Best 3 series for ride comfort? Also is the 320i enough?

[lornemalvo]

I'm thinking about a nearly new 3 series touring. Which model is best for ride comfort (which I value more than ultimate sportiness). Everything seems to be an M Sport,

Also, do owners find the 320i to be adequate in terms of performance? I've discounted the plug in hybrid because it leaves a tiny boot. I've also read about someone who had a VERY expensive nightmare with the gearbox (plus almost no-one would work on a hybrid outside main dealer network)

[Maxym]

I had until recently a 2022 320i MSport. It had the adaptive damping and I thought the ride was very good indeed, and that on 19in wheels.

If you want to tear around then you might not find 184 bhp enough but I found it fine in everyday use, including a decent amount of poke to get past dawdlers. Sound wise it’s not the most exciting engine but unless you ask it to do some real work it’s mostly inaudible.

Very good car, I thought. Sold only to downsize the fleet from four to three: replaced it and a 911 with an M3 Touring.

[stewart rix]

The 330e (G31 LCI) doesn't have a "tiny boot". The boot floor is only very slight raised. It's a very easy car to live with and surprisingly comfortable on standard non-adaptive suspension. My wife uses it to commute 20 miles each way (she can charge for free at work), we keep it charged at home from a standard 13amp wall socket and always get a consistent 25+ miles from a full charge (it's the earlier 11 KWh battery version). Performance is 'ample' - it holds back battery energy to assist acceleration even when it shows as fully depleted.

[Wills2]

You can find sport models (sans the M) with 17" wheels and some sidewall on the tyres which is probably the only thing that will cope well with our pothole infected roads, adaptive damping makes the ride softer but the 19" wheels and low profile tyres offer little protection, so smaller lighter wheels and thicker sidewalls always win in that battle.

6 month old AUC sport touring with 5k on the clock:

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202606163336945...

[lornemalvo]

stewart rix said:

The 330e (G31 LCI) doesn't have a "tiny boot". The boot floor is only very slight raised. It's a very easy car to live with and surprisingly comfortable on standard non-adaptive suspension. My wife uses it to commute 20 miles each way (she can charge for free at work), we keep it charged at home from a standard 13amp wall socket and always get a consistent 25+ miles from a full charge (it's the earlier 11 KWh battery version). Performance is 'ample' - it holds back battery energy to assist acceleration even when it shows as fully depleted.

The boot space drops from 500 litres in the petrol (reasonable) to 420 litres in the hybrid. For an estate car that's really bad.

[lornemalvo]

Wills2 said:

You can find sport models (sans the M) with 17" wheels and some sidewall on the tyres which is probably the only thing that will cope well with our pothole infected roads, adaptive damping makes the ride softer but the 19" wheels and low profile tyres offer little protection, so smaller lighter wheels and thicker sidewalls always win in that battle.

6 month old AUC sport touring with 5k on the clock:

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/202606163336945...

well spotted, seems to be the only one available. I remember ordering a sport A4 avant for the same reasons

[stewart rix]

lornemalvo said:

The boot space drops from 500 litres in the petrol (reasonable) to 420 litres in the hybrid. For an estate car that's really bad.

We're on our 5th 3 series touring, but first PHEV, and in the real world (carrying day to day globber, going on holiday fully laden with 2 adult kids) the boot's absolutely fine. Seats down and you're into carrying bikes, taking garden and garage rubbish to the tip etc. The 3 touring was never designed to carry wardrobes.

[lornemalvo]

stewart rix said:

lornemalvo said:

The boot space drops from 500 litres in the petrol (reasonable) to 420 litres in the hybrid. For an estate car that's really bad.

We're on our 5th 3 series touring, but first PHEV, and in the real world (carrying day to day globber, going on holiday fully laden with 2 adult kids) the boot's absolutely fine. Seats down and you're into carrying bikes, taking garden and garage rubbish to the tip etc. The 3 touring was never designed to carry wardrobes.

Fair comment, I need to see one in the flesh, rather than rely on the numbers. I've found that we fill the space anyway, whatever size the boot is,

[RammyMP]

I’ve got a 320i with 19” wheels and adaptive suspension and the ride is very good. It’s way batter than the wife’s electric Volvo!

I discounted the 330e as the reviews I’d seen had said the total range was low due to the small petrol tank. That didn’t work for me. I recently got 600 miles out of a tank of petrol, covering 500 miles in a day. I would have got a 330i but they don’t make them anymore.

[I-am-the-reverend]

I had a couple of days with a new 320i auto about three years ago, so the current model. It went well, had a superb automatic gearbox and was very refined - a very nice car.

[Palmela]

I recently sold my 320i Touring after 4 years ownership. I went for the Lux edition they do on the continent, I guess it's like a very well-equipped SE, with 18" wheels. I thought it was an excellent car overall. People can get sniffy about turbo 4-pots but I liked the engine; it certainly had enough poke to do what you'd expect of a family car. It even made quite an appealing noise if you wanted to spank it.

I'd have no reservations in recommending one, but I'd avoid the hybrid due to the smaller fuel tank.

[Diffman3000]

330e's are well known for diff failure, more so if they've been driven fairly hard. BMW might contribute under goodwill if the car has full dealer history, depending on mileage.