Do you need anything more than a 320d?
Discussion
dbdb said:
They are very good at what they do and I can see why they are popular.
However, a smooth and sonorous engine is important to me. The 2 litre BMW diesel is neither of these things, so I would never buy a 320d because of that.
sorry to burst your bubble but the e46 at least is very smooth, you just need to get TheEnd to tune it for you. However, a smooth and sonorous engine is important to me. The 2 litre BMW diesel is neither of these things, so I would never buy a 320d because of that.
I have one as a company car, imo it's by far the best value as far as company car tax is concerned. I also have my own (rather ageing) fun car. I do 95% of my driving in the 320d so I obviously don't need anything else. Need and want are two different things though and I won't be selling my own car any time soon.
HannsG said:
You can keep the 320d.
I'll keep driving my E46 M3 as a daily thanks.
Turning the key makes going to and coming back from work lot better.
Without my M3 I probably would be in therapy!!!! Yes my career can be THAT stressful
When I get back to the train station and hear the vxr8 light up all my woes are gone I'll keep driving my E46 M3 as a daily thanks.
Turning the key makes going to and coming back from work lot better.
Without my M3 I probably would be in therapy!!!! Yes my career can be THAT stressful
I know your feels bro xx
Company car goes back in a couple of weeks as I'm changing jobs. I've been using it since new, 60 MPG average. ED, so 163 PS. Has been great for long distances, and I agree with the 6th gear ability. Handling is not amazing, completely different experience to the M3. I do agree that the 320D does feel rear wheel drive; that is quite obvious.
Edit:
An efficiency run!
I have a 320d as my only car after having a few Lotus and a Cayman S.
It's not exciting or thrilling but as an everyday commute car it's hard to fault.
Mine spends a lot of its time on the motorway or in traffic and it's a nice comfortable place to be. As Harris said it's great at cruising at 90+ even fully loaded and it doesn't cost the earth to run.
Mines now on 75K and I'm going to keep it until it dies.
Ideally as a family car I'd rather a 335 X Drive Touring though.
It's not exciting or thrilling but as an everyday commute car it's hard to fault.
Mine spends a lot of its time on the motorway or in traffic and it's a nice comfortable place to be. As Harris said it's great at cruising at 90+ even fully loaded and it doesn't cost the earth to run.
Mines now on 75K and I'm going to keep it until it dies.
Ideally as a family car I'd rather a 335 X Drive Touring though.
It's a competent cat, but it's self-evidently far from being the best all-rounder or 'All the car you need'.
(1) It is fairly slow.
(2) The engine sounds and feels pretty dreadful.
(3) It is RWD so less good in the (very) wet and snow.
(4) It is not very spacious and has only a reasonable boot.
(5) It is pretty expensive new and second-hand.
(1) It is fairly slow.
(2) The engine sounds and feels pretty dreadful.
(3) It is RWD so less good in the (very) wet and snow.
(4) It is not very spacious and has only a reasonable boot.
(5) It is pretty expensive new and second-hand.
I have an E92 320D as a daily, I've had it 7 months and need to sell it, my god it's just so slow and so unconnected to the driver, if I didn't have the rest of the fleet, I'd have blown my brains out.
As an A-B car, it's ok, it's comfy and it does what it's built to do, just make sure you pre-plan those overtakes and be prepared to listen to that rattle box of an engine.
Before it, I had an E60 525d, MUCH better engine, the 4 pot diesels are just not good for anyone with an interest in cars, I'll be swapping it soon as I'm going to get the missus a new E-Class and I'm going back to using the 944 as a daily(now theres a statement for me, Do you need anything more than a 1989 944? For me? No).
As an A-B car, it's ok, it's comfy and it does what it's built to do, just make sure you pre-plan those overtakes and be prepared to listen to that rattle box of an engine.
Before it, I had an E60 525d, MUCH better engine, the 4 pot diesels are just not good for anyone with an interest in cars, I'll be swapping it soon as I'm going to get the missus a new E-Class and I'm going back to using the 944 as a daily(now theres a statement for me, Do you need anything more than a 1989 944? For me? No).
I have a F31 as a loan car.
It's comfortable, averaging 50mpg, handles well for a family car and looks good.
The engine is a bit noisy and dull though and I hate the start/stop function in the automatic.
The 4 cylinder engine is a bit of a wart on what is a great car if you're unfortunate enough to require practical transportation.
If I suddenly inherited 2 kids and a dog then a 330d F31 would be high on the list.
Also wish people would stop with the used vs new arguments. "But I could buy 12 ford fiestas, 4 transit vans and a 1982 S-class with a 16 litre engine for that money therefore it's a crap car"
It's comfortable, averaging 50mpg, handles well for a family car and looks good.
