New 320d makes peak power at 5,500rpm
Discussion
nickfrog said:
aidan2.0 said:
The 320d is not unreliable and it’s not bland. It’s way better than a 320i.
I find the 4 pot diesel BMW awful, mostly because it's diesel. I would much prefer a 320i, however slow, unreliable, thirsty, whatever...TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
aidan2.0 said:
I’ve driven an F30 320i, they don’t drive as well, they are slower, in real life and on paper, you put your foot down on the motorway for an over take and it has to drop 4 gears, the diesel would drop 1 (if even)
It’s a lot smoother to drive (320d over 320i) and the engine isn’t louder at all.
This isn't true. 4 cylinder diesels are miserable things. It’s a lot smoother to drive (320d over 320i) and the engine isn’t louder at all.
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
nickfrog said:
aidan2.0 said:
The 320d is not unreliable and it’s not bland. It’s way better than a 320i.
I find the 4 pot diesel BMW awful, mostly because it's diesel. I would much prefer a 320i, however slow, unreliable, thirsty, whatever...I found the F3X 320d an absolute peach of a motor for mundane mile crunching. Plenty of grunt, didn’t sound like a bag of spanners, and provided great economy. I covered circa 200k business miles in 8-years.
The 2 litre B48 petrol in my wife’s X1 is totally gutless compared to the B47 diesel. Maybe if you’re pairing the engine with a manual there’s more ‘fun’ to be had, but for mile crunching paired with the ZF auto there’s no comparison for me, the diesel is just so much better.
The 2 litre B48 petrol in my wife’s X1 is totally gutless compared to the B47 diesel. Maybe if you’re pairing the engine with a manual there’s more ‘fun’ to be had, but for mile crunching paired with the ZF auto there’s no comparison for me, the diesel is just so much better.
Edited by JAMSXR on Monday 14th February 21:44
JAMSXR said:
I found the F3X 320d an absolute peach of a motor for mundane mile crunching. Plenty of grunt, didn’t sound like a bag of spanners, and provided great economy. I covered circa 200k business miles in 8-years.
The 2 litre B48 petrol in my wife’s X1 is totally gutless compared to the B47 diesel. Maybe if you’re pairing the engine with a manual there’s more ‘fun’ to be had, but for mile crunching paired with the ZF auto there’s no comparison for me, the diesel is just so much better.
The B48 will feel gutless in the X1 because it is a fairly heavy car. That was the problem I had with my 520d Touring weighing in at 1700kg, and the 20d engine just wasn't up to the task of dealing with the weight of the car for me. Whereas I'd imagine that engine in a 120d would work pretty well though. The 2 litre B48 petrol in my wife’s X1 is totally gutless compared to the B47 diesel. Maybe if you’re pairing the engine with a manual there’s more ‘fun’ to be had, but for mile crunching paired with the ZF auto there’s no comparison for me, the diesel is just so much better.
Edited by JAMSXR on Monday 14th February 21:44
To be fair there’s only 100kg between the X1 and 3 series so for plodding along it shouldn’t make a huge difference. I can see how the >200kg of 5 series would start to make an impact.
The 320d has more torque and is lighter than an e46 m3. No way am I comparing to two in terms of driving experience, but there’s plenty of grunt to get you about.
The 320d has more torque and is lighter than an e46 m3. No way am I comparing to two in terms of driving experience, but there’s plenty of grunt to get you about.
Wow some thread resurrection here, although "ericmcn" seems to have left the forum. 
But even now I'd be surprised if there was any diesel that made peak power at 5,500rpm!
My 2004 E46 320td got breathless after 4,000 and my 2007 twin-turbo 123d had an asthma attack at 4,500.
But my next BMW was an E86 Z4 that made peak-power at 6,600 rpm and pulled all the way to 7K - it was a revelation!
And my current Z4M makes peak power at 7,900rpm with an 8K red-line - lovely.
I seem to be addicted to N/A engines.
