[LukeG88]

it does. does it seem too good to be true though? I've seen another 330D in blue for 11k and that seemed tatty as anything!

[phil200tdi]

I guess your mileage is about 16-17k miles per year.

In all honesty, with the fact that diesels are more expensive to buy and insure - there isnt a great saving to be gained.

Compare a used F30 328i with a similar age/spec 330d on purchase price, fuel economy and residuals over 3 years and the diesel cant recover the initial higher outlay.

The new 330d is a fantastic car though!

[Iyrix]

Originally Posted by E92Dan

Hi Luke.

I have an 07 330d with 231bhp(the older engine)and a manual gearbox, and I think its great. Had an 03 Z4 3.0 also with 231bhp a few years ago. The Z4 was quicker if you revved it hard, but the 330d is just effortless, its a real joy. In terms of mpg, I used to get about 27mpg out of the Z4, with same driving on the same commute(35miles each way of 70% motorway)i now get about 42-43 mpg, a fair difference. Also my Z4 needed the higher octane fuel to run well so my fuel costs per litre haven't really changed.

Dan

I'm with you on this. Had my 330d 231 for a couple of months now and its great. manual also which is so nice when you want to really drive it.

I'm getting around 42mpg, which is ok. I'm sure it can do better also. Most of my journey to work is motorway, but tend to get stuckin traffic at least 3 days a week.

[LukeG88]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

I guess your mileage is about 16-17k miles per year.

In all honesty, with the fact that diesels are more expensive to buy and insure - there isnt a great saving to be gained.

Compare a used F30 328i with a similar age/spec 330d on purchase price, fuel economy and residuals over 3 years and the diesel cant recover the initial higher outlay.

The new 330d is a fantastic car though!

surely a new 3 series will be well out of range for me. I'd be looking to spend around £240 a month. surely a f30 would be out of my range?

[E92Dan]

Originally Posted by LukeG88

I think I'm going to have to get a 320d. doing 250miles a week at the moment. but that could change in the coming years. better be prepared.

may get a tourer version! really like the look of them!

That's only 13,000 miles per year, which is not an awful lot.

[LukeG88]

Originally Posted by E92Dan

That's only 13,000 miles per year, which is not an awful lot.

but could change down the line?

at what point would i see gains in a diesel motor? would it be better for me to get a 320i? seems i can get a newer model, with lower miles for the same price as a 320d!

what power mods can I do on a 320i? new air filter (small gain)? but what else?

[MEGA]

335d!

Originally Posted by LukeG88

Good day all

Been in the market a while for a new motor. Think I've finally settled on a e90 diesel. Diesel purely because of work now so need a bit of economy. Now I was settled on a 320d LCI model. But feel I may miss the power of my Z4. So was thinking about getting it remapped.

But thought if I get it remapped, I'm just going to work it harder, so is it worth me getting maybe a 325d or a 330d? Now I must ask, how are people finding the real world mpg on all 3 models? I would be after a manual variant in M Sport guise.

My run to work at the moment is 30%motorway 70% single lane a roads.

When were the efficient dynamics introduced to the 3 series range? As in what reg plate? 08? 58?

Hope you can help. Thanks.

[E92Dan]

I would read the 320i sticky in the technical threads before buying one

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by LukeG88

but could change down the line?

at what point would i see gains in a diesel motor? would it be better for me to get a 320i? seems i can get a newer model, with lower miles for the same price as a 320d!

what power mods can I do on a 320i? new air filter (small gain)? but what else?

http://www.virtualcarsuperstore.co.u...alculator.html

The calculations are fairly simple to do anyway.

(Number of miles per year / miles per gallon) * cost of fuel per gallon = cost

or if using per litre fuel prices

(Number of miles per year / miles per gallon) * 4.546 * price per liter

For example:

15,000 miles per year a 32 mpg car using V-Power at £1.45/l will use
(15000 / 32) * 4.546 * 1.45 = £3,089.85 of fuel

15,000 miles per year 45 mpg car using diesel at £1.40/l will use
(15000 / 45) * 4.546 * 1.40 = £2,121.46 of fuel

Nearly a £1000 a year difference there, but those are numbers i picked randomly. Even the most thirsty of the 3 series petrol's can probably manage 32 mpg over 15k/year of motorway.

If you're talking 15k/ year and 50mpg vs 35mpg the saving is probably around £700, the difference in price of the two cars is often way more than that. People have petrol phobia these days! It hurts when you fill up, but you just have to remember you are probably 2 grand better off to start with!

[phil200tdi]

Originally Posted by LukeG88

surely a new 3 series will be well out of range for me. I'd be looking to spend around £240 a month. surely a f30 would be out of my range?

I thought you were spending £240 per month on fuel, not £240pm is your budget..

My point is with a diesel being more expensive to buy/insure than an equivalent petrol, it aint always going to save you money getting a diesel - fuel costs account for a small percentage of the overall cost of a vehicle over a 3yr period...

But if we cared about this - we'd all be driving around in ford focus diesels!

