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BMW 335i v. Q60 RS

9K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  TemjinX2 
#1 ·
My ccustomized 335i has 400whp and is manual. I'm very happy with him but he's already 10 years old and I'm thinking of his replacement for next summer. I would be so grateful for someone who has a Q60 and had before a 335i / 235 / 435i to say the good and bad things of the change (@autechpan ?). More or less we all have them in mind so the summary is to know if it really is a change for the better. I am 37 years old and I like to drive fast on all kinds of roads but I do not drive the car to the circuit.

Finally, greetings from Madrid, Spain, and sorry for my English.
Tu inglés es mejor que mi español!

I had a 2009 335i. no performance packages, but I really enjoyed driving that car as a daily driver. at various times, I had a Cobb tune on it, and that probably added 50-60hp based on Cobb's data for the tune that I used. My subjective impressions: Tuned, the BMW accelerated similarly to my new Q60 RS, which would make sense based on the weights of the cars and the HP numbers. I'm still being nice to the Q60 as I have less than 2000km on it, so I would say the stock Q60 RS is still quicker. Stock to stock, there's no question at all that the Q60 is quicker all around.

I didn't leave the tune on because the car ended up in the shop a couple of times with issues that I would attribute in part to the tune and the harder driving that comes naturally from having a quick car.

I decided to get a new car because at 80k, I could tell that the 335 was going to cause me heartache. After the warranty, the water pump failed (leaving my wife stranded by the side of the road for 2 hours), and I had to repair a non-trivial oil leak. I could smell a transmission problem on the horizon based on some odd behavior in manual mode. My experience with three 3-series now is that after 70k miles, the problems start.

I didn't seriously consider a 340i or 440i. for me, there's little excitement in those cars as I had a similar one. I think the '09 335i engine is a better engine than the new one (an uneducated opinion but once offered to my by more than one BMW service center employees), and while the lines of the 4 series is a nice evolution, it's not that different than what I had and the interior is not substantially improved/different.

I also wanted sharper performance. The Q60 RS was just a really good option. The M cars are more expensive, with the M4 being a lot more expensive apples to apples. I can add new wheels, tires and catback to my Q60 and it will still be cheaper than an M2 based on what you will pay in the real world.

from my first test drive of a RS, I was impressed. I drove a Q50 RS and liked that. I ended up with AWD Q60 RS, in part because of design and part because that was what I could get that didn't have what I really didn't want (DAS and all the semi-autonomous tech). I look forward to getting into the car every time I go to drive it. It's comfortable and I feel very comfortable behind the wheel. The 3 series is a great driving car, and I don't feel like I'm taking a step down when I get in the Q60. I don't have track training so I'm sure a fair amount of nuance is lost on me, but that cuts both ways.

I would say that the main takeaways from most of the 20ish Q60RS reviews I listened to/read are generally true. The seats are comfortable. it's beautiful. It drives well. it's quick. It handles well and predictably for it's size. it stops when you want.

one the other side of the ledger, the transmission is not as crisp as I want. I drive almost exclusively in manual as the shift points in D are not to my taste. i'm getting used to the paddle lag.

DAS is not an issue as I avoided it. I work for a video game company and can use a guillemot driving sled for Gran Turismo anytime I want. I don't want my car to feel like that.

the parking brake doesn't bother me and I frankly prefer it to a hand brake taking up space on the center console.

lack of cooled seats don't bother me as I live in SF.


The infotainment is a bit dated, but the touch screen is really usable, well placed on the console and has been appropriately responsive for me. and while the feature set is not like, say, Audi's MMI, I have a running list of things that I really use that are way easier to use on the Q60 than on my wife's 2017 Q7, so I'm warming up to it. I have used the 2017 BMW iDrive on loaners, and for me, it would not be a deciding factor in a purchase decision.

I've used Android Auto and I don't think it's an upgrade to either InTouch or MMI such that I would not use it much if InTouch added it. It takes too long to boot and its performance is sluggish. It is difficult to switch back and forth between AA and the car's native tech functions.

So I'm really pleased with my decision and I'll probably do the wheels and tires soon and also consider an aftermarket catback.
 
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#2 ·
My ccustomized 335i has 400whp and is manual. I'm very happy with him but he's already 10 years old and I'm thinking of his replacement for next summer. I would be so grateful for someone who has a Q60 and had before a 335i / 235 / 435i to say the good and bad things of the change (@autechpan ?). More or less we all have them in mind so the summary is to know if it really is a change for the better. I am 37 years old and I like to drive fast on all kinds of roads but I do not drive the car to the circuit.

Finally, greetings from Madrid, Spain, and sorry for my English.
Tu inglés es mejor que mi español!

I had a 2009 335i. no performance packages, but I really enjoyed driving that car as a daily driver. at various times, I had a Cobb tune on it, and that probably added 50-60hp based on Cobb's data for the tune that I used. My subjective impressions: Tuned, the BMW accelerated similarly to my new Q60 RS, which would make sense based on the weights of the cars and the HP numbers. I'm still being nice to the Q60 as I have less than 2000km on it, so I would say the stock Q60 RS is still quicker. Stock to stock, there's no question at all that the Q60 is quicker all around.