But even now I'd be surprised if there was any diesel that made peak power at 5,500rpm!
My 2004 E46 320td got breathless after 4,000 and my 2007 twin-turbo 123d had an asthma attack at 4,500.
But my next BMW was an E86 Z4 that made peak-power at 6,600 rpm and pulled all the way to 7K - it was a revelation!
And my current Z4M makes peak power at 7,900rpm with an 8K red-line - lovely.
I seem to be addicted to N/A engines.
A1VDY said:
The latest gen Transit has a superb range of engines, the 140 2litre starts quiet from cold and certainly isnt agricultural, its a far better designed engine than any BMW 4 cyl diesel..
I am reading through this and I am disgusted, from comments saying that the 3 series is a bad car, that the engines don’t last over 2 years and more…The new Ford engines are nice but they are just as reliable as any modern BMW Diesel engine, the B47 2.0 4 cylinder turbo-diesel engine on the 1, 2, 3, 5 series (and a few X series vehicles) its very smooth and especially on the 1, 2 and 3 series it’s great, on the 5 it could do with a bit more power (like a 520i, they are both lacking a bit of power as a 5 is heavier) but other than the noise, the 20d is better in every way, fuel economy, emissions, torque, horsepower (20d makes more power than 20i, 184hp and 190hp), and just driving feel, when both engines are equipped with a manual they both don’t drive as well as the automatic version. The older Ford engines like the 2.0 and 2.4 Duratorq off the Mk6 transit are amazing engines, the newer ones have issues with the DPF and most people complain about them. They are nice sounding diesels though. Most diesels sound fine on the inside of the vehicle.
Edited by aidan2.0 on Saturday 16th April 21:16
cerb4.5lee said:
I had a 520d Touring and I really liked the car, but I couldn't stand the engine though. In the 5 series the engine was noisy/rattly and slow, and to add insult to injury it wasn't all that great on fuel either.
What year was it? The new BMW Diesel engines are nice and are quiet inside, with the bonnet up it’s a different story. They drive nice and have great pickup and pull. That extra 100nm and 6hp over the 320i definitely sold it to me. Great car and the tax is cheaper. JAMSXR said:
I found the F3X 320d an absolute peach of a motor for mundane mile crunching. Plenty of grunt, didn’t sound like a bag of spanners, and provided great economy. I covered circa 200k business miles in 8-years.
The 2 litre B48 petrol in my wife’s X1 is totally gutless compared to the B47 diesel. Maybe if you’re pairing the engine with a manual there’s more ‘fun’ to be had, but for mile crunching paired with the ZF auto there’s no comparison for me, the diesel is just so much better.
I agree with you, the petrol does feel gutless, both engines don’t feel too great as a manual but the diesel is better as an auto AND a manual. When you’re going around a bend and press the accelerator it feels like an electric car if you understand what I mean, it immediately pulls meanwhile the petrol takes a moment and then goes. The 2 litre B48 petrol in my wife’s X1 is totally gutless compared to the B47 diesel. Maybe if you’re pairing the engine with a manual there’s more ‘fun’ to be had, but for mile crunching paired with the ZF auto there’s no comparison for me, the diesel is just so much better.
Edited by JAMSXR on Monday 14th February 21:44
aidan2.0 said:
What year was it? The new BMW Diesel engines are nice and are quiet inside, with the bonnet up it’s a different story. They drive nice and have great pickup and pull. That extra 100nm and 6hp over the 320i definitely sold it to me. Great car and the tax is cheaper.
It was a 2009 model. I have heard that the later BMW 4 cylinder engines are much better now as you say. cerb4.5lee said:
It was a 2009 model. I have heard that the later BMW 4 cylinder engines are much better now as you say.
