370z Vs. 335i
 

Now that we know the Z can beat the 135i, how do you guys think it would fair against something like the 335i? The Z cars have always been sportier than their G counterparts and the G37 lags behind a little in the performance department with the bimmer.. so on terms of looks, performance, and value, how do you think our new Z car fairs against the legendary 335i coupe?

if I had $47K to spend the 335 coupe would be mine! :icon17:
http://www.bmwblog.com/wp-content/up...78b3ef1d_o.jpg

^ it starts at like, 43 if you want the stripped version ;]

Bmw 335i has the identical engine as the 135i. If anything, I can expect it to be a little slower than the 135i. Feel free to post the 335i review from Edmunds (1/4 mile, 0-60 etc.) if you want. This way we can compare even though 335i should be compared to G37 really.

BTW love that blue color.

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Oh man, I love that blue color. Wish I could have that on the 370z.

I completely expect there to be a comparison test between the 370z and the 335i, on Edmunds, Car&Driver or somewhere similar. And, I think the 335i will get spanked!

Montego Blue is an awesome color.
I love the performance and the feel of the 335 coupe.
If only they weren't so common. But its not really an issue for me because they are out of my price range anyway

I'll stick with the Z :tup:

335 is in comp with the G37 but we might see a comparison out there with the 370Z

u think the 335 coupes are common?? i see alot more Zs than i do 3 series coupes down here.

+1M... If the 370 came in that color, I'd be all over it. As the colors are now, I am leaning towards the red.

I really want to get the 335i but I dont think I want to pay that much for that car if it was in the mid 30s like the g37 I would jump on it but I'm leaning more to the Z as much as I love the TWIN TURBOS the BMW has I rather just go with a car that would cost me 33-35K and would be as fast and maybe faster. IDK guys love both of the cars I'm going to lease my next car so if I get a good deal on the 335i I will be getting that cuz I love BMW but the Nissan is making a lot of seance.

in terms of exterior design I think the 370 and 335 are very comparable....Both are very classy and eye catching designs....As for interior...besides the fact the 370 is a two seater and the 335 is four...my vote goes to the 370 hands down....I hate the boring interior of bimmers...I feel like they spend all their time on the drivetrain of their cars...which is unreal i have to admit but still...spend some more time on the place where im gonna be spending all my time...INSIDE....and the 135 does have the same engine while being smaller lighter and more nimble....making it slightly faster...and considering the 370 and 135 having similar numbers (slightly better then the 135) I would say the Z is hands down a better choice for the buck unless the back seat is a necessity

here is how it stacked up against the G37.

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370 > 335i. Style, value and performance wise...

370 looks better IMO. However, the M3 looks better than the 370.
The BMWs are worth about 2/3 their price. 1/3 of their cost is the name (which I could care less about.)
Performance is going to be very close between the two. So it's only a couple mods here or there for either of them to put them over the top.

If someone was selling me a 335i for the same price as the Z, it'd be a very hard decision for me. I'd likely go with the BMW, but honestly, I'd feel guilty and still wish I had the Z.

I like the interior on the BMW, but I LOVE the interior for the Z.


So it's a simple decision for me.

^^^^ you are the first person I have heard say they like the interior of the BMW. I find it dated and bland. Time to come out of the 80's BMW

LOL! DRIFTING the G! :D

That's pretty funny, but still pretty cool.

I agree. Their interiors have never been inspiring. Dated and bland are perfect adjectives.

the 370z is so damn vicious, it looks like it's about to beat up all the other sports cars

^^ true dat

^^^ +1... The 370z looks freaking mean!

BMW has nice interiors from what I've seen, but not my cup of tea. I like a race-inspired interior. (Also a reason I don't like Corvettes anymore)

The interior of newer BMWs may not have that "wow" appeal, but it's hard to deny that it's still a top notch interior. Personally I think the newer BMW interiors are much improved over the last generation BMWs which today look quite dated.

The 370Z may have an improved interior, but BMW will still take it in this department. Personally, I've never been impressed by the interiors of Infinitis so I doubt I'll be impressed by the new interior of the Z. With that said though, I'm sure it's a good improvement over the 350Z and should fit my needs just fine.

