Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo
Discussion
I've owned one Alpina before, an early E39 B10 V8, which I was completely smitten by but the running costs got the better of me in the end.
For my next car I had a reasonably healthy budget but needed something pretty economical, slow to depreciate and not wallet-bursting to run. I'd been looking at cheap lease deals, low mileage used Golf GTDs, Merc C250s and BMW 123d's, that sort of stuff.
I never thought that a D3 BT would be within range, but as luck would have it there was one coming to the end of the stock cycle at a BMW dealer not too far from me, so there was a deal to be done.
I did have to stretch the budget a bit, but not uncomfortably so. Even better was that the car is well known on the Alpina Register and I was able to speak to both of the previous owners before deciding to buy, obviously a huge plus when buying used.
As far as I can tell this ticks every single one of my boxes, good to drive, economical, comfortable, strong residuals, relatively cheap to keep on the road (for an Alpina) and also a little bit different.
Pics from the dealer:
I know the Alpina stripes are marmite, but I love them.
BMW Performance steering wheel - much nicer to hold than the standard wheel, although the extra gauges and shift lights are a bit unnecessary.
I pick it up next week. Can't wait
For my next car I had a reasonably healthy budget but needed something pretty economical, slow to depreciate and not wallet-bursting to run. I'd been looking at cheap lease deals, low mileage used Golf GTDs, Merc C250s and BMW 123d's, that sort of stuff.
I never thought that a D3 BT would be within range, but as luck would have it there was one coming to the end of the stock cycle at a BMW dealer not too far from me, so there was a deal to be done.
I did have to stretch the budget a bit, but not uncomfortably so. Even better was that the car is well known on the Alpina Register and I was able to speak to both of the previous owners before deciding to buy, obviously a huge plus when buying used.
As far as I can tell this ticks every single one of my boxes, good to drive, economical, comfortable, strong residuals, relatively cheap to keep on the road (for an Alpina) and also a little bit different.
Pics from the dealer:
I know the Alpina stripes are marmite, but I love them.
BMW Performance steering wheel - much nicer to hold than the standard wheel, although the extra gauges and shift lights are a bit unnecessary.
I pick it up next week. Can't wait
Lovely, but when I was shopping for a 3 series I couldn't quite make these add up...if you take away the exclusivity of the Alpina badge, and revised suspension settings, do BMW not do a better job with say a 330D or similar?
I was also put off by the majority of these being really poorly specced.
Not trolling, but the more you look at them the harder they are to justify IMO. Different strokes for different folks of course.
I was also put off by the majority of these being really poorly specced.
Not trolling, but the more you look at them the harder they are to justify IMO. Different strokes for different folks of course.
charltjr said:
The wheels are something I'm considering putting back to silver, although it's how the car came from Sytner originally. I'll see how I feel about it after a few weeks of living with them.
As for the steering wheel, I didn't mean "unnecessary" in a bad way
The 330d is definitely the "elephant in the room" when looking at these, on the surface it does look like a much more compelling proposition and the pricing is pretty similar for a much better spec (unless you go for a D3 with the Lux pack, but they're extremely rare).
The reasons I went D3 are:
Lighter engine - the 330d engine alone is apparently about 40kg heavier and that's a fair chunk to have over the front wheels
Better ride and handling
Better fuel economy
Much prefer the looks of the D3 to the LCI M-Sport models
The 330d does look like it should have the D3 beaten as a used proposition, and to be honest if your priorities are more towards spec and outright grunt it probably does beat it.
The thing is that everyone I've spoken to who's owned one, and all the long term tests, say that the D3 is one of those cars which is somehow more than the sum of it's parts. I've also spoken to a couple of people who for one reason or another have gone from a D3 to a 330d and even one who's gone from a D3 to a 335i and they all say they preferred the D3 for it's poise and balance. It's not as fast, but it's just a sweeter overall package to drive.
It's really going to come down to individual priorities as to which people prefer, they're both very good cars, I don't think you could definitively say which one is better, only which one better suits your own preferences.
I'm looking forward to finding out
As for the wheels I think they actually look a lot better in the flesh than the photos, but they are a bit gangsta.... Still in two minds over them, but I'll see.
One thing that is for sure is I'm going to get a pretty good feel for the car very quickly. Due to a bit of bad planning and an accident of timing I've got over six hundred and fifty miles to cover in the first four days of ownership. Knackers!
The reasons I went D3 are:
Lighter engine - the 330d engine alone is apparently about 40kg heavier and that's a fair chunk to have over the front wheels
Better ride and handling
Better fuel economy
Much prefer the looks of the D3 to the LCI M-Sport models
The 330d does look like it should have the D3 beaten as a used proposition, and to be honest if your priorities are more towards spec and outright grunt it probably does beat it.
The thing is that everyone I've spoken to who's owned one, and all the long term tests, say that the D3 is one of those cars which is somehow more than the sum of it's parts. I've also spoken to a couple of people who for one reason or another have gone from a D3 to a 330d and even one who's gone from a D3 to a 335i and they all say they preferred the D3 for it's poise and balance. It's not as fast, but it's just a sweeter overall package to drive.
It's really going to come down to individual priorities as to which people prefer, they're both very good cars, I don't think you could definitively say which one is better, only which one better suits your own preferences.
I'm looking forward to finding out
As for the wheels I think they actually look a lot better in the flesh than the photos, but they are a bit gangsta.... Still in two minds over them, but I'll see.
One thing that is for sure is I'm going to get a pretty good feel for the car very quickly. Due to a bit of bad planning and an accident of timing I've got over six hundred and fifty miles to cover in the first four days of ownership. Knackers!
As the owner of an F80 D3 it rides much better than the 335d M sport I test drove & was better than the F80 M3 I had at the time, for a car riding round on rubber bands it's amazing how it still flows along economy is great over 2600 miles it's averaging 41.7mpg I would thoroughly recommend them & you're right they're more than a sum of the parts.
We had a BiTurbo as part of our pool fleet & it was always the set of keys everyone tried to get hold of despite there being 320d M Sports to drive that was always the first car to be snapped up.
We had a BiTurbo as part of our pool fleet & it was always the set of keys everyone tried to get hold of despite there being 320d M Sports to drive that was always the first car to be snapped up.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff