Opinions Welcome: Making a Move From a BMW 3 Series Saloon to a Pickup

artemis789

artemis789

artemis789

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Joined
29 Oct 2024
Posts
23
Location
Glasgow
Afternoon folks.

Just thought I'd post what I feel might be sacrilege to the loyal BMW owners in the Motors sub-forum.

TLDR: As a long-term BMW 3 Series saloon driver, I'm seriously considering a Pickup vehicle (second-hand/used, but not ancient) for my next vehicle.

I am not a farmer or a rural-based person, but I am still very interested in such a vehicle.

The vehicles I am contemplating choosing from, in broad order of preference, are:
  • Ford Ranger.
  • Volkswagen Amarok.
  • Toyota Hilux.
  • Nissan Navara.
I feel they are all strong vehicles in different ways.

The things I like about modern-day Pickup vehicles are:
  • Large storage capacity in the back.
  • As standard, 4-wheel-drive ("4x4") across all major brands.
  • Many (most?) come with "proper" manual handbrakes.
  • Raised height.
  • Ruggedness.
  • Utilitarian.
The only things that are holding me back are the following factors:
  • Diesel fuelled. i.e., on AutoTrader, all the best ones I find are diesel fuelled. I understand that they are mostly diesel fuelled to serve a utilitarian orientated market, but personally, I prefer petrol fuelled vehicles. Sadly, I have only been able to find very old models in petrol.
  • DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) issues. i.e., given that all the best pickups seem to be diesel fuelled, I feel they will, at least for me, present some DPF issues along-side that. I do mainly short trips, so sadly, this may be a deal breaker for my Pickup plans.

Further context

There are three additional reasons I'm interested in a Pickup.
  • I live on a hill, which can get very icy in the winter. Indeed, a number of my neighbour’s (German) rear-wheel drive cars in my street have difficulty on this hill, and I have found myself (along with a few other folks) being "roped in" to give a fair number of them a manual push, when "needs must". The 4x4 nature of a Pickup is an appealing solution here.
  • I also park in an area with a ridiculously high kerb. Sadly, I have already scraped the underside of the front-bodywork of my current car on this kerb. A raised-height vehicle presents a good solution to this problem.
  • Somewhat insanely (some of you might think), I occasionally "litter pick" massive amounts of litter from my local area, early on a Saturday or Sunday morning (or sometimes both). I do it from circa 0600 hrs up to 1200 hrs, when no-one is around. Over a "6 hour litter pick", I can easily collect 6-8 bags of litter. I live in an increasingly bad area, and the litter drives me insane. This is my small way of making a difference, while my utterly useless local authority council ("the council") does nothing but the absolute bare minimum to clean and maintain the area, which is going downhill fast. Sometimes it really is a sick joke walking around my local streets and the park (which is adjacent to me), and seeing litter, in addition to burned-out bins and bits of furniture, everywhere. Bunging all the bags in the back of Pickup and taking them to the dump on a Sunday sounds ideal. This would save me multiple trips in a car, which is what I currently do.

My Current Car

In my own case, in response to the "icy hill" problem, and to "treat myself" (somewhat) to a "reasonably refined" vehicle of "above average" build quality, I selected, as my one and only vehicle, a 4-wheel drive ("XDRIVE") BMW 3 (F30) Series M Sport saloon, in petrol guise (as a 320i).

The (F30) 3 Series petrol saloon has been a great car for me. As a slightly older (2015) model, it has offered me the following:
  • Total reliability. I have seen plenty of online reporting of a reduction of reliability of the German marques. That has not been my experience with this car. It has been rock-solid for me.
  • Discretion. It predates some of the newer, and in my view, quite garishly styled modern-day BMWs, particularly in regards to the grill area.
  • A good looking car generally. I think the (F30) 3 Series saloon is a good looking, conservatively styled car. I like it. That's the long and short of it.
  • A nice cabin to be in.
  • A nice steering wheel.
  • A "proper" manual handbrake.
  • A "sober looking" cockpit, which includes mechanical dials on the dash.
  • A nice "iDrive unit" (both the "tactile" dial, which is married to the output screen) that "just works".
  • Smooth motorway cruising.
  • A solid and stable transporter of me, family members, and family friends.
  • Back when I bought it (second-hand) in 2018, a fairly reasonable price point. This was before the pricing of cars moved in an increasingly unreasonable direction.
Despite being happy with my 3 Series, I'm prepared to make the move to a Pickup if I can get over my DPF fears.

I'd be interested in any views if I can make a Pickup work for me, especially if anyone has any similar experiences of making such a move.

If it looks like potential DPF issues make a diesel fuelled Pickup a non-starter, I might have to consider a 4-wheel-drive SUV, many of which come in petrol guise. Many of these are not to my tastes, but I have managed to spot a few decent options here and there.

Thanks so much for any opinions. Also, sorry for the essay -- got a little bit carried away.
 
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