Behind the Wheel | 2007 BMW 328i and 335i: A Lot More Firepower for BMW?s 6-Shooter September 30, 2006
For 2007, BMW has brought out new fifth-generation coupes, the BMW 328i and 335i, cheering enthusiasts who haven?t seen a new two-door 3 Series since 1999.
IT has been nearly 30 years since two debuts, of an engine and a car, ushered in the modern era of BMW. At the 1977 Frankfurt Motor Show, the company displayed a new version of its highly respected in-line 6-cylinder engine. That was also the year when BMW began importing its 3 Series coupe to America.
At that point, the first 3 Series car, the 320, had been on sale in Europe for nearly two years; it was a handsome replacement for the boxy 2002, the original Ultimate Driving Machine. But while the 320 had a come-hither price of less than $9,000 ? almost unimaginable in today?s world of six-figure performance cars ? it had come only a 4-cylinder engine.
The new 6 changed that, though only for Europeans. It would be seven more years before BMW would entrust Americans with the smooth-running, more powerful engine.
The 320 became a legendary success, igniting sales and helping to transform the Bavarian automaker from a niche brand to a respected mass-market player. But in 1984, BMW replaced the beloved 320 with two new derivatives: the 318i, perhaps the crummiest Bimmer ever, a gutless wunderkind that cost twice as much as the 320, and an even pricier 6-cylinder upgrade.
Buyers proved willing to pay dearly for straight 6?s, and over the next 20 years they did so in ever higher numbers. In the same period, the basic engine architecture and output changed relatively little.
For 2007, BMW has brought out new fifth-generation coupes, the BMW 328i and 335i, cheering enthusiasts who haven?t seen a new two-door 3 Series since 1999. Both cars have new 3-liter in-line engines, which BMW insists are its most sophisticated 6?s yet.
But as BMW celebrates the pearl anniversary of its 6-cylinder 3 Series (in case you?re thinking of sending a gift), I find myself wondering, “How much longer can this go on?” The in-line 6 has, arguably, come to define this car. But insomuch as horsepower expectations escalate from year to year, where else can BMW go with its 6-shooter? From a development standpoint, will they still be viable power plants seven or eight years from now, when the sixth-generation 3 Series arrives?
Never suggest to anyone at BMW that a V-6, now the power plant of choice for most competitors, might be a better alternative; that?s as heretical as suggesting that sauerkraut is too sour, that wiener schnitzel ought to include wieners or that iDrive controls were a blunder.
BMW doesn?t easily change course. The basic layout of six cylinders in a row produces a velvet-smooth, almost vibration-free supply of power. But V-6?s, while less smooth, have often been coaxed into generating more horsepower and torque ? outrageous amounts, in fact, if they are turbocharged to force in more air for combustion.
To get more power from in-line 6?s, BMW has made them rev ever higher, and increased their displacement. As size grows, however, fuel efficiency declines.
For its 2007 models, and to one-up its competitors in the horsepower wars, BMW had to adjust its conservative corporate mindset and reconsider its decades-old stance against turbocharging. BMW always believed the tradeoff for turbocharging would be searing-hot operating temperatures, poorer fuel economy and unacceptable throttle lag while the turbos spooled up.
But technology advances have changed the game. The latest turbochargers can work more precisely with direct fuel injection, yielding a broader power band and unexpectedly better mileage.
The new 335i?s 3-liter engine has twin Mitsubishi turbochargers and is rated at 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque. The outgoing M3 supercar, with its larger 3.2-liter, 333-horsepower 6, can barely outrun it. Car and Driver magazine reports that the 335i?s 0-to-60 m.p.h. time of 4.9 seconds is just 0.1 second slower than the current M3, which costs at least $7,000 more.
The 335i, however, consumes far less fuel than the M3; the new coupe carries a government rating of 20 miles a gallon in town, 29 on the highway, compared with the M3?s 16/23.
The only lag I felt was around 1,500 r.p.m., when I tried to leave cellphone yakkers and other slowpokes behind. The six-speed manual transmission seemed to have more gears than it needed; usually, when I wanted to do something in a hurry, I wasn?t anywhere near the right gear. I actually preferred the automatic, which can pick the proper gear faster than mortal man.
- Posted in : Uncategorized, BMW
- Author : arnold
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