BMW F30 335d XDrive

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Discussion

Mattt

Original Poster:

16,661 posts

217 months

Monday 24th March 2014
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Minor mouthful, but picked up the new car last week so thought I'd post up my initial thoughts particularly as there doesn't seem to be much out there in the press about the car.



First to the figures, which were what drew me to the car initially:

0-62mph: 4.8 seconds
Power: 313bhp
Torque: 466lb/ft
Top Speed: 155mph (limited)
Fuel Consumption: 52.3mpg (combined)

I was fed up of running two cars with the associated doubling of costs for tax, insurance etc - and wanted one car that could do a bit of everything, and the figures appealed. It seems that a MPG expectation of 35-40mpg is realistic, and I'm happy with that for the performance.

Another appealing aspect of the car were the toys available - hence I ended up a bit 'tick happy' when it came to the options, the downside being that it added nearly £10k to the cost of the base car which was already around £40k. My highlights so far are:

HUD



This is excellent, I can now drive without taking my eyes off the road - the nav, phone, speed limit display, cruise control etc are all displayed on the HUD as per the example above.

Adaptive Suspension

The downside of the XDrive is that you don't get the lowered and stiffened M Sport suspension - along with an increased ride height. The adaptive dampers go some way to making this back up - in comfort mode the car is nicely refined on motorways and A roads but when into sport it is reasonably fun on back roads, but you still end up with a bit of body roll. I've noticed a slight tendency to understeer which is easily corrected if you apply some power, the XDrive seems to provide me with a lot more confidence than I got with the 420d I was using before this.

Adaptive Headlights

These are currently amazing/magical - however the novelty may wear off soon, but impressive kit nonetheless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dvPZ3H1Vm4

iDrive Professional
This is more expensive than a TomTom granted, but the integration with the vehicle makes it worthwhile - even if I can't justify spending the whole cost. The new system is quick, and the touchpad rotary controller is useful for typing on the go without looking at the screen.

Active Cruise Control
This took quite a lot of trust in the BMW engineers not to touch the brake as I came across a traffic jam on the M25 after collecting it, but it makes long boring trips very easy - I drove for over 100 miles this weekend without touching any pedals.

Overall
Only a few hundred miles on the clock so haven't been able to push it properly but so far I'm very happy with it - the ZF 8 Speed Auto with paddles is brilliant, and when matched to the engine means over-ample overtaking power even keeping the revs down.

If you're looking for a new BMW I'd recommend the Dealership I bought it from - they seemed to do the best deals around when I looked, drop Tony Lewis at Cooper Tunbridge Wells a line.

Sparkzz

450 posts

135 months

Monday 24th March 2014
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Apart from the colour, that's probably the perfect car to do everything.

Any comparison to an e90x 330d/335d?

civicduty

1,857 posts

202 months

Monday 24th March 2014
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That headlight idea is genius!

Mattt

Original Poster:

16,661 posts

217 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
Afraid I've only driven the E90 320d, but in all areas I see the F30 is an improvement on the E90x.

One remark I've heard of the E90 335d is the gearbox is slightly slow - which isn't a problem with the ZF8HP.

zed4

7,248 posts

221 months

Monday 24th March 2014
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Awesome car, incredible performance and economy figures. Beggars belief!

My dads F30 has the adaptive lights with full beam assist, it's really superb, very impressive.

PD9

1,992 posts

184 months

Monday 24th March 2014
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One of my colleagues has just purchased a 330d X-Drive in Estoril Blue, beautiful in the flesh and look the part. His has a grey strip running along the side skirt, not sure what this is maybe just cosmetic.

Lights are fantastically clever.

Edited by PD9 on Monday 24th March 22:35

Mattt

Original Poster:

16,661 posts

217 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
The grey strip is one of the M Performance cosmetic parts I believe (bumpers, wheels etc).

I do like the EB, but it just stood out a bit too much for me, so went for a debadged mineral grey!

Max M4X WW

4,784 posts

181 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
Mattt said:
Adaptive Headlights

These are currently amazing/magical - however the novelty may wear off soon, but impressive kit nonetheless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dvPZ3H1Vm4
Do you have Xenon or LED? I can't find an LED option for the 3 on bmw.co.uk but could be being blind.

B17NNS

18,506 posts

246 months

Monday 24th March 2014
quotequote all
civicduty said:
That headlight idea is genius!
Isn't it.

Those stats are seriously impressive. Excellent performance and excellent economy. Seems these days you truly can have your cake and eat it.

Stunning car OP. Congratulations smile

smiffy180

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 24th March 2014
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That's going to be quick remapped!
Any plans for performance? biggrin

Trtj

433 posts

130 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
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Thinking of flogging my 330d touring and m3 (both e46) for one of these in touring form. Do it all car. Good choice!

vescaegg

25,471 posts

166 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
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Those lights are one of the most impressive things ive ever seen.

iphonedyou

9,230 posts

156 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
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Those headlights. My mind is blown.

Amazing.

Mattt

Original Poster:

16,661 posts

217 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
quotequote all
Max M4X WW said:
Do you have Xenon or LED? I can't find an LED option for the 3 on bmw.co.uk but could be being blind.
I have Xenons, from what I hear the LEDs are better, but not as much of a difference between Halogen and Xenon - the cost of £2000 IIRC means not worth it IMO - my Dealer had never seen one specced with them!

As for the 2 car set up, yes there's something special about having a TVR/Lotus for Sunday morning drives, but my chances now to do so are limited and my last experience of running a TVR has put me off... for a while.

Mattt

Original Poster:

16,661 posts

217 months

Tuesday 25th March 2014
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
That's going to be quick remapped!
Any plans for performance? biggrin
None for the moment, it's being run in but the performance will be ample anyway - I value my warranty more than a few more BHP!

I forgot the most important mod I had done - debadge wink



cerb4.5lee

30,041 posts

179 months

Wednesday 26th March 2014
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Enjoy it OP, the performance & economy figures are immense its M3 performance for less than half the price of fuel & you cant argue with that.


Mattt

Original Poster:

16,661 posts

217 months

Friday 28th March 2014
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Someone else hooked theirs up to a VBox (using Michelin PSS tyres and launch control) and got the following stats:


RemyMartin

6,759 posts

204 months

Friday 28th March 2014
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Mattt said:
Someone else hooked theirs up to a VBox (using Michelin PSS tyres and launch control) and got the following stats:

Wow, that's got some poke. Would like to see how the RWD compares..

cerb4.5lee

30,041 posts

179 months

Friday 28th March 2014
quotequote all
RemyMartin said:
Mattt said:
Someone else hooked theirs up to a VBox (using Michelin PSS tyres and launch control) and got the following stats:

Wow, that's got some poke. Would like to see how the RWD compares..
Agree they are a stunning set of figures.

martin mrt

3,768 posts

200 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
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RemyMartin said:
Wow, that's got some poke. Would like to see how the RWD compares..
It won't, all 335ds are now X drive