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Fully loaded 328i vs. Barebone 335i?

18K views 115 replies 46 participants last post by  Cyb3r H3x 
#1 ·
Hi folks,

I am planning get a 3er.

There is a fully loaded MSport 328i that I can get right now for the same price I can order a barebone MSport 335i that I will have to wait for months to arrive.

If I order, 335 will be manual. The loaded 328i has all options in the color I want but is 8AT. Also will order all season tires so that I can hit ski resorts a few times year without having to worry about tires. (Will use cables/chains - I hear performance tires wont survive even with chains..)

I have F10 535i and always have had I6 or V8 BMWs.

Testdrove F30 328i. 328i seems to have more than enough power but 335 has its own merit that 328 can't have.

The current ZF 8AT is so good but wonder if it is really good that I won't miss manual?

Any helpful insights from fest felllows would be very much appreciated!
 
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#35 ·
Get whichever one makes you smile the most after driving it.
 
#36 ·
I was struggling with pretty much the same dilemma. But, as some others have said, the choice is not really so extreme. When you consider that the 335 comes standard with adaptive zenons, folding rear seat, the alarm system and moonroof, the real difference in price is about $3000.

For me, I dropped Cold weather package and added heated front seats. I dropped the Driver's Assistance package and added PDC and rear camera. I deleted Driver's Assistance Plus, and dropped Automatic High Beams. This made up about 2/3 of the real three thousand dollar difference between the two cars. For me, getting the 335 was easily worth giving up those few things and adding a thousand bucks. I've still got Tech Package, Premium Package, HK, Rear Camera/PDC, Heated Fronts, and more. That's a very nice compromise I believe. To trim a little more I considered cutting the Tech Package and adding the Nav, but just couldn't do it!

.
 
#37 ·
I was struggling with pretty much the same dilemma. But, as some others have said, the choice is not really so extreme. When you consider that the 335 comes standard with adaptive zenons, folding rear seat, the alarm system and moonroof, the real difference in price is about $3000.

For me, I dropped Cold weather package and added heated front seats. I dropped the Driver's Assistance package and added PDC and rear camera. I deleted Driver's Assistance Plus, and dropped Automatic High Beams. This made up about 2/3 of the real three thousand dollar difference between the two cars. For me, getting the 335 was easily worth giving up those few things and adding a thousand bucks. I've still got Tech Package, Premium Package, HK, Rear Camera/PDC, Heated Fronts, and more. That's a very nice compromise I believe. To trim a little more I considered cutting the Tech Package and adding the Nav, but just couldn't do it!

.
+1

The difference in price is negligible to someone into a car for $50,000. I think in the OP's case, he wants to avoid the 3 month wait (wouldn't we all) for the configuration he wants and the temptation to be in an F30 on Monday is too much to resist.

If it were me (and it was), I'd place my order, wait patiently, and bury myself in Bimmerfest counting down the days until the precise car I wanted arrived.

BJ
 
#39 ·
My timing:

Order Placed: June 25

Build Complete: July 7

Vehicle Shipped (Bremerhaven): July 20

Vehicle Arrived (Port of NJ): August 2

Vehicle Delivered (NJ): August 7

Six weeks from order placement, four weeks once built, two weeks on the water, less-than one week on the ground.

I got mine rather quickly, my allocation pushed through production fast back when demand was lower. My friend in California waited 14 weeks.

BJ
 
#42 ·
Hi folks,

I am planning get a 3er.

There is a fully loaded MSport 328i that I can get right now for the same price I can order a barebone MSport 335i that I will have to wait for months to arrive.

If I order, 335 will be manual. The loaded 328i has all options in the color I want but is 8AT. Also will order all season tires so that I can hit ski resorts a few times year without having to worry about tires. (Will use cables/chains - I hear performance tires wont survive even with chains..)

I have F10 535i and always have had I6 or V8 BMWs.

Testdrove F30 328i. 328i seems to have more than enough power but 335 has its own merit that 328 can't have.

