330d vs 330i vs 335d
Discussion
I've pretty much narrowed my choice of company car down to a three litre 3 Series and now down to choosing between the engine options.
I've had a 335i manual in the past and don't really want to have another - my family found the power delivery and manual box a little harsh. Also, it'll prove to be a very expensive company car option in automatic form and I don't feel it warrants the extra £ for the thrills offered - all IMO of course.
So, that leaves me with the other 3 options - 330d, 330i, 335d. I'll be paying the lease cost out of my allowance so the 335d isn't necessarily the obvious choice if the others offered more bang per buck so to speak. Does the noise of the 330i counter the grunt of the 335d for example?
The car will be an auto, M Sport, Touring version.
I'll be doing circa 15k miles a year of mixed mileage and value comfort and refinement as much as that last 10% of driver involvement.
Interested in any views as to which to choose - I don't have the time to arrange test drives so please don't suggest "drive em all and see which you prefer".
Also any suggestions on colour schemes most welcome - I'm inclined towards White with Red leather at the moment....just to be a little different from the crowd
I've had a 335i manual in the past and don't really want to have another - my family found the power delivery and manual box a little harsh. Also, it'll prove to be a very expensive company car option in automatic form and I don't feel it warrants the extra £ for the thrills offered - all IMO of course.
So, that leaves me with the other 3 options - 330d, 330i, 335d. I'll be paying the lease cost out of my allowance so the 335d isn't necessarily the obvious choice if the others offered more bang per buck so to speak. Does the noise of the 330i counter the grunt of the 335d for example?
The car will be an auto, M Sport, Touring version.
I'll be doing circa 15k miles a year of mixed mileage and value comfort and refinement as much as that last 10% of driver involvement.
Interested in any views as to which to choose - I don't have the time to arrange test drives so please don't suggest "drive em all and see which you prefer".
Also any suggestions on colour schemes most welcome - I'm inclined towards White with Red leather at the moment....just to be a little different from the crowd
I can see this post going a bit Pete Tong.
Any of them would be great cars to own I'm sure - please, please, please pick one and post the decision before this post gets out of hand and stetches to dozens of pages and the diesel v petrol debate comes up (again)
PS - my only real comment is that I guess a white with red combo won't be standing out from the crowd for any length of time
Any of them would be great cars to own I'm sure - please, please, please pick one and post the decision before this post gets out of hand and stetches to dozens of pages and the diesel v petrol debate comes up (again)
PS - my only real comment is that I guess a white with red combo won't be standing out from the crowd for any length of time
I voted for a 335d Touring with my own money. If you're going for an auto, and want to use it for mostly everyday pootling and long journeys, the auto and big diesel go very well together. If I wanted a driver's machine, the 330i would have been my choice, but it would have to be a manual - it was an awesome engine in my 130i, although the box wasn't the sweetest I've ever used.
The new 330d is supposed to be a great engine, but I just can't imagine it being as smooth and seamless in power delivery as the twin turbo. For that one I'm going to be annoying and say you'll have to drive one ;-)
As for colour, mine is black with black leader and privacy glass. It does the "fast hearse" thing very well...
Pete
The new 330d is supposed to be a great engine, but I just can't imagine it being as smooth and seamless in power delivery as the twin turbo. For that one I'm going to be annoying and say you'll have to drive one ;-)
As for colour, mine is black with black leader and privacy glass. It does the "fast hearse" thing very well...
Pete
Cheers for the comments so far. Most confirm my current feeling that the 335d is the best choice given my preference for an auto.
Thanks for the tip off about the new engine as well - wasn't aware of that.
My 5 Series was black, black leather, black gloss interior and privacy glass and it looked superb....trying to avoid being too predictable and ordering same again!
btw - whatever I get, it ain't getting re-mapped
Thanks for the tip off about the new engine as well - wasn't aware of that.
My 5 Series was black, black leather, black gloss interior and privacy glass and it looked superb....trying to avoid being too predictable and ordering same again!
btw - whatever I get, it ain't getting re-mapped
Edited by alfaspiderman2 on Wednesday 1st July 19:41
If you are buying with an allowance then get the 330i at 3 months old with 25% off list.
