30 day E90 335i ownership review / comparison g35 coupe

[Potty_Pants]

On May 21st 2007 I picked up my…

BMW E90 335i (Sparkling graphite) 6sp manual (sticker around 49,500 purchase around 46k)
Comfort access,
Navigation,
Sport Package,
Premium Package,
Rear and side sunshades,
6FL (IPOD integration),
HD radio
Dakota leather

The car was delivered with 8 miles on the odometer. Overall I’m quite happy with the new car. I hope you guys can benefit from my review. I may not repeat some of the info you’ve read on other reviews since I tend to ramble and its repetitive.

E90 = Sedan
E91 = Station wagon
E92 = Coupe
E93 = Convertible

Engine designation 320d,325,328,330,335i might of missed a couple

(Highly subjective and solely my opinions below…)

Buttons …
I must admit I fumbled with a lot of the features in the car, they seem to be slightly different from what I was used to. For instance I tried to start the car with the Comfort access and it didn’t start (duh need to press the clutch in). Hey its been awhile guys all I can say is INFO overload
Some buttons such as the door locks are placed further away then arms reach and consequently I open the rear windows instead of the front. Supposedly if you don’t like pulling up on the window switch if you hold it down it will reverse the functionality. Door locks are located in the center of the dashboard.
Another concern is the placement of the cruise control – it’s another stalk on the left side below the turn signal stalk.
If the doors are locked and you try to exit… you will fail.. you must pull the door handle twice for the door to unlock (or press the lock/unlock button on dash)
Please note I’m sure I’ll get used to the changes in layout, I just wanted to point out the differences from what I/we are used to.

Displays…
Instrument panel works, some of the gauges are partially covered based upon your seating & steering wheel position. Red color is not my cup of tea as of now it hasn’t caused any eye strain. LCD display for Idrive & Nav is kinda nice its quite wide and allows for a lot of information.

Gadgets…
Programming the Idrive for my mobile phone was somewhat difficult for the CA (client advisor=salesman). Eventually he succeeded however only hands-free was functional, the address book would not transfer over. Ability to enable the fans to turn on for 30 minutes at a scheduled time (helps blow out the hot air when leaving work,etc). Ability to configure daytime running lights, how comfort access works with locks etc, fan control output based upon CA keyfob and its not manual. Heater fan stays on (if requirements are met) with engine not running for use waiting for kids in winter, running into a local store and leaving people in the car. CA seems to have a problem sometimes unlocking doors and trunk… I wound say 29/30 times it works fine. I’ve switched keyfobs for testing, however this may be a design flaw.
Rear automatic sun shade is a fun toy and the manual side window shades is a big plus. For $400 more I highly recommend it !
Interior lighting and exterior LED lighting really bumps up the class on this car. Hell even the two pin thin orange LEDS near the rear view mirror shine down upon the stick while at night and provide enough light without being a bother.
And I cant forget the trusty LED rechargeable flashlight in the glovebox ! how many times have you needed a flashlight while near the car, in the car, or broken down outside the car…well they made one that’s tied to the wiring (always charged) and avail!
How many times have you started closing your G35 sunroof and you open the door… and the sunroof stops ? I’m guessing the Comfort Access on the E90 is directly responsible for this not occurring on the E90. start closing the sunroof , or windows and exit the car… it finishes.

Audio
Radio quality sounds even throughout the entire freq range, and is adjustable via treble,bass & EQ settings, the down side its murder to find the ideal config. Bass is under the driver/passenger seats however I would like more bass… Im guessing the upgraded logic 7+ new to the 2008 335i will provide that extra bass im looking for. Still far better then the blose.
Ipod integration works , not perfect but it works pretty good ( I expect software updates down the road to improve functionality) having 30+ GB of music that can be transferred very quickly, easily from a PC is a nice feature, the IPOD connection is digital and provides charging also.
Additionally MP3s can be played on the NAV DVD player… if you feel like possibly damaging your NAV DVD. There seems to be quite a few updates for the NAV disc floating around on the internet… so newer versions are avail if you know where to look Oh here’s a big plus… when you enter the car there is a disclaimer on the NAV display… ~please press accept~… If you don’t press accept the screen disappears after a few seconds and it ….. allows you or your passenger to change the Navigation settings while in motion !!! I never understood why its such a big deal with Infiniti but whatever.
HD radio… well in my area there is only one station and the HD sounds better then XM funny thing is HD is around 98k not 128k or greater. XM and serious must have massive compression.

