Amazing economy for latest 330i/530i models

[sburns]

I am amazed at the claimed economy figures for the latest 6 cylinder petrol engines in the 3's and 5's and surprised that it does not appear to have been noticed by the uk motoring press. For comparison the official economy test figures for the 330i are 39(man)/39(auto) vs. 44/42 for the 330d. Although both the petrol and diesel engines have improved since the most recent engine revisions (sept for 3 series and March for 5 series) it is the fuel efficiency of the petrol car that really catches the eye.

1. I post to see if anyone out there has any real world figs to back up these claims as they are astonishing for a large, heavy, high performance petrol engine and are about 7-8 mpg ahead of the pre-07 vehciles. It would be especially interesting to see if anyone has real-world experience of the economy of the older technology engines vs. the newer technology to see if there really is 7-8 mpg difference.

2. Anyone know what was changed on the latest auto boxes to allow them to be just as economical as the manuals. I wonder what aspect of the design allows the petrol autos to be more economical than the petrol manuals whereas the diesel autos are still a bit behind the diesel manuals.

3. Anyone know why the 335i is 8 mpg less uneconomical versus the 330i which I would have thought is a similar engine save for the turbo? Maybe the recent improvements made to the 330i were not carried over to the 335i? Perhaps these changes are due soon?

Love to hear back with your thoughts on these questions. If anyone has seen any press coverage to verify these figures, I would love to see them as I am seriously considering the 3 litre petrol given its combination of noise, power, economy and low CO2 emmssions.

Thanks

Stuart

[dibbly_dobbler]

Stuart - sorry dont have any answers but I share your interest as these figures seem a bit far fetched do they not !?

Come on 330 owners - where are you ?

[B17NNS]

08 325i M-Sport Coupe

Official combined figure 39.8mpg
Actual average economy so far 30.3mpg

did not expect to see an average of 39 to be honest.

Still very hapy with that for a perky 3.0 six. My old 328 used to average about 18mpg

[phelix]

CO2 figures for the 530i and 530d are 182(178) and 170(176). The petrol numbers are surprisely low; a few years ago they were 212.

[jasongtr]

my 05 330i averages around 26 compared to 30/31 claimed, i doubt very much you'd get 39mpg from the newer engine although it does have some clever gizmo o try and get the figure higher i believe

[[TW]Fox]

phelix said:

CO2 figures for the 530i and 530d are 182(178) and 170(176). The petrol numbers are surprisely low; a few years ago they were 212.

My E39 530i has a CO2 figure of 228g/km and thats a manual.

And is 3g/km into the new £430 a year tax bracket..

[eliot]

[TW]Fox said:

My E39 530i has a CO2 figure of 228g/km and thats a manual.

£185 for all my cars, got to love pre 2001' motors.

[NoelWatson]

sburns said:

I am amazed at the claimed economy figures for the latest 6 cylinder petrol engines in the 3's and 5's and surprised that it does not appear to have been noticed by the uk motoring press. For comparison the official economy test figures for the 330i are 39(man)/39(auto) vs. 44/42 for the 330d. Although both the petrol and diesel engines have improved since the most recent engine revisions (sept for 3 series and March for 5 series) it is the fuel efficiency of the petrol car that really catches the eye.

1. I post to see if anyone out there has any real world figs to back up these claims as they are astonishing for a large, heavy, high performance petrol engine and are about 7-8 mpg ahead of the pre-07 vehciles. It would be especially interesting to see if anyone has real-world experience of the economy of the older technology engines vs. the newer technology to see if there really is 7-8 mpg difference.

2. Anyone know what was changed on the latest auto boxes to allow them to be just as economical as the manuals. I wonder what aspect of the design allows the petrol autos to be more economical than the petrol manuals whereas the diesel autos are still a bit behind the diesel manuals.

3. Anyone know why the 335i is 8 mpg less uneconomical versus the 330i which I would have thought is a similar engine save for the turbo? Maybe the recent improvements made to the 330i were not carried over to the 335i? Perhaps these changes are due soon?