The current ZF 8AT is so good but wonder if it is really good that I won't miss manual?

Any helpful insights from fest felllows would be very much appreciated!
As someone who recently purchased a 335 with the 8AT sport auto coming from a 6MT, I can assure you, that you will miss the 6MT. I thought I could get used to the auto, and I have to a point, but I still miss the manual terribly and would love to drop a 6MT in my car if it was financially feasible.

I cannot stress this enough. If you're coming from a manual, and want to keep driving manual, it HAS to be a NON-NEGOTIABLE option. You will always wish you did, if you don't.
 
#43 ·
Testdrove F30 328i. 328i seems to have more than enough power but 335 has its own merit that 328 can't have.
You answered yourself and put the finger on the point.

The N20 is unfit for a BMW, whatever the power. It doesn't transmit you the same quality feel that you expect from a car in this class and that you definitely get in a 335i. The N20 belongs at best to a Jetta.
 
#51 ·
I found that :

A-Real world, it's a decent gap in MPG. I took both cars and ran them on the same loop to compare, not 100% scientific but pretty close. I got 35.5 in the N55(8at) and 39 in the N20(6mt). I am pretty sure an N55 6mt might get a bit less than an 8at.
B-The power difference is not as large as advertised, both engines underrated, the 328 just more so. This has been shown on the dyno a handful of times.
 
#65 · (Edited)
It's funny, it's the lowest Dynojet dyno I have seen for an F30 N20 and they are the only source to not declare the N20 underrated. How do you explain when the dyno's of the ATS which is rated and SAE verified to be 272 at the crank, equals but does not better than the N20 which is rated at 240. That is the very definition of underrating lol.
Not personal experience, but using EPA numbers as a guide the N20 gets better mpg with the 6MT than with the 8AT and the N55 gets better mileage with the 8AT than with the 6MT. This makes intuitive sense to me, because historically the power of a four banger is better utilized by a manual transmission.

Since the vast, vast majority of N20 328i's are going to be fitted with the 8AT and the same for the N55 335i's it makes the real world mpg performance difference considerably less significant.
I tested an 8AT n55 against my 6mt N20. I could have skewed the results more in the N20's favor with the N55 being a 6mt.

I do not care what most buyers buy, I am an enthusiast and have a manual. The N20 compared to the N55, clearly has a 10-15% OR greater(when transmission is factored) MPG advantage, which is in line with the power disadvantage. So nothing earth shattering.

Funny that it's only InsideLine (Edmunds.com) gets the 240->250 in a car provided by BMW in February in Southern California. Everywhere else is 222 hp to 233 hp.
Really, everywhere else?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cS2nj3PjYUA

I have about 20 dyno pulls on a Superflo now. From the tuners to other vids I have seen posted and my own experience, people state pretty clearly that the N20 is underrated.

You mention the Insideline dyno like it's a conspiracy.

I like how they test the N20 and the ATS 2.0 which is SAE verified at the rating of 272hp at the crank and the N20 made the same or 1-2hp MORE.
 
#73 ·
I don't think the 328i is an inferior car. If it's a choice between a loaded 328i and a stripper 335i, I'd go with the 328 all the away. Even though the 335i is much more powerful, I'd doubt you'd notice the difference in everyday driving. In my car, the only time I pass 4000 rpm is when I'm stop light drag racing, passing on the freeway, or driving on a canyon road. Everyday the 328 has more than enough power.
 
#76 ·
Your definition of MUCH more poweful and mine must be different :)

10-15% which is the difference between the two cars regarding power at the wheels. That power difference is completely erased with a $380 tune. If it was such a power difference it would take a hell of a lot more than that.

Both cars are separated by about 5 tenths and 3-4 mph in the 1/4 mile. That is noticeable. But let's not exaggerate.

The difference between the N52 and N55 prior to '12 was quite a bit larger.
 
