[300hp]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

FULL REVIEW: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...s/viewall.html

5th Place: Volvo S60
While safe and competent, the Volvo failed to get anyone's pulse racing. The competition remains extremely strong and a refresh is coming soon.

4th Place: Cadillac ATS
Without question, the best driving car here, but last or near last in every other category. Cadillac has a great starting point, but it needs to finish the job.

3rd Place: Lexus IS 350
A solid value and welcome refresh. We'd love to see an F Sport with AWD, but Lexus doesn't build it. Also, the front of this car is too homely for it to place any higher.

2nd Place: Audi S4
Muscular, brutish, and confidence-inspiring, the S4 is let down by its age and a slightly underwhelming driving experience. Still, what an impressive athlete.

1st Place: BMW 335i xdrive
Featuring the best combination of everything, the latest 3 Series just doesn't have any glaring flaws. It's still the master of the segment it created.



Conclusion:

This was a remarkably difficult decision to make, as all the contenders are good cars. Somehow, and I'm not totally sure how, the Volvo sank like a rock to the bottom. Is it bad? Not at all, but aside from safety it stood out in no single area.

The Cadillac outshone everyone else in one single category: Ride and handling. In terms of smiles produced and fun to drive, no other car was even close. But as right as Cadillac got the ATS' chassis, it dropped the ball elsewhere, especially in CUE.

The Audi, while faster than it needs to be, is starting to feel a bit long in the tooth. We've seen the interior; we're getting bored with the styling; and we're totally indifferent at this point to its numb steering and FWD bias. As Angus MacKenzie often states, RWD is the proper way to build a car.

Despite how bone-deep ugly it is on the outside, the little Lexus surprised us all. From its handsome and comfortable interior to its better-than-expected handling to its value and low cost of ownership, the IS 350 was full of surprises. All that said, bring on the F Sport.

This leaves the BMW and its combination of luxury, comfort, and curb appeal. There's a reason every other car in the segment is measured against the 3 Series. Even with AWD, it remains the benchmark.

[Presario]

As the great Johnny Drama would put it... "Victory!"

Great read. Thanks for the link. Looks like it's literally hot off the press.

[TN_3]

0-60 in 4.4 for the 335i xDrive....wow

[300hp]

One of my favorite quotes would have to be this one:

Ayapana said the BMW "has the best interior of the bunch" and called the seating position "perfect."

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz2Z8Lw4ndZ

The truth cannot lie

[Dan_335i]

3rd Place: Lexus IS 350
A solid value and welcome refresh. We'd love to see an F Sport with AWD, but Lexus doesn't build it. Also, the front of this car is too homely for it to place any higher.



USA and CANADA does have fsport and AWD models. what gives?

[TN_3]

Originally Posted by TN_3

0-60 in 4.4 for the 335i xDrive....wow

Scratch that...still impressive, but just realized the test car has the PPK...

[Presario]

Originally Posted by TN_3

Scratch that...still impressive, but just realized the test car has the PPK...

I was just going to post the same thing. They don't mention it at all in the article, just the published HP and Torque ratings.

[Presario]

Another thing to note. Fuel efficiency may not be accurate now with the PPK.

[Pauleebe]

Originally Posted by Dan_335i

3rd Place: Lexus IS 350
A solid value and welcome refresh. We'd love to see an F Sport with AWD, but Lexus doesn't build it. Also, the front of this car is too homely for it to place any higher.



USA and CANADA does have fsport and AWD models. what gives?

I know the IS is a sedan, but didn't the 335 not have xDrive (at least for the coupe variant) in the initial production run?

It's not unlike manufacturers to delay the AWD variant for a few months or a year when it's a new chassis, even for BMW.

[300hp]

Originally Posted by Presario

Another thing to note. Fuel efficiency may not be accurate now with the PPK.

I have PPK, my consumption was not compromised at all. I average 23mpg with mostly city driving and enthusiastic h/way driving. I could get more with Sunday driving and less city driving.

If I had RWD, I would probaby be getting better mileage too.

[JasonX4MComp]

Originally Posted by dwalls90

I know the IS is a sedan, but didn't the 335 not have xDrive (at least for the coupe variant) in the initial production run?

It's not unlike manufacturers to delay the AWD variant for a few months or a year when it's a new chassis, even for BMW.

When the F30 came out for MY12, both the 328 and 335 were RWD only but only had like a 6 month run before MY13 came out with xdrive

[ATX78703]

this is the same MPPK x drive 335i they had tested earlier - hence the blazing results...

what's funny is I don't ever remember the Audi S4 (which hasn't changed in several years) pulling sub 4.5s 0-60 times, but now they're acting like it's been doing that all along.

