BMW E46 320d or 330d?
Discussion
im looking to upgrade to a long range motor that has the looks and performance to go with it.
my friend has a 320d and i must say its a sweet motor. its an 04 E46 and im looking to get one around the same age but im unsure if i should go for the bigger 330d.
i know the fuel eco will be less but will the gains in performance be worth it?
are there agvantages to having one over the other? i.e smoother engine, better all round engine.
i saw a 330d sport auto the other day and it looked sweet, was slightly put off by the auto tho, i have only ever had a manual, any views??
thanks fellow piston heads
my friend has a 320d and i must say its a sweet motor. its an 04 E46 and im looking to get one around the same age but im unsure if i should go for the bigger 330d.
i know the fuel eco will be less but will the gains in performance be worth it?
are there agvantages to having one over the other? i.e smoother engine, better all round engine.
i saw a 330d sport auto the other day and it looked sweet, was slightly put off by the auto tho, i have only ever had a manual, any views??
thanks fellow piston heads
Hi,
long range as in doing a lot of miles at a time? Had a 330d rather than a 320d because I wanted auto. It was the best car I've ever had for that sort of thing. Auto box is fine and gives you the option to be lazy in drive, use sport auto, or sport sequential modes. Best of all worlds imo. Mine was a slightly earlier one and I got 40mpg on M ways runs while providing confident overtaking acceleration. Didn't sound like a diesel, wll, not until you open the window lol. Felt like a heavy car tbh, but like if anything hit you it would bounce off.
No experience of the 320d but had a 120d and was v disappointed how much more diesel vibration there was and how much rougher it was generally. Don't know what you'd get on M way mpg, 45ish?
Basically for smooth, powerful easy driving, get a 330d. Of all the cars I've had, this is one I'd easily choose again. For better economy, or if you really want manual, the 320d is popular and more than adequate I would think.
Try a few, see what you like.
long range as in doing a lot of miles at a time? Had a 330d rather than a 320d because I wanted auto. It was the best car I've ever had for that sort of thing. Auto box is fine and gives you the option to be lazy in drive, use sport auto, or sport sequential modes. Best of all worlds imo. Mine was a slightly earlier one and I got 40mpg on M ways runs while providing confident overtaking acceleration. Didn't sound like a diesel, wll, not until you open the window lol. Felt like a heavy car tbh, but like if anything hit you it would bounce off.
No experience of the 320d but had a 120d and was v disappointed how much more diesel vibration there was and how much rougher it was generally. Don't know what you'd get on M way mpg, 45ish?
Basically for smooth, powerful easy driving, get a 330d. Of all the cars I've had, this is one I'd easily choose again. For better economy, or if you really want manual, the 320d is popular and more than adequate I would think.
Try a few, see what you like.
Hi.
Not ever having owned either but driven both extensivley I would leave the 320. Its an OK engine but not BMW's finest hour. It sounds bad and you feel a lot of vibration. The 330d on the other hand is significantly better. You did state you wanted extra performance which the 3 litre certainly has. It is best suited to auto/steptronic as the manual gearbox can be a little tricky to get smooth all the time. A 330d can give a lot of cars a scare in the wrong gear and can also be quite entertaining.
The mpg advantage of the 320 is not massive in the real world and would take a lot of miles to make any serious savings.
6 cylinder all day long.
Not ever having owned either but driven both extensivley I would leave the 320. Its an OK engine but not BMW's finest hour. It sounds bad and you feel a lot of vibration. The 330d on the other hand is significantly better. You did state you wanted extra performance which the 3 litre certainly has. It is best suited to auto/steptronic as the manual gearbox can be a little tricky to get smooth all the time. A 330d can give a lot of cars a scare in the wrong gear and can also be quite entertaining.
The mpg advantage of the 320 is not massive in the real world and would take a lot of miles to make any serious savings.
6 cylinder all day long.
thanks for your replys, really helpful. yes i would be doing long range driving, ie up and down the country and next year across europe for 2 weeks. so a smooth reliable ride is a must.
i was just a bit put off by the auto because of the delayed gear change ascociated with auto's. is this different with diesel's because of the smaller rev range? i know the torque more than makes up for this tho. cruse control is also a must!
6 pot seems the way to go
i have also heard to go for the sport for the interior and extras.
coupe or 4 door tho? i dont have a family and this will be a big step up from my car atm, tho i can see the extra room coming in handy sometimes. both the coupe and saloon look sweet, are there any big difference's tho?
thanks again
i was just a bit put off by the auto because of the delayed gear change ascociated with auto's. is this different with diesel's because of the smaller rev range? i know the torque more than makes up for this tho. cruse control is also a must!
6 pot seems the way to go
i have also heard to go for the sport for the interior and extras.
coupe or 4 door tho? i dont have a family and this will be a big step up from my car atm, tho i can see the extra room coming in handy sometimes. both the coupe and saloon look sweet, are there any big difference's tho?
thanks again
My 330d was an SE as I was put off by the alledged harsh ride of the Sport. My mistake not to try both. My 120d was Sport and the seats were much more supportive and made up for the firmer ride. Wheel size will make a difference too. If I was doing it again I'd go for the Sport, but that's me. I think the Coupe still looks a cool car. Sport Touring is good too.
Try one or two and see what you prefer.
Try one or two and see what you prefer.
i have an auto 330d. the auto has significantly lower mpg. i do 400 - 500 miles a week and averages 30 mpg, whereas manuals tend to average around 40 mpg. however, auto will be the better drive, you have to change gear a lot with diesels and if you are used to petrols then you are generally in a different gear to what you might be in a petrol (dropping it into 2nd for a corner - revs it far too high - you're better off in 3rd - i know that depends on the speed etc but if you've driven one you'll know what i mean). auto box much more relaxing, only miss manual box 1% of the time.
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