fact, even comparing it to my wife's old '15 RDX (NA V6), the power delivery seems to come on much earlier than VTEC. As others have said, maybe you need to try it in Sport or Sport + mode, although even in Comfort, I never sensed anything remotely close to what I'd consider "lag." The power also comes on fairly linearly, unlike some other turbo motors where you get nothing, nothing, nothing and then a HUGE PUSH of power. Perhaps this might be why you don't think the acceleration felt as exciting - because it's so smooth, it's almost deceptive. Just a thought.
Last edited by kyoung05; 03-11-2017 at 05:08 PM.
Member
I would try and go for an E92 335is. More HP than the 335i and looks much better with the M Sport package stock. The 20 extra HP is also a major plus along with how easy upgrades are for the N54 engine
Member
Have an S2000 hibernating for another 6 weeks and am picking up a '15 335ix manual tranny tomorrow, Small world.
The BMW will be a daily and long distance touring car for us while being fun to drive. Its very fast and the 6speed makes it even more fun.
Two different cars each excellent in their role
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks