Mike Hanley, CARS.COM
Many U.S. drivers spend a lot of time mired in stop-and-go traffic, and that’s where diesels shine, thanks to their prodigious amounts of torque at low engine r.p.m. when compared with similarly sized gas engines, which helps diesel cars feel quick from a standing start. It means you feel like you have one of BMW’s V-8 gas engines under the hood when accelerating from a stop or powering past another car. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has designated the 2009 3 Series a Top Safety Pick, as it received “good” overall ratings — the highest score possible — in its frontal-offset, side-impact and rear crash tests.
Dan Neil, LOS ANGELES TIMES
MUNICH, Germany — The object of this exercise is to deliver BMW-worthy performance with high fuel economy. This is a car, an engine, for adults whose idea of motoring pleasure is getting nearly 40 m.p.g. in a fine sport sedan at 80 m.p.h. Yes, it will go fast, but the real exaltation is in going far. The 50-state-legal diesel will be available initially only in the sedan; BMW executives are taking a wait-and-see approach before committing to the touring model. The 335d isn’t the feverish hell-dam that the gas-powered 335i is. That car is a rocket. This is the right-thinking person’s 3-Series. It remains to be seen how many of those are out there.
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See related story, “BMW 335 diesel performs without raising a stink,” Rides section, Page 1
