335d xdrive a bit slow....

[Wills2]

I've done about 1300 miles in the car and frankly it feels, well a bit slow.

I'm used to quick cars but I've always been impressed with the shove a 3.0 diesel gives you but with my 335d it doesn't seem to be there.

I know it's still pretty tight so I wonder if any other owners have experienced the engine loosening up and giving more as the miles go on?

[burwoodman]

youb sure it's not a 318. there is a recall on weazy engines being passed off as 335D

[ratty6464]

Give it another 4000 miles then report back - surely only a couple of months worth otherwise you would have gone for the petrol, right?

[AOK]

I had this a few years ago when a 123d just didn't feel half as impressive as a 120d, even though it was quicker on paper.

I put it down to the fact that our motoring intuition has learned to expect the turbo lag and subsequent sudden surge of power. Twin turbo set ups reduce the turbo lag, make the power delivery much more linear and less diesel-like.

I urge you to find a 330d owner who is willing to accelerate side-by-side with you and you'll see the performance improvement in reality, despite not feeling it.

All IMHO of course

[Wills2]

I think you've got a point AOK, it doesn't have that wham! Just slowly builds the speed and perhaps that's what the twin turbo set up does and is engineered that way.

There are points where is does feel swift but it's missing the low down punch I thought it would have.

It feels more like a 200hp car than a 300+ one.

[Wills2]

ratty6464 said:

Give it another 4000 miles then report back - surely only a couple of months worth otherwise you would have gone for the petrol, right?

I came out of a CP M3.

[JNW1]

Wills2 said:

I've done about 1300 miles in the car and frankly it feels, well a bit slow.

I'm used to quick cars but I've always been impressed with the shove a 3.0 diesel gives you but with my 335d it doesn't seem to be there.

I know it's still pretty tight so I wonder if any other owners have experienced the engine loosening up and giving more as the miles go on?

I suspect it will loosen-up and improve a bit with mileage but perhaps the contrast to your old E92 M3 is making it feel slower than it really is? The M3 is not only faster but also delivers its performance in a very different way and maybe the combination of those two things is making the 335d feel slow when actually it's not?

My other half is running an E91 335d and I think that's a reasonably quick and effortless performer; not quite as fast as my E92 335i and certainly less smooth and refined but still pretty quick and a very effective mile muncher. Therefore, I'd say see what your F31's like with a few more miles under its belt; I think it will improve but if you were hoping for something similar to your E92 M3 I fear you're always going to be disappointed!

[gizlaroc]

Problem with these big diesel is all the torque comes in from 1000rpm and then slowly fades away rather than constantly climbing, where as the M3 just keeps on going, and we can tell changes in acceleration rather than speed itself, so combine that with the power of the M3 and it will always feel savage in comparison.

Even though the 335d is nearly as high torque wise at its lowest point compared with the M3 it is the torque tailing off that you can feel.

It is similar with the 335i, but that is somewhere in between the two.

335d


M3

Edited by gizlaroc on Tuesday 12th August 23:39

[Tea Pot One]

I would say with that mileage it is well and truly tight. My 330d LCI at 5K miles was very slow compared to the one I test drive at 12K and not very interesting. A few months and it was flying as quickly if not quicker than the one I test drove.

Frustrating I know but give it time - or take it to the dealer and get them to check it. ... or try another 335d from the dealer and see how that feels ?

[Wills2]

It does feel "held back" if that makes sense, I'm not comparing it to the M3 as that would be daft as they are totally different.

Weirdly it feels lacking low down with more go at the top end of its rev range. (no M3 jokes please!)

[Wills2]

gizlaroc said:

Problem with these big diesel is all the torque comes in from 1000rpm and then slowly fades away rather than constantly climbing, where as the M3 just keeps on going, and we can tell changes in acceleration rather than speed itself, so combine that with the power of the M3 and it will always feel savage in comparison.

Even though the 335d is nearly as high torque wise at its lowest point compared with the M3 it is the torque tailing off that you can feel.

It is similar with the 335i, but that is somewhere in between the two.

335d

Edited by gizlaroc on Tuesday 12th August 23:39

That graph doesn't look right shows 268hp and 400ft/lb vs. 465ft/lb and 309bhp of the 335d. It isn't a tailing off I feel as the engine gets better from 3k upwards it's from 1k-3k where it feels flat.

I always knew this might be a incorrect choice but I wanted to experience a powerful diesel, I'll have to give it some more time.

[Jon1967x]

The character is just very different - I've had several cars with the 35d/40d engine in it and they never feel quick, I think its the torgue, lower revs and torque converter gearbox that when you bury your foot it picks up and goes in a smooth fashion. The engine does need to loosen up a bit, but I suspect it will never change that much - based on driving my wifes car (Z4 35i) and my current 6GC - the 6 can easily make as rapid progress but never feels it. You could also try driving it with the gearbox in sport - tends to make it more punchy.