[drob23]

Cool comparo, great win for the F30, glad to see they finally tested out a full 335ix M-Sport, which I'd assume has all the goodies.

[Dan_335i]

Originally Posted by dwalls90

I know the IS is a sedan, but didn't the 335 not have xDrive (at least for the coupe variant) in the initial production run?

It's not unlike manufacturers to delay the AWD variant for a few months or a year when it's a new chassis, even for BMW.

I mean the AWD IS can get Fsport with it. Motortrend is saying you can't?

[300hp]

Originally Posted by ATX78703

this is the same MPPK x drive 335i they had tested earlier - hence the blazing results...

what's funny is I don't ever remember the Audi S4 (which hasn't changed in several years) pulling sub 4.5s 0-60 times, but now they're acting like it's been doing that all along.

The one with the auto has been putting down sub 4.5s times for a while now. It did 4.4 the last time they tested it. The 335i is now catching up with the S4. Watch out for launch control with the 2014s. I predict they will easily knock off at least 0.1s off the 60 and 1/4 mile times

[Falafel Combo]

Did not read the full article, but did they get 2014 press cars? Yellow M Sport brakes?

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by TN_3

0-60 in 4.4 for the 335i xDrive....wow

I don't have the PPK in my 335i xDrive 8 AT, but I swear when I do launches from zero in sport+ I sometimes get brain freeze. It's butt-dyno fast!

[tuned2ride]

They were really impressed the way the ATS drives.

In terms of smiles produced and fun to drive, no other car was even close.
...
Without question, the best driving car here,

[mntbiker]

Originally Posted by KORALLROT

Did not read the full article, but did they get 2014 press cars? Yellow M Sport brakes?

I think these are the M Performance Brakes.. The ~$3k add-on accessory that existed before they started officially offerring them on the 2014 models.

Kind of unfair that the BMW had the M Perf Brakes and MPPK. I wonder if the other cars came w/ the same type of performance goodies? It's not really a realistic comparison...especially since they aren't even options presented on the configurator.

[Jamesons Viggen]

Originally Posted by mntbiker

I think these are the M Performance Brakes.. The ~$3k add-on accessory that existed before they started officially offerring them on the 2014 models.

Kind of unfair that the BMW had the M Perf Brakes and MPPK. I wonder if the other cars came w/ the same type of performance goodies? It's not really a realistic comparison...especially since they aren't even options presented on the configurator.

it's both fair and unfair I guess. Those are port installed and can be bought and financed like any other option. Lexus does it too, they have an F-Sport line of parts, previous IS could be had with the F body kit, wheels, brakes, swaybar, intake etc.

[300hp]

Originally Posted by tuned2ride

They were really impressed the way the ATS drives.

Since they copied the E46 it does not come as a surprise, but its not a well rounded car. For the same money I would argue the 328i is better, similar straight line numbers and given the 328i is lighter, would probably decimate the ATS 3.6 on the track.

[drob23]

Originally Posted by mntbiker

I think these are the M Performance Brakes.. The ~$3k add-on accessory that existed before they started officially offerring them on the 2014 models.

Kind of unfair that the BMW had the M Perf Brakes and MPPK. I wonder if the other cars came w/ the same type of performance goodies? It's not really a realistic comparison...especially since they aren't even options presented on the configurator.

I don't think you'll ever be able to test these cars in a vacuum with everything equal. I doubt they buy them, probably get them either OE corporate loan, dealer loan or just flat out rent them. Imagine right now if I said "go test a mini-cooper, fiat abrath, ford fiesta ST and GTI such that every option is the same." Like me, you probably don't know the intricacies of the mini-cooper optioning, and given logistic annoyances, you'd probably be happy with "sport" lines of each one (whatever that means). Even though these guys are "car guys," they also get to test drive GT-R's, Ferrari's and 911's...so they probably don't really care when one car comes with performance brakes. They probably tell BMW - "give us your best factory 3 series with x drive" and this is what they got.

If I was in the market for a new car, these reviews would just serve as an objective measure and you'd really need to read between the lines and test drive them yourself. The final "order" doesn't really mean much if the context varies from your own. My personal opinion is some of these cars are developed more for the smaller engine segment (328/A4/ATS 2.0) so their "big engine" variant is not necessarily up to snuff. Trying to compare the n55/3.0 TFSI with those NA 3.6 V6's isn't really fair...the FI engines are just sooooo much torquier and since these aren't high revving engines, the S4/335 feel much faster around town...so my personal ordering is

{S4, 335} >>>> S60 > ATS > IS350