#80 ·
owned an E93 328i and then an E90 328i for 6 consecutive years and I don't know what this "smooth" comment is about the 6 cylinder engine in those cars because the performance was anything but smooth.
You are confusing engines and transmissions. No way the N20 is even close in smoothness of the I6, specially at high RPM, where the N20 feels agricultural. It doesn't like to redline.
 
#81 · (Edited)
Here's the thing- we don't drive engines. We drive cars.

So what ever BMW did to make a four-cylinder car feel faster than a six cylinder car, it works. Could be the engine, could be the transmission, could be the weight of the materials, who knows. The F30 just feels like a flat out faster car.

And I don't care about it, frankly. When I first read that BMW was coming out with a four-cylinder 328i, I was very skeptical and was expecting have to buy a 335i. But about 15 seconds into my test drive, I realized how silly a thought that was. It's a great car, incredibly fast. I don't know how they did it; I'm just glad they did it.

BJ
 
#83 ·
335 bare bone for pure enthusiasts, 328 loaded those who want a luxurious bimmer.
335 loaded for luxurious enthusiasts...if there is such a thing.
 
#86 · (Edited)
Now that you bring 'enthusiast' into the equation, the 328 would be more of the 'enthusiasts' option. It's more balanced, and has better weight distribution then the 335i, and it's lighter. You'd be hard pressed no notice the difference between the two on a public road.
 
#90 ·
Umm . . . According to the Newtonian laws of physics on this planet, the F30 335i is lighter than the E90 335i. So the new car is not "bigger". This is as basic as it gets and only missed if you're just completely biased. At least the guy that brings up weight distribution is talking sense and has a legitimate opinion.

And by the above flawed line of questionable logic, then a Ferrari 458 Italia is no longer an 'enthusiast's' car because it is more dynamic in it's handling and more civilized than its predecessor. It's a silly argument since development always marches on.
 
#91 ·
The F30 is moving up-market, no doubt. Definitely more luxurious than past models.

But most BMW F30 customers still demand high performance attributes. That's why the sport-line is so popular, and the M-Sport line is so well liked on this forum.

Relatively speaking, I think BMW is doing a very good job at overcoming the universal laws of physics associated with trying to go up-market while still retaining the legacy performance characteristics of the 3 series.
 
#97 ·
No matter the engines, a 911 is way more prestigious than a Boxter/Cayman. It is perceived as a car in a different league altogether compared to the Boxter/Cayman. But I don't think the same can be said about the 335i versus the 328i.

My issue is why can't BMW "throw in" just a little more power? So they followed Audi in the 4-cyl turbo route, and I am now wondering whether they are also going to follow them in dropping the 335i altogether and offer instead a less "pure" M3, just like Audi now offers just a 4-cyl turbo or the S4, at least in the US.
 
#98 ·
If they "throw in" just a little more power then value seen in the 335 will diminish.

Fact is, the ATS 2.0 rated at 272hp seems to slot well enough below the 321hp 3.6.

Insideline dyno'd BOTH the ATS and 328 2.0's and found the N20 made the same if not 1-2hp more.

So if the 328 had the rating of 270-275hp, how would that look next to the 300hp 335?

Ironically, in all the tests the N20 seems to clearly edge out the ATS 2.0 in performance(aside from steering feel), yet the 3.6 ATS seems to consistently edge out the 335.
 
#110 ·
Hi folks,

I am planning get a 3er.

There is a fully loaded MSport 328i that I can get right now for the same price I can order a barebone MSport 335i that I will have to wait for months to arrive.
Photo caption Internet meme Font Facial hair Photography


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Bimmer app
 
#114 · (Edited)
You guys would be surprised at what a base 328i can do at the track. I dont know that a base comp car could perform like that. C250 ATS2.x is250 - i wonder how those base models would do. With a base model i still get a great engine braking and balance. Im pretty sure others would get a lot more out of it than myself as well. So far I have been able to keep up with plenty of guys with "more" car than i do.

its the driver that makes the enthusiast in us - not the car so enough of this 335 for enthusiast bs. Lol. Hell there are those with e46 323i that i cant keep up with!
 
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