BMW 335i 2007 News

BMW 335iSubaru Impreza RSMitsubishi Lancer VRFord Mondeo ZetecThe rollout of the Carsguide Car of the Year finalists continues this week with another four of the best cars launched in Australia this year.Ford's Mondeo, which has taken Europe by storm, goes head-to-head with the all-new Mitsubishi Lancer, BMW's 3 Series sedan fired by the cracking twin-turbo six and the Subaru Impreza, which is the only car other than the Citroen C6 in Australia with five-star passenger and four-star pedestrian safety.For all the latest on the carsguide Car Of The Year each week go to www.carsguide.com.au/car-of-the-year 

In his 15 years at BMW, the Munich car maker's US-born head of design has overseen the creation of some of the industry's most admired and imitated, if controversial, cars.

Three new models are being fast-tracked for Australia as BMW meets the demand for extra engine choices.Two will have diesel power and the third will use the classy twin-turbo six that has been a huge hit in the 3 Series sedan and coupe.The diesel is a new 2.0-litre turbo and will be installed in the X3 and 5 Series sedan. The 335i lineup will be extended to include a Touring wagon.The diesels will be on the road before the end of the year and the Touring will reach Australia next year.“We've always wanted to have more diesels. We're had our toe in the water with diesels. And one in five in our end of the market is a BMW. There is potential there,” BMW Australia's Nadine Giusti says.“The 335i Touring is not being brought to set the world on fire, but the engine is very popular and a lot of people are asking for it,” Giusti says.The new X3 and 5 Series turbodiesels will be price leaders, but should still go well with an engine that produces 125kW and 340Nm.The X3 will be priced from $62,500 with a manual gearbox, undercutting the $65,900 of the current 2.5Si and well below the 3.0-litre turbodiesel at $75,900. BMW says it will run to 100km/h in 9.6sec and return fuel economy of 7.0 litres for 100km.“It's a good price point. It should go well,” Giusti says.How many will BMW Australia sell?“It's a lot, but we're not putting a number on it,” she says.Sales of the existing diesel ran about half of all X3 deliveries and the new model is predicted to scoop about one third and boost sales beyond the current level of 1200 cars a year.The new 520d will sell in Australia as an automatic only, with the same equipment of the 523i, for about $115,000. Performance will be 0-100km/h in 8.6sec and fuel economy 6.1 litres/100km.BMW arranged a brief introduction drive for the three newcomers in Germany, and all look pretty good.The 335i Touring has the same punchy performance, excellent flexibility, the latest twin-turbo motor and the back end has enough flexibility to make a case for a performance wagon.The 2.0-litre turbodiesels are not the punchiest of their type, but both the X3 and 5 Series get along fairly well and the price will be attractive.BMW has not finished with model extensions there may be a 535 performance diesel.“We're looking at it. We're looking at it in all the body styles and it hasn't been taken off the field. But we don't want to keep bringing out cars just for the sake of it,” Giusti says. 

