335i auto or 335d auto?

[JakeR]

Gents, I am currently planning the next motorcar for next year, and at the moment the 335 seems to fit the bill most admirably... thing is, there doesnt seem to be much to choose between a diesel and a petrol. The will have to be an auto (shame, I know...); what do you lot think? The head says diesel due to the economy and supposedly better resale value, but the heart says petrol sounds better and goes better... also, I hate the smell of diesel, love the smell of petrol!

[FesterNath]

This very question was asked of Autocar's Colin Goodwin recently. His answer was the 335d.

[flattotheboards]

test drive both and see what you think is the best way to find out.

[noneedtolift]

Had the 335d (coupe) - currently 335i Touring manual. At first I thought I'd better taken the diesel. Big plus with the diesel is obviously the torque, subjectively I thought that the d actually feels faster (although I haven't driven them back to back), especially around town. However, the i has a lovely noise (which did make a difference to me), and on the autobahn it is the faster car. Has more of a "feel" to it, can't quite put my finger on it. With the "i" fuel consumption compared to the diesel is, keeping the performance of both cars in mind, horrendous. With the diesel: approx 5- 600km on one tank, 335i 350km max (Autobahn speeds). If you need any more info let me know.

[JakeR]

FesterNath said:

This very question was asked of Autocar's Colin Goodwin recently. His answer was the 335d.

auto for both as well? what swung it for the 335d? I spoke to a dealer and he said 335d all the way, but you never know what their angle is...

[pgilc1]

You're either an auto person or a manual person

You're either a diesel person or a petrol person.

Drive the combinations and see what suits you best. Theres no right or wrong answer here, its what suits you best.

[phoenixblend]

In the current climate a diesel is a good bet. Especially if your buying for yourself. Because you can convert a diesel to run on veg oil (less than a £1000 for a conversion) if fuel prices go through the roof you'll be laughing.

Also a veg oil car will run smoother and have more power than a diesel.

However I really dislike autos - sorry.

[tali1]

if it's new , i reckon you can haggle for a bigger discount on 335i as a 335d will be more in demand

Edited by tali1 on Sunday 11th November 21:44

[JakeR]

tali1 said:

if it new as a 333dw , i reckon you can haggle for a bigger discount on 335i as a 335d will be more in demand

Am I likely to get much of a discount off list on a new 3 series?

[tali1]

JakeR said:

tali1 said:

if it new as a 333dw , i reckon you can haggle for a bigger discount on 335i as a 335d will be more in demand

Am I likely to get much of a discount off list on a new 3 series?

dunno how much but its def worth trying for a "not in demand" petrol bmw

[gizlaroc]

Yeah big savings on new cars, make sure you get at least 10%.

I would buy a 6 month old one, and also consider the 330i, I had a loaner the other day which was the new facelift one, very quick (previously owned a reampped 535d and then a 335i) but most impressive was the MPG, I got 37mpg from it, that is around 10 mpg more than would have got from the 535d and the 335i.

The 335i is in a different league as far as I am concerned, just an all round better car than the 335d. I had a deposit on a D and swapped it after taking the i out for a test drive. I got between 26-34mpg from mine, which I think is superb. The 335d starts to see much better fuel figures if you do alot of 120mph cruising, you will see 350 miles out of a tank compared with 200 ish, but if you are in the UK it is more like 32 vs 36mpg on a run.

[Cyclone1]

gizlaroc said:

Yeah big savings on new cars, make sure you get at least 10%.

I would buy a 6 month old one, and also consider the 330i, I had a loaner the other day which was the new facelift one, very quick (previously owned a reampped 535d and then a 335i) but most impressive was the MPG, I got 37mpg from it, that is around 10 mpg more than would have got from the 535d and the 335i.

The 335i is in a different league as far as I am concerned, just an all round better car than the 335d. I had a deposit on a D and swapped it after taking the i out for a test drive. I got between 26-34mpg from mine, which I think is superb. The 335d starts to see much better fuel figures if you do alot of 120mph cruising, you will see 350 miles out of a tank compared with 200 ish, but if you are in the UK it is more like 32 vs 36mpg on a run.

I disagree slightly with this.

