E46 330D/320D real world mpg - big difference?

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

Chaps - I'm currently doing epic mileage (for me anyway - others on here probably do more) of approximately 3,500 to 5,500 a month.

I'm currently doing that in a 1990 325i touring. Which is great in the one sense (it's a nice place to be for a 21 yr old car) but not great from an mpg point of view (but it certainly isn't as bad as I thought it would be). I'm currently achieving 31.4mpg overall which I think is utterly brilliant (she's just ticked over 220,000 miles). The fact that I'm doing 85% motorway miles (London to Pembrokeshire twice a week plus site visits Monday to friday) and servicing her every 6 weeks helps somewhat.

Anyway - I digress.

I really need something that gives me 40 to 45mpg.

I've got a 530d for the wife and children (they wont fit in the 3 series with the prams and stuff other wise we'd swap) - what's the economy like in e46 330d? Can I get 45mpg or more consistently?

Or should I go for a 320d?

I'd like cruise control as I do feel it helps with my mpg.

The alternative is a Ford ST tdci but I'm not sure whether the BMW sear filter will let me admit that!

[Vroomer]

Cruise control is actually WORSE for mpg as it increases the throttle uphill and applies breaking downhill.

[Tea Pot One]

My e90 320d (177) auto has given me 53mpg on a long motorway run at sensible speed. Normally I average 48mpg on the motorway. A manual 320d would do - I believe - a reasonable amount more to the gallon.

No idea on a 330d but I imagine you have an idea from your 530d ....

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

I tend to disengage it for hills and downhills funnily enough (I feel I can do a better job). After thousands of miles of pracitsing and experimenting I've realised that I press the accelarator too much (just a fraction but it's too much nevertheless) for the constant speed I'm trying to achieve. But that press needs constant monitoring and sometimes I just can't be bothered. Cruise takes that problem off me - it's relentless in achieving a good mpg in many situations. Also; there are times when I've left the office late (7pm or so) and have the entire M4 plus another 40 minutes in Pembs before I get home and I tend to just really, really put my foot down. Get home in 3 and half hours or less type of driving. I need the cruise control to temper these drives to be honest. It's only a matter of time before I meet the police.

Plus - it's quiet by the time I get to mid-wales - I can settle the cruise control (and it's fairly level too) and leave it.

On that basis I tend to find it returns a better mpg for me for all sorts of reasons!

Edited by Oi_Oi_Savaloy on Monday 17th January 10:16

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

Tea Pot One said:

My e90 320d (177) auto has given me 53mpg on a long motorway run at sensible speed. Normally I average 48mpg on the motorway. A manual 320d would do - I believe - a reasonable amount more to the gallon.

No idea on a 330d but I imagine you have an idea from your 530d ....

I do - I was wondering whether the lighter e46 compared to my 530 touring barge might do significantly better!

[anonymous-user]

Long motorways journeys see my 330d tourer up to about 43mpg, cruising at a sensible 75-85mph, if you sit in the inside lane, tailgating a truck (!!) you can get it up to over 50mpg in the short term (but you loose this the first time you welly it off a roundabout.

At the moment, the OBC is showing 31mpg! (lots of cold short trips and me hooing it....)

I'd say get a 320d, it will easily beat those figures and cost a lot less to buy! (and be easier to find a manual one)

[gizlaroc]

I had a 320d E46 touring and that did 32 round town and 38 on a run.
I had a 330d touring and that did 31 round town and 39 on a run.
I also had a 530d touring and that returned around 29 to 36mpg.

All these were autos. The times I was lent a manual it seemed to get around 5mpg more on average.

My E91 320d touring (177bhp) was amazing though, could see 48 most of the time and even round town with cold starts it never dipped below 9mpg.
If you can sit at 60mph it does amazing figures, regularly saw 60+ doing that.

