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      04-28-2014, 11:42 PM   #1
kooch51
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Thoughts and opinions after 8 weeks.

I'm now 8 weeks and 2500 miles into ownership of my 2014 335i GT M Sport. I still need to get some pictures posted. Overall I love the car and am very happy with the purchase. So far my complaints are minor, but as follows:

1. City fuel mileage = horrible. It was estimated at 20, and I'm getting about 14 and that is driving it conservatively. I took a 600 mile trip in the car though and was pleased with the 30 +/- mpg I go while on the interstate.

2. The stock brake pads are garbage. The feedback I got from my dealer is that the pads are designed for optimal blah blah blah. I believe it, but they create more brake dust than any vehicle I've ever driven.

3. This one I knew going in, but I wish they would have opted for the smaller parking brake instead of the large handbrake. I would really like to have that space that's wasted by the handbrake so there was more tray space, for items such as cell phone. Having to choose between the tray and cup holder is kind of inconvenient. For the size of the car, the glove box and console are severely lacking in size.

Those are really the only negatives I've come up with so far. Otherwise I love the car and I get lots of comments. It's de-badged as of last night so now the curiosity of people will go unanswered. I've seen 2 GT's in Chicago so far. A white 328 and a black 328, I still haven't seen another 335 and haven't seen an M sport. I've had some car loads of clients lately, and the space has worked really well. I had 6 foot guy who rode in the center between two car seats in the back seat last weekend and he said he was perfectly comfortable and was shocked at the amount of space.

I will get some pictures up soon. I just wanted to put some thoughts out there. I'm curious to see if anyone else has any complaints or disagrees with me.
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      04-29-2014, 09:01 AM   #2
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I enjoyed your review! I agree the brake handle is large and takes up space, but it seems cool to me to even have a brake handle today! Makes me feel like a 1930's motorist when I engage and release mine! The way they are being replaced by the electronic lever type, this my be the last generation 3er for them! I do want to know your thoughts on the 6 cylinder: smoothness, start/start shake, quietness etc. The 4 cylinder is a horrible engine in the above attributes and is a turn off for me. Most dealers don't even stock a 335i. I plan to order exactly what I want and do a European Delivery. Congratulations!
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      04-29-2014, 01:12 PM   #3
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I have yet to see any in the wild in Chicagoland. Hopefully, mine will arrive in the next week or two though and then I will! The waiting is getting hard... I really miss having a car!
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      04-29-2014, 09:07 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RJGBMW View Post
I do want to know your thoughts on the 6 cylinder: smoothness, start/start shake, quietness etc. The 4 cylinder is a horrible engine in the above attributes and is a turn off for me. Most dealers don't even stock a 335i. I plan to order exactly what I want and do a European Delivery. Congratulations!

I love the 6 cyl, it's got plenty of power. I never got to test drive a 335i before I ordered it. I just felt like the 4 cyl would be underpowered for the size of the car. It has the traditional feel of a BMW as it creates most of its power at mid level RPM's. The 8 speed transmission is really smooth and puts the power to the ground really well. It does have some shake when sitting at idle, the engine idle is quiet, but the stock exhaust delivers a great tone, especially when in sport mode. It sounds really great at cold start in my garage. It still makes me smile every morning when I start it. I've taken it easy for the most part on it the car, but I have put it sideways in sport+ mode around a corner, I wanted to see if it would break the wheels loose and it didn't disappoint. I took it to 105 when I was in Iowa awhile back, but haven't had the space/opportunity to push it any further. I was impressed with how quickly it got there without much effort. Had the diesel been available in the U.S. it would have been a tougher decision as to which engine to go with though.
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      04-29-2014, 09:08 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by manda99 View Post
I have yet to see any in the wild in Chicagoland. Hopefully, mine will arrive in the next week or two though and then I will! The waiting is getting hard... I really miss having a car!
Which dealership did you order from? Do you live in the city?
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      04-29-2014, 09:59 PM   #6
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I've had mine for a couple of weeks...

For me coming from a 2012 X5M the city gas mileage is actually great on the 335 GT. I'm getting higher than 14mph (closer to 20 combined right now but 90% city).

