[rebelfocus]

Interesting review of the 3 series from an Irish website

http://www.motornet.ie/content/templ...6250&zoneid=46

In some ways, the sense that cars such as those made by BMW are bought as badges of success for their owners is a pity, because it can eclipse what is actually the most important thing about them: that they are simply very good cars.

I was moved to such thoughts by a recent run with the BMW 320d, which scored well in many areas, and very well indeed in others. But in an era when it is hard to find any brand or model of car that isn't of a very high standard in design, and execution of that design, can a BMW or a Merc still command, or even deserve, an extra cachet of respect?

I think possibly yes. But it is getting harder for them to stay ahead of the posse, not least because most of the gidgets and gadgets that would once have been only available in high-end brands are now available or even standard in most every other carmaker's products.

There is a world of difference, sure, between the automated manual transmission in a Toyota Aygo fitted with that extra, and the fully automatic gearbox as used in the 320d, but both provide a similar facility in terms of flexibility and driver comfort.

And with air conditioning, for instance, being standard in many small family cars these days, you don't have to buy a more expensive 'badge' car for that particular attribute.

All that said, there is an indefinable something about sitting in behind a steering wheel with that distinctive blue and white propellor logo. Certainly there is in the current 3 Series a sense of absolute strength and that major attention was concentrated on build quality. Which, of course, there should be, whether a car is a BMW or a Toyota or a Skoda.

I like the style of the current 3 Series. Where the 7 Series is grossly oversculpted in its present incarnation, and the 5 series not much less so, there was more restraint shown in the penning of the contours of the 3. There is aesthetically a much better balance.

As to size, it certainly is pretty well all right for me, not too big but still a relatively large car. And while enormous strides have been made in small car safety over recent years, it is still an undeniable fact that, all else being equal, one has a better chance of surviving a crash in a larger than in a littler car.

The tactile sense is a very important one in the car business. As drivers we are in constant physical connection with certain parts of our vehicles, notably the steering wheel, and designers spend a lot of effort getting the feel of a steering wheel right. In the BMW they've got it very right. It is a good feel.

The interior visuals are good too, both in the texture of the materials and how they are put together. The review car had a brushed metallic trim along the centre console which was real metal, too. It invited stroking at those idle moments in stopped traffic.

The essential instrumentation is classical, the round dials that are still the best way of getting a quick overview of speed and engine revs are reassuring in their presence. There are also the now-usual digital 'patches' for giving us extra information, including the trip information of fuel consumption, range and all that. The flickering needle that indicates instant fuel sipping levels is rather archaic, though.

These latter are, of course, also available in the centre-dash screen which is operated by the still-frustrating iDrive knob. Nobody would consider me to be a Luddite, in fact I'm quite the opposite; but I hate this damned thing. It is non-intuitive, and invites distraction. In some sense we are now in an overload of information situation, and we need to get back to some more basic simplicities.

Besides, the menu screen which defaults when you don't actually fiddle with any of the iDrive areas is dull and uninspiring, and limps along behind that in, for instance, the Audi A6.

The car is a bit short on knick-knack storage places too. While there is a bin under a lid that also serves as a centre armrest, I had to open the console ashtray to park such bits as coins for the toll booths and the ubiquitous mobile. Sure, there are safety arguments for not having loose things around a car's cabin during extreme manoeuvring, but in the real world we don't work to ideals.

One of the spaces under that aforesaid lid is for the mobile, to make it into a hands-free system. Thing is, when you hide it away like that, you can forget it when you leave the car. For many in this totally wired age, walking around without one's phone is possibly one of the new major stressors.

One last thing with a gripe factor is the adjustable seat fronts that were in the review car. You know the things, where you can slide the front part of the part you sit on forward to give more support under your thighs?

Well, in any car that has such things, I've found that first I never needed to use them, and second that they seem to make that part of the seat too unyielding. I'd order my car without them, really.

The 320d is, of course, a diesel. But not that you'd know it much while driving, except for the characteristic low-end urge that such power units provide. Even standing outside with the engine running, it is extraordinarily quiet. It just goes to show that with application, diesels can be very refined.

In the review car it was mated to an automatic gearbox, and very well matched the pair were too. The gearbox itself is an extremely smooth shifter, an exemplar of its type and in one day of two long distance drives, proved itself well both in instant response to overtaking needs as well as a boon in slow traffic. Gone are the days when an auto box meant sluggish performance.

The driveability of a BMW 3 Series is something that is intrinsic in the brand and the model, and the current car lives up to all the reputation. I don't have any hang-ups vis a vis front or rear drive, each type has its advantages and disadvantages but it is only at more extreme performance that one has to be aware of them.

Fuel consumption was in or around the 10L/100km mark, not especially frugal but a fair hunk of engine which was given its head from time to time (but within speed limits, I should note).

So, bottom line, should you consider a 320d instead of, say, a Mondeo Ghia 2.2 TDCi with similar performance, with a price difference of around ten grand between them?

Apart from the fact that there's not an auto option in the Ford, you might. Especially if you are a 'club' kind of person.

Because, with the BMW, this is one of those indefineables. There's nothing official about it, but there's a 'club' of BMW owners. Even on the occasions when I'm driving behind that particular badge, I've noticed it. Other owners of the brand will smile at you, nod, be more considerate towards another of the 'brethren'. If you like to 'belong', this might be the clincher.

Meantime, as I said, the 320d is just one really good car.

[sblument]

good review. I would buy the diesel were it available in the u.s. Also didn't get iDrive because it clutters up the dash. Plus, I work in IT and stare at computer screens all day. Don't need another one in the car.

BTW the screen in the Z4 is more tastefully done. It folds nicely out of sight when not in use.