ST220,328i, 330i, 330d or T5?

[S798]

I'm in the market for a comfy cruiser with a bit of poke. I've set myself a budget of £4k, but less is more

After a lot of Internet based research, I think I've narrowed down my selection to the following

Mondeo ST220 (facelift)
BMW 328i
BMW 330i
BMW 330d (184bhp)
Volvo V50 T5

The 220 ticks the boxes, but I'm slightly concerned by reports of woeful fuel consumption (don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting much but reports of 20-21mpg average is not good) and not too great reliability.

The BMWs are attractive - I could get an immaculate 328i with plenty of change or a slightly leggy 330. The 330d is a bit of a curveball and there are a few nice ones out there for around the top of my budget although modern(ish) diesels scare me with the potential for big bills. I've had an E46 before, albeit a lowly 318i touring.

The V50 has, I believe, the same engine as the Focus ST but in a family man package: sounds good and I've had a few Volvos before.

Which would you pick and why? It'll be a daily driver and i"ll be doing 10-15k a year.

[donaircooleone]

Probably the 328i for simplicity however either e46 may have issues with the cracking floor but this seems to affect them randomly - just have a good look at it or the T5 because 5 cylinders

[anonymous-user]

An ST220 will give you 27 - 30mpg easily with the 6-speed box.

If the engine rattles then GTFO though

[Rumple]

Id go for the ST, the E46 Is ok, the boot floor wouldn't concern me, but rust would, these cars rust like its 1979, I would buy on condition not millage as well, they can do the miles, the ST was a pretty special car and a different animal to the ST diesel.

[Dusty964]

I would pick this

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

And 1500 quid in my pocket for petrol

[Pentoman]

I'm doing lots of miles at the moment and your words "comfy cruiser" with some poke (and handling) couldn't be a more accurate way to define the Renault Laguna 2. Media and PH give no recognition to this machine.

So I'll throw this in the mix for you:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/r...

Also, it's a small turbo four, which may equal decent economy compared to the 5s and 6s?

[miniman]

Dusty964 said:

I would pick this

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

And 1500 quid in my pocket for petrol

That is all kinds of awesome.

[m444ttb]

I'm quite tempted by an ST at the moment. The main attraction being the very comfortable Recaro seats! I've found the offset driving position in my e36's (which I don't think is improved in the e46) has been causing me siatic pain Otherwise I'd say 330 all day long but find one showing no signs of rust.

[Welshbeef]

You'd pay up to £4k for a 184bhp 330d which newest would be what 51 reg?

Given what E90 330ds go for that seems extortionate - I'd be expecting a 204 bhp 330d for that money

[fjord]

I had an St220. 25mpg and unreliable. Not comfortable. Never again.

[VinceFox]

E36 m3.

Signed, someone with an e36 m3.

[Welshbeef]

You can get e46 M3's from asking £5k....

[g3org3y]

I'm assuming you are talking E46s OP?

If so, I wouldn't splash 4k on a 328i. 330i is the way to go imo.

[SlowV6]

How about an S60 T5, or a V70 if you need the estate?

Or a late 9-5 Aero?

[Podie]

fjord said:

I had an St220. 25mpg and unreliable. Not comfortable. Never again.

I had an ST220. 25-30mpg and the most reliable car I've owned - it was also the longest I've owned a daily driver for as well. Comfort is subjective - I never had any issues.

[Vladimir]

Not a single mention of RWD and FWD..,

[Tribal Chestnut]

I've got a Mazda 6 MPS.

Not great economy (mid 20's), but very happy with mine.

They have a few well documented faults, but the only real problem I've had is regarding the rear diff mount.

The mount Mazda use employs soft rubber bushes, which equates to lots of flex and eventual shearing off of bolts. Probably spent circa £500.00 getting mine sorted, all ok now.

[nottyash]

Podie said:

fjord said:

I had an St220. 25mpg and unreliable. Not comfortable. Never again.

I had an ST220. 25-30mpg and the most reliable car I've owned - it was also the longest I've owned a daily driver for as well. Comfort is subjective - I never had any issues.

Ive got one now, a performance blue ST 220 estate.
26.7 mpg with the way I drive it, but following traffic at 60mph its as much as 36mpg.
Compared to some previous cars it is bad, as even my e46 M3 was 29mpg, S2000 28mpg, Z4 3.0 30 mpg, but factor in the cost to buy and value for money you can offset this easily.
Still not as bad as the 21-24 mpg I used to get in my Subaru Legacy B4 RSK, and that was 24mpg max
Surprise for me was a Boxster S 3.2 which was always 32-34 mpg, driven the same
I find the Recaro seats very comfortable in the Mondeo, and only problems have been a faulty coil pack giving a slight misfire at low revs. £66 for a new one (However I spent £100 on plugs and leads first )
TheE46 BMW is a nice drive, but I think you have to pay a premium for a good spec/ condition car.

[S798]

Thanks for the replies so far, chaps.

I'm not sure how to multi quote, so I'll respond to the questions below:

Re ST220. I've had very mixed reports, which seems to be reflected in the responses to this thread. 3.5k gets me an early facelift with most of the toys. Seems very good value, but the economy does seem to be a way off the competition based on what I've read; a sacrifice I might make if the performance was much better, but it seems a little lacking in that department too. I'm a genuine 50:50 on this one!

The ST TDCi is not on the cards.

The BMW 735i would be tempting, but I'd burn through the saving on purchase price on fuel in a year or less! I guess I have to draw the line somewhere. A friend has a 740i and the running costs, even excluding fuel, are not cheap and on another level even to the ST220.

The Laguna is a no-go. We ran a few Laguna IIs ar a previous workplace, and the reliability was terrible.

The 330d I looked at was a 52 plate touring for 4295. Any much below 4k were either very leggy or in poor condition. Same goes for the 330i, whereas a 328i could be had in immaculate condition for 3k.

The car will be used mostly for dual carraigeway and French autoroute driving, so I'm not that fussed regarding FWD or RWD

I has a Volvo S60 D5 before which was excellent and I'd definitely consider another, but the S40/V50 seem more plentiful.

[nottyash]

S798 said:

Thanks for the replies so far, chaps.


The car will be used mostly for dual carraigeway and French autoroute driving, so I'm not that fussed regarding FWD or RWD

ST220 will be fine for that.
have you looked at Skoda Octavia VRS? these can be had at that price if your prepared to wait and shop around.