BMW and M Power Owners

Oh god, not the PS!

Scout's honour that the pipes are actually level in real life, this is just my photography angle and probably a little lens distortion thrown in for good measure too ;) <3

Plus, let us not get on to the subject of perspective, especially if one pipe is offset behind another...
 
mrk said:
I know they're staggered, that's not what I meant! In the last pic it looks slanted!

Can't believe I'm breaking out PS for this but:

/snip
Click to expand...

Isn't the left pipe slightly shorter than the right? That would explain the offset due to perspective wouldn't it?
 
f00f1ght0r said:
Oh god, not the PS!

Scout's honour that the pipes are actually level in real life, this is just my photography angle and probably a little lens distortion thrown in for good measure too ;) <3

Plus, let us not get on to the subject of perspective, especially if one pipe is offset behind another...
Click to expand...

Ha, or I could read all the replies before I reply :rolleyes::p
 
Looking at new company cars and trying to decide between these two, any thoughts?

328i M Sport (6 spd manual)
330d Luxury (8 spd auto)

I prefer the M Sport styling, but the new 330d looks amazing: 260 bhp, 520NM, 0-60 in 5.6, 57mpg and low CO2 make it pretty appealing. The 330d in M Sport trim would be ideal but that's over my allowance unfortunately. I thought the luxury spec was a bit 'old man' when I looked at pictures online, but saw one in the flesh today at a dealership and it was rather nice... hmm!
 
Depends if you want a nice sport petrol with lots of driver involvement and an awesome engine, or an automatic wafter with a ****-tonne of power. Assuming the 'M Sport' means more than just some stick on M badges and it's got sportier suspension etc.
 
M Sport has the usual lowered / hardened suspension and sport seats, the rest of it is just visual though as far as I can tell. You also have to pay extra for paint (I don't want white). The 330d is probably faster in every sense with all that torque and more power and pulls in 57mpg vs 44 for the 328i. But I suspect the manual petrol may be more fun to drive, and it would look better too in the M Sport trim. Can't make my mind up - nice dilemma to have though :)
 
The 330D will not attain it's quoted MPG full stop. The figures are created from a set series of approved tests in a window tunnel. I've had a new 330d (not luxury) as a loaner for 2 weeks and best mpg I managed was just nagging on 46MPG @ 55MPH in 6th (Manual gearbox). Making any sort of sporty progress and you'll be looking low 40s/high 30s. Unsure if Autobox would change these figures for the better - most autos usually sap more MPG.

Neither are particularly focused in their specialist area - if you wanted MPG and comfort i'd opt for a 320d for a good 55MPG solid irrespective of driving spiritedly, if you wanted performance i'd opt for a 335i.

http://www.broadspeed.com/new_cars/BMW/3-Series will be your holy grail in negotiations.
 
Does the new 330d come as a manual?

I find it interesting that a 330d won't attain it's quoted MPG "full stop", because you only got 46 MPG from what I think may be a different car. Yet, just the other week I managed over 50 MPG from my older, bigger, heavier, 6 rather than 8 speed, more powerful 535d on a long journey, including some heavy traffic through central London.
 
Last edited:
PMKeates said:
Does the new 330d come as a manual?

I find it interesting that a 330d won't attain it's quoted MPG "full stop", because you only got 46 MPG from what I think may be a different car. Yet, just the other week I managed over 50 MPG from my older, bigger, heavier, 6 rather than 8 speed, more powerful 535d on a long journey, including some heavy traffic through central London.
Click to expand...

With 3 occupants and a weekend's worth of luggage.
 
Any idea where I can buy BMW parts, preferably online or in central London?

I am upgrading my very pathetic sound system on my 330ci (non-HK) and after removing the dashboard trim I noticed that a lot of the clips were tired/broken despite my careful approach and steady hands, obviously from previous owners.
I need some of these:
https://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&gs_...=930&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&cad=b
 
Last edited:
Ste said:
Looking at new company cars and trying to decide between these two, any thoughts?

328i M Sport (6 spd manual)
330d Luxury (8 spd auto)

I prefer the M Sport styling, but the new 330d looks amazing: 260 bhp, 520NM, 0-60 in 5.6, 57mpg and low CO2 make it pretty appealing. The 330d in M Sport trim would be ideal but that's over my allowance unfortunately. I thought the luxury spec was a bit 'old man' when I looked at pictures online, but saw one in the flesh today at a dealership and it was rather nice... hmm!
Click to expand...

The main reason to go for a diesel company car is the BIK tax. By witchcraft and wizardry the 328i manages to command only 20% BIK, whereas the diesel is 19% BIK (despite the Diesel's CO2 being lower there's the Gordon Brown 3% diesel supplement). So I'd say get the petrol. The 30d isn't a bad engine though.

Also, I'd imagine the 328i is a couple of grand cheaper list price, which is more budget to spend on options.
 
Last edited:
Cristian said:
Any idea where I can buy BMW parts, preferably online or in central London?

I am upgrading my very pathetic sound system on my 330ci (non-HK) and after removing the dashboard trim I noticed that a lot of the clips were tired/broken despite my careful approach and steady hands, obviously from previous owners.
I need some of these:
https://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&gs_...=930&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&cad=b
Click to expand...

You have the manufacturers product code and you know the manufacturer.

