[Pablo68]

Fifth Gear 435i Review

[....,,,,..,,..]

Lovely car, I just wish they would not show it drifting.

Complete fuckwits try it on normal roads, had to give first aid twice ! Because some twat thought could either drift around a roundabout or coming off a bend and finding out trees are hard to impress.

Race tracks and drifting days etc yes, normal roads no.

Anyhow I do like the 4 series, will be checking out the 4GC to see if can fit my dog in back sensibly.
I sort of believe coupes should only come in petrol and no basic engines.

[bwrlane]

Originally Posted by Brigand

Lovely car, I just wish they would not show it drifting.

Complete fuckwits try it on normal roads, had to give first aid twice ! Because some twat thought could either drift around a roundabout or coming off a bend and finding out trees are hard to impress.

Race tracks and drifting days etc yes, normal roads no.

Anyhow I do like the 4 series, will be checking out the 4GC to see if can fit my dog in back sensibly.
I sort of believe coupes should only come in petrol and no basic engines.

Yes, this is not a review at all. Would far rather watch something informative.

I'd be interested to know how the 4 series handles relative to the 3 series saloon.

Come to that, I'd also like to know how the F30 handles relative to the F31.

Mine's an F31 with a 6cl lump up front which I guess makes it the worst handling 3 series of the lot (except an xdrive version of the same thing). For a family car it feels pretty sharp and communicative to me.

[G82Dude]

Well, that just wasted 5 minutes and 37 seconds of my life.

Good to see that *those* half witted hacks have it all wrong again: £29-43K? Errr, no. Flagship model 435i? Errr, no. 320BHP? Errr, no. And that was just in the first 30 seconds... Morons.

At least they didn't say it had two turbos. In fact, they didn't mention anything useful at all. Morons.

And yes of course, drifting is the *best* way to assess a car's capabilities. So much so, that I instantly popped out to Sainsbury's and tried it in the car park. I even managed to nudge my trolley into the trolley park - awesome reason to buy one. Morons.

[rich100]

I didn't really learn anything at all from this other than the most efficient way to write off a set of tyres.

I'm not sure a drifting competition between 4 people even constitutes a "review"

[Pablo68]

Wow this really is not a bmw enthusiast forum is it?

True it wasn't xDrive, or diesel or about mpg or how many bikes/dogs/bags of shopping you can get in it...what it did show was how good the chassis and engine on the 435i is. Gettings 8s and 9s from racing drivers on the cars ability is very good and bodes very well for the M3/4. Now back to your rattly 4WD tractors everyone... Clearly nothing to see here

[bwrlane]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

Wow this really is not a bmw enthusiast forum is it?

True it wasn't xDrive, or diesel or about mpg or how many bikes/dogs/bags of shopping you can get in it...what it did show was how good the chassis and engine on the 435i is. Gettings 8s and 9s from racing drivers on the cars ability is very good and bodes very well for the M3/4. Now back to your rattly 4WD tractors everyone... Clearly nothing to see here

There are many people here (including yours truly) who are very interested in a car's engine and handling characteristics. That's why we're BMW owners and why we like this forum.

I think the point here is, there are many ways to demonstrate these qualities without driving in a way that the majority of us will never be able to do. I think the point is really that this sort of review is indicative of a decline in automotive journalism and a tendency to equate beautifully engineered cars (and BMWs in particular) with the ability to drive like a hooligan.

I was driving my F31 around country roads the other day, marvelling at the accomplished finesse with which my car's chassis maintains and communicates its state of balance in all conditions and how - once you become attuned to it - you can adjust it with the subtlest of inputs.

I'd argue that this is the thing that really matters to people like us. The shame is that reviewers don't really talk about that sort of thing, preferring instead to drive in a way that gives motoring and motoring journalism a bad name.

I suppose there's a counter-argument which is that the ability to drift (like the testers did) is indicative of the same sort of chassis accomplishment that I'm talking about above. I'd take that point but the link between that and what matters to us is missing in the review.

Accept that 9/10 from serious drivers is a good show.

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

Wow this really is not a bmw enthusiast forum is it?

True it wasn't xDrive, or diesel or about mpg or how many bikes/dogs/bags of shopping you can get in it...what it did show was how good the chassis and engine on the 435i is. Gettings 8s and 9s from racing drivers on the cars ability is very good and bodes very well for the M3/4. Now back to your rattly 4WD tractors everyone... Clearly nothing to see here

Not sure why you've reacted like that?
People are criticising the crap (very limited) review by Fifth Gear! This review is NOT indicative of how people will drive it on the road. We take the piss on here a bit but we all know the 335i/435i is a brilliant car, so why not show it in a real world scenario rather than driving like a bunch of 20 year old chavs? The car has a lot more to offer rather than just driving it around in circles, sideways.

