The BMW 320D Effecient Dynamics seems, according to the press, to be the bench mark for diesel cars in the family/compact executive class.

Of course there are several points against it; Price for one at 27K and one can get to £30K easily by adding a few options. This is partly explained by the strength of the Euro versus GBP.

Even so, based purely on its performance figures it is impressive compared to any other diesel in this class ie acceleration, mpg and top speed.

So what are the other negatives?

My list, a part from prices of car and options is:

1. Seem to have to have the 16 inch Michelin Eco tyres.

2. Cannot have a boot spoiler so it looks ordinary.

Any other negs?

(Good initlial acceleration part due to rear wheel drive I suppose.)

Edited 15 August, 201015 yr by lol

BMW have got really good with there engines lately. Especially diseasel ones.

I think they just see Diseasel is where they need to put in more of there research time. Consumers want both performance & economy these days so this gives them a good way of making more money. It's there diseasel engines right across the range as well not just the Eff Dy models.

My boss bought a 535D purely because it wasn't that much slower than a 535i but gives him about 20mpg more (even more now he has had it mapped).

Edited 15 August, 201015 yr by vRSCarl

I think there's more positives than negatives to be honest.

£27k's steep for this car, it comes in at 28k with all the sensible options added on (leather, satnav, xenons etc.). Starting price (with bartering) is around £24k.

There's not many places to be that are nicer if you have to drive somewhere. It's the whole package, the comfort, the handling, the way it delivers power.

BMW have got really good with there engines lately. Especially diseasel ones.

I think they just see Diseasel is where they need to put in more of there research time. Consumers want both performance & economy these days so this gives them a good way of making more money. It's there diseasel engines right across the range as well not just the Eff Dy models.

My boss bought a 535D purely because it wasn't that much slower than a 535i but gives him about 20mpg more (even more now he has had it mapped).

On the bigger cars/engines one can see the reason for going diesel

Edited 15 August, 201015 yr by lol

I think there's more positives than negatives to be honest.

£27k's steep for this car, it comes in at 28k with all the sensible options added on (leather, satnav, xenons etc.). Starting price (with bartering) is around £24k.

There's not many places to be that are nicer if you have to drive somewhere. It's the whole package, the comfort, the handling, the way it delivers power.

I worked it out at over £30K to match the bits I ordered on my 1.8TSI L&K and still ended up with no nice wheels, boot spoiler (I ordered the VRS one) 7 speed DSG and the BMW is still smaller boot although most agree top notch handling.

Presumed there was not much haggling to get a better price. With my company car arrangement I get a fuel card so don't really know how significant tax hit will be but Beemer would presuambly cost me £700-800 a month rather than £500 on hp!

you can't have a spare wheel.

major negative.

you can't have a spare wheel.

major negative.

You can on the 3er, just not the 1er.

I was in looking at a 3er touring recently.

you can't have a spare wheel.

major negative.

why do people keep going on about spare wheels, i really dont see the issue with the cans of foam you can use ?

why do people keep going on about spare wheels, i really dont see the issue with the cans of foam you can use ?

Tyre cant be repaired after foamed i dont think. Useless for pothole injuries (sidewall blistered / burst)

The big positive is purely for company car drivers (oh and I guess eco-warriors ) - stupidly low CO2 means low tax compared with equivalent cars in its class (Merc, Audi, etc). At work if I ever get a company car where we only get the choice of Merc, Audi, BMW or VW, as much as I might want to go for one of the others, the low tax of the BMW would probably sell it to me.

why do people keep going on about spare wheels, i really dont see the issue with the cans of foam you can use ?

Because they are f**king useless.

In 30'000 miles of mini driving, I've had to collect the wheel and damaged tyre and take it up to the tyre depot twice because the foam didn't fix it.

The same car has also had two egged side walls (one from a pothole and one for no obvious reason on a brand of tyre I've never rated).

I have also had a couple of punctures myself where the hole has been so big that there was no way to plug it.

I got home, only because I had a spare one of those times.

As such you can keep your can of foam and I'll have a spare tyre. Ideally full size one, but something is better than nothing.

Because they are f**king useless.

In 30'000 miles of mini driving, I've had to collect the wheel and damaged tyre and take it up to the tyre depot twice because the foam didn't fix it.

The same car has also had two egged side walls (one from a pothole and one for no obvious reason on a brand of tyre I've never rated).

I have also had a couple of punctures myself where the hole has been so big that there was no way to plug it.

I got home, only because I had a spare one of those times.

