BMW 335i M Sport 2013 Review

There are not many better looking sports sedans in the world than a red BMW 335i M Sport rolling on 19-inch alloys and low profile rubber.

It is sexy to behold and pretty darn good to drive as well. Hey its engine isn’t naturally aspirated -- as was once the BMW way -- but at least it’s an inline six-cylinder.

Where the 335i loses some of its appeal is when the pricing and options list is perused. At $91,400 (plus ORCs) it’s almost acceptable considering it actually undercuts the peak performing Audi A4 and C-Class Benzes.

The standard kit for that money includes a five-star ANCAP rating, front, side and head airbags for front-seat passengers and head ’bags in the rear, front and rear parking sensors, bi-xenon headlights, Dakota leather trim, dual-zone climate control, 16-speaker audio, sat-nav and internet functionality.

But then have a look at the options this car is fitted with -- listed above -- and things start to get a bit hotter for your hip pocket nerve. The price rises to $104,540 without including on-road costs.

The biggest individual extra is the M Sport kit, which around 25 per cent of buyers have traditionally opted for and explains why we are driving the 335i in this rather focussed form.

The aforementioned 19-inch wheels come with the pack, replacing 18s. There are sports seats -- excellent as just about all BMW seats are -- and an M leather steering wheel. Everything else is pretty much dress-up, including an anthracite roof liner, a chrome tailpipe and black kidney grille. So mainly cosmetics.

But significantly, this car also has adaptive M suspension (the standard M Sport pack offers orthodox sports suspension that also lowers the ride height 10mm but lacks the tricky self-adjusting dampers) and variable sports steering added to the chassis mix, so there’s more meat here as well as gravy.

The one area that doesn’t get any attention is the 3.0-litre DOHC 24-valve engine, and why should it? With 226kW available at 5800-6000rpm and 400Nm belting out between 1200-5000rpm, it drives the rear wheels via a slick eight-speed ZF gearbox with commendable alacrity.

That’s probably understating it a bit. ‘Ferocity’ would be more suitable if at any time you decide to give the throttle a decent shove. There’s a howl from under the bonnet, meshing induction, exhaust and metal moving awfully fast. And pretty soon that’s exactly what you are doing too, BMW claiming a 0-100km/h time of 5.5 secs.

On the flipside BMW also claims a 7.2/100km average, which as we all know is completely unobtainable if you care to indulge in a bit of the above activity. Our average was 9.6L/100km, which is probably what you can expect on average.

BMW does help you shoot for its official combined figure with the help of idle stop-start (which operates pretty smoothly), brake energy regeneration and an ECO PRO mode that, at the push of a button, detunes performance to the point of somnambulance. Plug it in when you’re ambling along the freeway, not zipping along a backroad.

ECO PRO is part of BMW’s Driving Experience Control that also includes Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes. These ramp up chassis and drivetrain responses progressively. Comfort is the preferred option for most types of driving, Sport’s for enthusiasm and Sport+ cuts back the stability control nannying to the point that some mid-corner rear-end slip is permissible.

But it’s only moderate freedom. If you want to really play -- on a racetrack of course -- then you will have to switch off the safety net altogether. But that’s cool, because this car is eminently controllable.

And what of the ride? It’s long a BMW Achilles Heel thanks to its preferred combination of short travel suspension, low profile run-flat rubber and unwillingness to localise tuning for small markets with crap roads like Australia. Well, not too bad actually. In Comfort mode it manages to retain dignity for passengers over all but the harsh stuff.

Then the front-end bangs horrendously into deep potholes and you worry a shock absorber is going to punch through the sculpted bonnet or a wheel has been buckled square. Through all this body control commendably retains that disciplinarian BMW composure.

But it’s easy to ponder as you twiddle buttons and change modes and the fundamental quality of the 335i’s chassis shines through, just why we are going through all this. It’s a broken record saying it these days, but wouldn’t just one setting be fine for most of us? Ah well, if you’ve got the digital wizardry you better show it off.

Clearly less money and effort has been devoted to the interior. Oh it’s spacious for four, there’s even a bit of storage for bottles, phones and other stuff -- although what happened to those very helpful dividers in the front door pockets BMW? And the widescreen TV at the top of the centre console is great. And did we mention the excellent seats?

But so dreary. Predominantly dark with splashes of something sort of metal. And much of what you touch is soft covering over something is actually hard.

Considering how many things about this car inspire respect and deliver enjoyment -- and how much its costs -- that lack of interior drama is a real disappointment. A bit unsexy really.

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