The upside to fuel crises, if there must be one, is that carmakers offer up all kinds of solutions that would have no appeal in a low-cost and stable fuel marketplace. How else do you explain Cadillacs with V-8-6-4 engines? The downside, of course, is that once the perceived threat is over (or once we get used to $3-a-gallon gas) the market corrects itself, and these oddball crisis cars disappear as fast as they came. In some cases (i.e., the aforementioned Cadillac) that's a good thing; in others, the march of legitimate alt-fuel progress gets kneecapped. Thankfully there's Europe, where gas prices are reliably obscene...
[img]The only transmission capable of handling that much torque is a GM-sourced six-speed automatic; the gear ratios are the same as the 335i's but the tranny features a taller final drive to take advantage of the massive torque spread.
For the most part. If memory serves, it's also the cucumber capital of Japan. Hence the home-market ads for the FT-86 featuring Takeichi-kun, the cartoon cucumber whose meteoric rise through the underground drift world has shamed him in the eyes of his school-master.
Drove an E92 335 about 18 months ago. Great car, sounds quite good for a diesel, refined, smooth and quick. But it feels nowhere near as quick as a 335i, and it's not as fun to drive either. I found when you drop the macho 'must have manual' attitude, the auto is excellent and perfect for the car - a manual box wouldn't suit its low revving characteristics IMO.
Great car, but no thanks...and thats at Euro petrol prices. Which have dropped 20% recently, which is nice.
Drove an E92 335 about 18 months ago. Great car, sounds quite good for a diesel, refined, smooth and quick. But it feels nowhere near as quick as a 335i, and it's not as fun to drive either.
Acceleration at fast highway speeds feels much faster IMO. It's just a different kind of fun.
That photo was placed in the article by someone who's clearly not detail-oriented. Note the tachometer redlines at 7,000, which the diesel engines will not achieve.
Premium is down to 2.89 and falling while diesel is still close to $4 and holding pretty steady. Don't see the point of this car over the cheaper/faster 335i. It would be smarter for BMW just to offer a 3.0l tuned with a low RPM optimized cam that runs on 87 octane (~2.60 today). They had a model like this in the 80's I believe. One of the 325/525 models had this engine, maybe it was the 'e' ?
Why not do the same thing again? 3.0l, high torque, low redline motor that runs on regular gas. I bet it would have ~200HP, on par with a 325D. Way more cost effective than the diesel both in upfront price and at the pump. Not to mention, no need for the complexity of a turbo charger; Just a basic, conservatively tuned inline-6 that would probably last forever.
Drove an E92 335 about 18 months ago. Great car, sounds quite good for a diesel, refined, smooth and quick. But it feels nowhere near as quick as a 335i, and it's not as fun to drive either. I found when you drop the macho 'must have manual' attitude, the auto is excellent and perfect for the car - a manual box wouldn't suit its low revving characteristics IMO.
Great car, but no thanks...and thats at Euro petrol prices. Which have dropped 20% recently, which is nice.
Don't mind TCL, they'd take a rickshaw with a 6MT over a Veyron just to show their collective ass and how leet they are as drivers.
Also, the 335d is an interesting proposition, but I'm not the least bit interested. I think the 330d should be offered as well. The 320d is just stupid/not realistic/TCL-lalaland nonsense. Rowing your own in a diesel seems boring to me anyway, I'd rather have a bloody auto.
For the most part. If memory serves, it's also the cucumber capital of Japan. Hence the home-market ads for the FT-86 featuring Takeichi-kun, the cartoon cucumber whose meteoric rise through the underground drift world has shamed him in the eyes of his school-master.
The 320d is just stupid/not realistic/TCL-lalaland nonsense. Rowing your own in a diesel seems boring to me anyway.
The 320d is not nonsense - 177hp & whatever it has for torque is more than enough for daily needs. It can still be fun to drive, and it'd be more economical, cheaper, and lighter than any 335d.
It's ok if you don't like a manual diesel - some of us do like that. The point is moot since very few are likely to be offered in the US.
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they should have brought over the 320d too... the 335d is pricing itself way too high
If they *have* to do the diesel thing not to lose any sales to competitors, they should have focused on a 330d, priced less than a 335i. It also does 0-60mph in 6.1s but manual.
Don't let kids play with formulas: TORQUE answers the question "Will it be able to do it?" POWER answers the question "How fast will it do it?
Drove an E92 335 about 18 months ago. Great car, sounds quite good for a diesel, refined, smooth and quick. But it feels nowhere near as quick as a 335i, and it's not as fun to drive either. I found when you drop the macho 'must have manual' attitude, the auto is excellent and perfect for the car - a manual box wouldn't suit its low revving characteristics IMO.
Actually, low revving characteristics are a great match for manual transmissions. You have a much easier time short shifting and taking advantage of all the low end power and most importantly, when you put your leg into it, you can avoid an unwanted downshift.
Drove an E92 335 about 18 months ago. Great car, sounds quite good for a diesel, refined, smooth and quick. But it feels nowhere near as quick as a 335i, and it's not as fun to drive either. I found when you drop the macho 'must have manual' attitude, the auto is excellent and perfect for the car - a manual box wouldn't suit its low revving characteristics IMO.
Re-reading this, I am realizing that I am healed and no longer miss so much that 3rd pedal. The GM supplied 6-sp. autom. is a great companion to that marvelous I6. Of course, quicker ZF are as great or greater as well.
Don't let kids play with formulas: TORQUE answers the question "Will it be able to do it?" POWER answers the question "How fast will it do it?
Sounds great as performance diesels go--but I concur that I'd much rather have a 320d with a 6 speed manual.
Agreed. 0-60 in 5.9 is just rather unnecessary. Maybe offer it for those that must have the performance diesel, yeah, but I'd rather have a little less performance and even more MPGs as the more ideal balance for myself.
-Matt 7,001,084 Californians don't want me to have what they have.
I wonder if they just floored it and let the trans decide on the shifting, in which case revving it up might not be the best thing to do. It'd be interesting to floor it but have it in manumatic mode and force upshifts earlier (seems counterintuitive but with a low-end torque engine maybe keeping the revs down actually might help acceleration more?) to see if that actually would make a better 0-60 time.
-Matt 7,001,084 Californians don't want me to have what they have.
For those of you wanting the 320d, the 335d is the right choice for BMW in this market. Too many of their sales are dependent on brand perception, so it would be folly to offer a down-market car, especially a diesel one, as a small diesel will not feel remotely sporty to American drivers used to more power.
I, for one, want the 120d, but realize there's no way in hell we're getting it.
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Maybe offer it for those that must have the performance diesel, yeah, but I'd rather have a little less performance and even more MPGs as the more ideal balance for myself.