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335d driver test drove 328d and 535d

19K views 127 replies 34 participants last post by  tonyspumoni 
#1 · (Edited)
Having never done so I test drove a new 328d with sport package and a base 535d today and want to share my impressions.

For context, I currently drive a 2011 335d Msport equipped with Michelin PSS's and H&R sways but without tunes or LSD. My driving style can best be characterized as "spirited", featuring fast launches, fast freeway driving, high-speed turns, and quick moves (I definitely know what the term "drifting" means).

First I drove the base model 535d. In both suburban and California freeway settings I found it to be a very nice car all around. Plush inside, mushier in the handling department than my tastes would allow, but exceptionally quiet for a car that has essentially the same motor as the 335d. Lots of room inside but not feeling all that big on the outside. Acceleration was surprisingly good from a start or on the highway, though it took some pedal play in Sport mode to find a powerband sweet spot. Lane changes were precise, braking ok but not great, and cornering and ride soft but within my expectations for the model and the build. If I had to routinely drive back and forth to Vegas the 535d would be the perfect car ***8211; plenty of power, plenty of comfort, no noise to speak of, with enough drivability to get into and out of most everyday driving situations.

Next I drove a 328d with sports package over the same curcuit. I was very surprised by how well it handled, both in contrast to the more sedate steering of the 535 and in comparison to my tarted-up 335d. The steering was tight and precise, providing excellent feedback. Body roll was slight in merges and around corners and the ride firm but composed. I didn't feel every pebble in the road but I also felt connected to it. Handling prowess notwithstanding, the 328d's powerplant is an outright dog totally compromising what could have been a fun driving car however. Frumpy, rattly, and underpowered, it has enough oomph to stay with traffic in the 0-50 mph band, but lacks power in the >50 mph range and has no reserve for getting the better of anyone under any circumstances, which comports with the moderate torque and below-average horsepower. Freeway merging was a chore and, though the 328d maintained speed well, quick acceleration and lane cuts seemed utterly out of the question. Efficient though it may be, the 328d is not the ulimate driving machine if acceleration and reserve power requirements are in question.

And a word to efficiency. I re-set the mpg computer on the 328d at the start of our drive (sorry ***8211; forgot to do it on the 535d) and over about 15 miles of driving with two passengers and the A/C on I averaged a dispiriting 20.1 mpg. Extending the freeway driving would of course have raised that number quite a bit. Still. Figuring that I made an error or got a "bad" car I checked www.fuelly.com for other 328d's and found that while the mean efficiency is 37 mpg combined, there's a pretty wide distribution, with plenty of folks reporting numbers down into the lower 20's and some folks here on Bimmerfest also expressing much lower efficiency numbers. My guess is that as like most cars the 328d has an efficiency sweet spot; stray from that spot with hard driving and efficiency plunges, as it likely did during my brief, demanding test drive. If I were commuting long distances in stable traffic environments, the 328d would probably hit its stride and be a good car. On the other hand, my two 335d's have achieved a lifetime combined average of mostly suburban driving of 26.7 mpg, an average road-trip efficiency of 37 mpg, and a free high of 42 mpg. If I were to drive like a human instead of a freaking lunatic ***8211; I have gone through four sets of tires in just over 72k total driving ***8211; I could probably better those numbers for the 335d still.

So, how would I rate these new diesels? From this driving enthusiast's narrow point of view, the 535d has plenty of power but rides too plushly while the 328d sport is wildly underpowered but handles and rides great. Throw on a sports suspension and the 535d might be a worthy replacement for the 335d, particularly for those who drive less aggressively than they once did and are willing to trade a measure of sharp handling for comfort and sonic isolation and to choke up another 20k. The 328d is an entirely different animal however and certainly cannot be recommended to anyone who prizes quickness and a hefty power reserve. I'm going to throw right down here and say that my wife's Prius, with the "Green Button" depressed, has at least as much power to the wheels as the 328d and, though it is louder and not nearly as much fun to fling around, would be my choice if I had to pick between the two and could pocket the 15k price difference. I was pretty disappointed in the new 328i, which I found to be unrefined, but the motor in the 328d is just so much more disappointing that even great steering cannot compensate. Oh BMW, what have you wrought?
 
