Sorry to bring back an old thread-but last sunday I was really able to ring the 335i out-on a mountain road close to my house-Angeles crest highway. The road is filled with different kinds of turns from hair pins to banks. Here are some pictures i found to give you an idea.
The drive is gorgeous-dont let the pictures fool you. Its filled with cliffs and a view of the ocean near the top. Anyway it gives a driver the opportunity to test out the limits of his car. The 335i handled this without any problem at all. Turning with little to no drama at very high speeds only to slow down to slower traffic-which i eventually persuaded to pull over and let me pass. Anyway, it was probably the most fun i have ever had driving. Entering turns at 70 mph with a 25 mph speed limit-and as the turn comes to end-mashing the pedal towards the next-and so on and so forth. The engine just pulls and pulls-catching up with cars like S4s and STIs-and eventually forcing them to let me pass! Its an absolute joy to drive-and im glad my mom will be keeping this one for a long time.
Ive driven the 550i quite a bit and despite having 50 hp more and road tracks faster quarter mile and identical 0-60 time-the 335i feels quite a bit faster and alot more fun to drive. The engine is much more enthusiastic-and of course that coupled with probably the best chassis in its segment-makes for an excellent car-perhaps one of the best.