BMW E93 330i vs 330d

[RichMarks]

Hi

I have researched extensively, and am nearly there, but a couple of questions for you guys

Choosing between a E93 330i & 330d

Spend around £15k for a sub 50,000 mile example ( I do about 15,000 per year, open roads about 20% motorway)

I'm 50/50 so will probably decide on condition and other specs

In summary my findings

1. 330i Nice sound, mpg not great , circa 30mpg if driving carefully (which 90% of the time I will, but want the power for the 10% fun factor)
Advice is to get a manual box. Very reliable engine

2. 330d, good mpg & can be faster than the 330i . Advice is the auto box. Take your chance on some bif spends on DPF etc

Now main question is the 330i .. most for sale are the auto box & I cant wait much longer for a decent manual.

If you use the auto in manual / step mode .. how different is this from a full manual
How "bad" is the auto on the engine, i undertsand it makes it feel sluggish, but wondering how it is in manual mode.

I'm hoping to jump to the 330i auto option , as my wait for a decent spec 330d is taking too long, plus Im a little concerned about maintence costs (DPF etc)

Any further thoughts/advice welcome (NB there arent many near me for sale to "try")

Cheers
Rich

[Mr_Yogi]

E93 is the convertable isn't it. Can't imagine runing a diesel cab

I've never driven an E90 varient but have owned an E46 330i and E39 530i (auto), and I currently have an F11 535d. Personally if you can afford to run the 330i then go for the petrol. I love the 535d, and it is fast but I really miss the sound and the way the power builds at high revs, with the 530i. In contrast the 535d is very linear and a bit boring.

Even with the auto I would imagine the 330i is plenty fast enough, especially as the E9x 3.0 is more powerful than that in the older E46/39. I was constantly impressed by the 530i when in sport mode, it went from 40-70 very quickly

Edited by Mr_Yogi on Friday 27th March 10:16

[rallycross]

Petrol all the way on this one simply because a convertible diesel is a bad idea!

I've had a few of these in different engine formats the 330 petrol is a nice engine (two versions one is 250 one is 268 bhp) they are good on fuel, my last one averaged 33 but on long trips would do more.
330d is a nice engine for a diesel but still very noisy, nothing like having the roof down and listening to the sound a tractor is there?

Also consider the 335i which you might find one cheaper than the other 2 and gives a whole different level of performance being a twin turbo petrol.

When checking E93's make sure you look in the boot floor to the left hand and right hand for water, my last convertible fried its AMP due to water in the boot, if you get one with leaky roof seals its not an easy fix!

[RobM77]

I can't answer all your questions but have a couple of comments that may be of use:

You should get just over 30mpg, but it depends how much town driving you do. I had a 2007 Z4 Coupé with the 3.0 engine and in a similar mix of roads to you (20% motorways, mostly sweeping A and B roads), averaged just over 30mpg, so I'd expect the coupé with higher gearing to give slightly above that. The 330d won't be a huge amount higher than that, and remember to factor in the fuel as well. For 15k miles a year I'd be going on which I preferred driving, rather than be swayed by fuel cost.

I'd aways choose a manual anyway, but for the E9x era of cars I'd tread wisely with the auto. I tried a brand new 5 series with the latest BMW auto box a few weeks ago and it was great for what it was (though I'd still opt for a manual), but I had an X3 3.0 for a week in about 2004/2005 back when they were new and the auto box was dreadful. Definitely test drive carefully!

[RichMarks]

Thanks

Any views on the auto vs manual ..can the auto in manual mode work well ?

Cheers

[rallycross]

RichMarks said:

Thanks

Any views on the auto vs manual ..can the auto in manual mode work well ?

Cheers

I've had the auto on a 335i E93 and on the 330d in a touring, there is no point using it as a manual it works fine in D, if you are in a hurry eg overtaking on A roads then leave it in Sport (in D it will always be in a higher gear than you'd chose if it were manual).
On the 335i the paddle shift was quite quick much better than the older E46 330 sport but its still an auto, it does not change like a DSG.

[stavers]

RichMarks said:

Any views on the auto vs manual ..can the auto in manual mode work well ?

If you really love the 3 pedal driving and this is something that is a big point for you then no auto box can give you the same feel in manual mode. They will always feel sluggish in manual mode.

However, if 3 pedals is not something that you really want then the manual mode will work acceptably.

Personally, for me, there would be no contest and I would not even be entertaining the auto option on the car. But it is personal choice.
I think the only way to know for real would be to take one for a drive and see what you think about it but I think you'll find the experience not what you're after.

[ecs0set]

I have an E93 335i Auto and previously had an E46 330i manual. For a coupe, I'd have the manual every time. However a big 4-seat convertible is never going to be the last word in sporty driving and to be honest, even in MSport spec it's not the most dynamic machine going. I originally wanted a DCT but to be honest, an E93 is more of a relaxed cruiser so the Auto works fine.

As for a diesel convertible, see above. The 330d doesn't have enough of an economy advantage over the excellent 330i to make sense unless you're doing lots of miles. So really it's either 320d or 330i. If you're considering a manual box, you'll definitely savour the sound of a petrol engine in a 'vert.