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#44 · (Edited)
its a tough comparison to make since even 335d drivers fit into multiple camps. There are those who bought it because its a diesel, those for the MPGs, and those for the power. The first two camps might be happy with a 328d, but the power camp wouldnt be satisfied. Personally, before I ended up with my 335d I cross shopped with 335i and audi RS4. For my choices a 328d would not have been an option and from what I can gather based on both negative and positive reviews I would have been pretty disappointed if a sales guy tried to put me in one. Im sure you could find thousands of 335d drivers though who would end up very happy with a 328d, but those are largely not the drivers who are on these forums so youre going to get a bit of a skewed response. If theres one thing the 335d could have used that the 328d has, its the 8 speed. I would love that thing and based on reviews from the 535d it is an excellent match for a 3.0L turbodiesel even if the N57 is a bit different from the M57. My biggest qualm with the 328d is that if I want to replace my 335d sometime in the near future, im either going to have to pick up a 2011 or older 335d or go to another brand.
 
#45 ·
For my part I’m less concerned with the marketing labels BMW applies to their diesel offerings and more with the relative performance of cars themselves. I test drove the 328d and 535d as potential replacements, ultimately, for my 335d. I’m not sure re-badging the 328d as a 325d or even a 320d would have meant much to me, but it is true that this would mean something to somebody. What remains a problem, for me anyway, is that BMW simply doesn’t have a replacement for the 335d in their lineup and it doesn’t sound they will anytime soon. One of the reasons I’m rooting for an A4 TDI and will give the S3 a nice, long look is that they may themselves represent surrogates to a greater or lesser extent for the 335d, thereby either representing a brand escape path for me when my 335d needs to go bye-bye or a pressure point on BMW to drop the 535d motor into the F30 body, re-generating the 335d on the current 3-series platform. The 535d is good car, but loading it up by 20k and degrading the handling traits does not make it a step up or step across from the 335d.

What does seem clear to me is that if BMW had offered the 328d first and THEN the 335d or both simultaneously, the tone of our conversation would be entirely different. Had they done so, those seeking efficiency could have stayed 328d and those lusting for enhanced performance could have gone 335d and we would all have chatted amicably about how much we all just love our BMW diesels. Imagine the howl’s of rage if BMW had discontinued the E90/E92 335i and offered the F30 328i instead. The world would have tilted off its access! “BMW is going to hell!!!”. “Time for the pitchforks and torches”. What do you think present or former owners of the 335i would say about the F30 328i? And this despite the fact that zero to 60 time difference – a useful but of course imperfect proxy for power - is, what, maybe 1.5 seconds, or about the difference between the 328d and the 335d? So even though the market for the 335i is way smaller than the market for the 328i, BMW keeps making and updating the 335i. The 335i is a benchmark car for BMW in just the same way that the GTI is for Volkswagen and the 911 for Porsche. A good measure of BMW’s pretensions to the label the UDM is in fact based on the M models and non-M versions of each series, cars that sell in small percentages relative to the non-UDM, mass-market members of the series.

In short, it was just bad planning for BMW to not have a viable alternative to a car, I’m speaking here of the 335d, that most owners liked and liked it for what it is. We disputed whether the 328d is a viable alternative to the 335d ad nauseum of course – some say yes, others say no, while still others prevaricate - but for a core group it obviously isn’t, in just the same way it wouldn’t be for all the 335i owners who, though they spend 99.99% of the time using just 10% of their car’s power, still have in the deepest recesses of their driving consciousness recourse to the skinny wompum pedal and would be saddled with and profoundly disappointed by the sad choice between a 328i – an arguably more suitable surrogate for its upmarket sibbling than the 328d is for the 335d – or some 5 series that costs a king’s ransom and handles like a land yacht.

I went into my test drives hoping that the power gulf between the 328d and the 335d was less wide than I, personally, perceived it to be. I came out thinking that BMW really blew this one.
 
#51 ·
Anybody else thinks that the decision to now offer only the small diesel in the US is to lower fleet fuel consumption?

(which as you probably know has all kinds of marketing and regulatory implications)
I do and I think they really don't want to sell many due to the price point. The 328d(320d) is a good car, I just don't think there's value at its current MSRP.

Is the 328d BMW version of a Chevy Cobalt*?

* I read that GM made the Cobalt for CAFE and never intended to sell many of the cars.
 
