BMW F30 335d XDrive
Discussion
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.
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.
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.
Thought I'd update this now I'm a couple of thousand miles in!
The effortless acceleration from low speeds still amuses me, and surprises quite a few Boy Racers off the lights.
The handling is a slight disappointment, a few other owners seem to be fitting AC Schnitzer springs which lower and firm up the ride - but as a daily car it's not too bad (nothing like a sports car though).
Touch wood, no problems yet - aside from the fact it seems to collect leaves all over like no other car I've had before! There is a hell of a lot of brake dust from the fronts which is annoying, the wheels go from clean to black in a couple of days.
The effortless acceleration from low speeds still amuses me, and surprises quite a few Boy Racers off the lights.
The handling is a slight disappointment, a few other owners seem to be fitting AC Schnitzer springs which lower and firm up the ride - but as a daily car it's not too bad (nothing like a sports car though).
Touch wood, no problems yet - aside from the fact it seems to collect leaves all over like no other car I've had before! There is a hell of a lot of brake dust from the fronts which is annoying, the wheels go from clean to black in a couple of days.
Simbu said:
Out of interest, how do the clever headlights work if you're overtaking someone? Do they dip themselves? Can you use them on a motorway / dual carriageway and they'll dip themselves appropriately? Very cool and clever tech regardless of the answer!
If you overtake someone it will dip the left light until you pass as it tracks the brake lights of the car you pass.Yes you can use them on motorways, most of the time it just illuminates the verge.
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