[MattOz]

A 320d would/should consistently achieve 8-10mpg more than a 330d in the same driving conditions. In my experience, you'd certainly struggle to easily maintain a 45mpg average in a 330d. However, I'd take the 330d every time!

[soda]

On a manual 330d you should easily see 45mpg at that level of mileage. I do around 20k a year and struggle to get below 40mpg. Doubt you would get close in an auto though, 320d would be the safe option though if economy matters that much.

[ghibbett]

Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

I'm currently doing epic mileage...in a 1990 325i touring...a nice place to be for a 21 yr old car...currently achieving 31.4mpg overall...she's just ticked over 220,000 miles.

Respect

[mike325112]

I think you could get 45mpg fine on that sort of trip. On the family hols up north this year I averaged 46mpg in our 330d which was driving fully loaded with a top box on then driving around the yorkshire, albeigt not like a loon but not hanging around either.

[graham22]

With some motorway use you will get close to 50mpg showing on 320D.

In my E46 320D (150hp/5 speed) and with careful use of the cruise control (as already stated above) I acheived an average of 61mpg going from Cornwall to Grantham and back, once after Exeter and off the A roads, the mpg just kept creeping up, that was driving 70-80ish.

Otherwise, local start/stop driving will show 45mpg.

My fathers A4 130hp never shows anything comparable under similar driving conditions.

It's currently on my friend's forecourt for sale, my PH ad has now expired but pm if you want details.

Edited by graham22 on Tuesday 18th January 13:11

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

ghibbett said:

Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

I'm currently doing epic mileage...in a 1990 325i touring...a nice place to be for a 21 yr old car...currently achieving 31.4mpg overall...she's just ticked over 220,000 miles.

Respect

I am so going to miss her. In fact there's a part of me that says I should spend a couple of grand really doing her up and run her til the end of the year (30,000 to 50,000 miles!) but the trouble is that I'm spending an awful lot on her month to month just to keep her going.

I self-service her every 6 weeks or 6,000 miles, just had the injectors done (or rather they are due back any day now), new head and valve train in October, 4 new kumho's in September (due for new ones, different brand next time, in April - they've lasted well but am going for vredstein's next for their wet weather performance- it's always fukcing raining in Pembrokeshire), new wipers, lights, fog lights, new radio (last one broke), and I feed the leather every month to keep her in as good a condition as possible and finally 3 new wheel bearings in the last 2 months, the list goes on and on and on.........
I'll probable end up breaking her - I couldn't bear to see someone else drive off in her - I've done so much mileage in her she's part of the family now. And she's only broken down once in all that time too.

[SkunkWorkz]

I've got a nice 320cd for sale if your interested.

I don't do enough miles to warrant having a diesel.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2365144.htm

[Oi_Oi_Savaloy]

That's a very nice car skunkage.

Price is out of my budget presently unfortunately.

[The_Doc]

I noticed my e46 330d does 48mpg at 80mph (from the trip computer) on a flat bit of private road, and the engine's on 130,000 miles.

I get 34mpg for mixed driving and I have been superchipped, which I reckon the first month after I had it done gave me about +1 mpg, even though I was 'enjoying' the new bhp.

[fjord]

My e46 320d is doing 32mpg

That's with very careful driving. £40 is getting me about 240 miles on the OBC. What the fk.

[Pvapour]

just bought a e46 320d touring manual 6 speed, we get 620 miles out of a tank which costs £64 here, new to this oil burner milarky but I'm impressed tbh, has plenty of poke to pass things to, but i think it might have ben chipped??

smokes a bit not as much now we've changed all the relevant bits (inc. swirl flaps) but still smokes more than I'd like, but learning to ignore it

[mondeoman]

had a chipped 330d (no, really!), and on motorway cruising (90+), it was getting 44mpg easily. Impressive.

[jboy72]

My manual e46 330d has averaged 40.3mpg over the last 5000 miles at an average speed of 26mph.

I think that is pretty phenomenal.