Clarkson on BMW's 335i: "Nice motor, shame about the car"

Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame got a chance to get behind the wheel of BMW's new 335i coupe and he shares his thoughts in a new column published in Britain's Sunday Times. As always, Clarkson's feelings are mixed, to say the least.

On the one hand, Mr. Clarkson describes the 335i's twin-turbocharged engine as "little short of a masterpiece." According to Clarkson, "there's so much low-down grunt that even the BMW traction control system "” a good one normally "” is regularly woken from its electronic slumber by the wave of torque." What's more, the engine is "fitted to a perfectly balanced chassis with the usual array of excellent steering, fine brakes and a nicely chosen balance between comfort and handling."

But there's one big problem, says Clarkson. "�'£33,420 for a car that doesn't even look as good as a Hyundai? You'd have to be mad." Suffice to say, Clarkson isn't impressed by the coupe's relatively conservative styling. "You need to think of it as a painting by the world's greatest artist. Yes, the brush strokes are magnificent. Yes, the texture is superb. Yes, the perspective is world class and the detailing is better than you'd get from Leonardo. [...] But what he's actually painted in this case is big dog turd."