It is the best non M 3 series you can buy at the moment, I had a 335i and while a technical masterpiece being a turbo it is a little dull to drive, press the throttle at any rev range and the power is there, gets tiring and feels lacking.
I also had the 535d and it is more of the same, great for gobbling 40k miles a year up but at less than 20k miles far more fun from the NA 330i.
Over 2 days and 500 miles I returned 38mpg in the 330i touring which I thought was fantastic, doing the same journey in the 335i it would be at around 28mpg, the 535d was around 30mpg.
The sales guy whose car it was said that he was getting the same from the 330i as he got from the 330d he had before, both were showing 34mpg as an average.
It is the best non M 3 series you can buy at the moment, I had a 335i and while a technical masterpiece being a turbo it is a little dull to drive, press the throttle at any rev range and the power is there, gets tiring and feels lacking.
I also had the 535d and it is more of the same, great for gobbling 40k miles a year up but at less than 20k miles far more fun from the NA 330i.
Over 2 days and 500 miles I returned 38mpg in the 330i touring which I thought was fantastic, doing the same journey in the 335i it would be at around 28mpg, the 535d was around 30mpg.
The sales guy whose car it was said that he was getting the same from the 330i as he got from the 330d he had before, both were showing 34mpg as an average.
gizlaroc said:
If you are buying with an allowance then get the 330i at 3 months old with 25% off list.
It is the best non M 3 series you can buy at the moment, I had a 335i and while a technical masterpiece being a turbo it is a little dull to drive, press the throttle at any rev range and the power is there, gets tiring and feels lacking.
I also had the 535d and it is more of the same, great for gobbling 40k miles a year up but at less than 20k miles far more fun from the NA 330i.
Over 2 days and 500 miles I returned 38mpg in the 330i touring which I thought was fantastic, doing the same journey in the 335i it would be at around 28mpg, the 535d was around 30mpg.
The sales guy whose car it was said that he was getting the same from the 330i as he got from the 330d he had before, both were showing 34mpg as an average.
I'm not actually buying the car - the firm give me an allowance to use against thier list of lease prices..if I want to spend more/less, then salary is adjusted accordingly. The option of a 3 month old model is therefore out.It is the best non M 3 series you can buy at the moment, I had a 335i and while a technical masterpiece being a turbo it is a little dull to drive, press the throttle at any rev range and the power is there, gets tiring and feels lacking.
I also had the 535d and it is more of the same, great for gobbling 40k miles a year up but at less than 20k miles far more fun from the NA 330i.
Over 2 days and 500 miles I returned 38mpg in the 330i touring which I thought was fantastic, doing the same journey in the 335i it would be at around 28mpg, the 535d was around 30mpg.
The sales guy whose car it was said that he was getting the same from the 330i as he got from the 330d he had before, both were showing 34mpg as an average.
Hear all you say about the 330i being more 'fun', and that's absolutely why I'd still consider it against the obvious merits of the 335d (and 330d). However, I'm a little concerned that the auto will dull the 'experience' edge that the petrol has and also hammer the consumption more than the smokier versions
I went from a 320d (ok, not quite the grunt of a 330d/335d) and a 996 to a 330i manual (latest version) as the porker wasn't getting enough use. Have to say the 330i is a peach of an engine - it sounds good when exercising it but is still refined in everyday driving. Extra torque of a diesel can be great but doesn't compare to being able to take a petrol engine through the gears. Only criticisms are light brakes and the steering takes a bit to get used too but that is probably the same which ever variant you go for.
alfaspiderman2 said:
gizlaroc said:
If you are buying with an allowance then get the 330i at 3 months old with 25% off list.
It is the best non M 3 series you can buy at the moment, I had a 335i and while a technical masterpiece being a turbo it is a little dull to drive, press the throttle at any rev range and the power is there, gets tiring and feels lacking.
I also had the 535d and it is more of the same, great for gobbling 40k miles a year up but at less than 20k miles far more fun from the NA 330i.
Over 2 days and 500 miles I returned 38mpg in the 330i touring which I thought was fantastic, doing the same journey in the 335i it would be at around 28mpg, the 535d was around 30mpg.
