[chriz1]

Just searching for a new car and ideally wanted the 320d m sport for mpg and a bit of poke but have come across a few 325d m sport for similar money,in fact theres more lower mileage and younger 325d msports about currently than there are 320ds, I have £12k to spent.
Now the extra poke of the 325d would be great but I was just wondering if they are worse of in terms of mpg,servicing,tax etc..compared to the 320d m sport.i must say mpg is my priority.

[AWBimmer]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=724227

[StarSailor]

Originally Posted by chriz1

Now the extra poke of the 325d would be great but I was just wondering if they are worse of in terms of mpg,servicing,tax etc..compared to the 320d m sport.i must say mpg is my priority.

There is no more poke with a 325d in comparison to the 320d in the real world in my opinion.

I set out looking for a 325d M Sport but after driving a few alongside the 320d M Sport, it just didn't make any sense to me (apart from sounding a bit better).

[golfmck1980]

Balls to mpg get the 6 pot everytime wish I had of got 1 instead of the 320 not to say mine didn't remap well

[AWBimmer]

Sorry I just realised the OP asked for E90, in which case ignore my link, to an e92 :-)

[335d Rocco]

Get the 6 pot, you won't regret it. Instead of looking at the 325d, look at the 330d, same engine as the 325d but more power and near identical MPG.

[Ryan87]

Has to be the 325 at least.

A friend of mine has a 320d and on a run together the mpg was within 5 of each other.

The 6 cylinder seems to pick up a lot quicker in gear though, although not much in it off the mark.

Oh and im pretty sure some of the funky cruise control options only comes on the 6 cylinder cars

[FRG]

Get a 6! I average 42mpg (auto), if I only did the work run which is 80 miles per day, mainly 50mph A roads I can get 44-46mpg, confirmed on tank fills as well not just the computer which is pretty accurate on mine anyway. And that's running a Bluefin which should give it 250+ bhp and 540nm (Superchips figures not mine).

[Alex.Devol]

Originally Posted by StarSailor

There is no more poke with a 325d in comparison to the 320d in the real world in my opinion.

I set out looking for a 325d M Sport but after driving a few alongside the 320d M Sport, it just didn't make any sense to me (apart from sounding a bit better).

Have to disagree with this unfortunately, having owned both id say to most people in stock auto form these cars will feel virtually the same if you leave them in drive, but in m mode the 325d is a completely different car, much more responsive and much more torque starting from much lower revs, likewise if youre buying manual you will notice a clear difference.
The 325 shares the same engine as the 330/335d (in both cases only difference being fuel injectors & turbo size) so If you have any plans to remap it then the 325d has potential to be very quick car which returns great mpg.
You will certainly get an extra 5+ mpg from the 320 but you are never going to get much more than a leisurely drive from it IMO.

Also as touched on already the 6pot sounds much nicer than the 320d's 4, it may be a placebo effect but driving quickly with a dull droning soundtrack feels thoroughly underwhelming to me.

The smart thing to do however would probably be to get the 330 since its fuel economy is on par with the 325 and it's stock performance is going to be enough for most people, will also command a better resell value, you will struggle to sell a 325d compared to a 320d / 330d.
If you're not prepared to mod your engine I would suggest comparing 320 / 330d's

You are right though there are some bargain 325d cars out there throughout the age range, I bought one for that reason and am swapping the fuel injectors + remap so i will effectively have a remapped 330d with a few grand change left in the bank.

[Alex.Devol]

Originally Posted by FRG

Get a 6! I average 42mpg (auto), if I only did the work run which is 80 miles per day, mainly 50mph A roads I can get 44-46mpg, confirmed on tank fills as well not just the computer which is pretty accurate on mine anyway.

