E90xdrive, M35x, M37x , some thoughts

Sharp11 · 03-04-2012, 10:28 AM

I spent the late afternoon hurling my sister's new E90 x drive sedan through the back roads of my home town. Equ can verify, we have a good mix of rough surfaces, twists and turns and fast sections with little if any traffic - in short, an ideal test loop.

I can say, without doubt, the outgoing E90, in AWD trim with premium package 2 (but not sport) on 17's rides phenomenally well, much better, in fact, than my ZHP and even better than my wife's M35x (which has always been a bit stiffly sprung for its size). It simply swallowed up our worsts patches without drama. The suspension is both compliant and communicative and the car corners relatively flat. I liked it!

It's a quiet car, with muted engine and transmission noise. The steering is light at speed, but a bit heavy at parking lot speeds - turn in and responsiveness are good. Standard seats are flat but supportive. In short, it's just a really nice car with a solid structure and comfortable, but somewhat sporty persona - this would probably be the ideal commuter I was looking for last week.

This car is marketed as a "sports sedan" though, and it got me to thinking about the three sports sedans I've gotten to know: the E90xdrive, the M35x (our "family' car) and my father in-law's M37x.

Our car, the M35x is very good, a step up in equipment and content from the E90. It's odd in that it's both more visceral, but being bigger and heavier, less lively than the E90. Still, for long distance driving and a mix of driving pleasure it's tough to beat. It's a very comfortable "all day" car.

The car that continues to impress, though, and by no small margin, is my in-laws' M37x; really guys, you need to spend some time behind the wheel at speeds well in excess of 65 to appreciate - I wrote about it last month, the thing is just amazingly rock solid. Where our car might jolt over an expansion joint, or snap side to side, this car just buries the road imperfections. No steering kick back - just a perfectly weighted and direct helm, no feeling of compromise from the suspension - could this be the best "sports sedan" on the road? I don't know, I haven't driven the new 5 or comparable Mercs, but there must be a reason it's still placing above those models in many road tests.

If it were my hard money, the M37x is where I'd be placing my money - it's just that good.

robg · 03-04-2012, 12:08 PM

Intersting notes. I've driven a rwd m35 but that was in Florida with no curves or rough roads. Nice car but a bit large for me. I really like my e92 but it even feels a bit too big compared to the e46. Agree on the ride though..its great. Much better than my old e46 even with its 18" rinflats. The new m37's design evokes a quattroporte..very nice. I've driven an f10 535..great car but drives like a big Luxo barge. Beautiful interior though. I find the e class to be extremely ugly for some reason.

SARAFIL · 03-04-2012, 01:59 PM

Ed (and others)... for the record, the E90 AWD has only one suspension calibration so non-sport and sport should have the same ride with the same wheel/tire package. And all 2011 models had 17" wheels whether in base ("value package") or Sport package trim. My folks picked up a 2011 328xi last year and it has a pretty good ride... comparable to my car except that mine is a bit less compliant when I am running the 18" summer tyres. They had one of the first AWD E90s several years ago (06 325xi) and that car had a bad ride... felt like it had no suspension.

I know equ says the E90 xi doesn't ride well, but I'm not sure what he's driving. A late production car will do just fine.

bren · 03-04-2012, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharp11

I'm an older guy who likes older guy cars.

Gotcha.

equ · 03-04-2012, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

I know equ says the E90 xi doesn't ride well, but I'm not sure what he's driving. A late production car will do just fine.

- 06 330xi sedan. I owned this car and it rode like crap on 17" turanzas. Better on 17" non-rft's (michelin) but still bad.
- 06 330i sedan. I owned this car as well. Much better than above on 18" boat anchor wheels and potenza runflats. Even better when switched out to 18" michelin pilot zp runflats.
- early-09 335xi sedan, 17". I recently test drove this car, it rode like crap, just like my 06 330xi. I checked its tire pressures, not the cause.
- 09 335xi coupe. 17" conti rft's. Acceptable ride/handling.
- 08 335xi coupe (recent drive). 17" conti or turanza rft's. Acceptable.
- very anecdotal data point. Friend bought 08 335xi coupe exactly when I was complaining about my 06 xi. He looked at me all strange as he had not experienced what I'm talking about.

My conclusion is that through some magic the xi coupe rides better. I'm not sure why or how. The xi sedan may have been fixed late-09 onward, but certainly not before. This makes no sense to me. Theoretically, sedan or coupe should have same suspension (versions being i-non-sport, i-sport and xi-sport), but these are my observations.

Sharp11 · 03-04-2012, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bren

Gotcha.

Gettin' there

equ · 03-04-2012, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by equ

Theoretically, sedan or coupe should have same suspension (versions being i-non-sport, i-sport and xi-sport), but these are my observations.