Love to hear back with your thoughts on these questions. If anyone has seen any press coverage to verify these figures, I would love to see them as I am seriously considering the 3 litre petrol given its combination of noise, power, economy and low CO2 emmssions.

Thanks

Stuart

We have a new 330i touring with 500 miles and it got 43 mog on a run last week. Was tempted by the 335 but decided against it after seeing the economy difference

[Shropshiremike]

Just as a marker, I have an E36 328i manual and on a 17 mile mostly B-road/dual carriageway commute cruising at same speed as everyone else I get about 31/32 real mpg ( I recalibrated the OBC several times to get it as accurate as possible ).
In France last year, doing 300 miles autoroute cruising at 80mph ( climate on ) and very little alteration from that speed in outside temps of 26-> 30 deg C ( almost zero cold start running as a percentage of time/mileage elapsed ) I got 38/39 mpg

[Dunk76]

not outside the realms of possibility.

My Alpina B3 does 35.5mpg at seventy on the motorway with cruise on - and it's laden down with 90's technology, old-skool automatic gearbox and torque convertor, several bovines, air-con, sunroof, and a viscous cooling fan (horrendous things) etc etc. It's also not that aerodynamic and has very wide rubber.

[B17NNS]

Shropshiremike said:

Just as a marker, I have an E36 328i manual and on a 17 mile mostly B-road/dual carriageway commute cruising at same speed as everyone else I get about 31/32 real mpg ( I recalibrated the OBC several times to get it as accurate as possible ).
In France last year, doing 300 miles autoroute cruising at 80mph ( climate on ) and very little alteration from that speed in outside temps of 26-> 30 deg C ( almost zero cold start running as a percentage of time/mileage elapsed ) I got 38/39 mpg

Your clearly not trying hard enough Mike

[abarber]

My '05 E90 330i averaged 38mpg from Canary Wharf to Milton Keynes a few weeks back, that's not hanging around either. More typically, I got 32mpg on the way back. I can believe that the new efficient dynamics will average 35mpg. 39 though. Hmmm.

[Shropshiremike]

B17NNS said:

Shropshiremike said:

Just as a marker, I have an E36 328i manual and on a 17 mile mostly B-road/dual carriageway commute cruising at same speed as everyone else I get about 31/32 real mpg ( I recalibrated the OBC several times to get it as accurate as possible ).
In France last year, doing 300 miles autoroute cruising at 80mph ( climate on ) and very little alteration from that speed in outside temps of 26-> 30 deg C ( almost zero cold start running as a percentage of time/mileage elapsed ) I got 38/39 mpg

Your clearly not trying hard enough Mike

What, to get the figure higher or lower?

[Webber3]

abarber said:

My '05 E90 330i averaged 38mpg from Canary Wharf to Milton Keynes a few weeks back, that's not hanging around either. More typically, I got 32mpg on the way back. I can believe that the new efficient dynamics will average 35mpg. 39 though. Hmmm.

My 06 E90 330i averages 22mpg around town and it's hardly driven hard.

[welwynnick]

sburns said:

I am amazed at the claimed economy figures for the latest 6 cylinder petrol engines in the 3's and 5's and surprised that it does not appear to have been noticed by the uk motoring press. For comparison the official economy test figures for the 330i are 39(man)/39(auto) vs. 44/42 for the 330d. Although both the petrol and diesel engines have improved since the most recent engine revisions (sept for 3 series and March for 5 series) it is the fuel efficiency of the petrol car that really catches the eye.

Aren't those the figures for the Efficient Dynamics cars?

I know diesels have been gaining ground so much recently, but its good to see HUGE technological leap that everyone seemed to overlook.

Nick

[Welshbeef]

welwynnick said:

sburns said:

I am amazed at the claimed economy figures for the latest 6 cylinder petrol engines in the 3's and 5's and surprised that it does not appear to have been noticed by the uk motoring press. For comparison the official economy test figures for the 330i are 39(man)/39(auto) vs. 44/42 for the 330d. Although both the petrol and diesel engines have improved since the most recent engine revisions (sept for 3 series and March for 5 series) it is the fuel efficiency of the petrol car that really catches the eye.

