BMW 335i – Review: Dark gray and full of attitude, it sat in the parking lot waiting for the next happy driver. Ahhh. The 2007 BMW 335i Coupe, another masterful automotive creation by the boys sporting blue propellers, another great driver’s car ready to go through its paces. This one – with its red leather interior and a smooth, inline six-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission – wowed us with its balance, its power, and its looks, enough so that we named it our Editors' Choice for Car of the Year.

Wouldn’t you drive it? With so many luxury performance choices, this new offering from BMW intrigued us, and made us wonder whether it would be just another coupe cum sedan or an actual honest-to-goodness different choice. To our unbridled joy, we found the BMW 335i to be much different than the sedan, and actually better in many driver-oriented ways. Our tester had BMW’s sport package, which added sport seats and 18-inch alloy wheels. That package jacked the sticker up a thou to $42,295, including a $695 destination.

Wonder of wonders, the BMW 335i Coupe is a great driver's car, thanks to suspension changes and the twin-turbo engine; it makes everything snappier and more scintillating. Even the six-speed manual feels renewed. The 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder is the sedan engine with two turbochargers, and power is rated at 300 horses at 5,800 rpm and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. Turbo lag is barely discernable. In a word, the powertrain would be described as responsive.

We found the BMW 335i to be close to M-level fun to drive – though a little skittish in the corners. Not sure if that’s the driver, the car or the tires, but it adds to the experience. All in all, given the sport seats and the lowered height, you feel close to the road but wrapped in leather protection.

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