Diesel or not? 340i Touring or 335d XDrive or curveball

[Joe5y]

Morning all,

Have decided on an F31 335d / 340i (I think).

I've had a 535d in the past and was mesmerized by the torque and power delivery. So I really want the 335d XDrive but I'm worried about the skepticism of diesels moving forward and whether dropping £30k in a diesel is a wise choice what with EU regs etc etc.

Any experience of either will be greatly received.

Curveball - CLS 350d Shooting Brake. Love the look of it, should I consider it?

[ZX10R NIN]

How many miles do will you be doing per year? That'll pretty much help you decide between petrol or diesel.

I thought you were settled on the 340i?

If you go for a diesel then go for the CLS (I'm bias as I prefer Mercedes) it's a nicer ride & a better fit & finish.

[rallycross]

I dont think there is anything to worry about buying late model diesels like this its euro6 so there should be no fear of getting fined for daring to drive a powerful yet economical car.

I've had 335i and 335d (E91) and 330d (F31) the petrol is much more fun to exploit but if you are doing big miles then the D makes a lot more sense (average 25 for an i and 35+ for a d - these are my mpg figures not what it says in the brochure!).

Dont rule out the 330d F31 as they feel really quick and refined, the 8 speed box is a big step up from the earlier cars.

[Pistonheader101]

Where do you live - most welcome to pop down and try my 335d xdrive for the day

[Pica-Pica]

ZX10R NIN said:

How many miles do will you be doing per year? That'll pretty much help you decide between petrol or diesel.

I thought you were settled on the 340i?

If you go for a diesel then go for the CLS (I'm bias as I prefer Mercedes) it's a nicer ride & a better fit & finish.

That is purely financial decision. I don’t do that many miles a year (12k), but my journeys are frequently above 100 miles, and I love the torque and sure-footedness of the 335d (although I did promise myself a 340i when they first came out!). As for EU regs, we are at EU6 and we will be at that for sometime, I believe. I expect to keep mine until my interest in cars drops off far enough to go for something smaller, and EV technology and charging points advance sufficiently. So I should get 10 to 15 years from it.

[ZX10R NIN]

Pica-Pica said:

ZX10R NIN said:

How many miles do will you be doing per year? That'll pretty much help you decide between petrol or diesel.

I thought you were settled on the 340i?

If you go for a diesel then go for the CLS (I'm bias as I prefer Mercedes) it's a nicer ride & a better fit & finish.

That is purely financial decision. I don’t do that many miles a year (12k), but my journeys are frequently above 100 miles, and I love the torque and sure-footedness of the 335d (although I did promise myself a 340i when they first came out!). As for EU regs, we are at EU6 and we will be at that for sometime, I believe. I expect to keep mine until my interest in cars drops off far enough to go for something smaller, and EV technology and charging points advance sufficiently. So I should get 10 to 15 years from it.

I'm not a fan of the ride on the 335d 12k a year is fine for having a diesel, the Euro6 regs will be here for a while yet, Euro7 will basically mean all petrols & diesels will all be Hybrids so I wouldn't worry about it.

My basic rule is that 10k & below then the OP should discount a diesel, 12k & over a diesel is fine with the gap in between those two is dependent on usage.

[Joe5y]

Thanks all.

I really like the idea of a 340i but without XDrive i'd fear traction maybe a consideration but more importantly the low down torque of the diesel will really suit the car and its intended use - carrying a one year old.

I'll be doing c12000miles a year which is my average over the last X years.

I work 2 miles from home. Another reason for selling the current M3.

Any advise on any of the above cars? I'm yet to drive the CLS but have driven the F31 albeit in 320d guise.

[Pica-Pica]

Joe5y said:

Thanks all.

I really like the idea of a 340i but without XDrive i'd fear traction maybe a consideration but more importantly the low down torque of the diesel will really suit the car and its intended use - carrying a one year old.

I'll be doing c12000miles a year which is my average over the last X years.

I work 2 miles from home. Another reason for selling the current M3.

Any advise on any of the above cars? I'm yet to drive the CLS but have driven the F31 albeit in 320d guise.

OP, if you work 2 miles from home, I would not even consider a push-bike, that is walking distance!
I bought my 335d two years ago, in that sweet spot where; discounts were high, it was EU6, and the high VED for £40k list had not kicked in. I have done 25k miles, I have never felt a DPF regen, so I assume it is managing that on long runs (must see if IDrive notes regents). Get 44mpg, very consistently, drive gently on a long run will see 50mpg. The only time I blast it is on overtakes - essentially you look ahead, think it and you’re there. I must admit I did not try a 340i, just drove this one and bought it. I had a 330i (4 pot) as a loan car, the steering felt too light - I almost had to push the wheel back to straight ahead after a turn. The 335d is great out of a gravel side road onto tarmac, it just flies out with minimum of fuss (it pulls the steering wheel back quite strongly, so take care of thumbs!).

