How does this look? (BMW 330cd)

paradigm said:
I average considerably less ;)
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Hehe same, I've seen 38-40mpg when sat on a motorway with 68mph showing on tomtom and no hills or headwind ;) I think currently I've not reset it for a couple of months, it's down around 34mpg but that includes London and A/B road driving as well. If I was to do it again I'd not bother with the diesel but would still get a touring as I can put my road bikes in the back without taking the wheels off.

The 330d engine is pretty good for a diesel but that's it, half the rev range is off boost, it revs slowly as it feels like it has a heavy crank. I've found some amazing roads and really wished I was in a different car, your always in what feels like the wrong gear, the engine doesn't feel happy being kept at high revs but if you go up a gear you can get caught in nasty turbo lag. I've remapped it as well, the remap makes it pull like you'd almost expect the std car to if that makes sense. I did some spirited driving with a friend in an E36 M3 Evo, when you are at peak torque they pull pretty similar but then either side and the older M3 is pulling away. You can also see it surge forward in to any small gaps with proper petrol throttle response while in the 330d your always worrying about lag or running out of revs.

I'm going to sell mine soon, don't get me wrong its an all right car, just it's actually pretty dull to drive. The M Sport suspension is just stupidly harsh, it's marketing suspension instead of proper handling suspension. I bought it 13 months ago with 96k on the clock, full m sport, full service history, black leather interior and a manual box in touring form on 54 plate :) it cost £7800 back then just to give you an idea.
 
Well, I went to a local dealer to waste their time by driving a 330d saloon (don't worry, they're notoriously crap dealers) - the car wasnt a very good example and not what I want, but feigning interest was the easiest way to get to drive a 330d to help make my mind up.

I have to say, I thought it was hugely impressive - the level of refinement and power was a real step up from what I'm used to.

So - am I now still dead set on a 330d? Well, no, actually.

What I'm really after is 2 cars. One to get me to work in a comfortable, quiet and economical manner - I don't want to be doing 20mpg for the pleasure of trawling through the drizzle on the way to work. This car also needs to do a good job of long distance cruises, tip runs, trips to ikea and holidays with a big dog. The Mondeo does all this just dandy but does nothing from the second part...

The second car is one I can enjoy, something that I can go for a drive in, something exciting. Capable in the corners with an engine that responds to being abused. My old Alfa did this nicely, but didnt do any from the first bit.

I was hoping the 330d was going to provide a good enough compromise between the 2 to satisfy me - cheap to fuel and comfortable on the commute, with enough power to put a grin on my face when I wanted it. Unfortunately it just wasnt quite what I was expecting - it definitely gave more refinement and motorway speed capability, but I just don't think I'd ever bother treating it as car number 2.

It just didn't feel like it wanted you to have some fun with it, so I'd only end up using it like I use my Mondeo - so I can't see the point in shelling out for one.

The search continues!
 
iaind said:
What I'm really after is 2 cars. One to get me to work in a comfortable, quiet and economical manner - I don't want to be doing 20mpg for the pleasure of trawling through the drizzle on the way to work. This car also needs to do a good job of long distance cruises, tip runs, trips to ikea and holidays with a big dog. The Mondeo does all this just dandy but does nothing from the second part...

The second car is one I can enjoy, something that I can go for a drive in, something exciting. Capable in the corners with an engine that responds to being abused.
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I wanted this. The cars on my shortlist were 330i, 530i, Mondeo ST220. For you, a 330i or an ST220 would probably be best. In traffic, its a comfortable saloon car. On the road road with the 6 cylinder engine approaching the redlining, its great fun
 
That is exactly what I have been trying to get in a car ian, several cars in one, an over all package and balance that I am satisfied with, practical 4 seater with back doors that's a comfy cruiser but also a lot of fun when you want. The ST220 was ‘almost’ perfect it it’s all-round ability and balance, what got me was the step down on the inside and one or two of the little things after coming from a BMW. The torque limiting in 2nd gear used to irritate me, 1st gear, fine, no worries, but second …grrr.

After reading what Fox had written about the Falcon XR6, I bet that car would tick the few little boxes the Mondeo left unticked ...except having a really high quality interior, but if that was the sole 'issue' I'd have be ok living with that I think.
 
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[TW]Fox;15990928 said:
I wanted this. The cars on my shortlist were 330i, 530i, Mondeo ST220. For you, a 330i or an ST220 would probably be best. In traffic, its a comfortable saloon car. On the road road with the 6 cylinder engine approaching the redlining, its great fun
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I think 330i is probably top of the list at the moment, ST220 probably less so as I fancy a change and economy is worse. The thought of actually running 2 cars did cross my mind (buy something exciting to supplement the Mondeo) but that's probably a daft idea.

If I got something that was going to cost a fortune on the commute, I'd just be really pee'd off every time I commuted in it - costing twice as much to fuel for the 9 times out of 10 I use it just isnt worth it for the other 1 time.

