I ordered a 320D SE 1998cc 2002 model from my local BMW dealer in October 2001 for delivery in December 2001. I was impressed with the dealer (Dick Lovett), as the sales guy was not at all pushy but allowed me to take my time looking over the car and responded well to questions I raised. The ... Read review
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Advantages: Performance, MPG, Quailty Disadvantages: Rear cabin space, Small boot
...2002 model from my local BMW dealer in October 2001 for delivery in December 2001. I was impressed with the dealer (Dick Lovett), as the sales guy was not at all pushy but allowed me to take my time looking over the car and responded well to questions I raised. The first test drive I had was with the sales guy and lasted around 40 minutes, he then arranged for me to have the car for the whole day that weekend. This whole day test drive was excellent ... ...the date draw closer the BMW dealer contacted me to say my car was delayed and would not now be available until the first week in January 2002. I explained this would now leave me without a car for 3 weeks over the Christmas period, ‘no problem’ said BMW ‘we will arrange for a loan car to be delivered to you on the 14th December, and you can kept it until your car arrives’. True to their word a Y reg BMW 320 was dropped off ... more
I ordered a 320D SE 1998cc 2002 model from my local BMW dealer in October 2001 for delivery in December 2001. I was impressed with the dealer (Dick Lovett), as the sales guy was not at all pushy but allowed me to take my time looking over the car and responded well to questions I raised. The first test drive I had was with the sales guy and lasted around 40 minutes, he then arranged for me to have the car for the whole day that weekend. This whole day test drive was excellent and really let me get know the car without any sales person around, and after that I was hooked and continue to purchase the car. The list of options available is huge and it took some time to decide what I wanted.
This new car was to replace my company Astra and I purchased it myself using my companies opt out option. The car was ordered for December as my Astra was being recalled on the 15th December. However, as the date draw closer the BMW dealer contacted me to say my car was delayed and would not now be available until the first week in January 2002. I explained this would now leave me without a car for 3 weeks over the Christmas period, ‘no problem’ said BMW ‘we will arrange for a loan car to be delivered to you on the 14th December, and you can kept it until your car arrives’. True to their word a Y reg BMW 320 was dropped off to me.
Delivery of the car was painless, we checked over the car and then completed any paperwork - all were correct. Furthermore I ended up with a car registered in 2002 due to their delay, which should help future resale values. They also discounted some options I had chosen for any inconvenience I suffered !
The handbook tells you not to exceed 3500 rpm for the first 1250 miles, so I drove away carefully. The engine felt truly awful for the first 300 miles or so, it had no power and was noisier then I remember from the test car and I began to wonder if all was well. Thankfully, after that it began to loosen up nicely and now with 6500 miles on the clock runs like a dream. The engine can only is heard at idle and under hard acceleration, but this disappears if you have the radio on. On the move it run almost silently with only a small amount of tyre noise coming through, passengers are amazed when you tell them it’s a diesel.
The new 1998cc engine is excellent and seems well mated to the car, power delivery comes in progressively from the word ‘go’ without any turbo lack or the usual mad power boost you get at around 2000 rpm in other turbo diesels I have driven. It is fun to drive and feels very quick in day to day driving, you can breeze past traffic on A & B roads and blast down the motorway without even breaking a sweat. The handling is great for a car of its size you can throw it into any corners and know you’ll come out the other side without any fuse, the standard traction control is sometimes a little to eager to kick, but mated with ABS made it a joy to drive in the snow.
Fuel consumption has been impressive to.
Hard driving 42mpg Driving steadily (but not boring) 46mpg Motorway (70-85mph) 50mpg Motorway below 65mph 68mpg CO2 is low 148 0-60 mph in 8.9 seconds 50-75 mph in 7.5 seconds in 4th gear The fuel tank holds 13.9gal and I am filling up every 600 miles or so costing around £40.00
Servicing shouldn’t work to expensive either the car decides when it needs to be serviced depending on how it is driven, however it’s usually around 14,000 miles during standard driving. The first service at 14,000 is a simple oil change followed by a main service at 28,000.
