E46 M3 v 335i coupe v 335d coupe
Discussion
Insurance, servicing, tax, economy and, dare I say it, maintenance will be a lot more on the M3, but it is the better handling more pure car.
I went for the 135 for economy reasons, and it is not far off the E46 with regards to performance. The 335 costs will be pretty much the same. Insurance group 18, servicing every 17k or so and low tax means it is pretty cheap when compared to an M. They do come with run flat tyres though and the 19s on a 335 are rock hard and horribly expensive.
The x35 engine is amazing, plenty of power and frugal if you want it to be. If you hoon it it will drop to low 20s, if you are sensible or use the motorway it will be in the 30s. It is eminently tunable and with the right bolt ons will eat M3s for breakfast.
I suspect the 335d will be a different beast again. I looked when I was searching but it seemed they are all autos and I just could not bring myself to live with a diseasele.
I went for the 135 for economy reasons, and it is not far off the E46 with regards to performance. The 335 costs will be pretty much the same. Insurance group 18, servicing every 17k or so and low tax means it is pretty cheap when compared to an M. They do come with run flat tyres though and the 19s on a 335 are rock hard and horribly expensive.
The x35 engine is amazing, plenty of power and frugal if you want it to be. If you hoon it it will drop to low 20s, if you are sensible or use the motorway it will be in the 30s. It is eminently tunable and with the right bolt ons will eat M3s for breakfast.
I suspect the 335d will be a different beast again. I looked when I was searching but it seemed they are all autos and I just could not bring myself to live with a diseasele.
rastamanblues said:
spandexx said:
I suspect the 335d will be a different beast again. I looked when I was searching but it seemed they are all autos
They are all auto's. The 335i is the first automatic car I have owned in my life - and you know what, I am a convert now. I absolutely love it, auto gearboxes these days are so much more advanced than the ones I remember driving years ago. The manual mode is pretty good as it holds gear until you decide to change, and for stop start traffic having an automatic is fantastic.
spandexx said:
Insurance, servicing, tax, economy and, dare I say it, maintenance will be a lot more on the M3, but it is the better handling more pure car.
Not sure it will be a lot more TBH, Done 6k miles in the last six months or so in my E46 M3. Cost nothing but fuel so far with an overall average of 26.8mpg [not hanging around though I do live out in the sticks so it doesn't sit in traffic much or ever go for a short stop start drive]. Service interval still showing 11k miles till due and being a 2003 car it is only about £210 (or £240) to taxed it. Service is not much more though parts can get expensive if anything needs doing though things like the 18" tyres on mine are probably less than the 19s on most 335i coupes.
Insurance for me at 32 with four years no claims is only £600 or so a year.
M3 feels special every time you get behind the wheel, controls have more weight and feel and it is worth the extra outlay for the sound alone.
for me, it depends what you are looking for in the car.
I have an E92 335d coupe which I use daily, but my weekend car is a TVR griffith 500, so I was'nt looking for the 'ultimate' M3 as I have my weekend fun car, but I wanted a good daily driver and the 335d ticked all the boxes for me, I usually drive manuals, but the auto on this car is excellent for daily use, the power delivery is very smooth, its really a pleasure to drive and it goes very very well.
Fuel economy is ok, not as good as i had hoped for, i'm getting 27-29mpg to work and back (10 miles in rush hour traffic) and 35-36mpg on a run with some motorway.
This is how good it is, some weekends i don't bother taking the Griff out at all.
(don't tell the TVR guys i said that)
I have an E92 335d coupe which I use daily, but my weekend car is a TVR griffith 500, so I was'nt looking for the 'ultimate' M3 as I have my weekend fun car, but I wanted a good daily driver and the 335d ticked all the boxes for me, I usually drive manuals, but the auto on this car is excellent for daily use, the power delivery is very smooth, its really a pleasure to drive and it goes very very well.
Fuel economy is ok, not as good as i had hoped for, i'm getting 27-29mpg to work and back (10 miles in rush hour traffic) and 35-36mpg on a run with some motorway.
This is how good it is, some weekends i don't bother taking the Griff out at all.
(don't tell the TVR guys i said that)
I've owned my 130i M-Sport for 4 and a half years now. Fantastic car. Feels more modern inside than an M3 and you get a fantastic engine that's really not much slower than an E46 M3 in real world driving. The only real differentiators in my opinion are 1. the 130i doesn't have a limited slip diff
2. the 130i has rock hard run-flat tyres as standard
Both of those can be rectified easily of course......
The 130i is more economical (I average 29 mpg), cheaper to maintain, cheaper to insure, more practical (with 5 doors + fold down seats etc), and rarer on our roads than an E46 M3.
Having said all that, the allure and cache of the E46 M3 is strong. It's a bit of a legend....
2. the 130i has rock hard run-flat tyres as standard
Both of those can be rectified easily of course......