+1
45mpg figures are easily achievable with a 325d
I never saw close to the 55mpg quoted for a 320

[katie.g]

hi chriz

i've owned both cars, the good news is that they are both fabulous engines

my 2008 325d does the same mpg as my 2006 320d, but i know you could expect a 5mpg improvement in the 2007 onwards 177bhp 320d

i love the 6 cyl engine its effortless and super smooth, the mpg and lower road tax makes it a good alternative to the 330d

regards kathy

[andy9188]

Originally Posted by Alex.Devol

Have to disagree with this unfortunately, having owned both id say to most people in stock auto form these cars will feel virtually the same if you leave them in drive, but in m mode the 325d is a completely different car, much more responsive and much more torque starting from much lower revs, likewise if youre buying manual you will notice a clear difference.
The 325 shares the same engine as the 330/335d (in both cases only difference being fuel injectors & turbo size) so If you have any plans to remap it then the 325d has potential to be very quick car which returns great mpg.
You will certainly get an extra 5+ mpg from the 320 but you are never going to get much more than a leisurely drive from it IMO.

Also as touched on already the 6pot sounds much nicer than the 320d's 4, it may be a placebo effect but driving quickly with a dull droning soundtrack feels thoroughly underwhelming to me.

The smart thing to do however would probably be to get the 330 since its fuel economy is on par with the 325 and it's stock performance is going to be enough for most people, will also command a better resell value, you will struggle to sell a 325d compared to a 320d / 330d.
If you're not prepared to mod your engine I would suggest comparing 320 / 330d's

You are right though there are some bargain 325d cars out there throughout the age range, I bought one for that reason and am swapping the fuel injectors + remap so i will effectively have a remapped 330d with a few grand change left in the bank.

The 335d is a Completely different engine all it shares is the block and has two turbos a small and a large one

[andy9188]

6 pot any day of the week. 4 cylinders are like tractors. I averaged 45mpg out of my mapped lci 325d and is lovely to drive in auto. it was my first one and is never buy another manual bm

[magic77]

having driven a 320D for last 3 years I wish I did go for a 325D as well. especially as of the remap potential. Now my 320D is pushing 200hp its not so bad and car is swift but when it was stock it felt slow.

Not to mention the 6 pot sounds so much better. Certainly I will be hard pushed not to switch to 6 pot next car I get. Unless you really need the MPG I get real world around 46 average mostly town driving and mid 50 when sensible on motorway then 320D is a must otherwise 6 pot 325/330

[xs2man]

It looks very much like everyone has missed the last line of the OP's post. The one that says mpg is his priority.

That being the case, get the 320d. It has better mpg. End of.

Now, here is the thing though. I have made up a little excel sheet to compare costs for different mpg's as I was disappointed with the fuel economy of my last car. So I made this little calculator to show the extra it was costing me over the expected miles / term in fuel alone.

I have no idea of your driving habits, but as a quick calculation, based on 15k per year, the difference between 40 mpg and 46 mpg (which is probably average for both cars, based on a decent amount of city driving and some motorway), it will cost you £301 per year more to run the 325d over the 320d. The difference between 325d and 330d is negligible, as said above, so you could argue this is the difference between 320d and 330d also.


Fuel Diesel Diesel L/G 4.54
Price /L 1.359 1.359 Term (Years) 4

miles per year 15000 15000
MPG 40 46
Litres per year 1702.50 1480.43 difference (L) 222.07

difference (£/Year) £301.79
difference (£/Term) £1,207.15

Cost per year £2,313.70 £2,011.91

So these figures mention fuel cost difference over 4 years too, the term over which I tend to keep the car. The difference in fuel costs is only £1200 over 4 years.

Now, brakes are no doubt bigger on the 325/330, so that will likely cost you more when they need done. And the 3.0L 6 pot will need more oil during servicing, so that will cost more. But apart from that, I would think, personally, the greater choice you have with the 6 pot cars just now, means you will likely get a better spec in the car for your budget. This will hopefully make it an easier sell on the other term. Maybe not necessarily for more money, as you are less likely to pay more money for it now either, but extra spec means easier sell. And a more comfortable ownership, as you will spend the next few years with a decent spec anyway. So worth it IMO.

Personally, I would be looking at the 330d though. If you can get a decent one, with decent spec, for around your budget. Fuel costs differences are negligible, as will the servicing costs be, over the 325d. You will have a much easier to sell car at the end of the term with the 330d, and a better driving car for the time you have it. Plus it can be remapped into 335d territory, which makes it an amazing all round motor.

If fuel economy is the be all and end all though, get the 320d, or even the 318d. But for my money, if you can afford circa £12k for the car initially, you can probably afford the extra 82p per day in fuel to run the 330d over the 320d.

