olli_535d

Talking about handling, which by my definition means twisty and bendy, good fun b-roads, the 3 series, no matter if E46 or E90 is gonna be all over the E60. Purely for sheer size reasons. Taking the engines into consideration, the 550 could keep up by probably just having much more oomph, but if you compare the engines like for like (330 vs 530) the 5 is not gonna see any daylight. I still prefer my E60, as it just is a different class.

On a proper race track, there probably won't be much in it, as the 550 will recoup most of the handling disadvantage by brute straightline power.

My drive to work is a 23 mile trip along some beautiful narrow and twisty english country roads. I've done it many times in my 535d Sport (+Eibach springs) and I've done it a few times in an E46 coupe and in a E90 saloon. (sedan)
Both the 3's had the edge by far through the bends.

needforspeed

The 330 will 'feel' more agile and alert on the twisties.

But .... the e60 is incredibly composed ..... it handles incredibly well for a car of it's size ..... even though it feels more weighty and less immediate.

It's counter-intuitive, but I think overall the e60 is the better handling car.

However, I think this is a very driver focused decision - some will prefer the sharpness of the 330 others the steady progressive response of the 550.

katheikia

Well my good friend has the new e90 330, and we were debating which car handles better his 330 or my 550. I must say the few times I drove his car it took quick abrupt turns very, very well. My 550 is also handles extremly well, diference is that the 550 has so much power that when half way into the abrupt manuver and are punching the pedle the brut force will make the rear drift , were as the 330 doesnt have the same power for this to happen. So by saying that its hard to tell which is better. One thing that is fore sure is the 330 sways, were the 550 with active roll stays completely flat. In the end they are both Ultimate Driving Machines.

BetterMakeWay

Yes i suspect the 330i handels better. You keep forgeting guys that weight is weight, and no active roll bars can compensate for that. They only give a better confort and might encourage you to push it more, but imo it may lack of response or feel but overall weight is weight and that won't make you faster through a corner.

Bimmer32

I took a 330i and 545i on the same exiting curve at 100 mph. They both feel the same, though, I felt more confidence in the 545i. Both with Sport and RF . . . maybe I was used to my 545i over the test drive 330i. Physics will dictate the results, of course.

gIzzE

Have you seen the track times for the 330i in this months EVO, it does extremely well, I will dig them out and see if there were any times for the 550.

needforspeed

Surely weight affects acceleration in a straight line, not cornering.

Cornering ability is about weight balance, chassis, suspension, grip, power, braking - in fact pretty much every aspect of the car's set up.

Having driven e46, e90 and e60's I still think that the e60 is the more composed and progressive car.

However, as in my earlier post I think this is a real driving style preference - agile and nimble vs progressive and composed.

EBMCS03

Anyone have the times of a 550 and 330 on the nurburgring?

Ray S

The 3 series receives many well earned accolades, "Car and Driver 10 best", "World Car of the Year" etc. Most of these postive reviews are centered on the outstanding 3 series driving experience.

What I want to know is, where is the love for the 5 series? The 530i has essentially the same technical specs as the 330i, horsepower, torque, weight distribution, drag coefficient and is very close in weight (3472lbs vs 3417lbs 6MT). Shouldn't the 530i have nearly the same "exhilirating" drive experience as the beloved 330i??

ImolaRedM

I agree. 330i vs 530i would be close and up to the drivers. People forget that these two cars weight the same (within ~55 lbs). The 330i has a shorter wheel base (5" shorter) and the 530i was two inches more track helping to make up for the two inches in hight. I suspect the CG would be about the same in both cars. The only real advantage at low speeds seems to go to the 330's shorter wheelbase. Most tests have shown skid pad results of about .90g for the 530i (better than what I've seen for the V8). The E46 M3 is about .91g. However I have also seen tests for the E90 330i as high as .92g. The 330i also comes with 255 tires in the rear while the 530i comes with 245's (both sport package).