BMW 320D M Sport Touring - Undecided

[beanbag]

knitware said:

M Sport Brakes (Doesn't have) - Look nice but I am sure the normal ones are up to the job. Don't intend driving it like a hooligan.
You don’t need the uprated brakes true but with so many cars with it then why not have it.


HK Speaker System (Doesn't have) - Hope the normal system has a reasonable quality sound.
The basic system is horrid, you need the HK even if you have a small appreciation for sound.

Sat Nav (Doesn't have) - I am not to worried about this. I have a VW Polo with built in Sat Nav and I cannot remember the last time I used it, always tend to use Google maps on my iPhone. And even then I probably only use Sat Nav once a month.
You need satnav, don’t kid yourself here, not having it will become an irritation and selling will be a pain, plus it’s a very good system, full post code..
Panoramic Sunroof (Has) - Nice option to have given how dark the car is inside. Probably get more enjoyment out of it than upgraded brakes.
This is fine but impedes on head room.

Decisions, decisions ! Easy, don’t buy it.

It doesn’t have a lot going for it, paupers spec. See my comments above.

Do a national search and if you must buy the 320d but aim for the 330d. There are so many good cars with M Sport plus for sale, you may be excited to buy the 320d you found and may seem a good buy but it would soon turn to irritation when you find yourself in a courtesy car with all the options.

The adaptive lights are excellent, search on youtube for their benefit.

Its not my choice though so it's up to you, but you can do better.

Another 320d M Sport owner here. I don't have the plus pack either but I find the brakes to be very good (especially compared to my old cars), but the pads used on the m-sport are softer and tend to kick up a bit more dust than normal. No big deal really but they do wear out quickly.

I also don't have the upgraded hifi audio and I regret not getting a car with it. The standard audio is horrific and on pay-day, I plan to order the Alpine Audio upgrade. If you do the same, buy it from Germany from Salesafter. They seem to have the best price but I guess it's also worth negotiating at your dealer. If you are competent, you can fit it yourself too but it does require coding by BMW so keep that in mind. (Everything in the sodding car needs coding if changed).

Also, make sure you get enhanced bluetooth for audio streaming. It pisses me off BMW don't include this as standard but if it doesn't come with your car, you can purchase a special bluetooth adapter from Viseeo. I've not bought it yet but will review it when I get it at the end of the month.

I also recommend the auto option. I don't see if your car had this but worth every penny. Whether you have the paddle shift or not is irrelevant, but the 8 speed gearbox is sublime.

Ultimately, I'm very happy with my choice. I have reasonable performance with a car returning 52mpg if driven sensibly, but if I had to do it again, I would make sure I had the following:

- Full black dash display (nice to have)
- Professional iDrive Navigation (I have the smaller display business one....sat nav is very good)
- Enhanced bluetooth and if possible, connected drive for spotify music
- HiFi speakers or HK system
- Comfort access
- Light package! (Seriously, this is annoying when you don't have individual lights for passengers and sun visor lights for the missus).

The rest is perfect for me, but ultimately living in Spain, the choice of M-Sports was very very very limited.

Good luck hunting!

[Powerkiter]

Picked up my car on Saturday and I am really impressed with it. I have gone from a 2008 VW Touran 1.9 TDI to this. Even after 3 days of driving it, I cannot get over how enjoyable it is to drive. The spec on it is amazing, the dealer gave me a copy of the original cost breakdown and in December 2013 the car cost just over £42k. Has the following:

Estoril blue paint - Love the colour as almost the same as my old Impreza WRX. Makes a change from white, black or grey.
BMW Professional Navigation System - You can actually write out letters on the iDrive controller
Harman Kardon speaker system - The sound from the 16 speakers is amazing, although not sure where all 16 are !
Headlight wash
M Sport braking system
Sun protection glass
Heated front seats
Extended interior light package
Sport automatic transmission - Last time I drove an automatic was in America 10 years ago. What a difference. Paddle shift adds to the fun !
19 inch alloys
Panoramic glass roof
Front and rear parking control
Full black panel
Xenon headlights
Rain sensor with automatic headlights
Bluetooth hands free

I have a two hours drive to Manchester airport today, as I fly up to Aberdeen for 3 days. Didn't want to leave it in the car park at the airport so am back in the Touran. I am going to so miss driving the car today.

Will try and put some pictures up when I get back from Aberdeen.

Edited by Powerkiter on Tuesday 17th March 10:22

[beanbag]

Powerkiter said:

Picked up my car on Saturday and I am really impressed with it. I have gone from a 2008 VW Touran 1.9 TDI to this. Even after 3 days of driving it, I cannot get over how enjoyable it is to drive. The spec on it is amazing, the dealer gave me a copy of the original cost breakdown and in December 2013 the car cost just over £42k. Has the following:

Estoril blue paint - Love the colour as almost the same as my old Impreza WRX. Makes a change from white, black or grey.
BMW Professional Navigation System - You can actually write out letters on the iDrive controller
Harman Kardon speaker system - The sound from the 16 speakers is amazing, although not sure where all 16 are !
Headlight wash
M Sport braking system
Sun protection glass
Heated front seats
Extended interior light package
Sport automatic transmission - Last time I drove an automatic was in America 10 years ago. What a difference. Paddle shift adds to the fun !
19 inch alloys
Panoramic glass roof
Front and rear parking control
Full black panel
Xenon headlights
Rain sensor with automatic headlights
Bluetooth hands free

I have a two hours drive to Manchester airport today, as I fly up to Aberdeen for 3 days. Didn't want to leave it in the car park at the airport so am back in the Touran. I am going to so miss driving the car today.

Will try and put some pictures up when I get back from Aberdeen.

Edited by Powerkiter on Tuesday 17th March 10:22

Sounds like a brilliant spec! Nice one!

The auto box is brilliant and acceleration is superb for a 2 litre diesel! You also have a lot of options that I wanted but my choice was so limited in Spain. Ultimately, I got the core car I wanted but I do miss some of the iDrive extra, audio upgrades and M-Sport brakes.