[Calmwinds]

Originally Posted by RPM90

That's the correct way to compare pricing.
You put the same options in and then get a price.
I hate when auto mags make claims like, "It's $7000 different in price", when they're comparing a semi loaded 335i, which comes with standard items that you have to add to a 328i.

This is good for leasers like me. The difference in price bodes well for leasing a 335i as it won't be that much more than an equivalently optioned 328i. I'm used to my 135i's MPG, and the new 335i's MPG is a bit better than what I get now.
After seeing the new 3 in person I'm not sold. It's beautiful and looks very sweet. It's just gotten too big. But, I'll reserve final judgement until I get some test drives in both 328i and 335i sport with MT and AT.
That could change my mind.
Especially since BMW won't have a 1 series coupe replacement for about 1 to 1.5yrs.

I'll bet insurance won't be too different.
The 335i has a higher MSRP so that will probably result in a slightly higher amount for collision. Overall though these are both turbo's, so probably not too much.
I'm 46 so for me insurance isn't too bad. But, I have a 135i and the premium now is about the SAME as it was 3yrs ago! I think that's because the 1 series tends to attract younger buyers, who must be doing some stoopid stuff and the premium is not dropping even though the value of the car is.
An F30 328i or 335i will probably not cost too much more as my 135i coupe, as the F30 is a sedan typically driven by an older group.

you are right on. In Canada, a same optioned 328i and 335i is only about 3.5K difference. To me it does not even make sense to look at the 328i at all.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Xcution

with lower insurance, lower monthly payment (pay more at the end with APR) around $80 and better gas milage...I will take the 328i you can have you noise, imo.

Also this has been discussed else where and the resale value on the 328i and 335i are the same. If you pay 3.5k more for one you will get around 3k for resale, simple math imo.

I do not bash either car or what you do with your money, to me sound is not worth it. Also you can there are tunes that have the 328i at 294hp/300ish torque.

True, either version will make for a great automobile just like it's always been with the 3.
Sport suspension and seats is a MUST for me.

MPG is not dramatically different though, and I'll bet in real world driving the MPG difference will be even less. With more power you need to tap into higher revs much less for daily acceleration. With less power you need to increase revs to get same daily acceleration. Revs cost in fuel.
If we average, for example, using 100hp for daily driving, then we'll be using about the same amount of fuel for the miles driven.
The caveat here is that the 328i will get the advantage as that 100hp will be moving less weight, so it will still get an MPG advantage.

As far as performance tunes go, I don't see what the point is in terms of comparison between the two.
Why? Because, you can still get more overall power from the 3.0 turbo then you will from the 2.0 turbo, simply because the 3.0 has 50% more displacement to begin with.

Yes, you can get the 2.0T up to about the same stock power as the 3.0T, but you have to really drive the 2.0's turbo as it's already pushing 17.4 psi. That turbo is running much closer to it's flow limit.
The N55 3.0 turbo is pushing something like 10psi and has greater headroom to increase boost into it's 50% greater capacity.

Tuning of each engine should be discussed on it's own merits.
Comparing the 2.0T to the 3.0T makes no sense, cause anything you can do to the 2.0T you can do to the 3.0T and achieve even more power due to it's 50% greater combustion capacity.

[NeTWorKz]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

You need to add the alarm for $400 to the 328i to make them match. It is free in the 335i. Now you are down to $3,700 difference with your example. Although, to be honest, I would never order the alarm for $400.

Whats wrong with the BMW alarm? I thought most people get it?

[justinnum1]

Originally Posted by NeTWorKz

Whats wrong with the BMW alarm? I thought most people get it?

there is nothing wrong as long as it comes with the car, but when its a $400 option most probably just overlook it

[AlexM]

All this comparison of the sound issue... i wonder where you guys can actually hear the i6? I thought the speed limits in US are very low and police strict, so i guess you're talking race track right? I have 335i and i can only enjoy the sound when i drive faster than 100km/h and during overtakings, in the city there's no joy - and this is 80% of the driving. I still have fun in the summer in places where i can speed to +200km/h but it's rarer year on year. Finally, i opted for 328i for being cheaper in all ways - price, economy and emissions tax. Perforance wise, it's close enough if you don't visit the race tracks

[justinnum1]

Originally Posted by AlexM

All this comparison of the sound issue... i wonder where you guys can actually hear the i6? I thought the speed limits in US are very low and police strict, so i guess you're talking race track right? I have 335i and i can only enjoy the sound when i drive faster than 100km/h and during overtakings, in the city there's no joy - and this is 80% of the driving. I still have fun in the summer in places where i can speed to +200km/h but it's rarer year on year. Finally, i opted for 328i for being cheaper in all ways - price, economy and emissions tax. Perforance wise, it's close enough if you don't visit the race tracks

At idle, the 335 is near silent and smooth, the N20 has a ticking noise, but at speeds, probably not an issue...Really not an issue overall considering the performance and efficiency from the turbor 4

[AlexM]

Originally Posted by justinnum1

At idle, the 335 is near silent and smooth, the N20 has a ticking noise, but at speeds, probably not an issue...Really not an issue overall considering the performance and efficiency from the turbor 4

Agreed. I'm also paying the price of transition, but i learned (through few painful police tickets) that it's probably better not to have a car who makes you wanna race each day when you start it, 328 should suffice when i need to Saying that, i still love my 335, it's the best car i had so far and hope i will be able not to miss it too much