The 335i is a very good car but it certainly isn't in a different league to the 335d......they are basically the same car with a different engine. The way that they drive is obviously different but the performance differential isn't that great.

I run a remapped 335d and on a 200 mile journey will see an average of 44-48mpg......sitting at 120mph would see this drop! Around town the car will do 32-36mpg. The 335i will get no where near this so trying to use economy as a justification is a none starter. The only thing the i has over the d is a different engine and if that's enough to sway a potential buyer then that's fine.

Jules.

[Rochester TVR]

I had a 335i Manual. The reason I took it over the D was because I dont like auto's, and the manual 'box is a joy to use.

However, when looking to replace it I drove the Diesel, although it was quick i never felt like i was driving a sports car which is how the 'i' made you feel when you wanted it...

If I were to re-test drive them I would pitch a 335i Auto against a DMS'd 335D I think that would give the DMS'd D would have the added 'feel' that its petrol brother has...

my two pence worth.

[alfaspiderman2]

I've got a 335i Manual and, like Rochester, chose it because of the extra feel of the manual, better performance and wonderful noise that it makes

(I'd still chose the i, even in auto form btw)

[DRbeamer]

my advise is to drive both these cars. . the 335d would be my choice if i was buying one. what a fantastic engine and a bit cheaper to tax . . . . nothing like performance with good fuel consumption and lower running costs, they dont normally go together.

also the paddles do offer some driver involvement to a degree. . . eg; with engine breaking and a nice upshift. . get a good long test drive. . . dont put up with a 5 mins chug around the block! ! ! ! ! pm me if you need any help

[fade2grey]

I'm looking at a similar decision in the near future, between the new 335i manual coupe & the 335d auto coupe. I'll be driving them both back to back when the time comes, but I'd be interested to hear any reports\opinions from people who've been down the same path.

One thing to note is that my journey to work - ie most of the miles is only about 6-7 miles so barely enough to get warmed up properly. But I also drive up & down the country so 800 mile round trips are the norm.

I'm coming from an S4 bi-turbo so I'm guessing if the D win's it'll probably end up chipped to get a bit of the performance back.

Cheers,
Alex

[squeezebm]

fade2grey said:

I'm looking at a similar decision in the near future, between the new 335i manual coupe & the 335d auto coupe. I'll be driving them both back to back when the time comes, but I'd be interested to hear any reports\opinions from people who've been down the same path.

One thing to note is that my journey to work - ie most of the miles is only about 6-7 miles so barely enough to get warmed up properly. But I also drive up & down the country so 800 mile round trips are the norm.

I'm coming from an S4 bi-turbo so I'm guessing if the D win's it'll probably end up chipped to get a bit of the performance back.

Cheers,
Alex

Just sold my 335d Coupe and what a cracking bit of kit,i would recomend it pal.

[Grebo911]

Had exactly the same dilemma this summer so drove both the 335i and 335d coupes back to back. The i sounds nicer (with the window down!) but performance wise there is very little difference between the two. i is faster towards the top end but the d has far more torque. The final decision was made by the far better mpg available with the d. Three months later and I'm averaging 35 for normal town driving and mid 40's on a good run. Am about to get it DMS'd for even bigger grins.

[fade2grey]

So.. people seem to be leaning towards the 335d.. a couple of more questions...

1) what's the Auto box like? blip on down change & stuff or is it a constant torque thing like the Jag XK8/R? Flappy padals work well?

2) Sound.. does it still sound like a bag of spanners?

A

[x5x3]

fade2grey said:

So.. people seem to be leaning towards the 335d.. a couple of more questions...

1) what's the Auto box like? blip on down change & stuff or is it a constant torque thing like the Jag XK8/R? Flappy padals work well?

2) Sound.. does it still sound like a bag of spanners?

A

1) no real opinion there - I like auto over manual (it suits the type of driving I do these days) and the paddles are quite useful on the rare occasion I get the chance to overtake.

2) afraid so! I came from a TVR to an E46 330 to the 335d. It is a fantastic car just wish the exhaust note was more like the old 330. I guess there would be an after-market sports exhaust available? Is that possible for a diesel?