330d fuel consumption

[Davey S2]

Anyone able to confirm real world figures for one of these.

Looking at a 2007 model on Monday.

Thanks

[cerb4.5lee]

Ours consistently delivers around 43mpg & this is fairly spirited driving aswell,it will give more if you stick at 70mph on the motorway though.

They are a great allrounder had ours from new in 2006 & its done nearly 120k now & offers good performance at reasonable running costs.

Hope it goes well.

[Davey S2]

Thanks Lee

Very encouraging.

Changing from my Cayman S as I only use it for commuting but think a 320d might be a bit lethargic.

[cerb4.5lee]

Davey S2 said:

Thanks Lee

Very encouraging.

Changing from my Cayman S as I only use it for commuting but think a 320d might be a bit lethargic.

The six cylinder diesel is a good engine & i understand your thoughts on the 320d although you would get loads more mpg out of the 320d.

The 330d is a smoother engine & has a relatively good sound when pushing on from the inside & feels quick because the power is so linear,it will be quite a different drive to your cayman i bet thats a nice motor.

Cheers

[mike325112]

cerb4.5lee said:

The six cylinder diesel is a good engine & i understand your thoughts on the 320d although you would get loads more mpg out of the 320d.

The 330d is a smoother engine & has a relatively good sound when pushing on from the inside & feels quick because the power is so linear,it will be quite a different drive to your cayman i bet thats a nice motor.

Cheers

Really? I ran a 120d and 330d side by side the 120d never did more than 43mpg whereas the 330d averages 45mpg real world. 330d everyday of the week, especially from a Cayman. That said a 330d will feel like quite lardy after the porker.

[cerb4.5lee]

mike325112 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

The six cylinder diesel is a good engine & i understand your thoughts on the 320d although you would get loads more mpg out of the 320d.

The 330d is a smoother engine & has a relatively good sound when pushing on from the inside & feels quick because the power is so linear,it will be quite a different drive to your cayman i bet thats a nice motor.

Cheers

Really? I ran a 120d and 330d side by side the 120d never did more than 43mpg whereas the 330d averages 45mpg real world. 330d everyday of the week, especially from a Cayman. That said a 330d will feel like quite lardy after the porker.

Brother in law has a 320d M sport & he gets consistently over 50mpg thats why i thought they were more fuel efficient than the 330d.
I only thought people bought the 320d for the better consumption & lower tax band,but i could be wrong.

I dont understand why there are so many 320ds on the road compared to 330d if they are no better on fuel surely everyone would buy the 330d then instead.

[JNW1]

mike325112 said:

Really? I ran a 120d and 330d side by side the 120d never did more than 43mpg whereas the 330d averages 45mpg real world. 330d everyday of the week, especially from a Cayman. That said a 330d will feel like quite lardy after the porker.

Guess it depends to some extent on the type of driving you're doing but it surprises me that a 330d is more economical than a 120d! I suppose if you do lots of motorway work the 330d may be higher geared than the 120d (which would work in its favour) but I'm getting just over 45mpg out of a 123d and I would have thought a 120d would better that. To be honest I reckon you'd have to be driving a 330d pretty gently to average 45mpg overall so in the same situation I'd expect the consumption in a 120d to start with a 5 not a 4!

[mike325112]

My 120d was non efficent dynamics though. I believe with ED they are much better.

[starmist]

I've run a second hand 330d M Sport Touring for 18 months. It's an 06 plate that had 72k on it when I bought it and I've added 32k. It's averaged 38.1 since I've had it, which I'm disappointed about. It will do high 40s on the motorway, but open the taps and the consumption rockets! Good fun though.

I'm seriously thinking about a DMS chip, which should add 18% torque / power which should give 15% better mpg for the same speed on the same road. This would take it up to mid 40s overall which I think is acceptable.

[Ruxpin]

Very difficult to compare "real world" consumption as it varies massively on driving style and route.

Also there are at least 3 engine revisions in the 330d e90 range, and Parkers don't have all the correct info listed in their "Facts and figures".

My research, for tourings assuming 330d manual:

228bhp, 174g/km, combined fuel consumption 43.5mpg (I think until Sept 2007)
231bhp, 160g/km, combined fuel consumption 46.3mpg
241bhp, 155g/km, combined fuel consumption 47.Xmpg (I think from Sept 2008)

Auto knocks about 3-4mpg off the above plus CO2 goes up.

Similar story on the 335d (auto only) - Parkers only list 1 revision but I think there are 2 maybe more.

281bhp, 205g/km, Combined fuel consumption 36.7mpg (I think until Sept 2007)
281bhp, 178g/km, Combined fuel consumption 41.Xmpg

FYI my "56" plate 335d has averaged within 1mpg of the official combined figure over 3500miles mixed driving. Town driving and short journeys sees the figure drop drastically though hence the type of driving will have a huge effect on "real world" mpg. I would guess I would be lucky to get 30mpg if I was in stop start traffic for much of the time, although i think that has much to do with the auto box.

