I am not going to give you all the technical facts and figures for the 330 D, but more what I have come to love about the car over the last 25,000 miles and 18 months, and why you will too.
The only technical information I will give you is the model and specification I bought, which is a 330D SE with a couple of extras,namely leather seats and CD player (which should be standard equipment, but was fairly inexpensive at £200). I liked the fact that metallic paint was free of charge.
You will notice that I did not opt for automatic. I drove the automatic in a test drive and was disappointed with it, from both an economy point of view (only 35 mpg - see later) and a power point of view. The BMW automatic gearbox is not great; we used to have a 330 petrol automatic and my 300 D manual was much quicker. In any case, these cars are drivers cars, so enjoy them more with a manual gearbox, which for me has returned 42.1 mpg over the 25,000 miles.
My previous car was a BMW 323 petrol and I find the 330D more refined, relaxed, economical and powerful. How many cars do you know are only doing 2,500 revs at 80mph?
The downside to the car? Very little except perhaps for the tyre wear and limited boot space. The boot space issue is generic to the 3 series, the tyre wear, I think, specific to the 330D. I am looking now for a new set of rear tyres after 25,000 miles. My previous 323i only required new tyres after about 40,000 and the 318i before that , 45,000 miles.
The faults? My PDC (park distance control) has just failed, but I expect to have it fixed under warranty. Other than that (which is very minor), nothing - touch wood.
Most useless feature? The automatic headlights are a gimmick, and have caused me 2 near accidents when they have come on at the wrong moment (people thought I was flashing them to go!), so I have turned them off!
The future? I'd love to keep this car for a seriously long time - it's great.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
BMW 3 Series - Saloon - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Automatic - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 130 mph - 143 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: M Sport, Sport, SE, ES
BMW 1 Series - Hatchback - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Automatic, 6 Speed Manual - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 127 mph - 122 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: M Sport, Sport, SE, ES
BMW 3 Series - Saloon - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Automatic - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 140, 143 mph - 163, 177 bhp - Diesel - Available Trims: ES, SE, Sport, M Sport
Advantages: Dramatic increase in power, speed and suprisingly fuel economy Disadvantages: Cost of conversion, is that really a boot at the back or a cubby hole?
Blackcat01 25.07.2006 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of BMW 330d
Advantages: Dramatic increase in power, speed and suprisingly fuel economy Disadvantages: Cost of conversion, is that really a boot at the back or a cubby hole?
Blackcat01 25.07.2006 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of BMW 330d
Mar 27th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