Aren't those the figures for the Efficient Dynamics cars?

I know diesels have been gaining ground so much recently, but its good to see HUGE technological leap that everyone seemed to overlook.

Nick

Best bit is that the 330i extra urban is 55mpg+.. incredible economy.

The difference is that BMW now have DIRECT INJECTION petrols... thats a massive step forwards in addition to all the efficient dynamics & lean burn when cruising.

[NoelWatson]

Welshbeef said:

welwynnick said:

sburns said:

I am amazed at the claimed economy figures for the latest 6 cylinder petrol engines in the 3's and 5's and surprised that it does not appear to have been noticed by the uk motoring press. For comparison the official economy test figures for the 330i are 39(man)/39(auto) vs. 44/42 for the 330d. Although both the petrol and diesel engines have improved since the most recent engine revisions (sept for 3 series and March for 5 series) it is the fuel efficiency of the petrol car that really catches the eye.

Aren't those the figures for the Efficient Dynamics cars?

I know diesels have been gaining ground so much recently, but its good to see HUGE technological leap that everyone seemed to overlook.

Nick

Best bit is that the 330i extra urban is 55mpg+.. incredible economy.

The difference is that BMW now have DIRECT INJECTION petrols... thats a massive step forwards in addition to all the efficient dynamics & lean burn when cruising.

I think they lost Valvetronic but I think the DI more than makes up for it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valvetronic

Quite rattly at idle though - I got the salesman to check another car when we picked ours up to make sure it wasn't faulty

[gizlaroc]

We were discussing on the E90 forum the overall costs of diesel ownership and petrol ownership, with diesel now costing a good 10% more at the pump and the gap getting seemingly bigger, is derv still the smart choice??
People were comparing the 335i with the 335d, and I posted this.....

[quote]Hold on, I think we should be comparing the 330i with the 335d, they are the two competitors, we took a 330i coupe out for a blat the other day to have a bit of a comparison with the 335d.
The reason we took it out was my mate is a bit bored of his 335d, he misses the petrol and the way you have to work it a bit and feels the diesel is just a case of sticking you foot down and let it push you along, which is exactly right.
He is getting 35.7 mpg from his 335d, and does around 18k miles a year, he went with the diesel because the 335i would have only been 26mpg, but I said to look at the new 330i, as quick as the 335d and not far behind MPG wise either.

So we had a bit of fun with them, from a standing start there is nothing in it, it is down to the driver, simple as that, more often than not the 330i was slightly ahead by 60mph, but we a talking a bonnet length, by 100 the diesel is pretty much back neck and neck.
Slamming the pedal at 60mph is where we thought the diesel would comfortably walk it, but again there was really nothing in it, which was surprising.
The diesel does feel like it is going faster, but we both agreed the petrol was the more fun of the two.

This is where it started to get interesting, the consumption.
While hammering them the 335d was showing 28mpg and the petrol was showing 26mpg, so only 2mpg between them, but we do know that diesels excel when sat at just under 2000rpm on a steady cruise, so that is 65mph in the 335d, but who buys a 335d to sit at 65mph??

We then reset the OBC and went for a steady run into town, round the inner ring road, so a few roundabouts and sets of lights, and then out into the sticks and round the back roads for 15 odd miles at a steady pace.
The 335d was showing 37mpg by the time we got back and the 330i was showing 34mpg.

So two cars that are the same performance wise, work out the same in fuel costs, 10% more economy for the 335d but diesel is now nearly 10% more at the pumps, and we both agreed that the petrol is the nicer of the two to drive.
Then there is the price, for the price of the 335d with no options you can get a 330i with nav, logic 7, bluetooth, and leather.

