2010 BMW 335i: Does It Get Any Better Than a Twin Turbo?

Side Exterior View - 2010 BMW 3-Series 2-door Coupe 335i RWD

BMW has been know for being a driver’s car for a long time, you could say it was bred into the company through the German heritage of engineering and attention to detail. The 2010 BMW 335i is no exception and brings a level of sophistication to a two-door sport coupe that competitors have a hard time matching. What’s even better is these cars drive as beautifully and flawlessly as they look sitting in front of your favorite Sunday brunch destination.

Steering Wheel - 2010 BMW 3-Series 2-door Coupe 335i RWD

Angular Rear Exterior View - 2010 BMW 3-Series 2-door Coupe 335i RWD

My recent experience with the 2010 BMW 335i at the Rocky Mountain Driving Experience led to a 17-mile journey from the breakfast meeting place at May Farms to High Plains Raceway track facility. The first thing I noticed was the well-bolstered leather seats and the seat belt arm that brings your seatbelt to you. This feature is only available in the coupe and is meant to help people from having to reach way back to grab the seatbelt from the pillar. It is also a very nice touch for a car that starts at a base MSRP of 42,650. Of course, a well-equipped model with navigation will set you back closer to $52K.

The driving experience was all BMW. The car has amazing acceleration coming from the 300 hp 3.0-liter twin turbo inline six-cylinder engine. In fact, the acceleration is so amazing you might find it hard to keep the car under the speed limit with 0-60 times of 4.7 seconds. It is an effortless acceleration to 60 mph and triple digits come with just as much ease. There are two things that take getting used to, however: the gearbox and the entertainment system. Both are a little bit quirky. The gearbox seems to have a wide throw, but is typical of all the BMWs I have driven. It isn’t that it is sloppy because it isn’t; the feeling is more that you have to reach for the upper gears. After a few miles with some shifting to get used to it most drivers will settle into a good rhythm. The entertainment system takes a little more to get comfortable with.

The good news is that most of the time you will get some in car training on the entertainment system, which is powered by the dial on the center console. The position is good, especially for reaching down while not taking your eyes off the road. However, when you aren’t especially familiar with the system, it does take a little bit to get something selected—even when it is just the radio station. Once used to it, I could see where it would be an efficient method of handling many tasks associated with the in-car entertainment and navigation system. Other than those two quirks, the 2010 BMW 335i drives flawlessly with tight and accurate steering, superior brakes and a surprising amount of comfort for this 6-foot tall driver.

Bottom line—If you have 50K to spend on a two door coupe that is made to hug the road and leave most others at the stoplight, then the 2010 BMW 335i is definitely worth the test-drive. It also doesn’t hurt that they pay for the service and maintenance on the car for the first 3 years or 36,000 miles. No wonder they are called “The Ultimate Driving Machine.”