BMW 335d Review by Motor Trend

The BMW 335d is an interesting diesel car because of its power and performance. With the shift of focus to diesel’s efficiency and economy, we have seen a couple of 335d reviews in the past weeks. It is safe to say that the BMW 335d gets very positive response from automotive journalists. Here is another review, this time done by Motor Trend, which focuses on the advantages and strengths of the BMW 335d. However, they see one tiny problem about it: the price.

Look, I just thought diesel cars were boring. But hey, based off my admittedly small sample set, I don’t think I could have come to a different conclusion. How big of a man am I? I was wrong about diesels. Totally wrong.

One of my first inklings into just how wrong I was came when I had a conversation with Angus MacKenzie about the Jaguar XJ diesel he drove around jolly old England (read all about it here). He loved it. And not in the way that people love their Priuses; those guys love the idea of the Prius, the actual car is immaterial. Angus however genuinely loved the diesel XJ in a serious car guy way. The passion in his voice, the wild hand gestures, his wide eyes — it was like he’d just driven a Shelby Cobra for the first time. The glimmer of revelation was there.

I just had my own revelatory diesel moment about two hours ago. It went something like this. I climbed into our long term 2009 BMW 335d for the first time. I noticed the average mileage was an indicated 29.0 mpg. I then drove 120 miles down to San Diego. My speed was somewhere between 80 and 85 mph. When I handed the fob to the valet, the 335d’s average mpg had risen to 29.4. I’m simply awed.

Not only was the mileage good enough to put a huge crack in the fundamental theory of hybrids, but the car itself was excellent. Its handling is as good, if not slightly better, than any other E92 3 Series. Torque is everywhere, instantly available to rock the 335d back on its haunches at the stab of the pedal. Sure, above 90 mph the low-revving turbodiesel runs out of gas (so to speak), but that just doesn’t matter. The BMW 335d is the best car I’ve driven in a very long time. In fact, the 335d might just be the best car on the road. Shame about that $50,000-plus sticker price.

Source: Motor Trend