Insideline's Comparison Test: 2010 BMW 335i vs. 2010 Evo MR-T
oh boy...
im NOT saying xDrive is a better system in its current usage. im saying its a better DESIGN because it CAN transfer tq front to rear. the 335xi is INTENTIONALLY dumbed down with no rear lsd and crappy suspension. if you take that design, slap on a rear LSD, and tune the electronics you basically get the GT-R ATTESA system. THAT imo is better than mitsu's S-AWC. ymmv.
the current use of xDrive in the 335xi? yes pure crap. but lets just recognize that it's BMW's intention for it to be that way... BMW has a wonderful tq biasing rear diff on the M3, they just refuse to let any of their other cars use it. they also have a new electronically controlled tq vectoring rear diff on the X6 M and X5 M, but they dont or havent used it in other cars yet. the technology is THERE, they just refuse to USE it due to marketing and product planning.
also we can ALL agree that the JDM IX with AYC is better than the USDM IX without it. the USDM IX had a BASIC AWD system. besides ACD, it's old school mechanical diffs and isnt really anything special. thats not to say it isnt fast, but lets be real. its very basic.
also once the STi gets tq vectoring like the rest of the world, the evo wont be so much "better" anymore. AYC is all the evo has going for it right now. lets all be realistic with that.
im NOT saying xDrive is a better system in its current usage. im saying its a better DESIGN because it CAN transfer tq front to rear. the 335xi is INTENTIONALLY dumbed down with no rear lsd and crappy suspension. if you take that design, slap on a rear LSD, and tune the electronics you basically get the GT-R ATTESA system. THAT imo is better than mitsu's S-AWC. ymmv.
the current use of xDrive in the 335xi? yes pure crap. but lets just recognize that it's BMW's intention for it to be that way... BMW has a wonderful tq biasing rear diff on the M3, they just refuse to let any of their other cars use it. they also have a new electronically controlled tq vectoring rear diff on the X6 M and X5 M, but they dont or havent used it in other cars yet. the technology is THERE, they just refuse to USE it due to marketing and product planning.
also we can ALL agree that the JDM IX with AYC is better than the USDM IX without it. the USDM IX had a BASIC AWD system. besides ACD, it's old school mechanical diffs and isnt really anything special. thats not to say it isnt fast, but lets be real. its very basic.
also once the STi gets tq vectoring like the rest of the world, the evo wont be so much "better" anymore. AYC is all the evo has going for it right now. lets all be realistic with that.
Kind of like saying:
"If it was designed and tuned for performance, it would be better."
"If you overhaul it by putting in limited slip differentials, it would be faster on track."
"If it didn't suck, it totally wouldn't suck."
Well, duh.
But it does suck for the purpose of comparing the handling potential of an Evo X to a 335xi, which still isn't the topic at hand.PS, you are swingin' off ATTESA way too hard.
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From: tsukuba turn 4
That's a pretty liberal use of "if's" and upgrades.
Kind of like saying:
"If it was designed and tuned for performance, it would be better."
"If you overhaul it by putting in limited slip differentials, it would be faster on track."
"If it didn't suck, it totally wouldn't suck."
Well, duh. But it does suck for the purpose of comparing the handling potential of an Evo X to a 335xi, which still isn't the topic at hand.
PS, you are swingin' off ATTESA way too hard.
Kind of like saying:
"If it was designed and tuned for performance, it would be better."
"If you overhaul it by putting in limited slip differentials, it would be faster on track."
"If it didn't suck, it totally wouldn't suck."
Well, duh.
But it does suck for the purpose of comparing the handling potential of an Evo X to a 335xi, which still isn't the topic at hand.PS, you are swingin' off ATTESA way too hard.
imo it's not a lot of "ifs" because the rest of the auto companies are just now using tq vectoring and in that sense the evo is no longer "unique" in that aspect. it used to be that we could get supercar handling at economy price. not so anymore. THAT aspect of the evo luster is going away. looking ahead, i dont know if the evo can compete with the big boys anymore and that IS one of its best selling points. the gap between cars like the M3, GT-R, 911, etc used to be smaller. looking ahead i can only see it widen. that's NOT a good thing for the evo.
even with the talks of active suspension and active steering in the next evo. man that's old news. other cars have been using this for years. hybrid evo? well we'll see how they implement it to be unique and hopefully stay competitive with cars well out of its price range. porsche's 918 seems to be a killer already so if mitsu can even come close with a AWD sedan body style, it's gonna be a winner... if not, the evo just may be history because in order to still be competitive, it will need to go up in price and at that point it will price itself outta its market...
oh and why i like ATTESA so much is because nissan decided to go with a pure performance AWD when no one else had to ***** to. lambo and R8 just used what's available, not a new ground breaking system like the GT-R.
