Edmunds Insideline 335i Vs. C350 Comparison
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Edmunds Insideline 335i Vs. C350 Comparison
1st Place: 335i
-Engine and handling helped keep its place at No.1
2nd Place: C350
-Vast improvement over W203, but lacking in the horsepower department.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...hotopanel..1.*
-Engine and handling helped keep its place at No.1
2nd Place: C350
-Vast improvement over W203, but lacking in the horsepower department.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...hotopanel..1.*
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Good write up. I agree w/ them choosing the 335i. I haven't spent much time driving a 335i and I've haven't even sat in a C350, but that twin-turbo engine in the BMW is too sweet; + the dynamic abilities of the 3 Series keep it ahead of the C350 imo.
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I agree you have to pick the 335 here but I don't think it's a very apples-to-apple comparison. Maybe a 328. The 335i has only 11.9 lbs./hp yet the C350 weighs in with 12.8 lbs./hp. The poor 328i has 14.5 lbs./hp. so the C350 kind of falls in the middle. There's just such a huge performance (and in reality price) gap that it's tough to see these going head-to-head. But then again, it is the top (non-M) 3-series vs. the top (non-AMG) C-class so I guess it's inevitable. I want to see the new V8 M3 vs. the C63. Bye-bye Bimmer. And if you load up a C350 it will be $49K but a loaded 335i is $56K so the price difference is more like $7K. ANd on the show room floor, if you actually go out and try to buy each of these (as I did recently), the difference is far greater. You can nab a C350 loaded with nav and xenons for $40K OTD (if you can find one on a lot) because they will deal on them. The BMW guys will bend you over and make you squeal if you test drive a 335i and you are lucky to get OTD for under $60K. It is more like $10K for similar cars when you start running the numbers. I was haggling for a 335i convertible and it came out to be exactly $30K more than I a quote I had in-hand on a loaded '06 C350 in January. The soft top and 32 HP didn't seem worth $30K. Maybe with an ECU tune and headers it would be a much closer dance. I am definitely going to see!
Last edited by Drop-a-Daimler; Jul 15, 2007 at 08:31 PM.
Should be easy to outrun a 335i with 30K in mods
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I agree you have to pick the 335 here but I don't think it's a very apples-to-apple comparison. Maybe a 328. The 335i has only 11.9 lbs./hp yet the C350 weighs in with 12.8 lbs./hp. The poor 328i has 14.5 lbs./hp. so the C350 kind of falls in the middle. There's just such a huge performance (and in reality price) gap that it's tough to see these going head-to-head. But then again, it is the top (non-M) 3-series vs. the top (non-AMG) C-class so I guess it's inevitable. I want to see the new V8 M3 vs. the C63. Bye-bye Bimmer. And if you load up a C350 it will be $49K but a loaded 335i is $56K so the price difference is more like $7K. ANd on the show room floor, if you actually go out and try to buy each of these (as I did recently), the difference is far greater. You can nab a C350 loaded with nav and xenons for $40K OTD (if you can find one on a lot) because they will deal on them. The BMW guys will bend you over and make you squeal if you test drive a 335i and you are lucky to get OTD for under $60K. It is more like $10K for similar cars when you start running the numbers. I was haggling for a 335i convertible and it came out to be exactly $30K more than I a quote I had in-hand on a loaded '06 C350 in January. The soft top and 32 HP didn't seem worth $30K. Maybe with an ECU tune and headers it would be a much closer dance. I am definitely going to see!
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There just isn't a direct comparison really...
335i is a sportier car than the C350, no doubt about it, but it is also more money. The 335i convert becomes a GT cruiser IMO, when it gets the retractable hard top, which the CLK550 is comparable with, more or less, but then the CLK is also much more money.
I guess what I'm saying is...test drive everything until you find the right fit. Took me a year, and about...half a million dollars worth of cars of test driving to find the C55.
335i is a sportier car than the C350, no doubt about it, but it is also more money. The 335i convert becomes a GT cruiser IMO, when it gets the retractable hard top, which the CLK550 is comparable with, more or less, but then the CLK is also much more money.
I guess what I'm saying is...test drive everything until you find the right fit. Took me a year, and about...half a million dollars worth of cars of test driving to find the C55.
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Let's not make excuses. Give credit where credit is due.
The 335 Sedan's MAIN COMPETITOR is the C350 and the C350's MAIN COMPETITOR is the 335. Hands down the 335 wins in performance. However, if performance is not your only determinate then the C350 makes sense.