[....,,,,..,,..]

I sort of would like proper reviews, as in driving car around normal streets, how's it like over speed bumps, pot holes, road noise, handling on A/B roads, acceleration on joining motorways.
What room inside is like, is the sat nav good etc etc.

With both top gear and fifth gear, it's great if you are going to drive balls out on track.

Bugger all use for taking a family to Scotland, continent etc.

Bit boring I know but been to drifting days at Pod, lads in J reg jap cars doing the same or better than the 4 series was doing.

I like the 4 series and if I did not need the tourer to get the Dog In (pun intended) I would likely have went down that route.

[teaston]

What i can't understand is how they drift an auto! If i put mine into manual it automatically changes up a gear when i reach the red line!?

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Brigand

I sort of would like proper reviews, as in driving car around normal streets, how's it like over speed bumps, pot holes, road noise, handling on A/B roads, acceleration on joining motorways.
What room inside is like, is the sat nav good etc etc.

With both top gear and fifth gear, it's great if you are going to drive balls out on track.

Bugger all use for taking a family to Scotland, continent etc.

Bit boring I know but been to drifting days at Pod, lads in J reg jap cars doing the same or better than the 4 series was doing.

I like the 4 series and if I did not need the tourer to get the Dog In (pun intended) I would likely have went down that route.

Thing is you or any other person can try all those things on a test drive! But you can't go hooning around on a track and wreck the tyres! Plus hooning around on a track makes more entertaining TV!

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by teaston

Thing is you or any other person can try all those things on a test drive! But you can't go hooning around on a track and wreck the tyres! Plus hooning around on a track makes more entertaining TV!

I know it's not journalism it's entertainism.

Majority of people are likely too lazy to go through test drives in x number of cars, hence they read What Car, autoexpress etc.

Part of the problem is once you have seen one 500k car go round the track in x seconds, the rest are pretty much the same.

It's a case of getting a happy medium. Even if they did how do family saloons compare round track.

Even if they stick to the entertainment at least get the journalism accurate and get facts correct (autoexpress etc).

[PrinceBarin]

Originally Posted by teaston

What i can't understand is how they drift an auto! If i put mine into manual it automatically changes up a gear when i reach the red line!?

You need to be in Sport+ to hold at the redline

[Steve C]

Originally Posted by teaston

What i can't understand is how they drift an auto! If i put mine into manual it automatically changes up a gear when i reach the red line!?

What's the red line got to do with drifting?

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Steve C

What's the red line got to do with drifting?

Because to keep the wheels spinning you need to stay in a low gear at max revs!?

[Steve C]

Originally Posted by teaston

Because to keep the wheels spinning you need to stay in a low gear at max revs!?

I don't know anyone who drifts at the red line. If you're already at the limit and need to increase oversteer you'd have nowhere to go with the throttle.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Steve C

I don't know anyone who drifts at the red line. If you're already at the limit and need to increase oversteer you'd have nowhere to go with the throttle.

Well i've never drifted, but i thought it was the same as doing a wheelspin, i.e. Max revs and dump the clutch! Can't be easy to do in an auto surely?

[gatsojon]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

Wow this really is not a bmw enthusiast forum is it?

True it wasn't xDrive, or diesel or about mpg or how many bikes/dogs/bags of shopping you can get in it...what it did show was how good the chassis and engine on the 435i is. Gettings 8s and 9s from racing drivers on the cars ability is very good and bodes very well for the M3/4. Now back to your rattly 4WD tractors everyone... Clearly nothing to see here

Ha ha... Fair comment!

[RobUK]

Here's the 'sensible' review

Carbuyer 4 Series Review (Sep 2013)

[335dJa]

Originally Posted by teaston

Well i've never drifted, but i thought it was the same as doing a wheelspin, i.e. Max revs and dump the clutch! Can't be easy to do in an auto surely?

The steering in a drift is mostly done with the throttle not the steering wheel.

[335dJa]

I just had a chance to watch the video properly.
I loved it, if you didn't, stick to reading articles in magazines about how to get the best mpg and which tyres last longest.

[Dave_3]

The flip side to doughnuts ... 435i end-of-term review. They were not overly enthused.

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/defa...?storyId=29843

"By the time 8,000 miles was showing on its odometer it felt a lot looser and keener to engage than it had done at the start of the loan period but the turbocharged six never felt as zingy or smooth as older BMW engines of its type. It pulled hard enough but sounded gruff just as it should have been starting to sing, rarely encouraging exploration of its top end and all too ready to settle back down to a cruise. Not a car you'd get up early for or take the scenic route home in, numb steering, a lack of body control (under damped in comfort, uninspiring in Sport) and a notchy manual shift all conspiring to extract much of the 'joy' BMW has sold us on of late."

D.