The build quality is excellent, everything feels wonderful to touch and use. The driver is well catered for in this car, everything comes easily to hand and there are many labour saving devices the list of standard equipment on the SE model I have is huge, the highlights would be Seat occupation air bags, side airbags, Automatic Stability Control + Traction, Park Distance Control at the rear, Automatic air conditioning, cat1 alarm/immobiliser, Follow-me-Home function on head lights, On-board computer (showing average mpg/mph, outside temperature, distance before you next need to fill up) Window lifts electric at the front and rear, with open-close fingertip control, trap release and comfort closing function with remote key, Exterior mirror electrically adjustable and heated, Remote control key with automatically recharging battery, 16” Seven Star Alloy Wheels, Cruise control, Auto dipping rear view mirror, I could go on and on here ! I also added a few options of my own, including a body styling kit, Auto sensing wipers and headlights, Climate comfort windscreen. CD players single and boot box. All of these add up to make for great car to spend many hours in.
So any bad points – For a car of this size the rear passenger space is poor and the rear bench is really only made for 2 adults. This is due to the car being rear wheel drive and therefore having a large transmission tunnel through the cabin. Boot space is also limited with a small opening. There is a good amount of small oddment spaces throughout the car. The rear parking sensors become confused easily and do not work well over rough (gravel) areas, where they scream at you. The steering wheel is a little thin for my liking. That’s about it !
All in all the car does most things wonderfully, looks great, feels good and is easy to live with. However the badge comes with a high-ticket price and I am sure you would find most of this car’s qualities in a car from one of the mainstream car makers at a much lower price, but you probably wouldn’t find them all brought together like in this BMW. If you’re willing to shell out a little more for the badge, want a car that’s quick, refined, looks great and won’t cost a fortune at the pumps this could be the car for you.
Advantages: Fuel economy is brilliant,over taking power great. Disadvantages: A bit of turbo lag,and cabin vibration
...and decided to race a BMW 740i.
I was expecting it to overtake me with no problem,so i put the it to steptonic and put my foot down.To my amazement the 320D was neck to neck with the 740i.(Thats a 4litre V8).
It would have beaten me on top speed ,so as i already made my point i release the accelerator.
It felt good!
Back to the review.
So far nothing has gone wrong(fingers crossed).
The only complain i have is i cant seem to get a comfortable ... ...are good for long journeys.
As this is my first diesel, is it normal to get some
vibriation in the cabin? Can anyone answer that?
The vibration can only be felt during idle, once the car got going you wouldnt know its a diesel.!
All the controls are well laid out.I especially like the mutli-functional steering wheel which is standard.
Dont expect the boot to be big. It is only adequate.
Fuel consumption is good doing 45-50mpg.
Back seats are ...
crazydriver 10.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of BMW 320d
Advantages: Good Resale value, sporty, comfortable, sleek Disadvantages: Feels same as a much older model.
...ES.
This is the second BMW I have owned. the first being a 316 made in 92, and I must report it is amazingly similar to drive.
The pedals are offset to the right slightly but this feels quite natural, the, the brakes are exellent, and the clutch is fairly light but has quite a long travel which I find takes a while to get used to.
The gearbox snicks as a proper rear wheel drive one should, and feels tight and definite to use. The car is fitted ... ...make a difference, combined with BMW almost perfect 50/50 from to back weight distribution.
The engine is quiet for a diesel even on startup and with 150bhp on tap is brisk with quite a sporty feel.Suspension is slightly on the hard side compared to that of an Audi etc but copes well, and should enable most enthusiastic drivers to drive to their own limits safely.
I was suprised at the torque of the car at most speed in the first 5 gears and this ...
lightheart 18.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of BMW 320d
Advantages: Preformance, Economy, choice of trim, extras Disadvantages: reliability - Expensive turbo failure, Rear Seat Space, Boot Space
...of the 320D - namely BMW "Numb Bum", which I must admit was not publicised in the brochure. The driving position is also somewhat strange.
Both rear seat and boot space are limited and certainly not inline with the size of vehicle, and all BMW's rivals all seem to have more copious amounts of both, so if you have a family (or are planning one) maybe this car is to avoided!.
I bought the BMW 320d thinking that I was going to experience comfort and ... ...the risk (and expense) of needing a new turbo.
