RE: 2021 Alpina DS 3 Touring | PH Review

[Strider]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Fetchez la vache said:

article said:

M340d: 44.1mpg
D3 S : 37.2mpg

Seems a little odd to me. Are Alpina simply being more realistic with their figures? What are owners mpg figures with the 340d?

They all undergo the same test, I believe. Bit odd though.

It may be a quirk of the test cycle that doesn't represent real world driving. Alpina beef-up the induction system so it can take more fuel and air, which means on the WLTP's aggressive transients it could be more thirsty. I'd wager that in real-world driving it would be more economical.

[Burnham]

DaveyBoyWonder said:

£15k of options on a base car of £55k? What does the £55k spec get you? Does it include wheels and an engine?

Its easily done. I didn't feel like I went crazy with my 2016 D3 when I ordered it (didn't even option any of the premium leather), but once you add the LSD (now standard), panoramic roof, H&K Sound, Prof Nav, 20" wheels, comfort access, LED, HUD etc...it all adds up. Mine came in just shy of £60k.

People are right that standard donor cars are given healthier discounts by BMW and Alpinas don't get discounted whatsoever (generally), but people are also right that they do hold their value pretty well. There was a leggy 2016 car for sale of average spec for £29k recently. That's likely over half its value nearly 5 years on.

[Maxus]

Strider said:

s0me0ne44 said:

Pointless, more money, for a little bit of styling and 15hp on top.
I would save my money, get the regular 340d and get it remapped.

Alpinas are for people who can't appreciate the subtly and superb engineering. It's a very different market and doesn't need the chips and spoilers brigade.

I presume the "n't" is missing from your sentence "Alpinas are for people who can't appreciate......"?
Quite ironic considering chips and spoilers are exactly part of the key ingredient of what they do, or "engine performance character" and "aerodynamic elements" as they describe them
I do get your point though and I appreciate what Alpina do (I have owned one as well). They do have an air of sophistication about them and comparing to a remapped BMW is missing the point a little. All the performance without the performance as they used to say!

[Burnham]

Maxus said:

Strider said:

s0me0ne44 said:

Pointless, more money, for a little bit of styling and 15hp on top.
I would save my money, get the regular 340d and get it remapped.

Alpinas are for people who can't appreciate the subtly and superb engineering. It's a very different market and doesn't need the chips and spoilers brigade.

All the performance without the performance as they used to say!

I've not heard that phrase before, but its perfect!

[PH User]

Maxus said:

I presume the "n't" is missing from your sentence "Alpinas are for people who can't appreciate......"?
Quite ironic considering chips and spoilers are exactly part of the key ingredient of what they do, or "engine performance character" and "aerodynamic elements" as they describe them
I do get your point though and I appreciate what Alpina do (I have owned one as well). They do have an air of sophistication about them and comparing to a remapped BMW is missing the point a little. All the performance without the performance as they used to say!

An air of sophistication? Most people will just see a BMW with a rather naff front sticker.

[MHWM5]

I bought a 50K miles 2010 D3 Touring just over 2 years ago and ran it for 10k miles and about 14 months. This was straight after a leased 2015 320d. The D3 had a slightly poverty spec interior but was a far superior ride package. The previous owner then bought it back from me at the price I paid for it. His wife had owned it from new and never forgave him for selling it to me. I then bought a 2016 D3 Touring direct from Sytner for £30K. High spec incl leather and alcantera interior, HUD (something I would look for in the future) etc. etc.. This car has 350bhp and 500ftlb and is as fast or slow as you want it to be. The ride is superb in 'comfort' and entertaining in sport. It has the 20inch wheels which my only gripe is the road noise from the tyres which might be less if it had 19s.

Alpina is a different animal from a BMW so not necessarily a direct comparison. If I had to choose it would not be easy between the B3 and D3. So maybe a B5 touring and be skint for ever is the way forward.

[cerb4.5lee]

PH User said:

Maxus said:

I presume the "n't" is missing from your sentence "Alpinas are for people who can't appreciate......"?
Quite ironic considering chips and spoilers are exactly part of the key ingredient of what they do, or "engine performance character" and "aerodynamic elements" as they describe them
I do get your point though and I appreciate what Alpina do (I have owned one as well). They do have an air of sophistication about them and comparing to a remapped BMW is missing the point a little. All the performance without the performance as they used to say!

An air of sophistication? Most people will just see a BMW with a rather naff front sticker.

Alpina have always made me smile with this too. They go to the trouble of sorting the ride/handling out(making it soft/compliant) in comparison to a BMW, and also offer them as auto only so they suit the more discerning driver/owner...then they stick massive wheels on them and daft stickers! It doesn't make any sense to me.

[anonymous-user]

I've noticed that if anyone makes a negative comment about Alpinas then someone else will come out with 'you don't understand what they are about' or similar. I used to have a B3 and the only place the car felt right at home was driving on a German Autobahn. In the UK the car didn't really work. An M3 is a much better option IMO.

[SidewaysSi]

ruprechtmonkeyboy said:

I've noticed that if anyone makes a negative comment about Alpinas then someone else will come out with 'you don't understand what they are about' or similar. I used to have a B3 and the only place the car felt right at home was driving on a German Autobahn. In the UK the car didn't really work. An M3 is a much better option IMO.

How did it not work and what was the exact spec?

[Waitey]

Loved both of mine. Current one is on 233k miles.





I'll have a new one of this generation too.

I also had a F30 335d and I'd take an Alpina over one any day of the week.

[Slippydiff]

cerb4.5lee said:

Alpina have always made me smile with this too. They go to the trouble of sorting the ride/handling out(making it soft/compliant) in comparison to a BMW, and also offer them as auto only so they suit the more discerning driver/owner...then give you the option of sticking massive wheels on them and daft stickers ! It doesn't make any sense to me.

