2016 335D

[Gavin]

I did a quick search and other than cop cars not loving them, are they any good? I am utterly fed p of the Superb and trying to come up with alternatives.

Last time we went petrol but it turns out we are doing about 20k a year in the family car, despite WHF mostly.

SEAT Leon Cupra ST also appeals but it is a Golf in drag and I wasn't overly fond of the Golf, even before it got stolen.

[Sundayjumper]

I don't know anything about that era 3-Series, but a late F10/F11 5-Series is a nice thing and closer in size to the Superb than the 3.

[Gavin]

Cheers. I am fed up of how big the Superb is. The mk3 is not as good a car as the MK2 I had and was wanting to downsize, at least a little.

[MikeHunt]

Is the 3.0 Alpina version available for similar money?

[Mito Man]

The 35D engine in the X5 likes to go through timing chains but that’s more because it’s shoving 2.5 tonnes and has a 20,000 mile 2 year service schedule so you can’t blame it really. Should be better in a lighter 3 series but I’d want a lower mileage one simply because it will have been serviced more frequently as it’s 2 years regardless of mileage then.

[Gavin]

Is the 3.0 Alpina version available for similar money?

oooooooooooooo

[Sundayjumper]

LOL. Yes, at least twice, maybe 3x, the price

[Rich B]

we have an earlier (2014) 320d - it’s a great car imo - but would be massively better with:

- more bhp
- auto gearbox (the manual has the wrong ratios for a diesel imo)
- better headlights
- better Sat nav unit

Pretty sure a 2016 335d would solve all these issues.

[Shlergen]

Curious as to the problems with the superb, for a daily wagon it's hard to beat. Is it just the massive lack of driver involvement?

Bro had a 335d wagon and it was lovely but I didn't get a want feeling. Not much else to compete in that sector mind.

[Jimexpl]

I thought the suspension on our 2013 335i was disappointing - the damping was way too soft for a BMW.
After three weeks it was going to have a Birds upgrade, but we drove it to France just before with friends and my wife found the back seats dismal after an hour - almost as much room as a 5 series, but no give in the seat, so it was sold two weeks later for an XFR, which I should have bought in the first place.

Our was Luxury spec with standard suspension. My mates 335D on adaptive suspension is much better, and perhaps if it was only kids in the back maybe the car would have stayed with us for a while.
The rest of the car was fine - great adaptive headlights and head up display, 35mpg on a run, but I wanted to enjoy driving it and move three adults around in comfort on long journeys.

[mikeyb]

I had a 2016 330d X-drive. The N57 engines have a good reliability record but bottom end failures are starting to become more common on 335ds. I had no issues on mine, I owned it for 3.5 years and did about 70k miles. Only needed consumables.

2016 was the first year for LCI, so better headlights etc. suspension was improved for Xdrive cars too.

I replaced the 330d with a G31 530d and there’s a noticeable drop in performance, with the 330d being quicker. Without coming across all Boatshoes, 335ds are quick cars for most occasions.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Curious as to the problems with the superb, for a daily wagon it's hard to beat. Is it just the massive lack of driver involvement?

Bro had a 335d wagon and it was lovely but I didn't get a want feeling. Not much else to compete in that sector mind.

Yeah, I'm curious too as ours has been a solid family car for 6yrs now.

[ShockDiamonds]

We ran an F30 320d for a few years. Was reliable but I do recall the steering rack had an issue, later traced to a manufacturing defect which also impacted the X3 at the time. Ours was an early build (as in, first month or so of production) which probably had an effect, too.

[Swervin_Mervin]

We ran an F30 320d for a few years. Was reliable but I do recall the steering rack had an issue, later traced to a manufacturing defect which also impacted the X3 at the time. Ours was an early build (as in, first month or so of production) which probably had an effect, too.

Those steering racks were terrible. Our 2012 F20 had a new one as well. When I looked up the part number out of curiosity they'd revised the rack multiple times but seemingly still had issues.

[Beany]

Was that the whole rack, or just the knuckle joint half way down the column? I know that's known to shit itself on the regular but now hasn't been revised for a while.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Was that the whole rack, or just the knuckle joint half way down the column? I know that's known to shit itself on the regular but now hasn't been revised for a while.

Whole rack. The dealership told me it was costing a packet. Ours didn't even go in for that - it went in for a service and they just did it FOC.

[Beany]

Blimey, although as my car is over a decade old I'm sure if it needed it, it'd have happened by now

[ShockDiamonds]

It sounded ‘loose’ as best I can remember it. Rattled and felt and sounded like an ARB bolt wasn’t torqued properly. Or at all. Cannot honestly remember root cause but as already said, eventually they replaced the whole assembly.

[Jimmy Choo]

I thought the suspension on our 2013 335i was disappointing - the damping was way too soft for a BMW.
After three weeks it was going to have a Birds upgrade, but we drove it to France just before with friends and my wife found the back seats dismal after an hour - almost as much room as a 5 series, but no give in the seat, so it was sold two weeks later for an XFR, which I should have bought in the first place.

Our was Luxury spec with standard suspension. My mates 335D on adaptive suspension is much better, and perhaps if it was only kids in the back maybe the car would have stayed with us for a while.
The rest of the car was fine - great adaptive headlights and head up display, 35mpg on a run, but I wanted to enjoy driving it and move three adults around in comfort on long journeys.

My E60 is an SE and the suspension is definitely on the softer side. The Sport suspension is too firm unless you're really on it so for 97% of the time it's a reasonable compromise. On the last driving meet I was on it was something to drive round rather than lean on. The back especially was a bit wobbly.

The M57 engine is a bit weird. You buy a diesel for fuel economy but strapping a second turbo on it defeats that. So it's a performance engine but if you want a performance engine, petrol is the answer.

Personally, I like the ridiculousness of it.

[Sundayjumper]

The active anti-roll bars, I can't remember what BMW call them, make a big difference. They're a separate option in addition to the sport/comfort damper settings. Not massively common on the 5 but was standard on the 7.

Edit to add, I just stumbled across this, video of the ARBs being calibrated showing how much effect they have. That's basically how much roll they're able to counteract.