Last edited by madfast; Mar 24, 2010 at 10:52 AM.
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From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
It's not a bad thing as it contributes to oversteer but S-AYC does as well and better than most RWD cars so really it's a moot point. If you want rear tq bias why go through the weight additions and expense of AWD when you can do it simpler, cheaper, much lighter, and a better turning radius with RWD?
. I heard the new Mustang coming out is badass and STILL has 100% bias to the rear wheels 
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Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Minnesota
I'd agree that the Evo's AWD system performs better than the 335xi's. I've driven both extensively (dad has a 335xi that I drove quite a bit) like a bunch of people have said, it's not designed for performance and you can feel it. It's sloppy compared to the Evo going into corners compared to the Evo AYC and the steering feel shows that extensively. I like both cars don't get me wrong but from a performance AWD stand point, Mitsubishi definitely wins that competition.
This is similar to the argument of 335i vs M3. The 335xi is a great car for a different use than the Evo. They can both overlap in the uses that the owner puts it through, but the Evo will be better at the track while the 335xi might be better for DD duties.
oh boy...
im NOT saying xDrive is a better system in its current usage. im saying its a better DESIGN because it CAN transfer tq front to rear. the 335xi is INTENTIONALLY dumbed down with no rear lsd and crappy suspension. if you take that design, slap on a rear LSD, and tune the electronics you basically get the GT-R ATTESA system. THAT imo is better than mitsu's S-AWC. ymmv.
the current use of xDrive in the 335xi? yes pure crap. but lets just recognize that it's BMW's intention for it to be that way... BMW has a wonderful tq biasing rear diff on the M3, they just refuse to let any of their other cars use it. they also have a new electronically controlled tq vectoring rear diff on the X6 M and X5 M, but they dont or havent used it in other cars yet. the technology is THERE, they just refuse to USE it due to marketing and product planning.
also we can ALL agree that the JDM IX with AYC is better than the USDM IX without it. the USDM IX had a BASIC AWD system. besides ACD, it's old school mechanical diffs and isnt really anything special. thats not to say it isnt fast, but lets be real. its very basic.
also once the STi gets tq vectoring like the rest of the world, the evo wont be so much "better" anymore. AYC is all the evo has going for it right now. lets all be realistic with that.
im NOT saying xDrive is a better system in its current usage. im saying its a better DESIGN because it CAN transfer tq front to rear. the 335xi is INTENTIONALLY dumbed down with no rear lsd and crappy suspension. if you take that design, slap on a rear LSD, and tune the electronics you basically get the GT-R ATTESA system. THAT imo is better than mitsu's S-AWC. ymmv.
the current use of xDrive in the 335xi? yes pure crap. but lets just recognize that it's BMW's intention for it to be that way... BMW has a wonderful tq biasing rear diff on the M3, they just refuse to let any of their other cars use it. they also have a new electronically controlled tq vectoring rear diff on the X6 M and X5 M, but they dont or havent used it in other cars yet. the technology is THERE, they just refuse to USE it due to marketing and product planning.
also we can ALL agree that the JDM IX with AYC is better than the USDM IX without it. the USDM IX had a BASIC AWD system. besides ACD, it's old school mechanical diffs and isnt really anything special. thats not to say it isnt fast, but lets be real. its very basic.
also once the STi gets tq vectoring like the rest of the world, the evo wont be so much "better" anymore. AYC is all the evo has going for it right now. lets all be realistic with that.
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From: CA
335xi is a better DD cuz it's a luxury mover, most people dig that. However, for simple guys like me, who want a straightforward performance car that can do anything (& ready for everything ie. mods, track, etc.) and not just a DD... I prefer the Evo. Doubt I can find a similar deal on a 335xi vs. my X. BMW Dealers are expected to get much higher profit margins compared to strugging Mitsu Dealers. A tad over $27K for a brand-new '08 X w/ SSS & 0% APR, beat that BMW (yep, I got lucky last year). LOL
Last edited by tipoytm; Mar 25, 2010 at 01:06 PM.
Agreed. Twice in several years I went to the local Mitsu dealer with the intention of buying an Evo (in 2005 for an VIII and in 2008 for a X) and they would not come off the price at all. Second time I went with financing already taken care of but they wanted $2500 above MSRP due to the low inventory that they had...I walked away.
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From: CA
^ Well, Cali dealers are a bit more liberal than other states... I guess it just depends on how you deal. Take for example Southcoast, they are advertising the 2010 MR-Touring for $36,999 (that's before rebates). IMO, that's very hard to beat.
That is a really nice deal! Daytona and Orlando seem to be more reasonable than Jax.