All in all, I completely agree with the review, BMW has raised the bar with the 335 - not just against Mercedes-Benz, but industry wide. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi should be offering cars with better performance than Nissan's and Toyota's and I think the 335 has done that for BMW. It's time for Mercedes to get serious and make a better engine for the C350 cause at the moment it's behind the 335, IS350 & G35.
Sorry, but I tell it as it is. So while I think the W204 looks better than the 335 Sedan, I'd probably wait for the updated engines before spending $45K.
Tee_Tz.
The 335 Sedan's MAIN COMPETITOR is the C350 and the C350's MAIN COMPETITOR is the 335. Hands down the 335 wins in performance. However, if performance is not your only determinate then the C350 makes sense.
All in all, I completely agree with the review, BMW has raised the bar with the 335 - not just against Mercedes-Benz, but industry wide. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi should be offering cars with better performance than Nissan's and Toyota's and I think the 335 has done that for BMW. It's time for Mercedes to get serious and make a better engine for the C350 cause at the moment it's behind the 335, IS350 & G35.
Sorry, but I tell it as it is. So while I think the W204 looks better than the 335 Sedan, I'd probably wait for the updated engines before spending $45K.
Tee_Tz.
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Let's not make excuses. Give credit where credit is due.
The 335 Sedan's MAIN COMPETITOR is the C350 and the C350's MAIN COMPETITOR is the 335. Hands down the 335 wins in performance. However, if performance is not your only determinate then the C350 makes sense.
All in all, I completely agree with the review, BMW has raised the bar with the 335 - not just against Mercedes-Benz, but industry wide. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi should be offering cars with better performance than Nissan's and Toyota's and I think the 335 has done that for BMW. It's time for Mercedes to get serious and make a better engine for the C350 cause at the moment it's behind the 335, IS350 & G35.
Sorry, but I tell it as it is. So while I think the W204 looks better than the 335 Sedan, I'd probably wait for the updated engines before spending $45K.
Tee_Tz.
The 335 Sedan's MAIN COMPETITOR is the C350 and the C350's MAIN COMPETITOR is the 335. Hands down the 335 wins in performance. However, if performance is not your only determinate then the C350 makes sense.
All in all, I completely agree with the review, BMW has raised the bar with the 335 - not just against Mercedes-Benz, but industry wide. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi should be offering cars with better performance than Nissan's and Toyota's and I think the 335 has done that for BMW. It's time for Mercedes to get serious and make a better engine for the C350 cause at the moment it's behind the 335, IS350 & G35.
Sorry, but I tell it as it is. So while I think the W204 looks better than the 335 Sedan, I'd probably wait for the updated engines before spending $45K.
Tee_Tz.
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Agreed. Performance-wise, the 335i has raised the bar. Even the Japanese alternatives are not quite up there (hp is comparable, but not actual performance like 1/4 mile, etc). Competition is great for us consumers. It won't take MB that long to upgrade it's engines on the W204 C-class.
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Let's not make excuses. Give credit where credit is due.
The 335 Sedan's MAIN COMPETITOR is the C350 and the C350's MAIN COMPETITOR is the 335. Hands down the 335 wins in performance. However, if performance is not your only determinate then the C350 makes sense.
All in all, I completely agree with the review, BMW has raised the bar with the 335 - not just against Mercedes-Benz, but industry wide. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi should be offering cars with better performance than Nissan's and Toyota's and I think the 335 has done that for BMW. It's time for Mercedes to get serious and make a better engine for the C350 cause at the moment it's behind the 335, IS350 & G35.
Sorry, but I tell it as it is. So while I think the W204 looks better than the 335 Sedan, I'd probably wait for the updated engines before spending $45K.
Tee_Tz.
The 335 Sedan's MAIN COMPETITOR is the C350 and the C350's MAIN COMPETITOR is the 335. Hands down the 335 wins in performance. However, if performance is not your only determinate then the C350 makes sense.
All in all, I completely agree with the review, BMW has raised the bar with the 335 - not just against Mercedes-Benz, but industry wide. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi should be offering cars with better performance than Nissan's and Toyota's and I think the 335 has done that for BMW. It's time for Mercedes to get serious and make a better engine for the C350 cause at the moment it's behind the 335, IS350 & G35.
Sorry, but I tell it as it is. So while I think the W204 looks better than the 335 Sedan, I'd probably wait for the updated engines before spending $45K.
Tee_Tz.