[justinnum1]

Originally Posted by AlexM

Agreed. I'm also paying the price of transition, but i learned (through few painful police tickets) that it's probably better not to have a car who makes you wanna race each day when you start it, 328 should suffice when i need to Saying that, i still love my 335, it's the best car i had so far and hope i will be able not to miss it too much

+1, my N54's were spic, just fucking epic. The N55, i dont like so much, i think its putting out about 30 horses less than the N54. The N54 deffenitly made me go faster than i needed to. plus there was so much power there that i only used like 10% of the time. The 328 will be more than enough for me. Handling is a bigger priority than str8 line speed for me. So in that respect, the 328 is a no brainer. And if "funny sounding" is the biggest complaint from the turbo 4, i will be in good shape. I got premium sound, and some avicii, diry south, third party, and thomas gold to drown out that buzz.

[Robin_NL]

Having had a E90 N54 and now a much heavier F10 5 series N55, I can say , the N55 is on par with my ex N54 performancewise. It's just the heavier F10 the N55 has to deal with. If you can afford it(I hate to say it guys sorry) and come with better arguments than the usual speeding tickets(I 've got some stories for you, almost 20 years ago driving just a 130BHP car....) and the 'not being on a racetrack every day' thing(Why didn't you buy a 320i then?), just go with the I6.

[Robin_NL]

Another small story about my own cognitive dissonance...

The F10 550Xi V8 4.4 twinturbo with 407BHP and AWD I testdrove the other day was:
-much heavier than my current 535i F10. Especially that bigger engine(1.4 litres more, 2 cylinders more)
-not as fast as I expected. Difference in power is about 100BHP, but there is some powerloss because of the X drive drivetrain. Put some 150kgs or more extra weight and they almost should be on par, was my idea.
-way too expensive compared to my current F10 rwd 535i and the things getting in return....

that was what I told myself...











But....





....MAN, how I wanted that superb driving and faster car, I would trade my mother in law for that 550XI.




There was only one thing why not. The money. Period.

Cheers
Robin

[AlexM]

Originally Posted by Robin Hood

....MAN, how I wanted that superb driving and faster car, I would trade my mother in law for that 550XI.

Well who wouldn't

[cstavaru]

Originally Posted by AlexM

All this comparison of the sound issue... i wonder where you guys can actually hear the i6? I thought the speed limits in US are very low and police strict, so i guess you're talking race track right?

You can always go around in 1st gear...

[Robin_NL]

You can make the sound of an engine/car as important as you want.
I want a Ferrari to sound special. A Fiat Panda not so much. Doh.

Anyway:


I want a 3 series to sound right and a bit sporty and not like a coffeemaker, a duck getting strangled or a toilet flushing whatever. Listen to the soundclips of an N20 at idle /revving in a 328i. That's not BMW ish.

[justinnum1]

Originally Posted by Robin Hood

You can make the sound of an engine/car as important as you want.
I want a Ferrari to sound special. A Fiat Panda not so much. Doh.

Anyway:


I want a 3 series to sound right and a bit sporty and not like a coffeemaker, a duck getting strangled or a toilet flushing whatever. Listen to the soundclips of an N20 at idle /revving in a 328i. That's not BMW ish.

Thats why they make a 335

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by NeTWorKz

Whats wrong with the BMW alarm? I thought most people get it?

I did not mean to imply anything is wrong with the alarm, it is just an option I don't have much use for. Particularly for $400.

[Frosty]

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...ive/index.htmlhttp://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...ive/index.html

[The J-Man]

Design aside, it's unfortunate that interior quality has decreased. Everybody is raving about the interior, but I think the quality has gone backwards, and this review agrees with me. I think the leather quality and several interior panels have become cheaper in the F30.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Thud

BMW solved that problem in the M5 with Active Sound Design. Now they have the technology to make any motor sound like a V10... to the passengers inside the car, anyway.

And then maybe you can hack it and make the 328i sound like an F1 car.

..ha ha! we can hack the ASD and make it sound like a Rolls Royce Prop

[stubenhocker]

I laugh at the comparisons of the moment.
I wonder how well the 4cylinder will be in comparison 3 or 5 or 10 years down the road?
I would put my money on the i6.
Lets test these cars in 5years and see which one you would rather own.

[svache]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

You need to add the alarm for $400 to the 328i to make them match. It is free in the 335i. Now you are down to $3,700 difference with your example. Although, to be honest, I would never order the alarm for $400.

I did, and only for insurance purposes. In real life it has no value, nobody will look at the car if there is a break-in anyways. At least I never had that impression when someone's alarm went off lol.

Originally Posted by stubenhocker

I laugh at the comparisons of the moment.
I wonder how well the 4cylinder will be in comparison 3 or 5 or 10 years down the road?
I would put my money on the i6.
Lets test these cars in 5years and see which one you would rather own.

While I would like to see that test in a couple of years, you have to remember that most people that get this car now might not keep it longer than 3, maybe 4 years. So in that sense it doesn't really matter at this point

[AlexM]

Originally Posted by stubenhocker

I laugh at the comparisons of the moment.
I wonder how well the 4cylinder will be in comparison 3 or 5 or 10 years down the road?
I would put my money on the i6.
Lets test these cars in 5years and see which one you would rather own.

lol in 5 years i'll just get a new one again