Can you seriously not work this out...?Here is a hint..

Dealer.
 
Last edited:
f00f1ght0r said:
The 330D will not attain it's quoted MPG full stop. The figures are created from a set series of approved tests in a window tunnel. I've had a new 330d (not luxury) as a loaner for 2 weeks and best mpg I managed was just nagging on 46MPG @ 55MPH in 6th (Manual gearbox). Making any sort of sporty progress and you'll be looking low 40s/high 30s. Unsure if Autobox would change these figures for the better - most autos usually sap more MPG.

Neither are particularly focused in their specialist area - if you wanted MPG and comfort i'd opt for a 320d for a good 55MPG solid irrespective of driving spiritedly, if you wanted performance i'd opt for a 335i.

http://www.broadspeed.com/new_cars/BMW/3-Series will be your holy grail in negotiations.
Click to expand...

Hi, are you sure this was the new one? I ask as I went into a dealers and the are not expecting any to land until September. They are also only going to be available in auto. I don't expect it will do the quoted mpg but think it should get high 40s which will beat my golf gtd with +100 bhp to boot. It is supposed to be a big step forward too, higher power than the old 335d but more mpg than the old 330d.

The 335i is not an option, outside of my car category.

The 328i does indeed let me spec higher - M Sport, 19", HK stereo is attainable. The 330d I can get a luxury with no options. But it does come with 1800 quids worth of sports auto included.
 
Last edited:
Westyfield2 said:
The main reason to go for a diesel company car is the BIK tax. By witchcraft and wizardry the 328i manages to command only 20% BIK, whereas the diesel is 19% BIK (despite the Diesel's CO2 being lower there's the Gordon Brown 3% diesel supplement). So I'd say get the petrol. The 30d isn't a bad engine though.

Also, I'd imagine the 328i is a couple of grand cheaper list price, which is more budget to spend on options.
Click to expand...

I agree - but driver involvement and nice noise aside isn't the 330d actually going to be a significantly faster car?! The figures seem to suggest so... more power and crazy torque, and the 8 speed box to help the 0-60 sprint and the motorway mpgs...
 
Really hard choice as the diesel is a 6 and the petrol is not. Drive both first. I prefer petrol to diesel but 6 cylinders to 4 so don't know which I would pick. The fact you can get better spec with the 328i is a nod in its favour mind.

Do not expect monster average MPG mind, though its possible to do well on long trips your average will fall far short of the quoted combined figures these days sadly. But I'd expect this to apply to the 48mpg combined 328i too, so its not just a diesel thing. There is a chap on PH who was extolling the virtues of his new 520d but seemed to be averaging 45mpg on a motorway biased driving routine.

The sad thing is that actually these figures are, in isolation, impressive. Average 45mpg from a 184bhp 5 Series auto? Thats brilliant, that is! But people get dissapointed because the expectations are raised bonkers-high but these frankly pathetic combined MPG figures you get these days and the pure fantasty-land extra-urban. It seems the newer the cars get the more fantasyland the MPG figures are. I appreciate the tests are not real world but go back a few years and you could expect to do pretty much extra urban on an easy motorway run, pretty much combined on an out of town jaunt and pretty much urban around town. They gave you a good idea. But they just don't anymore.

As ever, ignore foofighter as not much he says makes sense or is even truthful. He hasn't had a new 330d at all. They are not available as a manual.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Fox, useful post.

I want to test the 330d, but I don't think I am going to be able to for a couple of months at least. They are only just available for order and demo models are not expected to land until September. Dealers wont be interested unless I blag them (can't blame them - no sale in it for them!) and the leasing company sometimes give out generic variants, i.e. you can test drive a 3 series but generally not be any more specific than that. That said I'm going to try and test a 328i, but I know it's going to be better in every way than any other car I've owned, so without being able to test the 330d its almost pointless :)

The thing that gets me going is this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnGZG-IxOoM - I think it's the best looking (non-M) 3 series saloon I've seen by a long shot and although optional those 19" wheels are pretty cheap (+£450 over the standard 18's) and the estoril blue paint is an affordable option too. That's all doable in a 328i with cash to spare but not in a 330d, for which I can get a luxury spec and have 0 left to spend. Although with the luxury trim metallic paint choices are standard so at least I'm not stuck with white!

Tricky one!!
 
The M Sport looks fantastic and you need to be able spec xenons to stop the front getting ruined with those terrible reflector lenses.

Why not try a new 530d to give you an idea about the engine and box?
 
That was my plan with the lease company, but the 530d is out of my range and so I can't test drive one through them. Again I could try and blag a dealer but really don't feel comfortable doing so (and at 25 it'd probably be quite hard!).

Xenons would be an option on the 328i M Sport, thanks for the heads up. It really is a nice looking car. The luxury is also a nice looking car, but lacks the aggression that makes the M Sport look so good. This - http://b.images.boldride.com/bmw/thumbnails/654.436.bmw-3-series-luxury-line-1318613923-21591.jpg in black would be what I'd end up with if I went for a 330d. It looks pretty plain there but did look excellent at the dealers when I popped in yesterday for a look. Just not quite an M Sport! :)

Decisions decisions...

There's a rank outsider here by the way - the 3dr M135i is on the list, but the tax is pretty shocking and I want something a bit bigger. Still, 320bhp and all that... :o
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom