While many drivers will find the 335xi a bit rigid and aggressive for their taste, it's the kind of car that puts a smile on my face.  It offer hints of an American Muscle Car but with the refinement of a European sedan.

  
While the 3-Series has a range of five gas and five diesel engines, beginning at a 143-HP four-cylinder, the 335xi is the leader of the pack with a 306-HP 3.0-liter, 24-valve, inline six cylinder augmented with twin turbos. 

The engine leverages technology and low weight to maximize the car's performance.  The High Precision Injection offers improved performance and fuel savings by means of new injectors that are located between the valves and inject fuel immediately adjacent to the spark plugs.  The positioning is a requirement for the new jet-guided combustion process, which results in a precise injection process without the fuel loss associated with wall sprinkling, which is typical of conventional processes.

The High Precision Injection is combined with an aluminum crankcase and two turbochargers, which each supply three cylinders.  The use of two relatively small turbos allows for a low level of drag torque when accelerating, nearly eliminating turbo lag.  The output of this engine therefore achieves the same power delivery as a significantly larger -- and therefore heavier -- naturally aspirated engine.  The engine has already won the international "Engine of the Year Award" three times, including for 2008.

BMW spreads the technology around even further, though, to improve fuel efficiency and performance.  The lean injection mode, also known as stratified injection, achieves high engine output with small quantities of fuel.  In lean mode, differently composed layers of the fuel-air mixture form in the combustion chamber--only the layer near the spark plug is sufficiently rich to ignite and after doing so spreads to the lean layers located further away.  In EU tests, the technology has reduced fuel consumption by around 10 percent, compared to the previous engine with fully variable valve drive.

All 3-Series are fitted with Brake Energy Regeneration using intelligent generator regulation.  The generation of electricity for the vehicle power supply is focused on the periods when the car is coasting and braking.  The generator is then relieved during acceleration to provide more drive power.

Another trick is automatic control of air intake flaps in the radiator grille.  When the engine has lower cooling system requirements, the flaps are closed, improving aerodynamics.

Auxiliary units are also operated on an as-needed basis to conserve energy.  For instance, the electro-mechanical power steering system (EPS) with integrated Servotronic function is supplied with energy only when steering power support is required or desired.  The electrical coolant pump is likewise powered only when it is needed.  In addition, the air-conditioning belt drive is fitted with a coupling device, allowing the compressor to be decoupled when the air conditioning is off.  The drag torque of the compressor is thereby minimized, increasing the efficiency of the engine.

The bottom line for all of this is that this very responsive, high-performance sedan is still able to achieve a respectable 16 MPG in the city and 25 MPG on the highway.

The problem with many of today's vehicles is the power is dropped under the hood with little concern for how to get it to the street.  The result is often vehicles that are very difficult to drive because of effects such as torque steer.

With the BMW xDrive, power is delivered precisely to all four wheels, allowing a loose grip on the steering wheel even under heavy acceleration.  Under normal conditions, the system delivers 60 percent of the power to the rear wheels and 40 percent to the front.  At the first sign of a loss of traction in any wheel, the system adjusts by sending power to the other wheels.

In an age when a midsize SUV can often move past $40,000, the $40,800 base price--$47,725 with options such as the cold-weather package, premium package, and sport package--of the BMW 335xi Sedan delivers style, performance, and value.