But when parked beside the F30 335i, my car looks ancient. The newer car appears lower and broader thanks to the wider treatment of the headlights now reaching into the grille. The flanks are smoother and the rear light treatment is much more successful than the awkward ones found on the previous generation car. What’s more, the Sport trim features gloss black window trim that makes the F30 look both more aggressive and more modern than the chrome on the upper trim level E90 (328s had black trim).
Inside, it’s more of the same. The family resemblance is immediate, and drivers of E90s (or even E46s) will be instantly at home in the newer 335i with the requisite thick-rimmed steering wheel, two large, clear white-on-black gauges for the speedo and tach, and wonderfully supportive sport seats to keep occupants in place during spirited driving. Regardless of generation, this is a performance-oriented machine.
The Sport trim F30 is livened up with a red accent line across the dash (unless you order the M-Sport trim, which features a blue line), and a dark headliner. The Coral Red leather seats and red steering wheel stitching look sensational on both F30 testers I drove, and help to make the new car feel more exciting than the doom and gloom black-on-black-on-aluminum-trimmed E90.
  2013 BMW 335i vs 2008 BMW 335i. Click image to enlarge |
BMW’s iDrive is now a necessity and integrated directly into the stereo and trip computer’s operation, even if the optional navigation system isn’t ordered. Strangely, the F30’s infotainment screen looks like an afterthought tack-on placed atop the centre dash, where the E90’s iDrive binnacle (not equipped on my car) appeared more integrated in the dash design.
Additionally, the new car features a host of safety doo-dads not available on the 3 Series in the previous generation. Fitted to our tester were collision mitigation and a hypersensitive lane-departure warning system that buzzes the steering wheel if you deviate from your course. The frontal collision warning system features a forward-looking camera that was stymied every time it rained or road spray was kicked up from the car ahead.
Just as the E46 was a larger and heavier update to its E36 precursor, and the E90 was to the E46, so too is the F30. The new car is unquestionably a better machine in terms of its levels of refinement, comfort, coddling and safety. On its own, the newest 335i continues as the benchmark entry-level luxury sport sedan, but its competition is fiercer than ever with the likes of the Cadillac ATS and Audi’s S4 (not to mention the Lexus IS350 and Infiniti Q50 due on the scene any day now). The F30 is every bit the legitimate sport sedan it always was, it’s just now saddled with the burden of growing up and becoming more mature in its responsibilities as a luxury car, too.
For me though, my old E90 has been broken in and suits me like a favourite pair of jeans. It may no longer have new-car smell or look as sexy as its newer counterpart, but it’s a little louder, a little more crude and most importantly, it’s mine and I still love it best.
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Pricing: 2013 BMW 335i Sport xDrive
Base Price: $53,800
Options: $4,500 Premium Package (Alarm, universal remote control, Comfort Access, Rear View Camera, Auto dimming exterior mirrors, Lumbar Support, Park Distance Control, BMW On Board Navigation, Harman/Kardon Sound System); $800 Driver Assistance Package (Lane Departure Warning, Active Blind Spot Detection); $800 Metallic Paint
Destination: $2,095
A/C Tax: $100
Price as tested: $60,000
Competitors:
Audi S4
Cadillac ATS
Mercedes-Benz C350
Lexus IS350
Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