[Joe5y]

Pica-Pica said:

Joe5y said:

Thanks all.

I really like the idea of a 340i but without XDrive i'd fear traction maybe a consideration but more importantly the low down torque of the diesel will really suit the car and its intended use - carrying a one year old.

I'll be doing c12000miles a year which is my average over the last X years.

I work 2 miles from home. Another reason for selling the current M3.

Any advise on any of the above cars? I'm yet to drive the CLS but have driven the F31 albeit in 320d guise.

OP, if you work 2 miles from home, I would not even consider a push-bike, that is walking distance!
I bought my 335d two years ago, in that sweet spot where; discounts were high, it was EU6, and the high VED for £40k list had not kicked in. I have done 25k miles, I have never felt a DPF regen, so I assume it is managing that on long runs (must see if IDrive notes regents). Get 44mpg, very consistently, drive gently on a long run will see 50mpg. The only time I blast it is on overtakes - essentially you look ahead, think it and you’re there. I must admit I did not try a 340i, just drove this one and bought it. I had a 330i (4 pot) as a loan car, the steering felt too light - I almost had to push the wheel back to straight ahead after a turn. The 335d is great out of a gravel side road onto tarmac, it just flies out with minimum of fuss (it pulls the steering wheel back quite strongly, so take care of thumbs!).

I don't think that my wife, one year old, his stuff and my various trips to France would be suitable on a push bike or on foot; added to this my weekly visits to HO and odd customer visits would be struggle.

Thank you for your experience. Is yours the XDrive model? F30 or F31? Are these any options that you'd insist on or would have liked?

[stevemcs]

340i or 335d ...... 340i every single time, i always found the 335d a bit gruff and preferred the 330d to it.

335d or CLS .......CLS, they are so much nicer than the 3 series and the diesel is a much nicer engine

340i or CLS..........thats tough, possibly 340i but only for the engine.

[Pica-Pica]

Joe5y said:

Thank you for your experience. Is yours the XDrive model? F30 or F31? Are these any options that you'd insist on or would have liked?

F30. 335d is always x drive.
I would have like electric seats, and as many have said, they should be standard on this level of car (then again, my wife will not drive it anyway). I have Sat Nav/media professional, with HK, seems good enough. I think it always comes with rear folding seats, they are very useful if you prefer the look of a saloon, but want to carry the occasional long stuff. Mine has 19” wheels and Pirelli P Zeros, which are quite good. I bought it pre-reg’d on 9 miles, and I did think of asking them to swap to 18” wheels and tyres. I may do that in the future, if I can find any 18” runflats all-season tyres. I would have liked to have a sun-strip at the top of the windscreen, but the sun is often low when I drive so even then I need the sun visor. I have high beam assist and auto wipers which work well. LED headlamps are OK. It has cruise control and a speed limiter, which I use almost every journey in 30/40/50 limits (full kick down will over ride it). With the media package, I have downloaded all my iTunes onto the cars hard drive and it is still only 50% full. I do not hav Head Up display, others who have it say it is worth it. It has heated seats, useful, and a heated steering wheel (fine, not sure I would pay for it though) the reversing camera is very useful, and front and rear park distance controls too (they both may be standard).

[ZX10R NIN]

stevemcs said:

340i or 335d ...... 340i every single time, i always found the 335d a bit gruff and preferred the 330d to it.

335d or CLS .......CLS, they are so much nicer than the 3 series and the diesel is a much nicer engine

340i or CLS..........thats tough, possibly 340i but only for the engine.

+1 to the above

[AndrewO]

We had a leased 340i for 3yrs and I'm thinking of getting another, buying this time as there are no lease deals anymore on these. I wouldn't worry about xdrive unless your in Scotland or similar.

Finding a nice one though seems to be difficult. Prices seem to be all over the place....I suspect its because of the road tax...£190ish against £450pa on a >April'17 car.

Regarding Diesel, resale values will suffer because the market is shifting against them. If you intend to hold onto the car this isn't such an issue. A bit like 340 with road tax....after 5yrs its £140pa ish.

[ScoobyChris]

Joe5y said:

I really like the idea of a 340i but without XDrive i'd fear traction maybe a consideration but more importantly the low down torque of the diesel will really suit the car and its intended use - carrying a one year old.

I have the 40i engine in a 1-series and I think with its flexibilty, soundtrack and performance it suits the car really well. Traction won't be an issue unless you want it to be (it's pretty sedate in Comfort mode) and it has bags of low down grunt and just keeps on piling on the speed as the revs rise. I have it mated to the 8-speed box too. Covered 20k miles in mine so far and I'm averaging around 35mpg which is mostly enjoying it and not caring about economy.

My kids love it too

Chris