[alexgosh]

So to give a little background, I got my 335is convertible this may. It had a lot of problems with it and BMW agreed to buy it back from me this wednesday. The process takes about 2 weeks and in these two weeks I have to figure out which car I want to replace it with. The choices are either Black Black 2014 335i M Sport, or a Black Black 2014 audi S4. I posted this question on the E90 forum and they all said S4.... this surprised me a lot, and they were all saying how bad they thought the F30 335i was... So thats why I came here... Are you guys happy with your F30 335i?

[justinnum1]

Love mine. The front weight bias and driving dynamics of the S4 is a total turnoff.

[Jamesons Viggen]

First drive them both.

Second, why not load the 335 up with goodies like the exhaust and performance power kit.

Stock, I would give the edge to the S4. But after driving a PPK MSport for a few days, it makes a noticeable improvement.

[dreamspeed]

Personally, if those two were my options I'd choose the S4.

[tdizzle]

Depends on the options and if you care about mpg (F30 wins that) for daily driving or if you'd rather all wheel drive (S4 obviously). No MPPK, the F30 loses in performance a bit to the S4. S4 can get some goodies like the sports diff and whatnot, so fully optioned it has a nice package, but the price will be a bit more.

Now if you plan on moding it, I think the F30 is the clear winner. For a few hundred $$ you can add another 30whp with the JB4, toss on some aftermarket DP, and get stage 2 JB4 (about $150 over Stage 1) and add another 30ish whp, then you can do E85, etc. You see where I'm going with this. For not very much money (`$1k) you can add near 100whp to the F30. Not as much as the E9x but then again there has been a lot less dev time.

If you don't plan on moding and don't care about mpg while liking awd, the S4 is the way to go. If any of those matter, the F30 may be the car for you.

As said, take a drive in both and see what you think.

[trey100]

I was in the same boat. Reasons why I ultimately picked the F30:

1. Didn't like the look of the front grille on the 2013 and on S4s compared to the 2010-2012

2. Steering got very light after 2012.

They were both great cars though. The F30 I spec'd had the DHP, 19" wheels, M sport brakes though. If I wasn't getting those options I would have gone with the S4.

[F32]

Originally Posted by Jamesons Viggen

First drive them both.

Second, why not load the 335 up with goodies like the exhaust and performance power kit.

Stock, I would give the edge to the S4. But after driving a PPK MSport for a few days, it makes a noticeable improvement.

And why not tune the S4?

[F32]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

Now if you plan on moding it, I think the F30 is the clear winner.

Absolutely not. The B8 S4s and S5s are showing very impressive gains with bolt-ons. There are many running high-11s, whereas there is only one F30 335i which barely has.

If Audi's leases were anything close to BMW's, I would take an S5 over a 435i and similarly an S4 over a 335i. Too bad both cars with the same MSRP are about $200-300 apart per month.

[alexgosh]

Originally Posted by Jamesons Viggen

First drive them both.

Second, why not load the 335 up with goodies like the exhaust and performance power kit.

Stock, I would give the edge to the S4. But after driving a PPK MSport for a few days, it makes a noticeable improvement.

I would most likely get the ppk but for the exhaust i would most likely keep it stock because the only exhaust I would buy would be from BMW and that is not worth it for the amount of money it costs for the barely noticeable sound difference imo.

Originally Posted by tdizzle

Depends on the options and if you care about mpg (F30 wins that) for daily driving or if you'd rather all wheel drive (S4 obviously). No MPPK, the F30 loses in performance a bit to the S4. S4 can get some goodies like the sports diff and whatnot, so fully optioned it has a nice package, but the price will be a bit more.

Now if you plan on moding it, I think the F30 is the clear winner. For a few hundred $$ you can add another 30whp with the JB4, toss on some aftermarket DP, and get stage 2 JB4 (about $150 over Stage 1) and add another 30ish whp, then you can do E85, etc. You see where I'm going with this. For not very much money (`$1k) you can add near 100whp to the F30. Not as much as the E9x but then again there has been a lot less dev time.

If you don't plan on moding and don't care about mpg while liking awd, the S4 is the way to go. If any of those matter, the F30 may be the car for you.

