[Danny.B.]

Evening Folks!

Just thought id join up and say hello!

Turning my hand back to BMW land after having a few crazy cars, i now have the need to get a sensible, economical car.

I refuse to get something bland like a vectra diesel so i want a BMW again, i used to have a E39 530i Sport (Ill do a thread with all my old cars later, for all you sports fans )

So now im on the look out for a E90. I think ive narrowed my search down to a 320d M Sport.

I wanted a 335d M Sport, but i figured if i wanted a fast car again i might aswell keep my current car, afterall if i drive the 335d how it supposed to be driven id only get 10mpg + on my Focus. Im ideally after 30mpg ontop of what i can achieve, which is around 21mpg! (i drive a Focus RS with 340bhp and around 360-380lb fl torque)


I like the idea of a mapped 320d M Sport giving me 330lf fb torque to play with and still 50+Mpg so thats why im here

Anyone got any thoughts on my choice of car?

Sorry for waffling!

Cheers!

Danny

[dxb335d]

Welcome Danny, just get the 335d!!

[Danny.B.]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

Welcome Danny, just get the 335d!!

Hello mate,

You said the same to me on Pistonheads many many moons ago when i showed my 530i Sport off!

Youve still got it then!

[davyk31]

Focus RS to a 320D is a pretty drastic move, maybe a step too far.

Another vote here for the 335d, fantastic cars.

[doughboy]

a mapped 320d wpn't give you 50 mpg at the same time as producing 330lbft.

Its one or the other, as you know with the focus

[chris_s1]

Go for a comprimise. 325or330d. Significantly better driving than the 320d but still returning 40-ish mpg average.

The 4-pot BMs just don't have that feeling about them, I think you will get bored pretty quick.

Good luck

[Danny.B.]

Originally Posted by davyk31

Focus RS to a 320D is a pretty drastic move, maybe a step too far.

Another vote here for the 335d, fantastic cars.

This is what i was thinking, and what i hope nobody was going to mention

From 340bhp to 202bhp

360-380lb/ft to 330lb/ft

It was the torque alone that convinced me that it was a good choice. i am aware that a 6cyc would give me a shed load more, but it really is tough times and i really thing i need to be smart with this and stick to my guns and just get a sensible car : (

[Danny.B.]

Journey through my car history!


I think the least said about this one the better….

My First Car at 17.
2000 Citroen Saxo VTR (Around 100bhp) little pocket rocket) Chav!!!!!!!!!





Second Car think I was just 18.
1997 Subaru Impreza Sport (120bhp)

My First venture into 4WD, great fun on corners, but took a while to get to them : )








Third car, really fancied a change.

The Beast!!
1994 Toyota Supra Twin Turbo 6 Speed, around 300bhp to the rear wheels, perhaps a little too much for a 19 year old!! :twisted:












Then I turned into a old barsteward at 20 and thought id get a “sensible car”
Enter the 2001 BMW 530i Sport (231bhp)
Beautiful to drive, still say one of the best handling cars I’ve ever driven. Very quick when you stuck the metal to the floor and 3litre straight 6 sounded lovely!








As nice as it was (I want another) I was bored of being the “sensible one” so treat myself on my 21st birthday to a real insurance Killer (to be honest my insurance has never been cheap with my cars lol)
And currently have the P1 at 21.







I had to sell the P1 after a year as i really couldnt justify paying for the insurance anymore (3k+ mods declared, or 1900 without :shock: ) so it had to go!

Got a bit desperate when selling this to be honest and was offered a few cars in PX (Including a TVR!!) I first bulked at the idea of owning a FWD, let alone a Ford so i told him i wasnt interested... Untill a i had a week left on my insurnace and tried a quote on the RS £2200 cheaper then my Impreza Renewal! :shock:

At that point it was a no brainer and i had to have it!

A year on and it turns out (although ive spent over 3k on it) that it is a very good car indeed, very underestimated which i like!






Its scary in the snow mind with sheet ice all over the road :shock:

[m1bjr]

It's not torque that makes a car fast.

It just feels that way.

You will require a recalibration, unfortunately.

[zltm089]

335 all day long.....

[rogerxp]

335i you mean .

Welcome Danny. Nice little collection of cars there, especially for your age - nice one .

I'm on the hunt for a 320d (touring) for the missus at the minute, the mpg is really hard to resist isn't it, the benefit for me is that I only drive it at the weekends so can cope if it's not exciting on the speed front.

Good luck searching.

[zltm089]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

335i you mean .

Welcome Danny. Nice little collection of cars there, especially for your age - nice one .

I'm on the hunt for a 320d (touring) for the missus at the minute, the mpg is really hard to resist isn't it, the benefit for me is that I only drive it at the weekends so can cope if it's not exciting on the speed front.