I'm used to dusty brakes. When I first got my X5M I complained about that but got used to it so haven't noticed it in the GT and I think compared to the X5M brakes these are much cleaner.

Hand break doesn't bother me BUT more tray space center storage and/or larger glove
box would be nice.
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      04-30-2014, 12:27 AM   #7
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Never mind the dust, the stopping power is also weak.

Love the 8speed but wish the torque converter was not always open so the car would slow down when you downshift not just coast. My gas mileage in the city sucks too. I guess its the sport mode + heavy foot.
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      04-30-2014, 12:31 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kooch51 View Post
Which dealership did you order from? Do you live in the city?
We bought from Elmhurst BMW and did European Delivery. Waiting for it to make it home now. We live in Oak Park.
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      04-30-2014, 03:27 PM   #9
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You "only" got it up to 105 in Iowa? I took my E90 up to 105 on the autobahn about 10 minutes after taking delivery at the old BMW Freiman Center outside Munich. Then two things happened: 1) I lost my nerve, and 2) I realized that that is not the recommended way to break in a new car! I must try Iowa next! Best of luck!
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      04-30-2014, 09:44 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RJGBMW View Post
You "only" got it up to 105 in Iowa? I took my E90 up to 105 on the autobahn about 10 minutes after taking delivery at the old BMW Freiman Center outside Munich. Then two things happened: 1) I lost my nerve, and 2) I realized that that is not the recommended way to break in a new car! I must try Iowa next! Best of luck!
Yeah, it was the roads I grew up on. I was once did 155 in a Camaro in the same spot when I was younger and dumber I waited until I had nearly 2000 miles on the car to do it, it's not really any harder on a car than stop and go driving, and those engines live for 5500 RPM's.
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      04-30-2014, 10:37 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RJGBMW View Post
You "only" got it up to 105 in Iowa? I took my E90 up to 105 on the autobahn about 10 minutes after taking delivery at the old BMW Freiman Center outside Munich. Then two things happened: 1) I lost my nerve, and 2) I realized that that is not the recommended way to break in a new car! I must try Iowa next! Best of luck!
I couldn't make myself adhere to the 100mph recommended ceiling on break-in during my Euro Delivery...I convinced myself the 4500 rpm limit was what I should adhere to, which with the 8-speed still allowed getting up against the limiter at 130. I will say 125 was getting a little unnerving on the all-seasons...the scolding from the passenger seat occupant that had been building from 120 on didn't help either. With perfect autobahn roads, the GT made 110-120 really pretty comfortable cruising speed.
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      05-01-2014, 02:39 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kooch51 View Post
Yeah, it was the roads I grew up on. I was once did 155 in a Camaro in the same spot when I was younger and dumber I waited until I had nearly 2000 miles on the car to do it, it's not really any harder on a car than stop and go driving, and those engines live for 5500 RPM's.
Apologies to the OP and no intention of hijacking this thread, but I'm intrigued.

Ron & Kooch, what's special about Iowa ? Don't they have speed cameras or are the police a little more 'understanding' there ?

Just a dumb question from Scotland
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      05-01-2014, 04:59 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RJGBMW View Post
You "only" got it up to 105 in Iowa? I took my E90 up to 105 on the autobahn about 10 minutes after taking delivery at the old BMW Freiman Center outside Munich. Then two things happened: 1) I lost my nerve, and 2) I realized that that is not the recommended way to break in a new car! I must try Iowa next! Best of luck!
Sorry for the off topic but why didn't they deliver your car at the Welt center?
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      05-01-2014, 07:48 AM   #14
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Ah, but I'm an old timer at European Delivery, starting in 1982! The BMW Delivery Center was at a place called Freiman. It was on the outskirts of Munich; you took the U-Bahn in and drove out in your new Bimmer! I've not picked up a car at the Welt (yet) but from the pictures it must be a "wow." Freiman, in hindsight was, how to put it delicately, pre war and it survived!
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      05-01-2014, 01:07 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mattu View Post
I couldn't make myself adhere to the 100mph recommended ceiling on break-in during my Euro Delivery...I convinced myself the 4500 rpm limit was what I should adhere to, which with the 8-speed still allowed getting up against the limiter at 130. I will say 125 was getting a little unnerving on the all-seasons...the scolding from the passenger seat occupant that had been building from 120 on didn't help either. With perfect autobahn roads, the GT made 110-120 really pretty comfortable cruising speed.
We got up to 125mph (200km/h) in Germany before the passenger seat occupant (me) decided that was good enough.
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      05-03-2014, 10:45 AM   #16
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Little souvenir from a recent drive, perfectly legal, I hasten to add.
:-)