[markymark34]

330d all the way for me. perfect motorway/A road car. Easily get 42-45mpg out of it on these such journeys. I was getting 27mpg out of my 330i and 38ish out of my 330d soo i would expect you to get 10mpg more out of the diesel. 325d (which i currently own) is a bit pointless as its more or less the same mpg as the 330d but less power (unless you get one of the much newer 325ds which im told i just a detuned 330d anyway).

On the other hand a remapped 320d is a great car if saving is the main aim.

[LukeG88]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

I thought you were spending £240 per month on fuel, not £240pm is your budget..

My point is with a diesel being more expensive to buy/insure than an equivalent petrol, it aint always going to save you money getting a diesel - fuel costs account for a small percentage of the overall cost of a vehicle over a 3yr period...

But if we cared about this - we'd all be driving around in ford focus diesels!

sorry spending £240 a month on fuel. as well as spending £240 a month on a car. so ideally need to reduce fuel. what's best when doing around 15k mile a year? can I get good deals on a new car?

[phil200tdi]

Right now Merc lease deals are pretty silly

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by LukeG88

sorry spending £240 a month on fuel. as well as spending £240 a month on a car. so ideally need to reduce fuel. what's best when doing around 15k mile a year? can I get good deals on a new car?

So 1250 miles per month? Mainly motorway you're talking 2 tanks of fuel with a good diesel. That's gonna mean your fuel costs are around £160/m. Probably more like £200/m in fuel for a petrol.

[LukeG88]

looked on google maps, at the moment my journey is 29mile. 6mile on motorway, rest on the single lane a roads. but this can change soon as may be moving and journey will be only 15mile. but 3mile dual carriage way rest single bendy roads. (my job can cause me to move every 1-2 years to different areas of a region)

merc deals? really? how so?

[E92Dan]

My old mk5 GTI DSG managed about 28mpg, same as my old Z4 3.0
They both needed the high octane fuel to run well
£1.47 per ltr which equals about £6.61 a gallon
28mpg means 23 pence per mile.
18,000 miles a year works out at £4140

Diesel is £1.45 per ltr which is about £6.52 a gallon
43mpg means 15 pence per mile
18,000 miles a year works out at £2700

An annual saving for me of £1440

Also my road tax is lower.

A diesel might be more expensive to buy but will be worth more when the time comes to sell.

[JonnySi]

As a technician and a BMW owner I'd like to give my view to help you. I have driven numerous 320d's both ED and regular. As a modern 4 pot goes they are excellent, but to maintain a steady motorway cruise you are squeezing the throttle a touch more than you do in my daily driver. I've got a M57 325d 59 plate manual. I don't drive it steady at all and I cannot get the mpg lower than 47mpg. On a long run 58mpg is easily achievable. You can't compare a 2 litre trying to get 3 litre power by turbo alone. That's where the fuel goes! Go for a 325d or 330d, in the real world you'll probably get better running costs and loads more fun!

[LukeG88]

Originally Posted by JonnySi

As a technician and a BMW owner I'd like to give my view to help you. I have driven numerous 320d's both ED and regular. As a modern 4 pot goes they are excellent, but to maintain a steady motorway cruise you are squeezing the throttle a touch more than you do in my daily driver. I've got a M57 325d 59 plate manual. I don't drive it steady at all and I cannot get the mpg lower than 47mpg. On a long run 58mpg is easily achievable. You can't compare a 2 litre trying to get 3 litre power by turbo alone. That's where the fuel goes! Go for a 325d or 330d, in the real world you'll probably get better running costs and loads more fun!

That what I've been pondering. Am I not gonna be burning more fuel by trying to get a 320 go faster as opposed to a 330 which just goes.

[poggy]

If it wasn't for friction and mass, theoretically, a 330 should achieve the same mpg as a 320 - there should be no difference in the power required to drive a 320 over the same journey as a 330. However, a 330 has two more more cylinders and therefore fundamentally, the 6 pot is going to be less efficient because of friction losses. And then you have the extra mass, a six pot will have more mass than the four and therefore the amount of power required to move it along the road is higher. The conclusion; if you drive them both in the same way, the four cylinder should theoretically be more efficient. You can't deny physics.

[mob17]

Get a 6 pot. You'll only be back on here trying to improve the performance of a 320D if you get one, either by a remap or tuning box.

I have a 335D and due to a change in jobs, i will be doing 530 miles per week, 95% motorway miles. I'm expecting to achieve 45-49 mpg (yes i got 50mpg once on a good run).

[LukeG88]

I do like the look of that lci 330d i posted before. 10,995 for it. would part ex my z4. they've said they'd give me 5k for mine. what chance of haggling is there?

how much does it take to fill a tank?

[Bob S]

Got a 325d touring new in 2011 so the 204bhp engine. It's mapped by DMS (excellent map) so it's now up around the 300 mark. Standard apart from that.

Currently returning 45.5 mpg and that's on mixed urban/motorway driving......probably about equal between them