The newer ones are definitely more reliable and more refined. So good in fact, Toyota entered into a partnership (2011) for BMW’s 1.6 and 2.0 Diesel engine for their cars, in return Toyota and BMW worked together to improve the Hybrid Synergy Drive system. I believe that is why people really like Toyota and BMW hybrids. As far as I know, they are both the only car manufacturers that offer hybrid/plug-in hybrid models at the same price (even sometimes cheaper) than other petrol/diesel models, for example; the 330e is the same price as the 320d and 320i.
Mr Tidy said:
Wow some thread resurrection here, although "ericmcn" seems to have left the forum.
But even now I'd be surprised if there was any diesel that made peak power at 5,500rpm!
My 2004 E46 320td got breathless after 4,000 and my 2007 twin-turbo 123d had an asthma attack at 4,500.
But my next BMW was an E86 Z4 that made peak-power at 6,600 rpm and pulled all the way to 7K - it was a revelation!
And my current Z4M makes peak power at 7,900rpm with an 8K red-line - lovely.
I seem to be addicted to N/A engines.
The 2015-2019 and 2019-present BMW 320d makes peak power at 4000rpm and peak torque at 1750-2500rpm. The title is wrong. (The 320d currently uses the BMW B47 Diesel engine)But even now I'd be surprised if there was any diesel that made peak power at 5,500rpm!
My 2004 E46 320td got breathless after 4,000 and my 2007 twin-turbo 123d had an asthma attack at 4,500.
But my next BMW was an E86 Z4 that made peak-power at 6,600 rpm and pulled all the way to 7K - it was a revelation!
And my current Z4M makes peak power at 7,900rpm with an 8K red-line - lovely.
I seem to be addicted to N/A engines.
Wills2 said:
aidan2.0 said:
The 2015-2019 and 2019-present BMW 320d makes peak power at 4000rpm and peak torque at 1750-2500rpm. The title is wrong. (The 320d currently uses the BMW B47 Diesel engine)
That was settled within a few post of this thread starting, nearly 3 years ago.
What a strange thread to resurrect. The 2 litre is good for what it is, but it is in no way an exciting or particularly thrilling engine. The "it sounds OK for a 4 cylinder diesel" is hardly praise. They all sound rubbish. They're economical, powerful enough for most people and a brilliant tool for a job, but that's all they are. When the ICE cars disappear no car enthusiast will ever lament the demise of the 4 cylinder diesel 
I will miss the 2015+ BMW 4 and 6 cylinder diesels once they are gone. I never had diesels, before my current 320d I had a Countryman One D, it was fine, also my first diesel car. Before that I had a 2005 X5 4.4i from new, amazing car. Before that, it was a 2001 530i from new, also a superb car. I can list all the BMWs we've had but that's not relevant to this thread. When I was going to buy a new 3 series, first I looked at the 320i, disgusted with how it drove.. utterly hopeless engine.. when you'd put your foot down, felt like an eternity as the revs climbed to 6000rpm, just making pure noise and not going nowhere... I cut the test drive short as I was so appalled by the engine. Right afterwards I tested a 320d.. Still an M-Sport, still had the Sports Steptronic. It felt much more lively than that gutless 320i, it's hard to explain but it kept pulling all the way up to about 5400rpm.. instant response during kickdown, just like an electric car.. with only 6hp and 100nm more I was amazed how it could drive so differently! That day I ordered the 320d.
Still love it to this day. It gets 20mpg more than a 320i on my usual commutes and much lower emissions. I do not drive the car very hard, only when needed.
I believe it felt more lively because it was the B47TÜ1 2017 update when it became a twin-turbo engine on the 318d, 320d and 325d and got AdBlue injection (I don't mind that it has AdBlue as I know it does actually work well at lowering the NOx.)
Still love it to this day. It gets 20mpg more than a 320i on my usual commutes and much lower emissions. I do not drive the car very hard, only when needed.
I believe it felt more lively because it was the B47TÜ1 2017 update when it became a twin-turbo engine on the 318d, 320d and 325d and got AdBlue injection (I don't mind that it has AdBlue as I know it does actually work well at lowering the NOx.)
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