Review Car

2011 BMW 330ci

The 2011 BMW 330ci fits between a two-plus-two sports car and a sports sedan. There’s a reasonable amount of room in the rear, but the middle guy needs to be a midget to have any chance at comfort, as the transmission tunnel rises nearly to the height of the seat. The rear windows in The 2011 BMW 330ci , our test car, are power operated, but it’s almost an affectation, because they only open by flaring out a few inches at the back, as if to let stale air out, not fresh air in. Of course, because it performs like a Porsche or Corvette, its seating might fairly be compared to either, in which case it offers much more.

The 2011 BMW 330ci also offers a nice trunk, which is pre-wired for a garage door opener, CD player, security system and cell phone, all of which are BMW features installed by your dealer. What’s more, one-third of the rear seat folds forward to gain trunk access, enabling the carrying of long things such as skis or, in our case, a two-piece windsurfing mast. There’s a terrific dead pedal, which will be used a whole lot because of the car’s cornering capability.

The options list includes side-impact air bags for the rear seats , Xenon high-intensity discharge headlights, and a navigation system . Additional options for the coupe include Nappa leather, power moonroof, and power front seats. A cold weather package includes heated front seats, headlight washers and a ski bag.

The sequential gearbox is operated either by the shift lever or with butterfly paddles on the steering wheel (one to upshift, one to downshift); it can be set to shift automatically or manually. The six-speed gearbox is technically the same as that used on manually shifted models, but there is no clutch pedal (nor is there a torque converter). Advanced engine electronics interrupt the engine’s power for just milliseconds, the control unit opens and closes the clutch, and changes gears electro-hydraulically. When downshifting, the system automatically double-clutches. Computer logic allows the driver to individually match the system’s shift characteristic to his preferred driving habits in eleven driving programs. The wheels are distinctive, although this particular style-call it ten-spoke, call it twin-spoke, call it twenty-spoke-sure looks dark in satin chrome, as well as busy. We’re not sure if the wheels look confused or just strong, but we are sure the engine looks like it means business. Under the lightweight aluminum hood, the new S54 3.2-liter, double-overhead cam, inline-6 M powerplant is canted a few degrees toward the passenger side in order to fit under the hood.

There’s a big intake plenum, riding over six aluminum fuel injector butterfly bodies that look like sidedraft carburetors on an old racing engine. The big matt black valve cover bears its M Power badge on top, and the muscular radiator fan squeezed behind the twin-kidney grille adds to the look of racecar plumbing.

After we were done admiring the engine, we were very impressed (though not really surprised) by the feel of the fingertip slamming of the aluminum hood. How can something that light make such a solid sound when it thunks down? How? BMW quality fit. Speaking of fat, the three-spoke steering wheel contains buttons for cruise control, the audio system and factory-installed phone, which makes it bulkier and less racy than The 2011 BMW 330ci steering wheel, for sure. The gauges are simple white-on-black; there’s a 180-mph speedometer and 9000-rpm tachometer with a glowing red zone that lowers when the engine is cold. The flat switchgear buttons are nice, including for the radio, which is nonetheless complicated enough to require its own manual (taking up much of the small glovebox).