As said, take a drive in both and see what you think.

I would be getting them both fully loaded. The S4 i would not get prestige though because the lease payment is automatically more expensive just for the reason that it is the prestige. Im going today to drive them both!

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by alexgosh

So to give a little background, I got my 335is convertible this may. It had a lot of problems with it and BMW agreed to buy it back from me this wednesday. The process takes about 2 weeks and in these two weeks I have to figure out which car I want to replace it with. The choices are either Black Black 2014 335i M Sport, or a Black Black 2014 audi S4. I posted this question on the E90 forum and they all said S4.... this surprised me a lot, and they were all saying how bad they thought the F30 335i was... So thats why I came here... Are you guys happy with your F30 335i?

Never been in an S4, so can't give you a good comparison. But ... To answer your question, no I was absolutely not happy with my f30 335 and had it up for sale after a short 4 months of ownership. It is definitely a nice car, no doubt. But coming from an e90/92 it may be a let down depending on your expectations. My advice is if you are expecting an upgrade to your 335is, then you should be looking elsewhere.


Go out and drive both, back to back on the same day. IMO, compare them stock, and not based on power pack this and chip that.

[Jamesons Viggen]

Originally Posted by F32

And why not tune the S4?

Audi does not offer an OEM equivalent to the PPK. I am not talking aftermarket. I am fine with such a path, but many will not consider anything outside of the warranty parameters.

I know how the S4 responds to a pulley swap+tune. That was not what I was referring to.

[johndeere]

1. which exterior do you prefer?
2. which drives/handles/feels better?
3. which interior do you prefer?

Rank in order of preference and best 2/3 wins.

[300hp]

Originally Posted by ///M235i

Never been in an S4, so can't give you a good comparison. But ... To answer your question, no I was absolutely not happy with my f30 335 and had it up for sale after a short 4 months of ownership. It is definitely a nice car, no doubt. But coming from an e90/92 it may be a let down depending on your expectations. My advice is if you are expecting an upgrade to your 335is, then you should be looking elsewhere.


Go out and drive both, back to back on the same day. IMO, compare them stock, and not based on power pack this and chip that.

I have often heard this look elsewhere comment. I think he has narrowed it to two fine choices in this segment. It's certainly not the IS350 right?

E92M3 is about to be replaced by the new and improved F82 so that's not where I think he wants to go unless he wants the F82 and is willing to wait.

He can get a Camaro ZL1 and smoke everything in his path but I doubt that's his preference.

The S4 is another option but I have seen a couple of these threads here and they all ended up with the F30. Of course he could break the trend. If he wants to fully load his car I think he should drive the car closest to his choice with PPK, it makes a difference.

[alexgosh]

Originally Posted by ///M235i

Never been in an S4, so can't give you a good comparison. But ... To answer your question, no I was absolutely not happy with my f30 335 and had it up for sale after a short 4 months of ownership. It is definitely a nice car, no doubt. But coming from an e90/92 it may be a let down depending on your expectations. My advice is if you are expecting an upgrade to your 335is, then you should be looking elsewhere.


Go out and drive both, back to back on the same day. IMO, compare them stock, and not based on power pack this and chip that.

Why exactly didn't you like the 335i? Im not necessarily looking for an "upgrade" so to speak. Im looking for a sedan that can be both fast and comfortable. Something that i did not exactly like about my 335is was that it was always wanting to go fast. It was not a calm car at all, and the steering wheel was always so tight. When driving through canyons having that type of car is perfect but for more of an everyday car option it was not right.

[alexgosh]

Originally Posted by 300hp

I have often heard this look elsewhere comment. I think he has narrowed it to two fine choices in this segment. It's certainly not the IS350 right?

E92M3 is about to be replaced by the new and improved F82 so that's not where I think he wants to go unless he wants the F82 and is willing to wait.

He can get a Camaro ZL1 and smoke everything in his path but I doubt that's his preference.

The S4 is another option but I have seen a couple of these threads here and they all ended up with the F30. Of course he could break the trend. If he wants to fully load his car I think he should drive the car closest to his choice with PPK, it makes a difference.

thanks for your feedback! ya definitely not the IS350! How much does the PPK cost and does it mess with the factory warranty at all?

