Opinions on this Bmw please...

[ethos]

Hi guys,

It's not for me:

http://www.select-cars.com/

Second one down.

Thanks

 

[[TW]Fox]

Nice car, but no cheaper to run than a 330i.

 

[Ed]

Apart from insurance, tax and fuel.

 

[Jez]

Looks nice enough if you need the 4 doors. 320i is significantly cheaper to insure than the 330, and i'd bet slightly better on fuel. No point in the 330 if you are not interested at all in the performance.

 

[Dandle]

Apart from insurance, tax and fuel.

And servicing.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Apart from insurance, tax and fuel.

Insurance I'll give you but tax and fuel is largely the same.

320i is 213g/km of CO2/ and 330i is 217g/km of CO2. This puts both cars in the same tax bracket. Both are 31mpg combined.

The size of a BMW 6 cylinder engine has no real bearing on its fuel economy - an M54 engine delivers the same economy regardless of its displacement.

Repair costs, servicing costs etc are all also identical.

The only advantage of a 320i is that it is often cheaper to buy.

And servicing.

What does an M54B22 engined car have that makes it cheaper to service than an M54B30 engined car? The engines are physically identical, the rest of the mechanicals are also identical - the ONLY difference is the displacement of the engine. Servicing costs are the same!

Why do you think differently? Remember, its not a 2 litre 4 pot. It's a 2.2 Straight Six.

 

[Ed]

The size of a BMW 6 cylinder engine has no real bearing on its fuel economy - an M54 engine delivers the same economy regardless of its displacement.

I know BMW make superb engines but isn't that theoretically impossible?

 

[Dandle]

Why do you think differently? Remember, its not a 2 litre 4 pot. It's a 2.2 Straight Six.

I thought it was a four pot sorry. I was assuming less plugs and half the oil.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I know BMW make superb engines but isn't that theoretically impossible?

There is a difference but it's so small it's not noticeable. For example a 530i has a combined economy figure of 29.7mpg, a 525i is 30.4mpg and a 520i is 31mpg. This is further reflected in the fact they are very close on CO2 emissions. They are so close it isn't a problem with the 3 Series, but with the 5 Series unfortunately the 530i pushes itself 2g/km into the stupidtax bracket.

 

[therealnerd2]

I know BMW make superb engines but isn't that theoretically impossible?

Engines which are identical, except with slightly differing displacements often seem to have very similar mpgs. For example the 3l mondeo V6 is surprisingly similar to the 2.5l V6.

 

[audiolab]

If they are both 6 pots then yes hardly any difference, I didn't realise that the 320 was a 2.2 6 pot...learn something every day...a while back I had a W plate (2000) 323 and it had all the costs of a 330 but none of the advantages.

 

[Sone]

If they are both 6 pots then yes hardly any difference, I didn't realise that the 320 was a 2.2 6 pot...learn something every day...a while back I had a W plate (2000) 323 and it had all the costs of a 330 but none of the advantages.

All the costs of a 328i with non of the advantages i think you'll find

 

[audiolab]

Yeah ok if you want to split hairs the 323 was a choked 2.5L engine and was available at the same time as the 328 so that is a more accurate comparison. However having traded the 323 to a 330 there was not a huge difference in running costs.

 

[[TW]Fox]

To be even more pedantic you could get W plate 330's as this was when they were introduced.

 

[Sone]

To be even more pedantic you could get W plate 330's as this was when they were introduced.

was that not an m54 vs the 323/328 m52 engine

 

[audiolab]

To be even more pedantic you could get W plate 330's as this was when they were introduced.

I got the 323 for a steal at the time so I didn't fare too badly. At that time used 330's were thin on the ground and significantly more expensive so out of my budget on purchase price. If I had to make that decision again I would save the extra for the 330.