Assuming 15k per annum, this figure obviously drops as your mileage decreases, likewise rises with mileage. For example, 54p per day at 10k, or £1.10 for 20k per anum.

[magic77]

my bad yep missed the bit about mpg. I was in same boat 3 years ago needed a good mpg as was to do high milage so opted for 320D in my case now I dont so was a typical sods low issue. However now with the performance pack I kind have forgiven myself.

One thing I would say unless you are not fussed with performance do not go for 318D. I have driven some and even couple of 118Ds and they all sound strained especialy as auto. Yes give great mpg but maybe as manuals they could work. IMO 320D manual is best option

[bmminiparts]

Originally Posted by Alex.Devol

Have to disagree with this unfortunately, having owned both id say to most people in stock auto form these cars will feel virtually the same if you leave them in drive, but in m mode the 325d is a completely different car, much more responsive and much more torque starting from much lower revs, likewise if youre buying manual you will notice a clear difference.
The 325 shares the same engine as the 330/335d (in both cases only difference being fuel injectors & turbo size) so If you have any plans to remap it then the 325d has potential to be very quick car which returns great mpg.
You will certainly get an extra 5+ mpg from the 320 but you are never going to get much more than a leisurely drive from it IMO.

Also as touched on already the 6pot sounds much nicer than the 320d's 4, it may be a placebo effect but driving quickly with a dull droning soundtrack feels thoroughly underwhelming to me.

The smart thing to do however would probably be to get the 330 since its fuel economy is on par with the 325 and it's stock performance is going to be enough for most people, will also command a better resell value, you will struggle to sell a 325d compared to a 320d / 330d.
If you're not prepared to mod your engine I would suggest comparing 320 / 330d's

You are right though there are some bargain 325d cars out there throughout the age range, I bought one for that reason and am swapping the fuel injectors + remap so i will effectively have a remapped 330d with a few grand change left in the bank.

Please don't shoot me for the next comments, this is information i have been told by Stan at Ecotune. I have a 325d in manual and spoke to them in length twice before purchasing their package.

The differences you mention are not entirely correct. The turbos are the same - This is on ETK. The injectors are smaller, but also the ports on the head of the 325d.

If you put larger injectors in the 325d then you will not get the correct air to fuel ratio mix as the head cannot get enough air in to make the mixture correct. This is a modification Ecotune did when mapping and caused more problems because of this.

Stan advised the best would be a 325d or 335d. After this mode my car has almost the same standard BHP as the 335d, 270 bhp and 515nm.

[Alex.Devol]

Originally Posted by bmminiparts

If you put larger injectors in the 325d then you will not get the correct air to fuel ratio mix as the head cannot get enough air in to make the mixture correct. This is a modification Ecotune did when mapping and caused more problems because of this.

Not at all, all advice & info welcome! This does seem like such a minefield with the 325d engines varying between pre/post LCI and also throughout the e9x models.

I'm trying to learn as much about the subject as possible for my own car but don't want to hijack the OP's thread as its getting off topic. I might start a new thread on it.

cheers

[bmminiparts]

Originally Posted by Alex.Devol

Not at all, all advice & info welcome! This does seem like such a minefield with the 325d engines varying between pre/post LCI and also throughout the e9x models.

I'm trying to learn as much about the subject as possible for my own car but don't want to hijack the OP's thread as its getting off topic. I might start a new thread on it.

cheers

If you call Stan at Ecotune and ask him the differences he will give his opinion gained on his experience on tuning all the 3 series diesel engines.

[ecotuneuk]

The 197hp 325d has smaller intake ports on the head and smaller injectors when compared to the 330d 231hp.

The 204hp 325d LCI is a 330D 243hp simply downtuned :-)

[bmminiparts]

Cruising home tonight on the motorway with maxitune 270 bhp at 56 on the cruise i averaged 60+ mpg, saw 70 mpg while on the flat.

Have changed to the eco map to see if this makes a difference.

[shaunstrudwick]

hi - i'm new here

q: can i get an engine remap for my E90 57 plate 325d m sport?

or is this only available to E91s?