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From the moment it debuted, the BMW 3 Series has earned an almost sickening number of accolades. Think of it as the Meryl Streep of the automobile industry, picking up awards in an endless, self-deprecating procession.



So what happened when the company decided to add a diesel to the mix, in the form of the 335d sedan and sports wagon?



A burst of torquey performance that is making critics embarrassingly breathless, while providing the environmentally conscious new hope that performance cars can indeed be colored green.



Sprinting To the Finish



From the moment I hit the throttle of the test sedan, I was amazed at two almost seemingly contradictory aspects of this engine: just how much torque it exuded and how little noise it did the same.



The 335d's "Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance" engine, a 265-horsepower twin turbo 3.0-liter inline six, serves up an amazing 425 pound-feet of torque. Compare that to the regular 335i sedan and its 300 horses and 300 pound-feet of torque. Better mathematicians than me have calculated that the 335d knocks out 42 percent more torque than its sibling, while only losing 12 percent of the power - a trade-off no one seems to be quibbling with. More to the point, where the 335i hits peak performance at 5800 rpm, the 335d hits it at 4200.



The result is a car that shoots off the line with all the vehemence of a health care reform town hall attendee, all its torque at the ready, venting its spleen. That fervor carries the 335d Sedan from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds according to BMW, but I'm telling you, the company is being modest. My 335d Sedan made it there faster, as have others. Car and Driver pegs the figure at 5.7 seconds.

Tags: BMW

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BMW 335d adds a diesel to a powerful mix was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: BMW. Read the full story by clicking here.