E46 touring-which engine?

[Makem]

Hi there, im after a cheapish 3-series estate to do some motorway miles in. I have a budget of up to 5k and looking at the years of 2002-ish.
There are plenty in my budget but confused over what to get.

I like the mpg figures of the diesels (320 and 330d) but worried about reliabilty as they have all done 100k+ miles and worried about turbos going, various engine failures associated with them. Is this a valied concern?

The petrol engines seem to have relatively bomb proof mechanics. Looking at the parkers figures the mpg across the petrol ranges seems to be pretty similar from the 318 to 330. Is it best to go for 6 cylinders rather than 4. I must admit i am tempted by the power of the 330 but worried the mpg gonna kill me,?anyone happy with the mpg of theirs?

Any help greatly appreciated as really confused at the moment. Many thanks.

[Matt UK]

I've got a 530i auto so same engine as you want.

I use mine mainly as a motorway car and my 'global average' since I've had the car is 29.7mpg.

e46 is lighter and a manual would be better for mpg - I'm sure 35mpg is there if you want it.

Round towm it will be a lot worse - but so will any engine really.

[justtourin1]

I’ve got a 330iA touring and if kept to the legal speed on the motorway its given 36 mpg, but typically its returning 28mpg. I've previously owned a 330d (manual) touring & that managed to return 44 on a gentle motorway run.

[Pablo16v]

I have a 2003 325i M-Sport Touring which currently has 128k on the clock and I'm very pleased with it. I'd originally looked for a 330i but couldn't find a manual sport so opted for the 325 which was local to me. I'm averaging 30.1mpg according to the trip computer with a good mix of town, dual carriageway and spirited A & B road driving which equates to around 400 miles from a tank of super unleaded. I've only had the car for 3 months but everything feels smooth and tight as the previous owner had spent quite a bit on maintenance and you certainly wouldn't know the mileage was as high as it is. I picked it up for £4300 in May. Before I bought it I tried a 2001 320d which felt slow and sounded terrible and although a 330d did cross my mind I Realised I couldn't have two diesels on the drive. I'll worry about economy when I'm retired

[road_rager]

I have a 2001 330i Touring (manual). Mine does mainly short journeys(in the sticks) and I average 27mpg. On a long run get over 30mpg. It's been a very good car only needing consumables and a few other bits and bobs

[andyscole]

Makem said:

Hi there, im after a cheapish 3-series estate to do some motorway miles in. I have a budget of up to 5k and looking at the years of 2002-ish.
There are plenty in my budget but confused over what to get.

I like the mpg figures of the diesels (320 and 330d) but worried about reliabilty as they have all done 100k+ miles and worried about turbos going, various engine failures associated with them. Is this a valied concern?

The petrol engines seem to have relatively bomb proof mechanics. Looking at the parkers figures the mpg across the petrol ranges seems to be pretty similar from the 318 to 330. Is it best to go for 6 cylinders rather than 4. I must admit i am tempted by the power of the 330 but worried the mpg gonna kill me,?anyone happy with the mpg of theirs?

Any help greatly appreciated as really confused at the moment. Many thanks.

I've got a 2001 330i touring auto. It's a fab car and the engine is glorious. It currently averaging 27 but that's with mainly town driving. Last week I did a 240 round trip and sitting at 75 got 35 mpg. I'm planning on selling if your interested???