The Japanese car maker now owns a massive 21.9 per cent of the market, a rise of 0.6 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year.Australia's leading seller has surged to 91,984 sales to the end of May compared with 82,227 for the first five months of last year.Toyota is driving the industry to continued forecasts that more than a million vehicles will be sold for the first time in a calendar year in Australia.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has nominated an annualised rate (SAAR) of 1.022 million vehicles for 2007.Chief contributors to Toyota's booming figures are the four-cylinder Camry while the 4 x 2 and 4 x 4 variants of the HiLux have recorded huge jumps along with the Yaris and the introduction of the V6 Aurion.Significantly, since improved supply, the petrol/electric Prius has more than doubled on 2006 figures with 1333 sold to the end of May compared with 625 for the same period last year.Toyota continues to punch above the performance of the total market.“Our aspirations are always to grow bigger than the market,” Toyota Australia chairman Emeritus John Conomos said at the launch recently of the 10th generation Corolla.“No one has ever achieved 25 per cent of the market in modern times before.“It's probably not achievable this year but it's a goal worth setting.”Holden remains in Toyota's shadow. It has increased sales from 60,792 to 61,863 year-on-year, but its market share is down from 15.7 to 14.8 per cent.Ford is a clear number three but has slipped almost 5000 sales year-on-year and has lost 2 per cent market share which now stands at 10.5 per cent.Mitsubishi continues to claw its way back and is moving up on Nissan in a fight for fifth spot.Those models selling well for Mitsubishi have been the Lancer, Outlander, Pajero and the Triton 4 x 4 although the model which the Adelaide maker has staked its future on, the 380, has declined from 5176 to 4641 in year-on-year figures.On the luxury front, BMW recorded its second successive monthly record with 1497 vehicles finding owners, taking its year-to-date tally to 6462.What has been a massive seller for BMW has been the new hardtop 3-series convertible and coupe with combined sales standing at 1170 compared with 313 this time last year.While sales of the X5 Sport Utility Vehicle remain robust and Z4 convertible and coupe sales have grown by a massive 49.4 per cent it is the two-door 3-series models which have allowed BMW to gain significant market momentum.BMW customer deliveries last month were 11.7 per cent higher than May 2006, adding an extra 157 units to last May's record figure.Volkswagen, the only European importer to make the top 10 list, has lifted its year-on-year volume share to 2.6 per cent from 1.9 per cent with sales topping 10,918 to the end of May.

Their 3-litre twin-turbo petrol engine from the BMW 335i has won the International Engine of the Year Award from the same company's M5 and M6 V10 which took out the previous two titles.The twin turbo, which has two variable turbochargers, direct injection and an all-aluminium crankcase, also won best new engine while the V10 again claimed the best performance engine.BMW, which also dominated last year's awards, took out seven trophies, including the Mini Cooper S 1.6-litre petrol turbo which was developed in co-operation with French car maker Peugeot and features in their 207.However, the biggest round of applause at the ninth annual awards at the Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany, this week was reserved for Porsche which finally won a gong.Its 3.6-litre petrol turbo engine in the 911 Turbo was voted the best 3 to 4 litre engine in production today.The awards are judged by 62 motoring journalists from 30 countries, including Australia.Volkswagen's 1.4-litre turbocharged and supercharged TSI unit triumphed for a second year in the 1-1.4-litre class, with its larger sibling, the 2-litre turbo developed by Audi and housed in the Golf GTi and Audi A3, topping the 1.8-litre to 2-litre category.While performance engines dominated, the Toyota Prius 1.5-litre hybrid engine continued to be the top eco-friendly option.Toyota also won awards for its 1-litre 3-cylinder Aygo engine while the Yaris engine took the honours in the below 1-litre category.Engine AwardsINTERNATIONAL ENGINE OF THE YEAR: BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i)BEST NEW ENGINE: BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i)BEST FUEL ECONOMY: Toyota 1.5-litre Hybrid Synergy Drive (Prius)BEST PERFORMANCE ENGINE: BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6)SUB 1-LITRE: Toyota 1-litre (Aygo, Yaris, Peugeot 107, Citron C1)1 TO 1.4-LITRE: Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (Golf, Touran, Jetta)1.4 TO 1.8-LITRE: BMW-PSA 1.6-litre Turbo (MINI, Peugeot 207)1.8 TO 2-LITRE: Volkswagen 2-litre Turbo (Golf, Audi A3, A6, SEAT Leon, Skoda Octavia)2 TO 2.5-LITRE: BMW 2.5-litre (325, 525, X3, Z4)2.5 TO 3-LITRE: BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i)3 TO 4-LITRE: Porsche 3.6-litre Turbo (911)ABOVE 4-LITRE: BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6)