FTFY

PH contributor in misleading post shocker !! Who'd have thunk it ... ??

[Jonny Wishbone]

Waitey said:

Loved both of mine. Current one is on 233k miles.

Great photo of a great car.

[WhiteBaron]

Waitey said:

Loved both of mine. Current one is on 233k miles.





I'll have a new one of this generation too.

I also had a F30 335d and I'd take an Alpina over one any day of the week.

Very nice

[Jules Sunley]

Must as I'll probably be ridiculed as 'one of the Alpina snobs' there is just something different about them. I've had lots of 'normal' BMW's over the years (and still have one as my daily as does my OH) but having bought this (see pic) as my 'special toy' in October 2019 having fallen in love with the pics and write up on Collecting Cars I now 'get it'.

Best car I've ever owned despite being one of the oldest (2005 so now 16 years old) and I can't ever see me selling her (yes her, no apologies for that).

I love the older shape of the E61 and for the money I paid and the performance I have I reckon my 'grins per pound' are better than anything else I could buy. The new cars look great too, and if money was no object I'd have a modern one as a daily, but as it is I'm very happy with this as my 'weekends and nice days' warp factor toy.

4.4 V8 supercharged, 493bhp, and 516lbft/700nm, 193mph top speed and 4 and a half seconds to 60 with rear wheel drive only (and an upgraded Quaife LSD) is all the fun I can ever anticipate needing.

On the topic of depreciation, yes she was a LOT more than any other 15 year old E61 including an M5 but I wouldn't swap for an M5 ever - I like the auto box, low down torque, and the noise changes from low down V8 burble to high revs supercharger 'whoosh'. Will get round to an owners thread at some point once the lockdowns are over and I can travel further afield to get some better photos.

I always admired Alpina from afar as a long time BMW 'fanboy' but now I own one they have really got under my skin. There is a great community too on various web groups and I've met a few like minded owners although not as many as I hopefully will once we are allowed out more after the last year. Had a need for a Costco supplies trip this weekend just gone and with a lovely big car park I could park well away from anyone else in I got to enjoy the hint of a start to spring weather - one way to make a lockdown shopping trip fun

Edited by Jules Sunley on Tuesday 9th March 19:26

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

I don't mind Alpinas, but certainly not a big fan of them. No matter how good it is I can't get excited by a diesel estate car.

[cerb4.5lee]

Slippydiff said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Alpina have always made me smile with this too. They go to the trouble of sorting the ride/handling out(making it soft/compliant) in comparison to a BMW, and also offer them as auto only so they suit the more discerning driver/owner...then give you the option of sticking massive wheels on them and daft stickers ! It doesn't make any sense to me.

FTFY

PH contributor in misleading post shocker !! Who'd have thunk it ... ??

That is good to hear thanks.

I will admit that I've never actually seen an Alpina with small wheels/without the stickers though.

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

cerb4.5lee said:

Slippydiff said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Alpina have always made me smile with this too. They go to the trouble of sorting the ride/handling out(making it soft/compliant) in comparison to a BMW, and also offer them as auto only so they suit the more discerning driver/owner...then give you the option of sticking massive wheels on them and daft stickers ! It doesn't make any sense to me.

FTFY

PH contributor in misleading post shocker !! Who'd have thunk it ... ??

That is good to hear thanks.

I will admit that I've never actually seen an Alpina with small wheels/without the stickers though.

I've just checked, the smallest diameter wheels you can get with the Alpina are 19 inches, BMW offer 18s for the M340d. It is also not seemingly possible to spec it without the Alpina lettering on the front spoiler.

Edited by TyrannosauRoss Lex on Tuesday 9th March 20:08

[smithers-jones]

cerb4.5lee said:

and also offer them as auto only so they suit the more discerning driver/owner...then they stick massive wheels on them and daft stickers! It doesn't make any sense to me.

Clearly the two manual Alpina I've owned were figments of my imagination.

Biggest wheels I've had are 19's, and I ran one on 17" winters for years and without the (optional) 'stickers'. Eyes open and you'd see plenty on alternative wheels and logo-less. They're a 'free box tick' at new if you want them.

Question elsewhere about runflats: Alpina never used them.

And yes blah de blah I've owned lots of standard BMW, and driven plenty of others. Alpina are very sorted. Pootle, or drive like a loon (not here, thanks) and they're obliging at both ends of that scale. I don't need an autobahn to enjoy mine.

The D3s looks lovely. Too expensive for my tastes, and the diesel aspect kills my interest.

[cerb4.5lee]

smithers-jones said:

Clearly the two manual Alpina I've owned were figments of my imagination.

I'm certainly getting some stick tonight!

I knew the Alpina Roadster was available with a manual, but I did think that the 3 and 5 series models Alpina did were all auto. So I have got that wrong then(thinking about it was the 4 cylinder D3 a manual?).

[MagicMonkey]

Another thing to factor in is insurance cost. As someone in his late 40s with a few points scattered here & there on his licence the yearly cost to insure my (2015) D3 is considerably less than an equivalent year 330/335d (£260pa vs £450+) I can only assume this is down to their scarcity and the perceived level of maturity surrounding ALPINA ownership whereas every man and his dog seems to own a ‘regular’ BMW with an M-sport body kit.
As much as I admire Steve Sutcliffe I really wish he hadn’t have made that video (unfairly) comparing an M3 to a D3 it's planted a seed into every boy racers head to to challenge ALPINA owners both on the road and in online forums like this when, in reality, it’s like comparing an apple to a chicken salad.