Prior to buying this model, I owned a Vauxhall which in comparison suffered no faults in the same league (or expense) as the BMW in the nine years in which I owned it, and was also more comfortable in comparison. ...
jamesey 30.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of BMW 320d
Value for Money
Road Handling
Comfort
Features
Fuel consumption
Looks
Quick review of BMW 320d
Purchased a new 320d M sport Sept 06, Customer service by Premier, Llandudno very poor and the same form BMW UK. Just there to take my £29k.
Sport suspension seems to have the steering pulling all over the place at times even at high speed, could be the run flat tyres. I have done all that I can to get issue resolved yet BMW do not want to know. Car been back to dealership on 4 occassions not once offered a Courtesy Car only a coffee from a machine.
I have always had Audi in the past and certainly will in the future.
Customer service 10 times better.
In addition the unbelievable loss on a new BMW is amazing do not buy new. Recently offered £10k less from dealer. ...
Shanestar 15.06.2007 (14.06.2007)
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of BMW 320d
I have had this car for about 2 years and 25000 miles, following a 325tds (E36) and a Passat TDI 110.
The engine is very quiet once warm, and gives excellent performance between 2000-4500rpm - although there is not much at very low speeds. On a twisty road or when overtaking, it is effortless compared with a 318i - and returns 45-50mpg. Gearchange is good when warm but can be obstructive for the first couple of miles. The chassis is very competent, ... ...very difficult roads - it never loses composure. It is not particularly sporty, though.
The cabin is adequate for four, and there is a lot of attention to detail which is appreciated in long-term ownership - such as wipers which switch to intermittent when stationary. The sports seats are probably worth the extra money, for the added support and extra adjustments. The boot is small and awkwardly shaped, however. Demisting can be a problem - the ...
MarkBrock 21.02.2002 (23.02.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of BMW 320d
Please note that the photograph inserted by Ciao at the top of this page is NOT the car of the title - it is the very different last model, soft roof BMW 3-Series.
I have published pictures of the latest model - that is, the car reviewed and which the title refers to.
WHAT IS IT?
The BMW320d SE is a clever folding metal roof version of BMW's ever popular 3-Series. Particularly interesting in this case is that roof up, the styling is barely distinguishable from the conventional 3-Series Coupe model.
The 3-Series has always been one of the more spacious, four seater convertibles, the folding metal roof does not change this, at 4.58 metres long and 1.985 wide, it is identical in size to Coupe model.
WHICH SPECIFIC MODEL?
The model reviewed here is the new four cylinder, 177bhp 320 diesel, in non-sporting SE trim. This ...
Advantages: great deal of space, compartments, lovely to drive Disadvantages: looses money quick and servicing expensive
I have the 320d tourer which I love to drive. This is my second BMW (first being a saloon) and I feel this model drives just as good as a saloon, I worried about it as I had heard that estate cars can be slower and more difficult to drive.
The boot space is great, I have a double pram and find it fits well into the boot space with extra room for shopping. There is also a net to seperate the boot from the rest of the car if pets are travelling or you have loaded the boot right up for holidays.
As a woman driver I do not know any of the technical stuff, I leave that to my husband, But I feel very strongly that this is a car which rivals all others and not knowing the technical stuff has not made a difference as I so far have not needed to know. It does not act like an estate car. When you are driving it you feel like you are in ...
jodene.horrocks 15.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of BMW 320d
Advantages: Quiet, Comfortable, well specified, great service from dealer Disadvantages: Below average MPG, Dashboard rattle
I have had a Lexus IS220D as a company car since October 2007. I still get into the car after two years and think wow! The car feels well built and smooth to drive, it is very quiet for a diesel engined car and some people have thought it was a petrol. I have had a couple of niggles though, the dashboard developed a rattle after about 3500 miles but it was delat with swiftly by the local Lexus dealer with no issues at all.
'Ownership' has been a joy, everytime the car has been in for a service a courtesy car has been provided and the car comes back to me spotlessly clean. Servicing bills have been very reasonable.
Fuel economy has been the cars Achilles heel though returning 37 MPG on average (I'm not the lightest of right footed people!)
On a whole though I love this car, it still turns heads as it isn't as common as a BMW320d ...
dunclane 02.11.2009
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Lexus IS 220d
