2011 BMW 335i

2011 BMW 335i

2011 BMW 335i

2011 BMW 335i

2011 BMW 335i

2011 BMW 335i

The 2011 BMW 335i sedan that we recently tested fits all of these criteria about as well as any car we've ever driven. The current generation 3 Series that debuted in 2005 was the first BMW to bring the latest cleaner version of the automaker's design language.

In typical BMW fashion the hood is long and the cabin is set well back on the body giving its profile a sporting and aggressive stance. That long hood also helps to accommodate the traditional BMW inline-six cylinder engine which we'll come back to in a bit.

Inside our tester was equipped with the Premium, Cold Weather and Sport packages as well as the navigation system. The front sport seats are supremely supportive when cornering and feature extendable thigh supports. The leather covered steering wheel has a perfect combination of thick rim and small overall diameter making it the ideal tiller for a sporting machine.

BMW currently offers three different 3.0-liter inline-six engines in the U.S.-market 3 Series (not including the V8 powered M3). The 335d uses BMW marvelous twin turbocharged diesel six which blends performance with excellent fuel economy. The BMW 328i has a normally aspirated gasoline engine while the BMW 335i has turbocharged version of that engine.

The N55 adopts BMW's fully variable valve timing and lift system called Valvetronic along with direct fuel injection. The new turbocharger is a dual-scroll unit with two inlets to the turbine housing that let the engineers better control when and where the exhaust gas pulses hit the turbine wheel. Our tester was paired up with a slick shifting six-speed manual gearbox that features short throws and a progressive easily actuated clutch pedal. The size of the wheel blends brilliantly with the amount of effort required to turn the wheel at just about any speed. The rear-wheel-drive layout of the standard 3 Series splits the workload between the front and rear tires allowing the fronts to handle directional control and the rears to propel the car.