It's not their fault for going to the dealership for these kinda things. they do what they expect the average person would do, nothing themselves and just bring it in to the dealer.

the PROBLEM is that they swapped tires yet didnt swap pads, etc. what they COULD'VE said that would be more relevent, would be to say that it costs this much to do the maintenance work, AT THE DEALERSHIP, but you COULD EASILY do it yourself as most evo owners would!!! just as they found cheaper tires elsewhere, you can find cheaper pads elsewhere. they FAIL to mention this as if you cant and thus the average reader will get the wrong impression.

in the end, whatever. the magazine is a jaded, almost snobbish piece of journalism. ******* the interior and not glowing about the trick AWD system, which is why it costs so much to begin with, is just crappy journalism. to find a similar AWD system you have to look at names like GT-R, S4, the new RS5, 911 Turbo, etc. why not talk about that? like we give a sh*t about the interior, we just bought a mitsu for christsakes!!!!

 

what ceramic pads only cost $50? (fronts I presume).

 

True, but C&D does a Lightning Lap test around VIR every year and the 335i edged both the X and IX out.

BMW 335i (2007 test): 03:10.5
Evo X MR (2008 test): 03:13.3
Evo IX MR (2007 test): 03:13.5
BMW 135i (2008 test): 03:13.5

So the performance is quite similar even around a road course. I love my Evo as much as anyone, but the reality is that if you price something at $40,000, you're inviting some serious competition.

The staffer's point was that $40,000+ these days can get you a BMW that performs just as well as the Evo does while being, well, a BMW. Does that mean the BMW is better? No. But it is for some people.

As for mods, there is a member here who has had the 135i, 335i, and X (Noize, I think). Ask him which car made more bang for the buck mod-wise.

 

Add heated seats, a sunroof, a Twin-clutch transmission (which the 335 doesn't even have BTW) and the price of the 335 jumps drastically (close to $50k?). And the $40,600 price that you have mentioned is for a base (stripped out 335) . Go to any dealership and you will not find a single new 335 priced at $40k. When I was pricing out a 335 it came out to $48k with the options I wanted.

The 335 is a nice car but lacks the type of performance hardware that the EVO X has. The EVO X MR has, better brakes than the 335 (not to mention they look 1000 times better than the BMW brakes), Better suspension components, Limited Slip differential (335 doesn't have that), a much more sophisticated drivetrain, lighter wheels, and dont forget about the Twin-clutch transmission. I was going to get a 335, but they seemed boring when compared to the EVO.

 

Duralasts. Same part number as the Bendix pads. The fronts are $54.

 

Ask him which cars are able to put the power to the ground more effectivly. Ask him which cars dont have a Limited slip differential? And the VIR track layout rewards power more than it does cornering ability.

 

Yep. Really 135i is the only BMW close in price.

 

I'm not disagreeing with you about the options. And obviously, if you want a twin-clutch trans, you shouldn't get a 335i. That said, I don't want a twin clutch trans, and Mitsu currently doesn't make an Evo as luxurious as the MR Touring with a manual. And the manual they do put in the Evo is geared so short that virtually every Evo X test complains about highway cruising. So if I want a luxurious sports sedan with a manual, that kind of eliminates the Evo, doesn't it?

And I just demonstrated that the 335i can handle itself around a road course just as well as an Evo X. It may "lack the type of performance hardware that the Evo X has", but that isn't going to account for much when the guy with the "boring" BMW is 3 second a lap faster than you at VIR. I'm going to ignore that you are comparing how their brakes look. That's just ridiculous.

 

Apples and oranges. AWD has its advantages. RWD has its advantages. If you want something with AWD, the Evo is obviously better. Not everyone does.

Fair point. Doesn't seem to hurt the 335i too much though. It managed to beat the Audi RS4 on the same day.

So does the real world. Unless you're buying it solely as a track toy, power is a very real factor.

 

Who said that the EVO X is a luxury sports sedan? If you don't want a dual-clutch transmisison, then why are you using the MR's price as a comparison? Shouldn't you be using the GSR? The MR isn't that much more luxurious than the GSR, and depending where you are, you can get all the MR's goodies in a 5-speed. So you are basically comparing a $33k car against a $40k car.

I guess VIR is the only track in the world? Horses for courses dude. They're tracks that the EVO out performs the 335. And I would say that the EVO outperforms the 335 on MOST tracks.


So aesthetics aren't important? I mean if you like the crude-looking unfinished calipers that the BMW 335 has then so be it. But don't knock someone who appreciates a car that has nice painted/finished calipers.

I used to own a BMW 330i and considered the 335, but lack of LSD, Lack of a dipstick, super-hard runflat tires, Spartan interiors (better with nav), crude looking brakes, and several other things turned me off of the brand.

 

What advantages does RWD have over AWD?

 

The RS4? You mean the same RS4 that has been discontinued? the same RS4 that utilizes a non-current Audi platform? How does the 335 stack up against a current production car like the current Audi S4?

 

No one did. That's exactly the staffer's point. That for the price of an Evo X MR, you can get something that performs very similarly and is more luxurious.

I wouldn't say that. I would say the 335i has the advantage around more open tracks while the Evo has the advantage around tighter ones. That is fair.

They are. BMW probably just recognizes that most of their customers don't give two ****s how the brakes look if the interior is nice. Just like Mitsubishi probably recognizes the exact opposite is true of Evo customers.

 

1) Less weight
2) Better weight balance (assuming front-engine)
3) Less drivetrain loss
4) Subjectively, more fun for some people (easier to induce/control oversteer)
5) Ultimately, better handling

Or do you think the fastest race cars in the world are RWD because their designers haven't heard of the Evo?

 

You say that like Audi has drastically updated the platform since the RS4 went out of production. They stopped making it in 2008. The one in the test was certainly no older than the 335i it went up against.

If you like, though, I would be more than happy to provide a list of other cars the 335i beat.