Small correction. I do know that the rwd coupe has the sport suspension. So i-non-sport is not possible for the coupe, sports package or not, but that's not relevant (who'd want a rwd non-ZSP coupe?). In any case, that's not my issue. I have a beef with 330/335xi/xdrive sedan suspension that seems to magically all right in the corresponding 335xi/xdrive coupe.

lemming · 03-04-2012, 06:28 PM

agree with Ed.

the new M37 is a true sleeper and certainly nicer inside than the new F10 (whatever it's called), too. i had the recent pleasure of driving the M37x as well as the M56. very swelligent interior, IMHO, as nice as the new E (which is quite nice) and involving enough to drive that it'd be a great daily driver.

equ · 03-04-2012, 06:45 PM

Haven't driven the Infiniti's but went to the f10 launch about a year ago. Drives soft, boaty and disconnected. Preferred the e350's steering/connection to the road (not to mention Audi's)... There will be no new 5-series in my near or far future.

lemming · 03-04-2012, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by equ

Haven't driven the Infiniti's but went to the f10 launch about a year ago. Drives soft, boaty and disconnected. Preferred the e350's steering/connection to the road (not to mention Audi's)... There will be no new 5-series in my near or far future.

New 5er looks....better.

But instead of a stretched 3er chassis, it's now on the 7er chassis....and it's game over now.

03-04-2012, 10:28 AM	#1
Sharp11 Vicarious Twitterer Join Date: May 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: 06 330 cic ZHP Location: CT Posts: 7,566	E90xdrive, M35x, M37x , some thoughts I spent the late afternoon hurling my sister's new E90 x drive sedan through the back roads of my home town. Equ can verify, we have a good mix of rough surfaces, twists and turns and fast sections with little if any traffic - in short, an ideal test loop. I can say, without doubt, the outgoing E90, in AWD trim with premium package 2 (but not sport) on 17's rides phenomenally well, much better, in fact, than my ZHP and even better than my wife's M35x (which has always been a bit stiffly sprung for its size). It simply swallowed up our worsts patches without drama. The suspension is both compliant and communicative and the car corners relatively flat. I liked it! It's a quiet car, with muted engine and transmission noise. The steering is light at speed, but a bit heavy at parking lot speeds - turn in and responsiveness are good. Standard seats are flat but supportive. In short, it's just a really nice car with a solid structure and comfortable, but somewhat sporty persona - this would probably be the ideal commuter I was looking for last week. This car is marketed as a "sports sedan" though, and it got me to thinking about the three sports sedans I've gotten to know: the E90xdrive, the M35x (our "family' car) and my father in-law's M37x. Our car, the M35x is very good, a step up in equipment and content from the E90. It's odd in that it's both more visceral, but being bigger and heavier, less lively than the E90. Still, for long distance driving and a mix of driving pleasure it's tough to beat. It's a very comfortable "all day" car. The car that continues to impress, though, and by no small margin, is my in-laws' M37x; really guys, you need to spend some time behind the wheel at speeds well in excess of 65 to appreciate - I wrote about it last month, the thing is just amazingly rock solid. Where our car might jolt over an expansion joint, or snap side to side, this car just buries the road imperfections. No steering kick back - just a perfectly weighted and direct helm, no feeling of compromise from the suspension - could this be the best "sports sedan" on the road? I don't know, I haven't driven the new 5 or comparable Mercs, but there must be a reason it's still placing above those models in many road tests. If it were my hard money, the M37x is where I'd be placing my money - it's just that good.

03-04-2012, 01:59 PM	#3
SARAFIL I like BMWs Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: X5 M50 / M550 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 5,795	Ed (and others)... for the record, the E90 AWD has only one suspension calibration so non-sport and sport should have the same ride with the same wheel/tire package. And all 2011 models had 17" wheels whether in base ("value package") or Sport package trim. My folks picked up a 2011 328xi last year and it has a pretty good ride... comparable to my car except that mine is a bit less compliant when I am running the 18" summer tyres. They had one of the first AWD E90s several years ago (06 325xi) and that car had a bad ride... felt like it had no suspension. I know equ says the E90 xi doesn't ride well, but I'm not sure what he's driving. A late production car will do just fine. __________________ 2020 X5 M50i -- Alpine White / Coffee Leather 2020 M550i -- Carbon Black / Beige Leather

03-04-2012, 06:28 PM	#8
lemming Western Anomaly Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: White Orca Posts: 16,635	agree with Ed. the new M37 is a true sleeper and certainly nicer inside than the new F10 (whatever it's called), too. i had the recent pleasure of driving the M37x as well as the M56. very swelligent interior, IMHO, as nice as the new E (which is quite nice) and involving enough to drive that it'd be a great daily driver. __________________

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03-04-2012, 12:08 PM	#2
robg Carmudgeon Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,250	Intersting notes. I've driven a rwd m35 but that was in Florida with no curves or rough roads. Nice car but a bit large for me. I really like my e92 but it even feels a bit too big compared to the e46. Agree on the ride though..its great. Much better than my old e46 even with its 18" rinflats. The new m37's design evokes a quattroporte..very nice. I've driven an f10 535..great car but drives like a big Luxo barge. Beautiful interior though. I find the e class to be extremely ugly for some reason.

03-04-2012, 06:45 PM	#9
equ Alphanumeric Join Date: Aug 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: 981S, 340i Posts: 9,586	Haven't driven the Infiniti's but went to the f10 launch about a year ago. Drives soft, boaty and disconnected. Preferred the e350's steering/connection to the road (not to mention Audi's)... There will be no new 5-series in my near or far future.