#48 ·
That is exactly the motivation I see at work here. I saw somewhere that average mpgd is supposed to be around 50 by 2025. sounds like a long way off but closer than we think. This is why I am loving the concept of the 225d. better power than the heavier 328d and supposedly better fuel economy.


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#59 ·
If we had a track around here we could really give these cars a through workout. Wouldn't that be nice. Laguna doesn't have open track days - you gotta be a member of a club and I'm allergic to them. Like flocks, there's always a shepherd or a nanny running the show and if you don't kiss the ring, you don't get to ride the ride. I fact, I've often dreamt about pitching in the towel on science and trying to open a track. The only trouble is that there's no good land for it around here - I'd have to go put it out in the middle of East County. Ah well. That's why they're called dreams.
 
#63 · (Edited)
What's wrong with Chuckwalla Valley Raceway (CVR) up by Hemet? It's about an hour to an hour and a half from SD (I hr from Escondido), a day trip. It's relatively new and in great condition, and they have plenty of open lapping days. There's one on May31 for only $175 which is cheap, cheap, cheap compared to a BMW CCA two day school which goes for around $475, plus motel room, plus gas and some meals, your looking at around $700+ for the weekend, and you have to drive around the black hole of L.A. to get to tracks like Buttonwillow and Willow Springs. So CVR is a deal - http://goracecvr.com/. It's up in the high dessert on a piece of land that was used by Patton in the early days of WWII to train his tankers before they took on Rommel.

One word of caution. Back in the good old days, if you went to a HPDE and put your car on its roof or rolled it up in a ball, you could tell your insurance company that you hit a deer. You wouldn't believe the damage a deer could do. And the insurance companies actually bought it. Not now. Specific exclusions for accidents on "a racing surface". There are, however, insurers who will cover you for a day or two at the track. Check with CVR.

But if you don't want the regimentation or cost of track time, don't want to mess with tech inspections, dealing with club dudes on an ego trip, etc., you're in luck if you live in SD. Palomar Mountain or Mt Laguna. Hot shoes from all over So Cal come to the roads up there on the weekends in the summer. And believe it or not, as notorious as the area is for street racers the cops do not patrol the roads or set up radar traps. I have seen articles in the papers, however, about disgruntled locals who spread oil or nails across the roads.

Nevertheless, I see virtual caravans of all the exotic sports cars, Porsche GT's, Ferrari's, Lambo's, Lotus, etc., you name it, going to or from the mountains, driving down Main St of Ramona (where pick-up trucks with gun racks are the rule, with big stickers of President Obama that say "Does This Ass Make My Pickup Look Big"). The roads going up to Palomar are incredible. If fast, blind turns are your cup of tea, then Palomar is for you. But be forewarned, even sometimes during the summer when you go around a corner and see the road disappear into the shadows of a hill, be ready if you hit some patches of ice still not thawed from the night. Best to drag the roads at sane speed before you drive them at . . . insane speeds. Then, there are the pesky bikers coming from the other direction. They will often lay down and skid into your lane (well actually his lane since you're probably wide for the best apex). There's hardly a weekend that goes by in the summer that the Ramona Sentinel doesn't have a description of how a biker on his crotch rocket gets run over by a sports car. It's in a regularly appearing column titled, "Those Loved By the Gods Die Young". But they never say what the biker did to the front air dam of the Lotus, or Ferrari, etc. as they crush beneath. Hey, those Ferrari drivers are human beings too!

Best to take it to the track.
 
#70 ·
Another review where I seriously question whether they even drove the car. All indication of that is that they noticed that the suspension bottoms out because of the low profile tires. Which is a bit incorrect. Not to mention should they say what setting the suspension was in? Oh right because the bottoming out is from the tires. Right.

Normally I would say this "review" is right out of the website online configurator. However...

They also repeat the usual mistake of mentally putting the adaptive suspension into the M sports package, not into the dynamic handling package.

Even if they would be website non-driving reviewers they then move on saying the E class diesel is $13,000 more without adjusting for options. Which they could do from their armchair.
 
#80 · (Edited)
Update to my test drive ***8211; a 328d xDrive Sportswagen dealer loaner.

