VIEW PHOTOS (23) | COMMENTS Checking the numbers: We strap our gear to the latest 335i. If you’re like us, you’ve bored holes through pictures of the new 3-series sedan trying to discern the styling changes versus the outgoing model. Yes, there are some. A new face features headlights that puddle in toward the chrome-wrapped kidneys and a broad, blunt-faced front bumper that creates a sort of grimacing overbite into the lower grille. Move around to the sides and tail, and it all looks very familiar, even though the new car is 1.9 inches longer in wheelbase and 3.7 inches longer overall, which gives it more of a sleek, sprinter-on-blocks profile. But what’s really new about the F30, you ask? Well, after 600 miles in a brand-new 2012 F30-generation 335i Sport Line—and a couple of plates of South Carolina barbecue—we have a pretty good idea. The turbocharged N55 3.0-liter inline-six carries over its silkworm-woven symmetrical outputs of 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. The six-speed manual still operates in concert with a tautly sprung clutch pedal and a spindly shifter that moves with greased precision, and the suspension and steering still make us smile. The differences are in the details: The dash controls and vents stay in roughly the same locations, but a welcome redesign of the panel—with its more pronounced instrument hood, driver-oriented center console, and traditional pull-type parking brake—concentrates the focus on the pilot. The Sport Line (the flashiest of three available trim packages) offers a decorous marriage of leather, metal, red stitching, and low-gloss plastic. The wheelbase punch-out creates a few more cubic feet here and there, most noticeably in the back seat with its extra head and knee room, plus some subtle tactile difference in the steering, no doubt due to the switch to electric assist (more on that in a second). The 2012 335i’s base price.
10 Best Cars We test a lot of cars every year, and 2011 was no different—here’s a compilation of the best and the worst performers in ten categories. The list is based on test results for U. S.-specification production vehicles appearing in the magazine during 2011. Several cars appear multiple times, and two show up on both sides of the fence. Click vehicle names for full tests.
The four-cylinder Accord proves that when Honda plays to its strengths, it is better than anyone at producing vehicles with a supernaturally fine balance of attributes. That this is still true while Honda is widely acknowledged to have lost some of its product magic puts the all-around excellence of the four-cylinder Accord in stark relief. This is a big sedan (without a sunroof, roomy enough to reside in the EPAs Large Sedan category) thats lighter on its feet than many sports coupes you could mention. The primary controls are so perfectly matched to each other that this not-exactly-sporty-looking sedan can traipse along the tightrope of your favorite back road with precision and utter predictability. It will return 33 mpg on the highway; a well-equipped EX version costs just one nice dinner more than ,000 (a little more for the coupe and its a more natural heel-and-toe enabler than most sports cars. Thats an unparalleled breadth of talent and goodness. Unlike in years past, the V-6powered Accords do not share in this 10 Best prize. Competitors, notably the V-6 VW Passat, play a more convincing premium-family-car riff. Whether this Accord becomes the guiding light for the future of Honda or is simply a star that hasnt quite extinguished yet, we dont know. For now, it shines as brilliantly as ever. VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon BASE PRICE: ,945,680 ENGINE TYPE: 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection Displacement: 91 cu in, 1497 cc Power: 117 hp @ 6600 rpm Torque: 106 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm TRANSMISSIONS: 5-speed manual, 5-speed automatic with manual shifting mode, 5-speed automatic DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase: 98.4 in Length: 161.6 in Width: 66.7 in Height: 60.0 in Curb weight: 25002600 lb FUEL ECONOMY: EPA city/highway: 2728/3335mpg In 1962, Lotus launched a diminutive, 1515-pound roadster called the.
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