Fritz Steinparzer, head of BMW's four-cylinder diesel engine development which is about to flood the world market with oil-burners that make a mockery of so-called green petrol-electric hybrids, says oil company bosses are not doing enough to help in the race to curb emissions.Australia is one of a few large car markets in the world (the most notable being North America) where legislators have been accused of failing to hasten the clean up of dirty fuels.Currently diesel sold in Australia can contain up to 50 parts per million of sulphur compared to the less than 15ppm that European countries are bound by.Although it has to be said that companies in Australia, such as BP, are already selling diesel with a maximum of 10 parts per million of sulphur, two years before any Australian legislation requiring them to do so comes into effect.But because the cleaner fuels, diesel and petrol, are not mandatory here Australia will miss the latest generation of BMW high-precision petrol engines that reduce average consumption by up to 16 per cent.The third generation of diesel engines led by the two-litre turbo units and a stunning twin turbo 335i engine are further examples of how the development of such engines has slashed fuel consumption and drastically reduced emissions.Steinparzer is critical of oil companies which, he says, should acknowledge the latest technology in petrol and diesel engines and make a concerted effort to reduce sulphur.Steinparzer says oil companies make money out of taking sulphur out of the fuel in the refining process and selling it to chemical companies.“In my opinion some of the oil companies make money by reducing sulphur in fuel so they can sell it to the chemical companies,” Steinparzer said.“So what I'm saying is they (oil companies) should see this as a chance to reduce sulphur everywhere.”But while BMW are like many car companies who stay ahead of the game by exceeding environmental targets, the next step the industry faces is to downsize.“Our next step will be downsizing engines,” Norbert Praschak, project leader for BMW's four-cylinder diesel program said.“It won't be lowering weight that has been a problem for all car companies.“Weight reduction of petrol four-cylinder engines hasn't been as pronounced as the 15kW gain and 20 per cent fuel improvements.”The car industry has come under fire for being No.1 villains when it comes to world pollution compared with other industries.Johannes Liebl, BMW's “energy minister” in charge of making a litre go further, said the car industry had not presented itself in the best light before making a concerted effort to manufacturer vehicles that had a drastically reduced effect on the environment.“But the problem now is the figures are not fair,” Liebl said.“Traffic has a 16 per cent share in CO2 emissions and 12 per cent of that is passenger cars.“But we are not leaning back and are satisfied that our cut is only 12 per cent.“We are still trying to reduce emissions.“There have always been groups in society who have wanted restrictions on the car industry and we are used to that.”Since 1990, fuel consumption in vehicles has been improved by a massive 30 per cent and with BMW's “Efficient Dynamics” strategy there is plenty left in the tank to continue to cut fuel consumption. 

Pictures of the 3 Series Convertible released last week confirm that all variants of BMW's mainstay have a much less challenging look than the 7 Series, 5 Series or Z4, the controversial models which spearheaded the change.The most radical thing about the Convertible is its folding metal roof — a first for the luxury brand.But Bangle, who was in Sydney for the opening of the Australian Motor Show, said the 3 would be shocking without the precedent of the other models. Rather than an about-turn, it reflected a "tuning" of the ideas.The Convertible will debut at January's Detroit Motor Show and be in Australian showrooms by April, with a model range that mirrors the recently released 3 Series Coupe and prices starting around $95,000.Despite a storm of criticism and even a hate website, Bangle said he would do none of the designs differently but would use different language to describe them."The biggest mistake we ever made was coming up with a word for this and calling it 'flame'," he said, referring to his signature technique which exploits convex and concave surfaces.The BMW designs stood out, he said, because the "context of change was so flat"."There was a vehement reaction to the unexpected. People never said per se this is right or wrong."Bangle believes that the rest of the industry has followed where BMW led, but the company is still on a mission."We have to stay in front but we also have to reinforce this continuously so that every customer can be part of the movement."However, when it comes to the ergonomically challenged interiors, even Bangle admits using the cupholder of his 7 Series to store his phone. "We can get better (at interiors)," he said.