The engine is a bit noisy and dull though and I hate the start/stop function in the automatic.
The 4 cylinder engine is a bit of a wart on what is a great car if you're unfortunate enough to require practical transportation.
If I suddenly inherited 2 kids and a dog then a 330d F31 would be high on the list.
Also wish people would stop with the used vs new arguments. "But I could buy 12 ford fiestas, 4 transit vans and a 1982 S-class with a 16 litre engine for that money therefore it's a crap car"
No-one needs a 320d. A Kia Ceed will meet most peoples need and a Galaxy or Discovery should cover the rest. On the other hand from the comments no-one really wants a 320d, something more sporting would cover that side of things. So why are they so popular, the larger engined 3 series seem to be so much better?
My 320d is going next month. As an all-rounder, it's been good. The only issue I've had is that I can't get our baby buggy into the boot without taking the wheels off, and even then it's a squeeze. Will be replaced with either a 5 series estate or E Class estate - with a petrol engine if I can find a suitable 12 / 13 plate petrol car. 6 cylinder diesel is the next option. I really don't want another diesel '4'.
But, none of these are any fun - so I have a 987S for when I'm driving by myself or just one passenger.
But, none of these are any fun - so I have a 987S for when I'm driving by myself or just one passenger.
dbdb said:
They are very good at what they do and I can see why they are popular.
However, a smooth and sonorous engine is important to me. The 2 litre BMW diesel is neither of these things, so I would never buy a 320d because of that.
Agree, I made a terrible mistake of buying a 520d and I liked the car but absolutely hated the engine, also had a current 320d as a loan car and I can see why they are popular to cover big miles in as they are very economical and have reasonable performance too. However, a smooth and sonorous engine is important to me. The 2 litre BMW diesel is neither of these things, so I would never buy a 320d because of that.
That 2.0d engine will just make you hate cars though because its noisy, unrefined and I just wanted to smash the engine to bits whenever I heard it idling or at low revs because its just so crude, the 3.0d is better yet I still want to smash it to bits though for the same reasons.
Unless you are covering very big miles its very important to avoid a diesel engine or you will lose any passion you once had for cars.
cerb4.5lee said:
dbdb said:
They are very good at what they do and I can see why they are popular.
However, a smooth and sonorous engine is important to me. The 2 litre BMW diesel is neither of these things, so I would never buy a 320d because of that.
Agree, I made a terrible mistake of buying a 520d and I liked the car but absolutely hated the engine, also had a current 320d as a loan car and I can see why they are popular to cover big miles in as they are very economical and have reasonable performance too. However, a smooth and sonorous engine is important to me. The 2 litre BMW diesel is neither of these things, so I would never buy a 320d because of that.
That 2.0d engine will just make you hate cars though because its noisy, unrefined and I just wanted to smash the engine to bits whenever I heard it idling or at low revs because its just so crude, the 3.0d is better yet I still want to smash it to bits though for the same reasons.
Unless you are covering very big miles its very important to avoid a diesel engine or you will lose any passion you once had for cars.
It also keeps the miles off the "fun" car in the garage.
MJ85 said:
Company car goes back in a couple of weeks as I'm changing jobs. I've been using it since new, 60 MPG average. ED, so 163 PS. Has been great for long distances, and I agree with the 6th gear ability. Handling is not amazing, completely different experience to the M3. I do agree that the 320D does feel rear wheel drive; that is quite obvious.
Edit:
An efficiency run!
I also agree the handling is average. You don't need to be pressing on too hard for body control (or lack of) to become an issue. It's well balanced, but it is by no stretch of the imagination any kind of ultimate driving machine. Perfectly competent, but uninspiring. A cruiser, basically.
A very complete car though. Effortlessly quick in real world driving, frugal, well put together. When you consider what the typical company car driver was running around in 10 years ago, I think it's a revelation.
This was the best door-to-door figure I got from my old manual (the grey one). Genuine 'office car park to drive' reading:
And here are the two cars
WestyCarl said:
I have a 520d. It's perfect as a weekly commuter and weekend family "all can do" vehicle. It may be boring but it's comfortable, refined, got some useful toys and economical.
It also keeps the miles off the "fun" car in the garage.
Yes I agree with you and when I had mine I used it as a daily and had my TVR then my Z4M as a weekend toy, my mistake was not going for the 530d for the slight improvement in refinement and added shove because with mine being a touring the 2.0d engine didn't do a great job of lugging its extra kerb weight around. It also keeps the miles off the "fun" car in the garage.
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