As such you can keep your can of foam and I'll have a spare tyre. Ideally full size one, but something is better than nothing.

The trend from manufacturers is getting worse. On the good ladies Abarth you just get the crazy foam, no jack but that would be useless as the body kit covers the jacking points The cars so low even with air in the tyres you have to drive it up onto blocks of wood to get a trolley jack under it, absolutely useless, Should you wish to carry a spare theyve used bigger wheels than the std 500 so they wont fit in the wheel well. If it gets a bad flat it will be call out the RAC & hope they can get it on a low loader.

i had a 120d m sport for 2 years prior to getting the octy

the 1er handling is set up spot on with 50-50 balance. The boot is a waste of time and made worse by me sticking a space saver in it.

The reason the Beemers are so quick to 60 is simple. When booting a car all the weight goes backwards which on front drive means you lose traction

on rear drive the back wheels dig in.

In dry it was very difficult to wheel spin from standing start evn on mine (remapped to 200+ bhp)

BMW have got really good with there engines lately. Especially diseasel ones.I think they just see Diseasel is where they need to put in more of there research time. Consumers want both performance & economy these days so this gives them a good way of making more money. It's there diseasel engines right across the range as well not just the Eff Dy models.My boss bought a 535D purely because it wasn't that much slower than a 535i but gives him about 20mpg more (even more now he has had it mapped).

Hope its a company car, BMW should stick to what they know, NA engines. The x35d engine has a habbit of eating turbos, personally id go for the single turbo 530d

Hope its a company car, BMW should stick to what they know, NA engines. The x35d engine has a habbit of eating turbos, personally id go for the single turbo 530d

By sticking to what they know, does this mean knowing more than anyone else about how to make a decent turbo diesel by any chance?

I'm sure there are horror stories about things going wrong with them as there are with all brands. I blame a lot of the problems with cars braking down and turbos failing in particular on bad driving.

Hope its a company car, BMW should stick to what they know, NA engines. The x35d engine has a habbit of eating turbos, personally id go for the single turbo 530d

No it's his own.

I'll love that as he keeps banging on about how good it is

why do people keep going on about spare wheels, i really dont see the issue with the cans of foam you can use ?

Some people will moan about anything. It's in their nature. I've driven over a million miles and can only recall having 3 punctures in that time and I've either been able to limp to a garage or call the RAC/AA. So, for me, I'm prepared to take the chance. I also find the little compressor they give you comes in really handy.

I also find not driving in the ditch helps a great deal. ;-)

why do people keep going on about spare wheels, i really dont see the issue with the cans of foam you can use ?

What do you do with a can of foam if you have a blow out at 0200? Shave with it?

Personally i would rather have a spare wheel for all of the 15kg it saves it in weight.

15kg saved by the spare....

Ok so lets just make some body panels out of plastic instead and save far more.

Wings, seem like a good candidate, perhaps even the bonnet.

Citroen and renault did it and it was fine and indeed, the plastic front wings from renault were shown to bounce back after a punch rather than dent.

Not a fan of plastic, then what about composites if you're loaded or aluminium for the mid range cars.

None of the above rust either, which has to help in the UK.

I think actually it's all about changing as little as possible from the current way of doing things to just sneak under the brackets for car tax.

In that case perhaps they should look at making lighter alloy wheels, removing weight from the brake system. All of this being unsprung will have other benefits too.

The big single piston calliper from the 288/312mm set up weights a lot more than say the brembo brake callipers.

So what are the other negatives?

My list, a part from prices of car and options is:

1. Seem to have to have the 16 inch Michelin Eco tyres.

2. Cannot have a boot spoiler so it looks ordinary.

You can't moan about those two if you want the best economy that the eD model can produce

Both help to reduce drag. The wheels being the single biggest factor really. They're non-runflat and the tread pattern is designed with low rolling friction in mind.

Would be a great company car choice, but I'd easily look elsewhere with my own money, even if does mean loosing some MPG.

The sport versions they now do are nice and quite a good price too.

Spec isn't exactly generous though really.

They're always nice to drive and steering feel and feedback is excellent. Just not sure whether I'd own one.

I wouldn't mind the new 5 series in estate 530ix or xd.

Ah, they're bringing back the old model naming are they? Wasn't aware the 5 was getting a 4WD option over here. Last time they offered it on the 3 & 5 it was only for N.America.

I'd expect either will be a fair old wedge of cash though!

4wd probably will not be in UK, but Europe/USA yes.