I think the extra urban figures are dreamt up though - no chance of getting them even driving like a snail!

Cracking cars though and performance/economy balance is very good.

[jdcampbell]

I have had two 330d Manual E90. Both averaged about 44mpg on a run (driving on motorways at about indicated 80-90mph).

On rural roads giving a bot of welly will drop the average down to about 37/38mpg

Both of these care were the 2006/2007 models 174g/km CO2

Later cars were more economical by all accounts

[Mark34bn]

Hi I'm looking for a bit of help/advice. We've just bought a 2003 E46 330d touring M sport auto, and while it's a really nice car SWMBO claims it only managed 27mpg on her first commute. This is 10% town driving and 90% dual carriageway/motorway.
Is this what we can expect? The swingometer mpg gauge drops to virtually nothing when you pull away, then goes up to 40/50 at a constant speed.

[Twin Turbo]

My '53 plate 330i (petrol) Sport Auto saloon averages 29mpg, although my commute is pretty empty motorway at 5am and then mixed motorway at 4pm.

Give the car time to average out for a few weeks.

[Mark34bn]

Cheers, I believe the previous owner used it as a second or third car so it may improve with the 30 mile daily commute.
Another question - are swirl flaps and egr valves a real issue or just internet sensationalism caused by a handful of bad ones?
We have a 3 month warranty which covers everything, should a problem be confirmed.

Edited by Mark34bn on Wednesday 3rd October 13:25

[smashy]

mike325112 said:

My 120d was non efficent dynamics though. I believe with ED they are much better.

my 120d auto eff dyn just came back from Cornwall ,live Chiswick w london,700 miles all in average 45mpg.

Regularly do night journeys to Gloucester M4 and the racetrack that is off junction 15 ,driving like I stole it normally 42MPG. With this Journey and the way I cover ground I often wonder what a large petrol would be averaging,I am amazed how quick this thing can go and still hold on to good MPG.

A middlelane M4 M25 M23 to Brighton cruise around 54mpg.

Edited by smashy on Tuesday 2nd October 11:55

Edited by smashy on Tuesday 2nd October 11:59

[dace]

I get early 50's on a long journey, keeping my right foot in check. Averaged 42mpg over the last 4,000 miles or so. Have just reset the Idrive as I have just had it mapped:-)) only problem now is, my right foot has got very heavy!

[Mr-B]

Mark34bn said:

Hi I'm looking for a bit of help/advice. We've just bought a 2003 E46 330d touring M sport auto, and while it's a really nice car SWMBO claims it only managed 27mpg on her first commute. This is 10% town driving and 90% dual carriageway/motorway.
Is this what we can expect? The swingometer mpg gauge drops to virtually nothing when you pull away, then goes up to 40/50 at a constant speed.

I have an e46 330d manual coupe and average 37mpg on local journeys, dual carriageways should be better. The swingometer can probably be ignored if you want an accurate average. Mine always drops off the scale when I am accelerating away whether I am booting it or just pottering. On the motorways at sensible speeds its above 50mpg.

[chrisx666]

Mr-B said:

Mark34bn said:

Hi I'm looking for a bit of help/advice. We've just bought a 2003 E46 330d touring M sport auto, and while it's a really nice car SWMBO claims it only managed 27mpg on her first commute. This is 10% town driving and 90% dual carriageway/motorway.
Is this what we can expect? The swingometer mpg gauge drops to virtually nothing when you pull away, then goes up to 40/50 at a constant speed.

I have an e46 330d manual coupe and average 37mpg on local journeys, dual carriageways should be better. The swingometer can probably be ignored if you want an accurate average. Mine always drops off the scale when I am accelerating away whether I am booting it or just pottering. On the motorways at sensible speeds its above 50mpg.

From Honest John E46 review : "Steptronic auto increases fuel consumption of 330d by around 25%"

Modern automatics do not sap much power (and in some cases claim to increase mpg : ZF 8-speed), but the E46 box is a bit old school by today's standards. It is worth checking things like thermostats/tyre pressures though.

[cheerfulcharlie]

In response to another post a couple of months ago I did a detailed check of mine (2008 330d E90 coupe - auto) on its next tankfull.
"Next time I filled up the Computer said it had 595 miles to go. When I next filled up after 575 miles it showed 17 to go - pretty accurate.
It took 60.04 litres to fill up so by my reckoning thats the equivalent of 13.21 gallons which equates to 43.53mpg. - which the journey computer recorded as 43.4mpg - which is pretty good at an average speed of exactly 50mph."

[TOENHEEL]

My e92 320d is averaging around 43mpg is that about right? I've got a bit of a lead foot mind! Doesn't really come alive until 4th gear I get the feeling BMW were a bit generous when they quoted performance figures..