The sales guy whose car it was said that he was getting the same from the 330i as he got from the 330d he had before, both were showing 34mpg as an average.
I'm not actually buying the car - the firm give me an allowance to use against thier list of lease prices..if I want to spend more/less, then salary is adjusted accordingly. The option of a 3 month old model is therefore out.It is the best non M 3 series you can buy at the moment, I had a 335i and while a technical masterpiece being a turbo it is a little dull to drive, press the throttle at any rev range and the power is there, gets tiring and feels lacking.
I also had the 535d and it is more of the same, great for gobbling 40k miles a year up but at less than 20k miles far more fun from the NA 330i.
Over 2 days and 500 miles I returned 38mpg in the 330i touring which I thought was fantastic, doing the same journey in the 335i it would be at around 28mpg, the 535d was around 30mpg.
The sales guy whose car it was said that he was getting the same from the 330i as he got from the 330d he had before, both were showing 34mpg as an average.
Hear all you say about the 330i being more 'fun', and that's absolutely why I'd still consider it against the obvious merits of the 335d (and 330d). However, I'm a little concerned that the auto will dull the 'experience' edge that the petrol has and also hammer the consumption more than the smokier versions
)330i + auto = might as well go for the grunt and have a 330d/335d imho
The most recent 330d is meant to be a belter of an engine and we all know about the warp speeds on offer from the 335d !
So if you are set on an auto - go for a diesel, both are good cars.
I had a 530d and a 530i and the 530i was sublime in comparison, even in auto guise, oh and the MPG was around 3 different.
I currently have an Audi A6 avant as my daily driver, it is a 3.2 petrol and auto, I love it, it sounds nice and it feels more refined and exclusive to drive on a daily basis. I have just spent a few days in a 2009 3.0tdi auto and I was a bit worried that I would like it better, but I hated it. I mean I really, really hated it, it felt gutless until you were at 2500rpm and then the power dropped off between 3500 and 4000rpm until it changed gear again where you got that massive 1000rpm of power!! Whoopee do!!
All this cobblers about torque is what we say when we, as car lovers, try and convince ourselves that buying a diesel was the right choice. I include myself in that too.
The front end was so much heavier it made pushing on a chore, the noise was horrible until on the motorway but then it lost all its refinement, and I just couldn't wait to give it back.
To make matters worse round town doing short (sub 5 mile) journeys the mpg was actually worse than I get from the petrol.
Torque is nothing more than part of the calculation that gives you the cars real power, which is BHP, oh and the thing we always bang on about to try and justify the fact we bought the engine we didn't really want.
A diesel is a diesel whether it has a manual or auto gearbox, and a nice smooth, silky straight six will always be a nice smooth, silky straight six no matter what gearbox that has on it too.
I currently have an Audi A6 avant as my daily driver, it is a 3.2 petrol and auto, I love it, it sounds nice and it feels more refined and exclusive to drive on a daily basis. I have just spent a few days in a 2009 3.0tdi auto and I was a bit worried that I would like it better, but I hated it. I mean I really, really hated it, it felt gutless until you were at 2500rpm and then the power dropped off between 3500 and 4000rpm until it changed gear again where you got that massive 1000rpm of power!! Whoopee do!!
All this cobblers about torque is what we say when we, as car lovers, try and convince ourselves that buying a diesel was the right choice. I include myself in that too.
The front end was so much heavier it made pushing on a chore, the noise was horrible until on the motorway but then it lost all its refinement, and I just couldn't wait to give it back.
To make matters worse round town doing short (sub 5 mile) journeys the mpg was actually worse than I get from the petrol.
Torque is nothing more than part of the calculation that gives you the cars real power, which is BHP, oh and the thing we always bang on about to try and justify the fact we bought the engine we didn't really want.
A diesel is a diesel whether it has a manual or auto gearbox, and a nice smooth, silky straight six will always be a nice smooth, silky straight six no matter what gearbox that has on it too.
Edited by gizlaroc on Friday 3rd July 00:06
gizlaroc said:
I had a 530d and a 530i and the 530i was sublime in comparison, even in auto guise, oh and the MPG was around 3 different.
