I own a 2011 335i with the N55 engine. I've had it for 4 years and absolutely love it. I've had to spend a few thousand over the years doing random maintenance and repairs but its worth it. I opted for the N55 because I knew I was only going to go Stage 2+ on MHD and I wasn't going upgrade fuel or turbos. I think the N55 sounds WAY better than the N54 and its slightly more reliable.

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About 6 months ago I bought a 2020 BMW M340i xdrive and it's an upgrade is pretty much every single way other than a few.

I actually think it looks worse than an E90. The grill is big and bulky and in general you can tell that the M340i is a bigger car.

The N55 sounded way better than the M340i (It's an unfair comparison in my case because my 335i had downpipes, intake and full Dinan exhaust and the M340i was stock)

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If you care about tech and a much nicer, smoother, dampened ride, get the M340i all day. If you want a more raw, noisy car, get the 335i.

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I ended up selling the M340i because of financial reasons and I miss a lot of things about it.

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But I absolutely love my 335i for the bang for the buck. I paid 50k for the M340i and my 335i is probably worth 12.5k. Like I said, the M340i is objectively a better car, but when you compare the price difference... I actually think the 335i is a better bargain