Good luck searching.

in terms of performance...not really a big gap between the 2....(in fact, Eds one left me about a cars lengh when exiting a corner....)

the petrol one sounds nicer tho! ;-)

and i get get higher revs out of it....

[briers]

Get the 335 - it's good on fuel anyway

[Vaheed1]

Why not buy yourself a 330d manual - and have it re-mapped. 290+bhp and 480+ Ib's Ft - It will still give you 38+mpg. faster than a standard 35d - better mpg and cheaper to insure.

[rogerxp]

Yeah, I used to average 36mpg in my 'stock' manual 330d and drove that thing pretty hard all day long. Happy medium I think. Finding one is the trickiest bit.

[rsmallwo]

get a 325d, still a 6pot diesel, can be remapped to 280bhp someone has mentioned. Its very similar to the 330d. The insurance for the 325d is cheaper too. You can choose wether to declare the remap or not.......

[dxb335d]

More than just a map to get 280HP out of a 325d!

[edowen]

personally I think the 320d is a perfect balance of real world economy and performance (having owned a 335d and a 320d).

Putting aside tuning (and the implications of warranty and insurance) the 325d dosnt make a good case for its self, and this is reflected in the residuals - barely any better performance than the 20d, but much worse mpg. It does of course sound much better, but the 20d is hardly a tractor.

In my hands my 320d M Sport has done 47mpg over 35,000 miles making no effort towards economy (i have a fuel card).

This car goes back at the end of the month due to a job change and my wife and I are replacing it with an "ED" 320d. I couldnt tell the difference in performance between it and a "normal" 320d, and the extra 10% of economy and £20 a year in tax made it a no brainer..

At the end of the day, test drive them all - if the 320d gives you adequate performance, then great - if not - go for a 330d or 335d. Note the recent 330d is much closer to the 335d than the earlier ones.

Whats the budget?

[Danny.B.]

Originally Posted by edowen

personally I think the 320d is a perfect balance of real world economy and performance (having owned a 335d and a 320d).

Putting aside tuning (and the implications of warranty and insurance) the 325d dosnt make a good case for its self, and this is reflected in the residuals - barely any better performance than the 20d, but much worse mpg. It does of course sound much better, but the 20d is hardly a tractor.

In my hands my 320d M Sport has done 47mpg over 35,000 miles making no effort towards economy (i have a fuel card).

This car goes back at the end of the month due to a job change and my wife and I are replacing it with an "ED" 320d. I couldnt tell the difference in performance between it and a "normal" 320d, and the extra 10% of economy and £20 a year in tax made it a no brainer..

At the end of the day, test drive them all - if the 320d gives you adequate performance, then great - if not - go for a 330d or 335d. Note the recent 330d is much closer to the 335d than the earlier ones.

Whats the budget?

£13k ish mate Not a great deal at all

Thats what i was thinking with the 320d, comparing it to my old 530i sport which had 231bhp and (possibley the same torque not sure) to a car (mapped) with 202 and 330 torques should make it perform the same if not better because of the 100~ more torque?

I only got rid othe 530i sport because it felt slow, but compared to a twin turbo supra i had before it, its pretty obvious id be dissapointed.

Now on im going from the RS which is now the most powerfull car of the bunch down to a 320d i think i can be more tolerant of the huge step down in performance by beeing able to keep more pennys in the bank!

Another reason for this is, the women wants a house! So i need to think more sensibley now, so the 330d and 335d is but a dream i think. Id love the power, but id be in the same boat again, i need around 50mpg now and the 320d sounds capable of getting pretty damned close to this.

[edowen]

As others have said, if you remap it and make use of the extra go, you wont be getting 50mpg.

I havent found the 320d (177) lacking in the slightest, and I think once you drive it you may feel the same - why start tuning it, paying extra in insurance - this isnt what a 320d is all about IMHO.

This one is at BMW so you get a year of proper warranty and worry free motoring:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...73rg?logcode=p

i personally love the standard alcantara type seats - so much nicer in the winter than cold leather!

[Em135eye]

I'd go for a 330d and remap it.

330ds are a fair bit better on fuel than 335ds.

Claims they are faster than a 335d when remapped can be taken with a pinch of salt but they'll be pretty damn close ;-)

You also get the option of a manual box in a 330d - auto only in a 335d.

[Danny.B.]

I understand i cant have the best of both worlds, but it would be nice to have a compromise, a bit of oopmh when i need it, but then able to maintain a healthy mpg when i need that too!

Ive tried to drive my car slowy and eco friendly... Two weeks of absolute hell, and what did i mangage... 21MPfookingG!

I wasnt best pleased to say the least!