Reader Review of the Week: 2007 BMW 335i Convertible

We’re kind of jealous of this week’s winner of the RROTW. While we get to sit behind the wheel of a BMW M3 or 335i for a week or so to review the car, Former M3 Guy from San Diego has owned both BMW two-doors in convertible form. He lists the pros and cons in his review, saying the 335i is a match for the M3 in terms of acceleration, but “probably couldn’t quite keep up in the ‘twisties,’ but on the other hand it is a much more comfortable everyday driver.” Our own Mike Hanley recently reviewed the 335i hardtop convertible, and you can find his review here.

“I bought a 335 (auto) convertible after the lease expired on my M3 convertible (with sequential manual gearbox). The 335 is nearly a match for the M3 in acceleration, and may even beat it in accelerating from highway speeds owing to the increased torque from the twin turbos. It probably couldn’t quite keep up in the “twisties,” but on the other hand it is a much more comfortable everyday driver. The 335 has superb steering and brakes (on par with the M3), a better sound system (which surprised me because I had the optional Harman-Kardon upgraded system in the M3) and far less road noise with the (hard) top up or down. And oh yeah: It gets about 20% better gas mileage than the M3 did.

“Contrary to some reviewers’ comments, you can detect a hint of turbo lag when you stomp on the throttle, but not enough to be bothersome. A few complaints: the interior leather seems a cheaper grade than I had — annoying on a $60,000 car — the glove box is too small to even store the owner’s manual, you can’t read the radio dial when wearing polarized sunglasses (just the radio; the rest of the gauges are fine — what’s up with that?), and I hate the inevitable run-flat tires (but no way this car has room for a spare tire, at least in convertible version). But all in all, the 335 is a fabulous car — and after a few commutes in typical Southern California traffic on roads in need of repaving, I didn’t miss my M3 at all. We’ll see how the reliability goes — it is the first model year after all — but I’ve had no problems so far (albeit after only 4,000 miles).”