So the 330i is the car to have then??
Well no, it's not yet, because everyone will still think that the 335d is a 45mpg car and the 330i is a 25mpg car, so residuals for the petrol over the diesel will be where the real cost differences occur, the diesel will always hold more value.
having said that, buy a 330i that is 6 months old and lost a massive amount, generally the petrols loose 30% off list in the first 6 months so you could be paying £6000 less for a 330i over a 335d, so keep it for 2 to 3 years, it could be very cheap enjoyable motoring. Cause by the time you get to 3 years old and say a 335d is worth £20k, there is no way your 330i is only going to be worth £14k, I bet by that age there would be £2-3k in it as people realise just how good they are.
[/quote]


I am bowled over by the latest 330i, I would say in the real world it is a good 30% more efficient and it feels quite a bit quicker too, very impressive.

[NoelWatson]

gizlaroc said:

We were discussing on the E90 forum the overall costs of diesel ownership and petrol ownership, with diesel now costing a good 10% more at the pump and the gap getting seemingly bigger, is derv still the smart choice??
People were comparing the 335i with the 335d, and I posted this.....

[quote]Hold on, I think we should be comparing the 330i with the 335d, they are the two competitors, we took a 330i coupe out for a blat the other day to have a bit of a comparison with the 335d.
The reason we took it out was my mate is a bit bored of his 335d, he misses the petrol and the way you have to work it a bit and feels the diesel is just a case of sticking you foot down and let it push you along, which is exactly right.
He is getting 35.7 mpg from his 335d, and does around 18k miles a year, he went with the diesel because the 335i would have only been 26mpg, but I said to look at the new 330i, as quick as the 335d and not far behind MPG wise either.

So we had a bit of fun with them, from a standing start there is nothing in it, it is down to the driver, simple as that, more often than not the 330i was slightly ahead by 60mph, but we a talking a bonnet length, by 100 the diesel is pretty much back neck and neck.
Slamming the pedal at 60mph is where we thought the diesel would comfortably walk it, but again there was really nothing in it, which was surprising.
The diesel does feel like it is going faster, but we both agreed the petrol was the more fun of the two.

This is where it started to get interesting, the consumption.
While hammering them the 335d was showing 28mpg and the petrol was showing 26mpg, so only 2mpg between them, but we do know that diesels excel when sat at just under 2000rpm on a steady cruise, so that is 65mph in the 335d, but who buys a 335d to sit at 65mph??

We then reset the OBC and went for a steady run into town, round the inner ring road, so a few roundabouts and sets of lights, and then out into the sticks and round the back roads for 15 odd miles at a steady pace.
The 335d was showing 37mpg by the time we got back and the 330i was showing 34mpg.

So two cars that are the same performance wise, work out the same in fuel costs, 10% more economy for the 335d but diesel is now nearly 10% more at the pumps, and we both agreed that the petrol is the nicer of the two to drive.
Then there is the price, for the price of the 335d with no options you can get a 330i with nav, logic 7, bluetooth, and leather.

So the 330i is the car to have then??
Well no, it's not yet, because everyone will still think that the 335d is a 45mpg car and the 330i is a 25mpg car, so residuals for the petrol over the diesel will be where the real cost differences occur, the diesel will always hold more value.
having said that, buy a 330i that is 6 months old and lost a massive amount, generally the petrols loose 30% off list in the first 6 months so you could be paying £6000 less for a 330i over a 335d, so keep it for 2 to 3 years, it could be very cheap enjoyable motoring. Cause by the time you get to 3 years old and say a 335d is worth £20k, there is no way your 330i is only going to be worth £14k, I bet by that age there would be £2-3k in it as people realise just how good they are.

I am bowled over by the latest 330i, I would say in the real world it is a good 30% more efficient and it feels quite a bit quicker too, very impressive.

[/quote=gizlaroc]
Good write up, and precisely the reason I went for the 330 (that and not trusting the other half not to put petrol in a diesel!)
I wish the ability to get 30% off a six month 330 was possible but I spent ages looking for one and everything on the forecourt was around 28k (lots of spec and mostly auto). I am not interested in adding loads of spec, and after haggling I managed to get 7% off for a final cost not much over 30k.

Edited by NoelWatson on Wednesday 14th May 19:49

[gizlaroc]

To be fair, a couple of months back when the first ED cars were appearing discounts were non existent. They are getting slightly better now, but seem to only be a grand less than say a 335i, which are what? £3k more new. So they are holding their value pretty well it seems.