Remarkably smooth at these speeds.
(Sorry for the poor pic quality, one shouldn't really try to do such photos at all ever)
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      05-05-2014, 02:28 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by allachie9 View Post
Apologies to the OP and no intention of hijacking this thread, but I'm intrigued.

Ron & Kooch, what's special about Iowa ? Don't they have speed cameras or are the police a little more 'understanding' there ?

Just a dumb question from Scotland
You're not going to find a speed camera outside a city anywhere from Texas to North Dakota. I haven't run across a speed cam my entire life anywhere in my travels through the central US, although red-light cams are normal. There's way too much road to monitor and not enough traffic to justify having them. I think Iowa started implementing speed cams around cities, but they certainly aren't being used on two-lane roads running through miles of soybeans and corn.
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      05-05-2014, 02:57 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mattu View Post
You're not going to find a speed camera outside a city anywhere from Texas to North Dakota. I haven't run across a speed cam my entire life anywhere in my travels through the central US, although red-light cams are normal. There's way too much road to monitor and not enough traffic to justify having them. I think Iowa started implementing speed cams around cities, but they certainly aren't being used on two-lane roads running through miles of soybeans and corn.
Thanks for your insight Mattu. I wondered whether it was just Iowa, but obviously you can have fun anywhere from Texas to North Dakota. Enjoy your 335.
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      05-05-2014, 11:54 PM   #19
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Thanks for your insight Mattu. I wondered whether it was just Iowa, but obviously you can have fun anywhere from Texas to North Dakota. Enjoy your 335.
Lol...Yeah unless you happen to pass a state trooper going over 100mph, then you might find yourself in jail. It really isn't smart to drive that fast on public roads here because in many cases the roads are not maintained good enough for autobahn speeds, and in general the majority of other drivers on the road would not be allowed a license in Germany where you must yield the left lane to faster vehicles and never pass on the right. That said, there are sections of road around where I grew up that I know have visibility for more than a mile and no crossroads that one can practice hooliganism in a way that really doesn't endanger anyone else, but you're still a piece of road debris away from killing yourself.
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      05-06-2014, 05:51 AM   #20
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Kooch51 -

Nice little review, I do agree with your remark about the glove compartment being too small. I do wish it was a bit bigger. As far as brakes go, i went with the M Sport brakes and I feel they are pretty good. I definitely needed M Sport brakes at a minimum when driving here in Germany.

I am really going to being in pain whenever I do return to the US. I will have to WATCH my speed. I have been driving a long time here in Germany and it will be trully horrific having to drive at 60-85 mph. Everyone wants to drive on the left lane and everyone passes from the left or right lane....which is very dangerouos.

This is a pick of this morning's drive to work, this is a snap shot of a video i made. I was trying to document time of acceleration from 100kph to 245kph (60mph to 150ish mph).
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      05-06-2014, 08:58 AM   #21
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This is a pick of this morning's drive to work, this is a snap shot of a video i made. I was trying to document time of acceleration from 100kph to 245kph (60mph to 150ish mph).
EcoPro mode at 6K rpms and 150mph? I'm mildly surprised it even lets you go above 4500 in Ecopro.
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      05-06-2014, 09:16 AM   #22
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Quote:
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EcoPro mode at 6K rpms and 150mph? I'm mildly surprised it even lets you go above 4500 in Ecopro.
It's not in EcoPro during this run. It is on Sports Mode, I just tapped the gear shift to the left to transition from EcoPro to Sports.
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