jrock65

It was a brief stand alone article. As usual, they praised the 3 series.

6.1s is pretty damn fast for a 3300 pound, 215 hp sedan with only 184 torque.

flipside909

I agree. that's pretty awesome gearing for the new 325i. Very efficient tranny.

LexFather

That is very impressive. What mag? The 325 we get is really a 3.0 liter car though BMW ponies have alawys been conservative. Good job BMW.

XeroK00L

Just how they beat every other mag by at least half a sec on every car they test is simply beyond amazing. Must be the mathematical adjustment thing that only they do to normalize the weather and traction factors. Either that, or, of course, their test drivers possess some confidential techniques unknown to anyone else.

Baby ///M3

The quicker manual E36 328is ran 0-60mph in 6.3-6.6 sec. with only 190hp.

Manual E6 325s managed to run 6.5 sec. (June, 1993 Car and Driver) to 7.4 sec. (1994 Road and Track) to 60mph with only 189hp.

6.1 sec. to 60mph from the newer E90 sounds credible to me.

Jon

Johnny Rad

Same power as a TSX and IS250, but world's quicker? I say no way. Let's see what the other mags record. As long as we're talking about C&D, Im also of the opinion that the IS350 will be 1/2sec slower to 60mph than their 5.1sec time.

doug_999

Well the TSX is FWD and that will never come off the line as well as a RWD car. Plus both the IS and TSX are down on torque compared to the 325. Last but not least, BMW is known to underrate their cars (the 282hp 540 was consistenly quicker than the 300hp GS430 in almost every test).

LexusLuver

I've seen 540i vs GS400 in MT and R&T, it lost both times, or could at best keep up w/a 6MT

XeroK00L

That is not true. The only reason the IS250 has a lower torque figure than the 325i is because the IS250 is measured with the new SAE horsepower/torque measurement standards, while the 325i still uses the old ways for measurement. A better figure for comparison can be obtained from lexus.jp, where the numbers are obtained using the old ways. From their specifications table, we see that the IS250 actually has 260Nm, or 192 lb-ft, which is higher than 325i's 185 lb-ft.
http://lexus.jp/models/is/spec/spec.html

Inabj2

Yes but toyota has traditionally with few exceptions has OVERRATED their power ratings while bmw tends to underate them.

TRDFantasy

Not true. Considering most Toyotas are engineered for comfort and luxury before performance, Toyotas perform very well for their respective power ratings.

The real reason behind this is that the IS250 weighs quite a bit more than the 325i. I'm also guessing that C & D will be able to get the IS250 6MT in the high 6 range to 60mph, about as fast as the IS300.

Furthermore, the 325i comes with a 3L engine, compared to the IS250's 2.5L. The 325i makes 215 HP, and 185 lb-ft torque, both numbers which are SAE net. This means the 325i makes 11 more HP and 1 lb-ft more of torque than the IS250. On top of this, the 325i makes it's torque at a lower RPM than the IS250.

So basically having more power and less weigh is what makes the 325i faster than the IS250. But one thing the 325i does not beat the IS250 in is fuel economy.

XeroK00L

Yeah...I really wish for C&D to perform a separate test for the IS250 manual. So far no magazine really seems to care enough to do tests for the IS250s, unfortunately. The IS350 simply steals the thunder.

Also keep in mind that BMW lists only the unladen weights for their vehicles on their websites. Curb weight vs. curb weight, the IS250 AT's 3435 lbs actually weighs only 84 lbs more than the 325i AT's 3351 lbs, while the IS250MT's 3455 lbs weighs 170 lbs more than the 325i MT's 3285 lbs.

As far as the horsepower and torque figures go, again, Lexus is now using the new SAE measurement methods for ratings everywhere except for their homeland, while BMW is still using the old method, so a fair comparison can only be made with the numbers obtained from the old method. As I said, Lexus has posted such numbers on their Japanese website, rating the IS250 at 215ps/260Nm, whereas the 325i with the same old method is rated at 218ps/250Nm. The IS250 also has an extremely flat torque curve beginning at 2000rpm, as does the 325i. So engine-wise the IS250 isn't any weaker than the 325i at all.

jrock65

But one thing the 325i does not beat the IS250 in is fuel economy.

The 325i manual handily beats the IS250 manual in fuel economy.

doug_999

The 99 and higher 540ia never lost to the GS400 or GS430 in R&T or C&D. No clue on Motor Trend, but I would be surprised - and that would be one of the only mags to find it as such. I can tell you as a previous owner of the 540ia and a current owner of the GS, my old 540 was much quicker.

Wrong. The old method allowed "tricks" - we have no proof that BMW employed any of them nor proof that Toyota did either. We do know that almost every Toyota rated under the new rating system has lost HP. BMWs tend to be very quick for their HP so I would not be surprised to see their HP actually go up if they rate per the new SAE guidelines.

edit: and lets not forget gearing here, that can have a lot to do with things too.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I can confirm that a 540iA of that generation, with sports package was quicker than a stock GS400. The reason I believe was that they included a higher stall torque converter in the sport package (nice touch). My neighbor where I used to live had a 540iA. It was fun to drive. But as I added more mods to my car, including the torque converter, our cars felt very similar. Now I have the lowered gearing with Supra LSD, there's no contest (he'd only see my tail lights ).

But regardless, the 540 Manual and auto is an awesome car in stock configuration provided you get the sport package.