I currently have an Audi A6 avant as my daily driver, it is a 3.2 petrol and auto, I love it, it sounds nice and it feels more refined and exclusive to drive on a daily basis. I have just spent a few days in a 2009 3.0tdi auto and I was a bit worried that I would like it better, but I hated it. I mean I really, really hated it, it felt gutless until you were at 2500rpm and then the power dropped off between 3500 and 4000rpm until it changed gear again where you got that massive 1000rpm of power!! Whoopee do!!
All this cobblers about torque is what we say when we, as car lovers, try and convince ourselves that buying a diesel was the right choice. I include myself in that too.
The front end was so much heavier it made pushing on a chore, the noise was horrible until on the motorway but then it lost all its refinement, and I just couldn't wait to give it back.
To make matters worse round town doing short (sub 5 mile) journeys the mpg was actually worse than I get from the petrol.
Torque is nothing more than part of the calculation that gives you the cars real power, which is BHP, oh and the thing we always bang on about to try and justify the fact we bought the engine we didn't really want.
A diesel is a diesel whether it has a manual or auto gearbox, and a nice smooth, silky straight six will always be a nice smooth, silky straight six no matter what gearbox that has on it too.
A true petrol head speaks I currently have an Audi A6 avant as my daily driver, it is a 3.2 petrol and auto, I love it, it sounds nice and it feels more refined and exclusive to drive on a daily basis. I have just spent a few days in a 2009 3.0tdi auto and I was a bit worried that I would like it better, but I hated it. I mean I really, really hated it, it felt gutless until you were at 2500rpm and then the power dropped off between 3500 and 4000rpm until it changed gear again where you got that massive 1000rpm of power!! Whoopee do!!
All this cobblers about torque is what we say when we, as car lovers, try and convince ourselves that buying a diesel was the right choice. I include myself in that too.
The front end was so much heavier it made pushing on a chore, the noise was horrible until on the motorway but then it lost all its refinement, and I just couldn't wait to give it back.
To make matters worse round town doing short (sub 5 mile) journeys the mpg was actually worse than I get from the petrol.
Torque is nothing more than part of the calculation that gives you the cars real power, which is BHP, oh and the thing we always bang on about to try and justify the fact we bought the engine we didn't really want.
A diesel is a diesel whether it has a manual or auto gearbox, and a nice smooth, silky straight six will always be a nice smooth, silky straight six no matter what gearbox that has on it too.
Edited by gizlaroc on Friday 3rd July 00:06
I'm (almost) ashamed to say I used to have an A3 2.0tdi and I quite liked it. The fuel economy was only about 10-15% better than my 330i though which seems ridiculous !I take your point though that a petrol (even in auto guise) will still sound better and have a wider power band.
One thing we like about torque is the surge it gives us when overtaking. But how do they compare 50 - 75mph? Isn't that where we're going to feel the performance difference in day to day use?
I had an E46 330d and it did feel heavy at the front. Is there much difference in weight petrol/diesel?
In my limited experience, 330d & 120d, if you do short trips, it's not worth chosing diesel for its economy.
I had an E46 330d and it did feel heavy at the front. Is there much difference in weight petrol/diesel?
In my limited experience, 330d & 120d, if you do short trips, it's not worth chosing diesel for its economy.
Economy is not a huge issue for me really as most mileage will be expensed. Similarly, servicing and residuals are not a concern.
There seem to be few votes for the 330d so unless that's a lease bargain then I'm inclined to agree that it takes a creditable 3rd place here.
The choice (and the can of worms) boils down to whether the 330i or 335d will serve my needs best. The decision is less easy because I want both the extra thrills delivered by the 330i in terms of noise and rev range but also the lazy, refined grunt of the 335d. I guess I'm talking myself back into another 335i - darn it.
There seem to be few votes for the 330d so unless that's a lease bargain then I'm inclined to agree that it takes a creditable 3rd place here.
The choice (and the can of worms) boils down to whether the 330i or 335d will serve my needs best. The decision is less easy because I want both the extra thrills delivered by the 330i in terms of noise and rev range but also the lazy, refined grunt of the 335d. I guess I'm talking myself back into another 335i - darn it.
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