[300hp]

Originally Posted by alexgosh

thanks for your feedback! ya definitely not the IS350! How much does the PPK cost and does it mess with the factory warranty at all?

As JV said PPK won't mess with your warranty, keeps it intact. It's offered by BMW so BMW is offering you an N55 engine with 300hp, 335hp or 341hp (PPK and MPE). Most likely you will test drive the 320hp version if you are lucky, it's tough to find these on the lot for test driving. However safe to say if you can't get the PPK version all you have to know is the 335i with PPK will match the S4 in daily driving. We are yet to see how the two compare on the track if the 335i has PPK.

FYI, both cars have a comfort mode setting and sport mode which tighten things up once you are feeling sporty. Good luck with everything, car shopping is fun

[DesertSmokeBBQ]

I got out of a '11 S4 into a '13 328 and traded that for a '14 335 8mos later, BEST DECISION EVER!! the F30 335 is just more fun to drive though AWD corners better

[DesertSmokeBBQ]

E9x owners seem to hate the F30 simply because its not an e9x. There's really nothing wrong with it.

Here's the thing, coming from another brand, I don't have an e9x bias but what I CAN tell you is that the big complaints about the F30, the steering etc, sound like they're exactly what you're looking for coming from an e9x 335is

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by alexgosh

Why exactly didn't you like the 335i? Im not necessarily looking for an "upgrade" so to speak. Im looking for a sedan that can be both fast and comfortable. Something that i did not exactly like about my 335is was that it was always wanting to go fast. It was not a calm car at all, and the steering wheel was always so tight. When driving through canyons having that type of car is perfect but for more of an everyday car option it was not right.

Alex, I would rather not state my personal criticisms of the f30 because all it will do is kick up some dirt. It won't help you at all, and will come across as bashing an otherwise very capable car.


Having said that, and reading your recent reply here, I actually believe there is a pretty good chance you will like the f30. A lot. It is almost at polar opposites of the e92 335is. Steering has been softened quite a bit car is very well balanced, and you have a lot of different "driving modes" to alter the cars character and driving dynamics. I honestly think the f30 may be your answer, so long as you prefer it to the S4.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by DesertSmokeBBQ

E9x owners seem to hate the F30 simply because its not an e9x. There's really nothing wrong with it.

Here's the thing, coming from another brand, I don't have an e9x bias but what I CAN tell you is that the big complaints about the F30, the steering etc, sound like they're exactly what you're looking for coming from an e9x 335is

Current e90/92 may criticize the f30 for obvious biases (most times without even driving the car), but it carries a different weight when current and past f30 owners are the ones supplying the feedback.

[snowghost]

Originally Posted by alexgosh

So to give a little background, I got my 335is convertible this may. It had a lot of problems with it and BMW agreed to buy it back from me this wednesday. The process takes about 2 weeks and in these two weeks I have to figure out which car I want to replace it with. The choices are either Black Black 2014 335i M Sport, or a Black Black 2014 audi S4. I posted this question on the E90 forum and they all said S4.... this surprised me a lot, and they were all saying how bad they thought the F30 335i was... So thats why I came here... Are you guys happy with your F30 335i?

That's par for the course that E90 owners would bag on the F30. Like E46 owners did on the E90, and so on and so on.....

[tdizzle]

Originally Posted by F32

Absolutely not. The B8 S4s and S5s are showing very impressive gains with bolt-ons. There are many running high-11s, whereas there is only one F30 335i which barely has.

How much does it cost to mod the S4 to that level? The guy running 11.9s probably has about $1500 in mods.

My point was that for not much money you can mod the 335 to put down 370ish whp ($1kish). Not sure you can do that with a S4, but maybe I'm wrong. I've just heard that there aren't many bang for your buck mods on the S4, but then again I haven't looked into it too much since I decided to go F30 over the S4 a year ago.

Not to derail the whole thread, but if you really want best bang for your buck modding the 335is with the DCT and $1500 in mods will put down 400whp and shift like the wind. If I had to do it over again, that's what I would probably go with. But the F30 is a nicer car, just not as mod friendly with the N55 unfortunately.