[TheEnd]

Wills2 said:

It does feel "held back" if that makes sense, I'm not comparing it to the M3 as that would be daft as they are totally different.

Weirdly it feels lacking low down with more go at the top end of its rev range. (no M3 jokes please!)

One thing that does that is a missing vacuum feed to the small turbo, the turbo vanes sit in the open position, and it's doesn't make any real boost until it gets running.
Another issue is they are torque limited in 1st and 2nd gear, so they can feel a little weaker at low speeds compared to on the motorway.

[Roo3Stuart]

I have the 535d and as others have said, BMW have done a very good job of giving it more linear power delivery. Less obvious initial shove but it does keep going all the way to 5000 rpm, and in many ways is closer to a petrol than a 'traditional' diesel.

The consequence is actually very rapid progress but in a less obvious way. Try using the manual gear selection to hold a gear to the redline and watch the dials and it is quite impressive, albeit with a lack of drama. What it actually is, in my opinion, is a very accomplished wafting engine that will get you from A to B very quickly but with very little fuss (and use a remarkably small amount of fuel!).

The Sport setting will give it a sharper response and more sensation of pace but I don't think it will change significantly with mileage - I've had mine from new and while it has loosened up, the difference isn't material.

[Thirsty33]

Wills2 said:

I think you've got a point AOK, it doesn't have that wham! Just slowly builds the speed and perhaps that's what the twin turbo set up does and is engineered that way.

There are points where is does feel swift but it's missing the low down punch I thought it would have.

It feels more like a 200hp car than a 300+ one.

I think AOK's point is one to think on. I have a 530d - not quite the same of course, but I would make two comments on it's performance:-

1 The delivery is so linear and smooth, it never feels especially fast or exciting as a driver (I think my passengers disagree). It's only apparent when you watch your mirror as you pull away/see how much mph you put on so swiftly etc. A lot of reports on the 530d say much the same as you are - it does not feel fast, it just is fast.

2 It may be an illusion, but I find more moderate progressive throttle position seems to generate more shove than just burying it. With a fly by wire throttle this makes no sense logically. (Back in days of carbs, there were good reasons for this of course)

My 530d has loosened up a little at 40K, but not much. On all cars I have owned across three makes, they seem to loosen up between 50K and 60K quite consistently and not much before.

[335d]

Wills2 said:

I've done about 1300 miles in the car and frankly it feels, well a bit slow.

I'm used to quick cars but I've always been impressed with the shove a 3.0 diesel gives you but with my 335d it doesn't seem to be there.

Have you driven a faster diesel car than a 335d? I may not be up to date, but I wasn't aware that there were any?

As others have said, there is less drama with the 35d engine than you find in an M3, but it still feels pretty quick to most people in a 3 series body. For those with the same engine in a 5 6 7 series or an X5, the weight is bound to take the edge off.

At 5k miles, mine has opened up a little since new, although not dramatically. That said, I am still hugely impressed with it. Just occasionally I think another 50bhp might be nice, but that probably remains the case however much power you have.

[drmark]

It should feel quick out of the box - even after a M3. It will loosen a bit with more miles but not that much.
I have run two 530d from new to combined mileage of 160k and not much improvement in performance (or mpg) over that time. And everyttime I drive a 535d I think it's noticeably quicker - and my 530d feels fast enough.
Try another one at the dealer / get it checked.
Edited to add: and for comparison my weekender is a Porsche (997 4s)

[Wills2]

Thanks for the replies gents, I think the title should be not as quick as I expected rather than slow.

I've been out today and yes the speed does build but without drama, a point you've raised so you're accelerating faster than you think.

I also thought/think the brakes are poor as well (I've got the bigger brake kit on it) but perhaps they're not rubbish and I'm actually going quite quickly.

I use sport mode on the gearbox and the other sport and sport+ settings and that does improve the sharpness of the gearbox measurably.

Anyway it is what it is, a swift diesel estate not a high performance sports car.

[Mattt]

With the brakes, I find there's not much bite initially - but press harder and they do stop the car well!

I agree it feels slower than it is, you have to look in the rear view mirror to see how fast it is!

[Tea Pot One]

I did try a 335d before I bought my 330d .... and found the 330d felt quicker as it was not as linear. The 335d was clearly quicker over 60 but just didn't feel it. I could have bought either but opted for the 330d.

I think the new 335d x drive must be awesome as the 0-62 is the same as my Z4 35iS at 4.8 .... but as you have found I think it is obviously very linear. The M3 would feel quicker but isn't (E46 anyway) to 60.