If you love your 328d, read no further. I'm glad you like it. If you're thinking about buying a 328d or swapping your 335d for one don't believe the hype: the gulf separating the 335d performance-wise is vast while the that which separates their efficiency is not likely to be enough to compensate, at least if you plan to drive it like a UDM. I much prefer the new 328i, which can make some claim to UDB status while offering pretty good efficiency numbers (see www.fuelly.com for such reports).

I started this thread offering my views on a 328d sedan I test-drove a short while ago. Test drives, being rather brief affairs, are frequently ill suited to fairly assessing the virtues and vices of cars though. Contrast this with loaner experiences which, being both longer and devoid of the yappy salesperson co-pilot bent on distraction/marketing, provide ample opportunity to drive cars as if they were one's own ***8211; the same roads, the same trips to Costco, the same squalling brats in the back, and all the places and times one would be in a car.

As my initial post explained I did not think very much of the 2014 BMW 328d sedan I drove during a recent test drive (see OP). Underpowered, unrefined, and overpriced, I did not consider it a worthy successor to the 335d and held the view that it was a major step backwards for BMW diesels in general.

My 2011 335d Msport needed a checkup yesterday and spotting a red 328d xDrive Sportswagen in the loaner lot, I asked for it. My SA said "you're gonna hate it ***8211; you'll be back here in an hour begging me for a 328", but he knows me personally and is well aware of my driving tastes, which he shares and which I therefore discounted. But I thought that I'd been harsh enough on the 328d sedan tester to warrant giving the powerplant and chassis a longer, fairer test. As near as I can tell this car retails for $45,875 ***8211; base model with leather and red paint, though it does have paddle shifters and I think heated seats, which I couldn't in 20 seconds figure out how to price on BMW of USA's build site. The real price for this car was therefore probably north of 46 large.

I'll say here outright ***8211; everything I said before sadly remains true and the play stands as called: the 328d in either sedan or wagon form is underpowered, unrefined, and overpriced. On the plus side the wagon has nice mirrors, a terrific sunroof, and offers a comfortable ride in the base model. I actually like the 8-speed tranny and wish the 335d had it but the 328d xDrive Sportwagen, like its sedan sibling, is otherwise an exceptionally unremarkable UDM and not one I would own. Exhibit A placing 328d into non-UDM mode? Freeway passing. I tried some cutting and thrusting from 60-75 and from 70-85, e.g. typical Cali commuting warfare in all three driving modes, Eco, Comfort, and Sport. This car will get there but it sure takes its sweet time doing so. Cut and thrust? Seriously? More like 'gum' and 'prod'. And none of that malarkey about "not pressing the pedal". I know exactly where the fun pedal is and exactly how to use it. Flooring the 328d from a standing start, from 5 mph, or from 75 mph gives the same sensation of "wait for it, wait for it***8230;.ah ***8211; there it is". Turbo lag maybe, but more likely a poor power-to-weight ratio that, for all it's gifts, simply cannot be hidden by a good tranny.

Much ink has been spilled here and elsewhere too touting the 328d's virtues in terms of efficiency. I say bollocks - the emperor has no clothes. The loaner had less than 800 miles on it. I purposefully did NOT reset the mileage meter, reasoning that if it had not been reset yet and I was the only nut attempting to drive it like a UDM, my poisonous hooliganism wouldn't under-represent the car's efficiency during my 70 mile stint. Mileage on the meter? 28.7 mpg. My 335d, driven hard, comes very close to that in mixed city/highway (see a randomly selected photo of my mileage log) and hits no worse than 35 mpg on the outright highway. The case therefore cannot even be stated as "well, it's not a racecar but it gets great mileage". Maybe it does, but not in my hands nor likely in the hands of any of the other previous customers who had the misfortune to take their car in for service and get this dog as a replacement. It's a comfy ride and a guy in the Costco lot said "hey, sharp car" so it sure does have that sexy buzz, but it is neither an Ultimate DRIVING Machine nor likely an Ultimate EFFICIENCY machine either and to pretend otherwise is bunk. Yup ***8211; I've seen Fuelly and read all the glowing reviews of folks saying "holy cow, I got 50 mpg for a short stint of 55 mpg driving from X to Y" but those folks don't say that for 25k miles of smiling driving and if they didn't tout the efficiency, they'd have to admit that the 328d ain't a great car. And the number of folks who say "HFS. I took my 328d to the track and my UDM did***8230;.." is how many? Let's say 'few'.

