remapped 330d or 320d - best compromise of mpg/fun/power?

[Lost soul]

root 666 said:

I'm not sure how much more economical a manual would be but these days there isn't the yawning gulf there used to be.

I doubt it would be much or a gap between the two

[mike325112]

We run a 330d (204hp) and a 120d (163hp). There is usually very little between the two in terms of mpg. Interestingly I think the 330d is capable of better mpg on a motorway speed run driven circa 0.9 to 1.0 leptons.

Also however much I like my 1 series, the 330d is a much much better engine. Will cost you more to service and bits (like brakes and tyres) obviously cost more.

[E21_Ross]

Lost soul said:

E21_Ross said:

Lost soul said:

da_murphster said:

doing upto 20k a year.

My girlfriend presently gets 38mpg out of her Puma and it has to beat that - so approx 45mpg on diesel needed.

I have enough fuel drinkers at the moment!

Then its the 320d for you

not really. my dad had an '03 plate 330d 6 speed manual (204bhp) and on a run could get 50mpg without too much problem. despite what people say, it doesn't sound like a tractor under throttle at all. Trust me...they are brilliant cars. relatively simple but very well laid out interior, a really nice place to be on a long trip especially at night. 330d can effortlessly sit at 100mph too. it gps has seen it to 155mph too on my dads model.

He said he needed high mpg thats why i said 320d i know you can get 45 - 50 mpg out of them

ok fair enough. not wanting to cause any arguments here i certainly can't say the 330d is more economic when it's not. never been in a 320d but if they are half as good as a 330d then they are still good cars.

[DirtyHarry88]

Surely if you just grandad the motorway journey you'd be fine with the 330.

[mpm1987]

I've recently sold my 330d Sport (184bhp model)

I was averaging around 28mpg! I used to get 380 miles to a tank, though it was used properly.

[JaseB]

I bought a 320Cd over the 330 whilst knowing it was the sensible option and to be fair it's easy to get 50mpg plus (I too do 20k up and down the motorways) and I doubt I'd go any quicker in the bigger engined car, however I'm still left hankering over a 330d so the question is can you put up with the extra 25% fueld cost and if you can IMHO get the 3 litre if only because it sounds better!

The 320 is still a pretty nippy drive though and the 330's I drove appeared nose heavy, I don't think you'd be disappointed with a 330 but the chances are you would be with the 320.

[Lost soul]

JaseB said:

I bought a 320Cd over the 330 whilst knowing it was the sensible option and to be fair it's easy to get 50mpg plus

Thanks for confirming what i know to be true but others seemd to doubt

[cjay03]

i have a 320td and have had it remapped by celtic tuning. they quote it as 200bhp and 310Lb/Ft after mapping it

goes really well and i average around 40MPG but i could get it easily up to 43-45 but the torque is to nice not to be exploited if you catch my drift.

[mike325112]

Lost soul said:

JaseB said:

I bought a 320Cd over the 330 whilst knowing it was the sensible option and to be fair it's easy to get 50mpg plus

Thanks for confirming what i know to be true but others seemd to doubt

I never get above 45mpg in my 120d and its a smaller car, I'm a little dissapointed, particuarly as the 330d gets 42mpg!

[reeventu]

I wanted a 330D touring but my head said why?

I bought a 320D had it remapped to 197BHP , I think it was.

Return around 36mpg on short journeys , cold weather.

Did a return from Glasgow to Hampshire, fully loaded , four adults , luggage etc and returned 42mpg at around 75mph.

I had a 530D touring which did around the same mpg on a run but about 32mpg around town.

the 4 pot is noisy and quite rough sounding but the car handles very well and once on the move is brisk and quiet.

Do not forget the added road tax on the 330d and I suspect a poorer residual.

[JimexPL]

mpg is so specific to the restraint/ability of the driver. If I'm trying to wring every last mpg out of my 320d then it will return over 50mpg. Back in the real world (i.e.99% of the time) I enjoy driving the car and it consistently returns 38-40mpg. Remapping it gives the performance of a standard 330d, but it will always sound like a tractor.

The 330d that I had previously could return up to 44mpg if I was being gentle, but again back in the real world sat at about 32-34mpg. Inside the car it had a much nicer sound though (but no comparison with a petrol).

The 320d is a noticeably sharper handling car when driving hard - this was the main reason for me choosing it over the 330d (annual summer trip to Spain over the Pyrennes...), as I got less enjoyment out of the larger engine even though it was faster.

I've always found the E46 330i quite juicy, especially when compared with the E36 323 and 328 which get mid thirties on a run. I've never had a 330i average over 28mpg (but others have different experiences).

If you have a reasonable abount of restraint and the cars sole purpose is as a motorway tool, I'd find the car that is the right spec/price for you and accept whichever diesel it has in it.

[JaseB]

I think if doing 20k miles a year so much of it has to be spent on the motorway, my car seems really happy at 75-80 with the economy needle the far side of 50mpg, maybe I'm the lucky one. That and with the traffic around I probably couldn't go much quicker anyway. Not that I do this all the time (well officer I obviously do) but if I stick to all the speed limits I find 50 plus easy to achieve.