I'll choose a Z as the more sporty and fun to drive car, but the BMW as the more comfortable, luxurious daily driver that's plenty enjoyable to drive in itself.

If you guys want to compare used prices, low mileage 335i coupes can be had in the mid to low 30K range.

Though similar in price, the 135i vs the 370Z may still be comparing different segments of cars, so the 370Z versus a 335i is an even more lopsided or unfair comparison. Personally I'm looking forward to the new Z4 versus 370z comparo.

Oh and I liked this edmunds vid

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^^^^^ LOL! The moral of this story?

"By a used BMW instead of a new one?" :D

I won't deny that I'd have one of each (335i and 370z) if I could. The 135i is neat, but if I already had the 370z, getting another car with no back seat room would be impossible to rationalize.
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I agree. If I had my 370z already, I'd be looking at a BMW 5 series or a 4 door Infiniti. I like my mom's M and it's pretty nice for a daily driver. Performance wise, it's got enough power, and doesn't handle like a big car at all (even though it's pretty big). I wouldn't buy 2 cars with only 2 seats (Unless I could by lots more cars and had a place to put them!)


:( I need to rich.

everyone knows bmw is king, they just need to make their cars a little more attractive, they remind me of downsyndrome dinosaurs for some reason

What I see as the main problem if you're going to buy a BMW is the maintenance. Every part on that car is expensive and it's going to cost you a lot in the long run. Nissans are not expensive to maintain. I think I've mentioned this before.

Agreed. The parts on my 300zx were dirt cheap. Even the aftermarket performance stuff. The week I bought my car, I ordered exhaust, brakes (rotors and pads), HIDs, and some other misc stuff.

Great video. I do love the previous M3 model. The new one is a beast as well. If I had 60K to buy a new car, I don't think you can steer me away from the new M3.

Also, I can't wait to see the new Z4 vs the 370Z battle. :excited: Edmunds need to get their hands on the Z4 and do the test already.

Yeah in the long run it definately is gonna cost more. A friend of mine had to pay $1,200 to fix his brakes on his 325. But BMW also has that 4 year free maintenance thing, so atleast your'e ok for 4 years.

Having owned and still owning a '06 330i, which has essentially the same interior as the 335i, the quality, fit and finish is incredible. The 370z has really come a long ways in improving the quality of the interior materials, and I was pretty impressed with the dash board feel, and even the side panels. I did NOT like the cheap plastic fake chrome door lock switch on the Z doors.

As for the E90 vs the E46 (previous generation 3-series), the new E90 3-series no longer features a driver centric center dash. Everything faces forward, and the design emulates what you see in the E60 (the new BMW 5-series). I love the interior except for the silly iDrive knob, and not-so-secure dash mounted cup holders. As for comparing the feel of the Z, it is definitely the sports car, and the 3-series is a sporty 4-seater. I'd pick the Z for canyon driving by myself, but the 3-series for hauling my family around.

You should try to toss some punctuation in that post. It would make it immensely more readable. I agree that the cars are different and really play to different crowds. (if that is what you are saying...) Pricing is not really competitive between the two, but performance certainly is. However, since the 135i was supposedly a loser in its comparison with the Z, we can expect the comparison between a Z and a 335i to look even more favorably on the Z. That is because the 335i weighs more than the 135i and will have slightly decreased relative performance.
Even though the 335i may not have the most stellar interior to date, it still outclasses the interior from the 370z. Nissan made vast improvements to the interior of the Z, but it still has a way to go. I personally find that the top of the inside door panels as well as most of the dash is covered in a coarse, cheap feeling plastic. All of the 335s I have encountered don't have any surfaces or panels that feel cheap in any way.
To Alexus, I think you have forgotten that ALL maintenance is included with the purchase of any new BMW. With that in mind, the car looks very attractive to some buyers. Particularly those who only lease vehicles and tend to escape out of one lease and into another before such warranty periods expire. Perhaps the car will be expensive to maintain outside of warranty, but I know of a few BMWs that were regularly serviced and that are holding up quite well outside of the warranty period.
Performance- Z slightly edges out the 335i
Styling is subjective of course
Price- Z wins
Reliability- too early to tell; I would guess both will be comparable
Interior quality- 335i hands down
Resale/value retention- too early to compare; I would guess they will be comparable

It all comes down to money, IMO. If one has to stay below a $40k budget, the Z is a hard car to pass up. If one has a price ceiling that hovers around $50k, the 335i is equally tempting. To be fair, however, there are numerous viable performance options that become available as one sails past the $45k mark. Chances are, the buyers for these two vehicles are not the same, and won't be cross shopping.