Put it this way ***8211; if my 335d were to bake off tomorrow (and god knows it might they way I flog it) I would find a used Prius on Craigslist for 15k and use it as my DD, buy a new 2015 2-door base VW GTI with the performance pack for the weekends, and pocket the 4k difference. If BMW wants me to continue to be a loyal diesel customer, they are going to have to try harder than the 328d. Oh, and before you accuse me of hatred, note this ***8211; I really wanted to love this car because I think diesel is the way to dump less CO2 in the environment and not poison the ground with battery metals. I gave it a fair shake ***8211; it is what it is.
 

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#81 ·
Update to my test drive - a 328d xDrive Sportswagen dealer loaner.

If you love your 328d, read no further. I'm glad you like it. If you're thinking about buying a 328d or swapping your 335d for one don't believe the hype: the gulf separating the 335d performance-wise is vast while the that which separates their efficiency is not likely to be enough to compensate, at least if you plan to drive it like a UDM.
A reasonable conclusion IMHO. (BTW, what's a UDM and UDB? :dunno: old fart here.)

IME, the difference in mileage between the two on the highway will be around 10 mpg. For my wife coming from her Highlander, it's twice the mileage, way better car, and much faster. Obviously YMMV.
 
#90 ·
N4S is fine, but not all of us do. I bought the 328d sport wagon first and foremost for its efficiency, not for its sportiness, power or even handling. The fact that that it has these, to some degree at all, is a bonus and helped be ok with the price and feel that I have also treated myself a bit.
My point is that the demographic for this car is me, not you. For those of you disparaging this car, DONT BUY IT! It is not made for you. It was made for people like me. It is not the demise of BMW, it is their reach to a different demographic. I for one am grateful they have offered this option.

I am pretty new to this forum, but threads like this are pretty discouraging. Let me point you to the "we are all pretentious a****les" thread. It is not limited to BMW v other makes, it is alive and well between different BMW models as well. Sorry for the rant.


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#91 ·
N4S is fine, but not all of us do. I bought the 328d sport wagon first and foremost for its efficiency, not for its sportiness, power or even handling. The fact that that it has these, to some degree at all, is a bonus and helped be ok with the price and feel that I have also treated myself a bit.
My point is that the demographic for this car is me, not you. For those of you disparaging this car, DONT BUY IT! It is not made for you. It was made for people like me. It is not the demise of BMW, it is their reach to a different demographic. I for one am grateful they have offered this option.

I am pretty new to this forum, but threads like this are pretty discouraging. Let me point you to the "we are all pretentious a****les" thread. It is not limited to BMW v other makes, it is alive and well between different BMW models as well. Sorry for the rant.

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Jamolay,

My OP had no data, just impressions. I wish to speak the truth and therefore felt obligated to support my views with data after a longer test. Probably 10 other folks had had that loaner before me, meaning 10 other random BMW drivers. We managed a collective 28.7 mpg. Rather pedestrian, wouldn't you agree?. I also provided a randomly-selected page from my 335d mileage log (if you like I can post them all). Again - data, but pretty comparable data, no?

Clearly you are able to exploit the 328'd virtues on the roads you drive the way you drive it and obtain great efficiencies. Terrific. But lots of folks cruise these blogs for impressions when thinking about cars and, while I may be the outlier in terms of wringing poor efficiency from this particularly 328d loaner, so were the other 10 folks before me. I would hypothesize that that means that most BMW drivers are NOT going to pull routine 40 mpg stints in mixed freeway/suburban driving, at between 45 and 80F, some hills, with freeway speeds >75 mpg.
 
#93 ·
+1. Had I bought my 335d Msport new it would have been 56k if I figured it right. But at 35k used - erp "pre-owned" for those with style - it was a steal. Just 17k miles. So much for depreciation. We shall see what the market bears when the 328d's start coming off lease. Could be that the 328d is better designed in terms of the emissions/SCR system and will not scare the willies out of prospective buyers of pre-owned BMW diesels.