Performance
What can I say… you’ve seen the #’s and you’ve read some reviews and possibly test drove the 335i. For the 30 days since taking delivery I’ve enjoyed the performance! When I had my G it seemed I could always gun it and go , with the 335i it seems there’s
Soo much power that when I gun it ½ a second later I need to stop. This alone makes me feel like I can’t drive the car, I just baby it all the time. The 335i feels like its more sticky on the roads compared to the my G35 coupe (tires feel like sticky hot tar while the G felt like hard rubber). I’ve also test drove a 2007 G35 sedan with sport… and the ride felt the same as my G coupe rough ( when compared to my BMW ) Stopping power works great and (good or bad) is assisted by the car to compensate for differentials. I really can’t tell when the car is adding additional braking only feel it when im stopped and it releases some pressure on the brake pedal. Brake dust is beyond horrible. I cant stress this enough drive 1 mile to the store and the wheels look similar to 3k on my 2005 G35. I’ve never had to clean my g35 wheels due to brake dust, now I find myself washing my car because the wheels are soo dirty  . On the good side though , who cares if the car eats brake shoes… they are replaced free for 4yr 50k… at which point they will be swapped out with a reduced dust version.
Current gas mileage (grain of salt) break in with ½ highway and ½ rural city was around 22MPG… After break-in ¾ rural city and ¼ highway it’s around 18-20MPG. I expect the MPG to increase however due to my lead-foot I wont be providing any normal driving MPG numbers.

Fit & Finish
I haven’t found any imperfections or quality control problems with the car yet… There is a rattle at 1500 , pba this could be anything from the turbos, exhaust shielding, the engine – I asked the dealer (during my oil change) if this was normal, they took it for a test drive w/o me and said it was normal. There is a big gap where the hood meets the body (on the sides of the hood) however the gap is the same space at the front and rear and on both sides. Paint quality is questionable due to the excessive orange peel plagued by new bmw’s . I believe it’s the worst out there… however for me I cant see a difference unless im up close. I’m sure the paint is as soft as most of the others out there… so that’s life with water based paints and the EPA. Also be warned there are minimal drink holders and they are not perfect but they work. To summarize inside the car appears to be 100% flawless, the exterior body panes (short of the hood) are all exact with no gap or alignment problems. Very quiet ride, low road noise & Doors close with a THUD. No rattles.
Seatbelt on the passenger side of my G always banged against the seat or plastic, kinda a bother, additionally the driverside seatbelt on the G always rubbed around my neck, these problems do not occur on the E90. Oh additionally a big thing for me was the seatbelts in the back of the G35 coupe for the kids, they seemed very sensitive and everytime they were used the it went like this. Put kid in back seat, kid gets seatbelt… seatbelt stops moving safety lock before it can be clicked. Get kid out of seat, get kid seat out of seat, retract seatbelt all the way, put set back in , put kid back in, be extremely gently with seatbelt. Service found nothing wrong 


Continued...

[Potty_Pants]