I didn't leave the tune on because the car ended up in the shop a couple of times with issues that I would attribute in part to the tune and the harder driving that comes naturally from having a quick car.

I decided to get a new car because at 80k, I could tell that the 335 was going to cause me heartache. After the warranty, the water pump failed (leaving my wife stranded by the side of the road for 2 hours), and I had to repair a non-trivial oil leak. I could smell a transmission problem on the horizon based on some odd behavior in manual mode. My experience with three 3-series now is that after 70k miles, the problems start.

I didn't seriously consider a 340i or 440i. for me, there's little excitement in those cars as I had a similar one. I think the '09 335i engine is a better engine than the new one (an uneducated opinion but once offered to my by more than one BMW service center employees), and while the lines of the 4 series is a nice evolution, it's not that different than what I had and the interior is not substantially improved/different.

I also wanted sharper performance. The Q60 RS was just a really good option. The M cars are more expensive, with the M4 being a lot more expensive apples to apples. I can add new wheels, tires and catback to my Q60 and it will still be cheaper than an M2 based on what you will pay in the real world.

from my first test drive of a RS, I was impressed. I drove a Q50 RS and liked that. I ended up with AWD Q60 RS, in part because of design and part because that was what I could get that didn't have what I really didn't want (DAS and all the semi-autonomous tech). I look forward to getting into the car every time I go to drive it. It's comfortable and I feel very comfortable behind the wheel. The 3 series is a great driving car, and I don't feel like I'm taking a step down when I get in the Q60. I don't have track training so I'm sure a fair amount of nuance is lost on me, but that cuts both ways.

I would say that the main takeaways from most of the 20ish Q60RS reviews I listened to/read are generally true. The seats are comfortable. it's beautiful. It drives well. it's quick. It handles well and predictably for it's size. it stops when you want.

one the other side of the ledger, the transmission is not as crisp as I want. I drive almost exclusively in manual as the shift points in D are not to my taste. i'm getting used to the paddle lag.

DAS is not an issue as I avoided it. I work for a video game company and can use a guillemot driving sled for Gran Turismo anytime I want. I don't want my car to feel like that.

the parking brake doesn't bother me and I frankly prefer it to a hand brake taking up space on the center console.

lack of cooled seats don't bother me as I live in SF.


The infotainment is a bit dated, but the touch screen is really usable, well placed on the console and has been appropriately responsive for me. and while the feature set is not like, say, Audi's MMI, I have a running list of things that I really use that are way easier to use on the Q60 than on my wife's 2017 Q7, so I'm warming up to it. I have used the 2017 BMW iDrive on loaners, and for me, it would not be a deciding factor in a purchase decision.

I've used Android Auto and I don't think it's an upgrade to either InTouch or MMI such that I would not use it much if InTouch added it. It takes too long to boot and its performance is sluggish. It is difficult to switch back and forth between AA and the car's native tech functions.

So I'm really pleased with my decision and I'll probably do the wheels and tires soon and also consider an aftermarket catback.
I had not seen this message. Thank you very much for your response. I have cheated, I have been helped by a translator :D. My 335i has 170,000 kms almost without problems and about 120 extra hp. I know the Q60 would not be so fast even tuned but I have to accept that. Indeed some 335i N54 give problems. Mine is a rock. Incredibly even the clutch is standard. As for the Q60, I'm afraid the slowness of the change and the direction too filtered. You really have touched every important point! ;). I would like the Q60 to feel sporty, even if it needs an escape with urgency. I'm very afraid of the lag of the paddles because it can spoil the driving a lot. I think like you, I do not see the change to 440i ... if in Spain there would be option of RS MT and RWD would be almost perfect.
 
#3 ·
if in Spain there would be option of RS MT and RWD would be almost perfect.
I suspect that we will never see an MT on this car, which is too bad for those like you who really want it. I'm okay without MT, but I do wish that the transmission performed more like the ATs in the Germans cars. The car is still really fun to drive. I have adapted some to paddles and just anticipate shifts a bit sooner.
 
#5 ·
old thread but i like to add to this. I use to be 2008 335xi coupe awd owner, i'm currently a 2018 q60 redsport awd owner. The BMW transmission even at 10yrs is still better then the q60 transmission with the Zf 6 speed. The ZF 8 speed is years ahead of the q60 transmission. That said infiniti did make improvement to the transmission in comparison to the transmission in the 3.7.



The 3.0T twin v6 is powerful enough to make up for the crap transmission, for daily driving it seems ok. Its when you start taking the car past 7/10, you see the failures of the transmissions.


The BMW is lighter but the q60 with the double wish suspension is still confidence inspiring in the corners. Infiniti stepped up there game with the redsport seats in the q60. Even my friend with the m3 thought the redsport seats and leather were nice.



In terms of driving dynamics, the BMW is better but i would say the infiniti is 90% there. But with the redsport, i won't have to worry about replacing electric water pumps, fixing random leaks and fixing random electrics.


I basically bought the japanese version of my 335i.
 
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