BMW 335d’s 10-month test by Executive Road Warrior

Executive Road Warrior took the BMW 335d car on a 10-month testing program. After long months of being with the vehicle, they have released a status report regarding the fuel efficiency and overall performance of the car. Here’s an excerpt of their review:

“Even with its unparalleled power, the BMW 335d is the most fuel-efficient cars ever sold by BMW of North America, which opened operations in 1975 as the official U.S. importer. As a result, the 335d can travel almost 40% farther on a tank of fuel than its gasoline-powered sibling. On long drives there are fewer – if any – refueling stops, and I’ve been able to go 750 km (466 miles) without having to stop for fuel.

We’ve had the 335d in our test fleet for almost a year and it’s spent time passing slower cars on German Autobahnen, driving up twisty Alpine roads, and driving the challenging Lime Rock track. It’s lived up to BMW’s reputation for providing Freude am Fahren (the joy of driving) and it demonstrates responsive yet refined road manners – without sacrificing passenger comfort or driver joy.

The steering feels perfect and gives the driver just the right amount of road feel and resistance. The throttle responds perfectly to driver input. There is slightly more engine noise but, with the windows closed, the driver hears a pleasant diesel growl.

While a manual transmission isn’t available (BMW says that a manual transmission that could handle the engine’s torque would be cost-prohibitive), the ZF-manufactured automatic transmission’s shifts are perfectly timed and the normally silent engine emits a low but muscular growl under acceleration.

The 335d is, with a 0-60 mph time of 6.0 seconds, slightly slower than the 335i (0-60 in 5.6 seconds) For passing maneuvers, where going from 70 km/h (44 mph) to 150 km/h (93 mph) seems to happen almost instantaneously, the 335d has no peer.”

Source: Executive Road Warrior