MISC –
While the G35 Looks the best out of the two (no competition in my book) the BMW has something I didn’t figure on … the B.M.W. Rondel, girls & guys seem to hold in high regard the BMW nameplate and this imo equals or surpasses the G. Let me repeat I still think the G looks better and im not a badge monkey. So I find it strange this would mean more to people. When people found out I had a G they said “man that’s a nice car” when they found out I have a BMW they say “wow nice car, you must be rich”. Panty factor on a scale of 1 (yugo) and 10(Ferarri) I would rate the G a 6 and the BMW a 5… Everybody I’ve met after getting the 335i IMO rate the BMW a 7.
Head/leg room VERY good My G was always tight for my buddies however the new E90 335i its very spacious in the front and rear seats.
Leather quality… light years ahead of Nissan/Infiniti, The leather in my G did not age gracefully. The leather in the BMW is three times as thick. Being as thick I would expect it to hold up much better. The seats are VERY comfortable and have many adjustments… the airbags built into the seat for comfort make a major difference over the G. While the G seats may have felts good, once driving for an hr or so they tended to be awkward.
A CDV the (clutch delay valve) will be removed this week. After this removal I expect normal clutch engagement… We’ll see…
Due to the turbo’s and 7 quart of oil it takes, the warmup time is much longer the the G and caution needs to be taken when starting the car up… in other words cant drive like a maniac from a cold start… bmw did provide turbo management… until a certain temp is reached the turbos wont spool… until operating temp is reached they wont output 100%. The turbos “supposedly” are cooled by oil & coolant and under high temps will continue cooling when the car is turned off.
No alarm is included with purchase of the E90.
Turn signals work better then my G, lol yeah that’s right… 1st option is 3 flash turns , lightly tap the stalk and it will display 3 flashes on the turn signals for use with lane changes and such. The 2nd item is various turns I’ve taken with my G refuse to turn the turn signal off , like going around & out of a circle, turning off certain roads. The turn signal is sensitive enough to turn off on the E90.
Sunroof is noticeably larger then G35 sunroof.

Hope this provides a little insight to the bmw e90 335i for you 


ppp

[G-WannaBe]

thanks for the extensive detail, your fingers must be about to fall off.

Hope it stays a happy marriage for you for a long time.

[John105]

I can't find anything wrong with my 335 after nearly 7 mos., but it sits for weeks at a time in the garage. I don't know if that's good or bad for the fuel pump. The only thing close to a rattle is when the motor shuts off, there's a shuddering rattle. But e90 post said to engage the clutch and the sound would go away...it did.

I can't get over the fuel economy and the steering, those would be my two biggest raves. I drive a lot, and I mean a lot of rental cars, and many are way better than my Maxima for steering feel...but none are like the 335. It's so precise it's like having ***......

Fit/finish is top-notch for an entry-level car, and when you see more braces in the engine bay besides the strut tower brace, you know this thing is no fooling around from a design perspective. Worth the money? Now I think so. Sometimes it's a good thing to spend on what we really want. All the time is unsustainable, but sometimes is ok.

[Picus]

The rattle you're hearing, John, is the CDV... that's why you don't hear it with the clutch engaged when you turn the car off. It's normal on all BMWs.

PP, nice write up. One note; BMW says they use that red/orange instrument panel lighting because it does not cause the eye to dilate (same reason jets use that color)... it's to reduce eye strain. Not sure if that is totally true or not, but whatever.

[muscarel]

Nice write up. Always good to hear peoples takes on different cars.

[Skaterbasist]

Very nice review.

That hefty price tag is its biggest con in my opinion though.

.

[Wannabe6MT]

A car that costs 10k more than the G.... buts the same size. Um, okay.

Seems like a nice car and glad you enjoy it. I'll keep my below par Gs It gives the car some flavor and character

[Yimbie]

Great review Potty Pants. Thank you.

[RBull]

Excellent review PP. Thanks for taking the time to write that much.

[JEVERYDAY]

Thanks man... Nice IN-DEPTH review...

If you dont mind me asking... How much?

[muscarel]

Keep us updated on the car. It's interesting to see how a car "ages" in an owner's eyes. Sometimes things that you didn't care about gets lost in the early excitement of getting a new car. Small annoyances about a cars ergonomics, drive, wear, etc. are more evident as time goes on.

[Potty_Pants]

Thanks guys, for the kind words !

tradein (shown) for the G was 27k
buy price (show) was $46,450

I'm sure you guys will hear from me on this if it needs to go into the shop for an unscheduled service....

Already romping on it, CDV delete installed.

besides I may want to switch back to infiniti for Gen 3....

ppp

p.s. anybody know how to active the headlight washer on this friggin car ? heh

[muscarel]

What is CDV and do other cars have it? I'm thinking this is the same uneasy feeling I was getting when shifting quickly from 1-2 on the 335 (during a test drive).

[Potty_Pants]

most bmw's even the M series have it..

its a moron valve on the clutch line.

here's a link... it'll explain it better then i can.

http://www.zeckhausen.com/CDV.htm

ppp