Anyone with real life experience (ie owned BOTH) with 335 and 370z? I had an 07 335 coupe and loved the car. I haven't been able to drive the 370z yet but I presume both will feel about the same in terms of straight line accerleration given the numbers published in the mags. Love to hear any real life comparison between the two.

Two things I can comment:

1. Resale of my 07 335 was absolutely amazing. I sold mine in late 2008 with 10k miles and lost at most $3k after a little over a year. Not bad. But I am now seeing tons of 335s out there so it may be different.

2. Interior in 335 is boring as heck. I had the old iDrive which was bearable but I'd prefer the more "complicated" look of the Z.

3. In terms of reliability - I have mixed feelings. I bought the car just when it was released and had to replace fuel injector rails 2 times! Other than that, no issues.

Isn't the 135 better than the 335 regarding performance? They use the same engine, if I'm not mistaken, but the 335 weighs more than the 135. Now if the Z romped on the 135, I'd only assume, from what I've read at least, then the Z would do the same with the 335.

^^^ correct.

Did the 370 really "romp" on the 135i? In this video both cars ran to 60 in 5.1 seconds and the quarter mile in 13.4 at 105 trap for the Z and the Beemer in the same 13.4@104. The Z brakes from 60-0 in 101 feet and the 135 does it in 108 feet with a more linear feel. Slalom speed the BMW is quiker by a tenth than the Z's 69.8mph. The only part where the Z owns the BMW is in the skidpad with its amazing .99g of lateral grip compared to the 135's .90 since it has skinneier tires. So all in all both cars are equally close and in the real world it would be a drivers race. Now the 335i??? It is heavier than the 135i and so its pretty obvious that the 370z would "romp" that...unless it has the Vishnu reflash where it would take the 370z in a straight line only. ;)


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I agree that price doesn't compare, but with that having been said, the N54 in the 135i and 335i is so easily modified with JB3 or Vishnu piggyback that it easily would take the 370Z in the straights. As for cornering, the E92 and E90 M3 share the same chassis, but with slightly different control arms, dampers and spring rates. Just search for E90 or E92 M3 vs whatever in Youtube, and see how this car handles. I think where the Z excels is in its wide track, especially in the rear, and its sticky tires. Cost for the boost increase in the BMW is a few hundred bucks. I hope the 370Z sees some factory installed turbochargers in the future reminiscent of the 300ZX and the Supra. In its present normally aspirated configuration, mods on the Nissan would show less bang for the buck.

One last comment: I've own a few Supras and Z-cars. The Supras were 2+2, but the +2 part was just an excuse to say it had 4 seats. The BMW E90, E92, E93 truly seat 4 people. In my eyes, the Z is more of a true sports car with only two seats. So we are comparing apples and oranges here. I would think the Z car would be more fun as a sports car; the 3-series would be super fun commuter with more passenger practicality, luxury and road compliance, but without the "razor sharp control" of a sports car

I look forward to turboing my 370z almost immediately after I buy it. I think turboing is the ONLY way to go if you don't have the displacement and room to grow in the motor like an American V8.

The 335i isn't all that special to me. The new M3 is an amazing looking car and performs like it looks. But to get that you have to shell out so much more. The Z is a bang for the buck car, but like frogman said, the N/A mods are going to be way less bang for the buck with the Z.

Great thread

You talk about bang for the buck but you say you are going to turbo your Z immediately?

New Z is going to be 33-43k depending on what options you get, + at least 10k for a turbo set up with proper tuning, and then all the supporting chassis/engine modification to make it a balanced car it'll likely be around 15k before you are said and done. That brings your total to 48-58k dollars with no warranty.
Those 'expensive' 335s and M3's don't sound like such a bad deal after all. Especially since they can be had for invoice and under.


Just playing devil's advocate, I still love the Z :tup:

I'd assume he'd want to bump the performance of the 335i as well since it's performance won't quite equal a stock 370Z.