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#97 ·
328xd is optimized for a different demographic than the OP and a similar strain of the BMW faithful. Me, I'm not overly impressed by the whole "got a BMW!" thing, there are good BMWs and some not so impressive ones, which is true of the competing makes, as well. I'm looking for the right tool for the job at hand. Liked my old E36 328i sport package, but also recognized its shortcomings as well. Have had good Audis and Volkswagens as well as BMW. I think the F30's are performance focused in the 335i, the other variants are more rounded in capabilities. If I desired a pricey performance car, Porsche better fills that slot, IMHO.

I had a VW Passat TDI that I loved, except the seats were excruciating and couldn't be adjusted to suit either me or The Passenger. With a manual trans, it was a refined and lovely thing to drive, just terrific on the highway, and reasonable for a big FWD sedan on twisty roads, great control interfaces and 47mpg overall. Since we couldn't fix the seating, I cross shopped Volvo V60, Audi A4, Fusion, Accord, Mazda 6, and 3-series. Volvo and Audi were nice but pricey and short of overall interior space, the mass market maker cars were lacking compared to VW, so we found ourselves in the price range to consider the 328xd. Good enough seats, better room than Volvo or Audi, X-drive with a diesel, it was a good choice despite the silly price tag. I drive a lot of miles, so I need comfort and range, but also have to hold on to my license, so I find 328xd sufficiently fast. Yes, the Passat's TDI is a bit more refined, especially with manual transmission, and the BMW diesel has some surging along with constant automatic gearchanges, but I don't waste any time or fuel, though I'm hoping the 43mpg to date will improve as it breaks in with more miles. It's my first ever automatic after forty years of driving stick, and I'm not sure I will ever be completely happy with the two-pedal tradeoffs, but this ZF8 is not too bad, I suppose.

I'm hoping the BMW will be as reliable as the two VW TDI's I have driven over the past 215k miles, they were completely trouble-free and solid builds.

BMW has expanded the 3-series portfolio enough to have a number of niche models appealing to different driver need patterns, and 328d meets different needs than 335i or the old 335d. If they hold up in real-world service, they may prove to be acceptable values, we'll see over time.
 
#98 ·
328xd is optimized for a different demographic than the OP and a similar strain of the BMW faithful. Me, I'm not overly impressed by the whole "got a BMW!" thing, there are good BMWs and some not so impressive ones, which is true of the competing makes, as well. I'm looking for the right tool for the job at hand. Liked my old E36 328i sport package, but also recognized its shortcomings as well. Have had good Audis and Volkswagens as well as BMW. I think the F30's are performance focused in the 335i, the other variants are more rounded in capabilities. If I desired a pricey performance car, Porsche better fills that slot, IMHO.

I had a VW Passat TDI that I loved, except the seats were excruciating and couldn't be adjusted to suit either me or The Passenger. With a manual trans, it was a refined and lovely thing to drive, just terrific on the highway, and reasonable for a big FWD sedan on twisty roads, great control interfaces and 47mpg overall. Since we couldn't fix the seating, I cross shopped Volvo V60, Audi A4, Fusion, Accord, Mazda 6, and 3-series. Volvo and Audi were nice but pricey and short of overall interior space, the mass market maker cars were lacking compared to VW, so we found ourselves in the price range to consider the 328xd. Good enough seats, better room than Volvo or Audi, X-drive with a diesel, it was a good choice despite the silly price tag. I drive a lot of miles, so I need comfort and range, but also have to hold on to my license, so I find 328xd sufficiently fast. Yes, the Passat's TDI is a bit more refined, especially with manual transmission, and the BMW diesel has some surging along with constant automatic gearchanges, but I don't waste any time or fuel, though I'm hoping the 43mpg to date will improve as it breaks in with more miles. It's my first ever automatic after forty years of driving stick, and I'm not sure I will ever be completely happy with the two-pedal tradeoffs, but this ZF8 is not too bad, I suppose.

I'm hoping the BMW will be as reliable as the two VW TDI's I have driven over the past 215k miles, they were completely trouble-free and solid builds.

BMW has expanded the 3-series portfolio enough to have a number of niche models appealing to different driver need patterns, and 328d meets different needs than 335i or the old 335d. If they hold up in real-world service, they may prove to be acceptable values, we'll see over time.
This would be my main gripe, were I looking to buy the 328d.
 
