2008 BMW 3-Series

As a closet BMW fan, I was quietly hoping that BMW’s new 335i Coupe would make Audi’s S5 – which I test drove a couple of weeks back – watch its back a bit more closely, in anticipation of a heated duel. A duel was the least of my worries though, before even moving out of park I was given a 15-minute i-Drive introduction by BMW’s PR chief.

Pfft…I thought. I know my iPod back-to-front, surely some car computer wouldn’t outdo me. But, rightfully so, I was outdone. In fact, some of the features of this ingenious i-Drive had me intrigued. Favourite functions, followed by television and even a bit of voice recognition thrown in for fun, it’s a very impressive system that is easy to master with a bit of time.

Anyway, as fun as i-Drive is, the 335i Coupe’s main draw card is the engine under the bonnet. BMW has reserved the V8 for the M3 and instead uses a twin-turbocharged inline 6-cylinder motor. The 3.0-litre motor produces 225kW and an impressive 400Nm of torque. Calling this engine a masterpiece would be a dreadful understatement. It’s not often you come across a motor which literally knows what to do before you even consider doing it.Ease on the throttle or slam down the throttle, the engine is always ready to respond, and the noise…oh the noise. At full flight, the twin-turbo’ed unit sounds like its ready to sacrifice anything in its path. It literally sounds like a fighter jet in the midst of mid-air combat. The noise can he heard quite clearly both inside and outside the cabin, lending to BMW’s commitment to driver satisfaction.