The 130i is more economical (I average 29 mpg), cheaper to maintain, cheaper to insure, more practical (with 5 doors + fold down seats etc), and rarer on our roads than an E46 M3.
Having said all that, the allure and cache of the E46 M3 is strong. It's a bit of a legend....
Crusoe said:
daveknott5 said:
really not much slower than an E46 M3 in real world driving.
One long straight and you wouldn't see which way it went, much faster than my old 3lr z4 which was faster than the 130i I tried too.dont do it.............
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I got rid of my 335d touring a few months ago - and really liked it but would have a few misgivings about advising someone to get one. The car was bought with 4000 miles on it and in my ownership lunched three turbos (it was an early model)! all thankfully under warranty but I shudder to think what the real cost of that would be. The fuel economy was just OK, averaging mid twenties due in no small part to the way it encouraged me to drive...and therein lies its main problem! I had an M3 and it made you fully aware when you were gunning it just what you were doing, all too often in the 335 I found myself at license losing speeds without knowing it. One thing for sure tho' at speeds over 50mph nothing could catch it and I really enjoyed humbling most things in a de-badged 3 series estate...particulary E46 M3s...But point and squirt was its forte, not a B road weapon.
However now I don't need to drive anywhere during the week there was no point in paying to keep it outside in the street gathering dust. If you want the ultimate Q car with plenty of practicality then a 335d touring might be it, but there is a question mark hanging over the reliability of those turbos, economy not much better than a 330i, a bit anodyne to drive and an express method to lose the books!
However now I don't need to drive anywhere during the week there was no point in paying to keep it outside in the street gathering dust. If you want the ultimate Q car with plenty of practicality then a 335d touring might be it, but there is a question mark hanging over the reliability of those turbos, economy not much better than a 330i, a bit anodyne to drive and an express method to lose the books!
daveknott5 said:
Sure the M3 would be faster on one long straight - but how often do you get that sort of opportunity? On a twisty road, there wouldn't be that much in it if the peddlar of the 130i is a half decent driver.
Every day up here in scotland 
A well driven supermini could keep most things honest on a twisty road, if you went round the corners as fast as you could see to stop safely at least...superlightr said:
E46 M3 v 335i coupe v 335d coupe
most v not so much v least.
this exactly.most v not so much v least.
M car running costs are a lot more than normal cars.
no idea about E46 M3 but an inspection II service for the E92 M3 here was a bit over £800 (that's with a small friendly discount)and that was with NOTHING other than standard oil, filters, plugs etc etc (e.g. no more brake pads).
I went from an A3 3.2 S line to 335d Touring this year and despite the change in choice of fuel, I'm very happy with it. Much more economical 32-40 mpg vs 20-25 mpg although this is easily thrashed if you, er, thrash the car. Much quicker generally although not as chuckable as the A3 and as someone else stated, you can be in licence crushing territory quite easily so beware. Insurance was a nightmare, partly I suspect because it was a brand new car and I ended up paying almost twice as much as the A3. Tyres will also be a factor eventually and I suspect there will be a huge gulp when it comes to replacing - if I stay with run flats of course. Lastly, I just did a 4k mile round trip in Europe this month and it was a joy to drive and travel in, me, wife and dog v happy. Did a 1200 mile round trip to Skye last year in the A3 and hated every minute of it, car was absolute pain in the hoop and if you think M Sport suspension with RFTs is bad, try an A3 S line!
If you only do low mileage i'd much prefer the 335i or m3, probably the m3 to be honest as it's very engaging.
The complete opposite is the 335d. It's not very loud and it effortlessly gets you into serious speeds very quickly without you noticing.
Where as the others are screaming in the upper rev range and it somehow just feels faster even though there isn't much in it once rolling between these 3.
Most surprising is the fuel on the 335d, i get about 42mpg every tank, more if i use m-ways.
The m would be nearly double on servicing but the D goes into ever 2 years i reckon. Between 2 and 400quid if you need discs / pads doing too.
Tyres are the worst, 280 per corner on RFT's.
The D is a brilliant all rounder, falling into cheaper tax too. Really nice cruising machine. But it's not as good as the weekend duties as the others, i.e. Sunday morning twisties fun.
The complete opposite is the 335d. It's not very loud and it effortlessly gets you into serious speeds very quickly without you noticing.
Where as the others are screaming in the upper rev range and it somehow just feels faster even though there isn't much in it once rolling between these 3.
Most surprising is the fuel on the 335d, i get about 42mpg every tank, more if i use m-ways.
The m would be nearly double on servicing but the D goes into ever 2 years i reckon. Between 2 and 400quid if you need discs / pads doing too.
Tyres are the worst, 280 per corner on RFT's.
The D is a brilliant all rounder, falling into cheaper tax too. Really nice cruising machine. But it's not as good as the weekend duties as the others, i.e. Sunday morning twisties fun.
Edited by briers on Thursday 26th August 20:08
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