Howdy
Its a manual - I'm not a big fan of the flappy paddle stuff so both my previous M cars have been manual 6 speeders. I drove an auto and I really didn't get on with it at all - if I was ok with the auto box I'd have likely gone with a 335d
My E92 M3 was late 2007 and extremely well loaded with gizmos (everything minus the electric rear blind) - it was a great car but as you can imagine 42000 miles on a v8 gets a bit tiring on the old wallet LOL.
The 330d is a black Msport coupe in manual with black leather, same age as the M and one previous owner - no iDrive on this one either which isn't causing me too many issues as I rarely used the satnav - Have a tomtom 1000 Go Europe for when I need it now. Obviously the lack of a TV wont bother me LOL.
Also the 330d also has the Active cruise which took a bit of getting used too but it really seems to keep me calm on the motorways as it just slows and keeps a distance from the car in front - weird to begin with but great (obviously always cover the brake in case the radar fails LOL).
Its a nice car - Has the following in the build.
Black Leather (no heating which I'll no doubt miss in the winter)
Active Cruise Control
Bluetooth phone prep
Elec Fold Exterior Mirrors
Electric Glass Sunroof
Extended storage
Loudspeaker system - BMW Business
Lumbar support. driver and front pass
The M had proper bmw sun protection glass which the 330d doesn't so I managed to get a really good place to smoke the back quarters and rear screen to the same levels.
I am still quite shocked that all of the non-M cars have completely open diffs in the back - how can they call a car without an LSD the ultimate driving machine? - all it does is make 1 tyre fire which is rubbish. In terms of after-market differentials I've only managed to find the ATB torque-biasing LSDs (from Quaife) which I don't like nearly as much as a proper clutch driven LSD - hopefully somebody makes one so I'll keep hunting.
I've had a pretty poor experience with dealer knowledge and cd changeripod retro fit over the last few weeks - not to mention 2 failed attempts at getting a Dension Gateway 500 installed by the dealer recommended audio experts in Derby - fortunately I got in touch with
NaviTVMan over in Birmingham who managed to resolve the issues and he installed me the iPod retrofit and correctly re-coded the Vehicle Order in less than 2 hours from my work carpark - Totally recommend Jason and the guys at NaviTVMan - they really know their stuff.
The car also has silver interior finisher panels which makes the cockpit a little too bright compare to the M. A place is going to 3M carbon wrap all that next week for me - I priced up a set of the 10 piano black/carbon finisher panels at the dealers and they aint cheap LOL.
I think its going to be a great great car once I've sorted a few of the aesthetics out. Steering and body control isn't anything like the M3 but I can appreciate if bmw made the 330/335ds any better it would damage their M car market no end.
I'm not arguing with 41mpg at just beneath license loosing speeds on the motorway either - the M would be doing 21mpg in these situations at best LOL - I think I can cut over 3K from last years fuel bill without even trying hahahah.