#100 ·
The only cars available in the U.S. that have combined that level of performance with a modicum of efficiency are the Tesla and probably the A6/A8 TDI's, none of which I have driven. When speaking to efficiency I always need to caveat this properly, since according to the EPA a gallon of diesel produces 14 percent more CO2 than a gallon of petrol. Still - the 335d gives WRX-level grunt with waaaaay better efficiency and a nicer ride. Brake boosting in M2 will lay serious rubber. And it would have been nicer with a limited slip dif.

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#103 ·
OP: I agree with almost everything you have said, except I could not bring myself to drive a Prius. If I was still working and commuting I would do it in a VW Golf TDI. Hopefully, soon VW will offer the sport version of the TDI. I think it is the GDI, essentially a TDI with a diesel engine.
 
#112 ·
Yep. The mythical GTD it is. Last year the press was saying we would get it here. Now VW has backed off, saying that the Puebla factory in Mexico where the EA888 motor and the Golfs are made cannot make the higher capacity diesel motor for the GTD, and it would cost too much to ship the motor from Europe. Had my eye on the GTD too in case I burn up my current sled. Not supposed to be merely a GTI with a diesel motor but better. For my part I will give attention to any performance diesel.

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#109 ·
Is this the same as "launch control" in the manual?

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it is a version of launch control for sure but not as a program like, say, for the 911. a proper launch control would be programmed so it launched the same way each time. it is probably not healthy fornthe tranny though the 335d 6speed is rated for a lot more torque than the engine is rated for.l

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#115 ·
This thread should be a stickie .... or at least the 1st post alone.

I just don't get why BMW limits our selection of engines in models as they do in light of the fact they are available elsewhere. And the emissions defence is invalid as that engine is here but in the bigger pugier vehicles only. The '335' wagon is what i want, be it gas or diesel. I joined this forum expecting to be a BMW owner by now. But a V60 Polestar is in my future instead.
 
#116 ·
My assumption to the why was because of $$. My understanding is that they have to crash test each model with each different available engine. So your 335d wagon example would be an expensive crash test amortized across all US 335d wagon sales. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
#120 ·
Tony, having recently taken both a 328d and a 535d for some drives to keep my local dealer thinking about me (and my 150,000km 335d ;) ), I can say that when the time comes to move beyond the 335d (and I think that may still be a while....I'm thinking I may try for a 1/4 million km on the beast before I move on) I am leaning towards the 535d. Either that, or see if that rumbling about a BlueTec CLA I heard about when my wife and I picked up her GLK turns out to be true...that would be a fun car. I think what one of the other guys said about the 328d being a CAFE focused car for BMW is largely true. It wasn't that the 328d was necessarily bad, just that it did not, at the root of driving it, seem like the UDM. I think the 335d spoiled me, and set me up for high expectations on subsequent purchases. I know that some didn't like the RWD aspect of the 335d, but having grown up in the Great White North, and driven my 335d pretty much in the snow belt of Eastern and Northeastern Ontario for five years, I still have no issue with RWD. Of course, al bets would be off if the 550dx ever came over here....I think I'd be putting a kidney on Kajijii for that! :rofl:

Cheers
D.
 
#123 ·
I just read that Volvo plans to import 40 of the sedan and 60 of the wagon. Better not try negotiating the color and take the baby blue.

I too lust after that M550d. I even decided to tilt at some windmills and send some emails to BMW telling them I want it. I have dreams about meeting some nice diplomat who would import one - this is legal btw - and then return home, selling the car to me.

Sigh. I guess I will just have to keep scorching the tires off the 335d til it breaks and then keep the fingers crossed that someone has something similar around. I have at least two problems with the new WRX - it is dog ugly and it burns a lot of fuel to get good performance. I might look at the Audi S3 when it comes out despite just ok reviews.


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#126 ·
The PPK for the d in NA is a pipedream, for now anyway. I think BMW knows that the vast majority of d owners (99%?) were motivated to purchase based on mpg mpg and are quite content with the grunt already provided by the engine. If you're interested in more power and/or better handling for the foreseeable future you'd be better off looking at what's actually available in the market currently.
 
#128 ·
hangman. I just re-read from yours back a couple of posts and saw mine. the WRX is still ugly but it will grow on me. your points about the 328d are apt. I really hope for the 328d owners that BMW has resolved both incipient CBU and an unacceptably high rats of emissions problems.

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