Tuesday, August 18, 2009

2009 BMW 335d Sedan

The 335d is a high-powered, turbocharged sports sedan with all the bells and whistles.  -Photo © BMW AG
The 335d is a high-powered, turbocharged sports sedan with all the bells and whistles.

What we have here is a high-powered, turbocharged sports sedan with all the bells and whistles that is EPA rated at 23 miles per gallon in the city and 36 mpg on the highway. Oh, and the little "d" in the name stands for "diesel."

For those of you who thought diesel was a synonym for "noisy, smelly and slow," Audi has been winning races with diesel-engined cars against gasoline-engined cars for several years and BMW, well, in Europe drivers under 21 are restricted to diesel-powered cars, and that includes young Formula 1 drivers.

Jenson Button of England, say, who was pulled over in France and ticketed for speeding: 228 kilometers per hour, or about 142 miles per hour. The gendarmes escorted him to the nearest ATM and relieved him of some 5,000 francs, or something over $750. Then they bought him a cup of coffee and got a couple of autographs before sending him on his way. (They are a bit more civilized about these things in Europe. After all, the road was straight, there was no traffic and the weather was good.)

This happened back in 2000 when Button was only 20 and forced to drive a diesel-engined car; specifically, a BMW 330 sedan supplied by the racing team. Rather a company car, as it were, turbocharged, of course, like the 2009 BMW 335d that is the subject of this review. But we don't know how fast the 335d is, and we aren't going to find out, as we expect the conversation with American traffic officers would not go quite so well. (Nor, for that matter, are we among the only 22 or so drivers each year competent to drive a Formula 1 car.)2009 BMW 335d
BMW 3-Series Interior
BMW 3-Series Interior
PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo) 2009 BMW 335d

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