The ST220 would be the ideal demonstration of this - sitting at 75 on the dual carriageway it would be almost identical to my current car, every time I looked at the trip computer to see a number in the 20s rather than a number in the 40s, I'd just think "whats the point?"

The reports of fuel economy from 330is in this thread are pretty mixed, so I need to do a bit more work finding out what's realistically acheivable. It's partly a mental block rather than purely financial motivation to be honest, if the average was reading 29mpg I'd feel like it was costing a fortune, but 31mpg and I'd think it was OK.... stupid, I know...
 
Moeks said:
That is exactly what I have been trying to get in a car ian, several cars in one, an over all package and balance that I am satisfied with, practical 4 seater with back doors that's a comfy cruiser but also a lot of fun when you want. The ST220 was ‘almost’ perfect it it’s all-round ability and balance, what got me was the step down on the inside and one or two of the little things after coming from a BMW. The torque limiting in 2nd gear used to irritate me, 1st gear, fine, no worries, but second …grrr.

After reading what Fox had written about the Falcon XR6, I bet that car would tick the few little boxes the Mondeo left unticked ...except having a really high quality interior, but if that was the sole 'issue' I'd have be ok living with that I think.
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Interior doesnt actually bother me - owning a MK3 Mondeo at the moment I quite like it, it was a step up from the Alfa and serves it's purpose well. I do appreciate nice interiors like ze germans do and cant stand the nonsense the Japs come out with - functional and rattle free will suffice for me though :)
 
I can tell you from first hand experience owning both, the 330i/ci is more economical than the ST220, ...however, I had an auto 330 and thus it only returned better economy on a run, but it was quite a bit better, they were both about the same around town ...perhaps even 1-2mpg in favour of the ST due to the autobox in the BMW having an impact there.

A manual 330i/ci would be more economical in any kind of driving.
 
iaind said:
The reports of fuel economy from 330is in this thread are pretty mixed, so I need to do a bit more work finding out what's realistically acheivable. It's partly a mental block rather than purely financial motivation to be honest, if the average was reading 29mpg I'd feel like it was costing a fortune, but 31mpg and I'd think it was OK.... stupid, I know...
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Best i saw on a long run sitting a little above the speed limit in mine was 34 that was about a 200 mile trip to Rockingham :) worst on a run was 25 (the day i picked it up from London and was a very spirited drive back, used to get approx 300-330 miles from a tank driving to work and back
 
iaind said:
What sort of figures were you seeing from the 330 in mixed driving?
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He ruined it with a slushbox, but I get 20mpg around town, 35mpg on the Motorway and something in between out in the country in a car 70kg heavier

The Z4 is 200kg lighter than a 330i and gets almost 40mg on the Motorway, 24ish around town, so the 330i is something in between :p
 
About 26-27 with a real mixture, doing the same thing the ST would turn in 24-25. On a long run the the ST could just about get over 30mpg, the 330 though would go on to over 35mpg if you were careful. The autobox in mine really dragged my around town and mixed figures down a bit on the manual, but didn't have such an effect if you were just sitting in top gear on a motorway run most of the time.

I've seen 21mpg in the 540 so far from mixed driving, managed 27mpg on a decent motorway trip in it, which isn't so bad for a 4.4lire automatic V8 that weighs a fair bit, I expect this will go up a bit after my big service.
 
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[TW]Fox;15991026 said:
He ruined it with a slushbox, but I get 20mpg around town, 35mpg on the Motorway and something in between out in the country in a car 70kg heavier

The Z4 is 200kg lighter than a 330i and gets almost 40mg on the Motorway, 24ish around town, so the 330i is something in between :p
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That puts the average mpg distinctly close to beginning with a 3 by my calculations.... :)

I wouldnt mind an auto - novelty factor of having never owned one, plus great for boring types of driving (around town, traffic jams..), but I think it would have to be a manual.

Another 330i coming to OcUK? At least this one will probably be a touring..
 
Automatics are not evil at all, they are bloody great for everyday driving that you don't really want to be doing a lot of the time, they only fall down a bit when you want to drive for pleasure. I find they don't really impact motorway economy much at all, it's the around town business that autos do effect, but that's also where they are nicest to have. I have no problems giving a few mpgs over to just how much more relaxing it is driving an auto in heavy traffic than a manual.
 
They definitely appeal in some ways, but in others they just emphasise my desire for 2 completely different cars - I want an auto for the commute but a manual for the fun bits. A DSG type gearbox would be nice :)

Are the e90 330i's much different to the e46s? Its looking like my budget (originally ~12k) will probably end up going a few grand in either direction...
 
[TW]Fox;15991093 said:
E90 has an N52 not an M54, newer engine, 258bhp.
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Parkers would suggest a pretty decent increase in mpg too - "30mpg" to "38mpg"... wonder how believable that is?
 
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